Ron Anderson: 'God is into healing, not into hurting'

In what was part theater and part serious theological discussion, Ron Anderson talked about his cancer to about 175 people at First Baptist Church on Monday.

Anderson, 63, was diagnosed with inoperable Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in October. It came a month after he had announced his retirement from the Springer Opera House as associate artistic director and director of the Theatre Academy.

As he has moved through his journey and chemotherapy, Anderson said he has re-read “When Bad Things Happen to Good People” by Harold S. Kushner.

He has found comfort and understanding in Kushner’s story of his son’s degenerative disease and death at 14 years old, and it formed the basis of Monday’s conversation with First Baptist Pastor Jimmy Elder.

“Rabbi Kushner said, ‘Let’s not talk about why it happened,’” Anderson said. “‘Let’s talk about therefore what?’ I have cancer. That is the given. People have affliction in their life. And so what? That’s when we need God. That’s when we take a step, and God takes the next step with us.”

Anderson’s conversation, which was attended by a cross section of the city’s faith and arts communities, was titled: “Did God give me cancer?”

Though Anderson, his wife Debbie and their son Max attend St. Thomas Episcopal Church, he and Elder are close friends and have been for some time.

The conversation was an outgrowth of Anderson’s four decades on the stage and his work as a theater and life-skills instructor, Elder said.

“Ron has done so much to help people embrace and see things and understand things in life,” Elder said. “Ron is a good guy, and as we know bad things can happen to good people. Look at the people who are in here tonight. They are young and old. Some are people who are in the theater, and some are just people who have been to the theater.”

Anderson did answer the question that brought the people to First Baptist on Monday. And he told it through a conversation he had with a child who asked him if God gave him cancer.

“I said, ‘No. Are you crazy?’” Anderson said. “Well, then who did? The devil? ‘No.’ I don’t know what you think about what the devil is or even if one exists but the devil doesn’t give you cancer. He’s a busy guy. He and God are like ping pong players on the ping pong table of life. They are a team. They work together. They are the good and the bad. They’ve got better things to do than give me cancer.”

Anderson said kids will still ask questions about the source of his terminal illness.

“God has nothing to do with cancer,” said Anderson, wearing a blue ball cap because most of his hair is gone due to the chemotherapy. “God is not in the hurting business. God does not bring tornadoes; God does not bring tsunamis; God does not bring Ebola to the children of West Africa. Not my God. God is into healing, not into hurting.”

Anderson said he found comfort in knowing people are praying for his family.

“People are praying for me; people are praying for Debbie; people are praying for Max,” he said. “I can’t tell you how humbled I am by that. I don’t know what to say to that.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Ron Anderson: 'God is into healing, not into hurting'."