Richard Seymour was born with a double cleft lip and a cleft palate — he had holes in his upper lip and no roof in his mouth.
Dick had his first corrective surgery only eight hours after his birth, and underwent a total of twenty operations by the time he was nineteen. His cleft palate handicap made it almost impossible for others to understand his speech, and the constant surgeries left him in a state of perpetual recovery that resulted in embarrassing facial scars. After more than two decades of navigating daily awkward interactions and being the regular punchline of his classmates' jokes, Dick became a bitter young man convinced that no one outside his immediate family cared about him in any way.
“His cleft palate handicap made it almost impossible for others to understand his speech, and the constant surgeries left him in a state of perpetual recovery that resulted in embarrassing facial scars.”
So perhaps you can imagine how life-changing it was when Dick heard for the first time that God loved him just the way he was — even with a speech impairment and facial flaws. The Bible's message of hope was a completely new concept that totally altered the course of his life.
As Dick poured himself into Bible study he overcame his communication struggle and eventually became a gifted public speaker. He was an integral part of the Christian Youth Ranch ministry in Miami, Florida, and served as an elder at his church, Grove Community Church.
In 1962 Dick co-founded Florida Bible College where he later received his Doctor of Divinity degree. In addition to his duties as head of the theology department, he served on the board of trustees and filled a number of other positions including Registrar and Academic Dean. In total Dr. Seymour taught for 22 years at Florida Bible, where he had an incredible impact in the lives of his students.
During his time at Florida Bible College, Dick founded what is now Clarity Ministries, as a platform for his writing and speaking efforts outside the classroom. In 2000, as part of Clarity's teaching ministry, Dr. Seymour joined the faculty of Frontier School of the Bible, which allowed him to serve again in higher education as a professor of Bible and theology.
Dick and his wife Kathy have been married over 40 years, raised two children, and have three grandsons. They continue to serve the Lord together through Clarity and time with their grandsons and church community.
