Men I Loved
"What does it mean to be like Jesus? We could come up with long lists of His character qualities.... But what if the character of Christ was reducible to two ingredients? In fact, it is. 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.' Jesus is full of two things: grace and truth."
In his inspiring little book, The Grace and Truth Paradox, Randy Alcorn points out how difficult it is to keep these two virtues in balance. Truth confronts sin. Grace loves sinners. No one embodied both as well as Jesus. But Bill Bright and Larry Burkett, two men I am proud and blessed to have called my teachers and friends, came far closer to His example than most. They were my heroes.
If you have read my book, you know of the powerful influence Bill Bright had on my life. Susie and I were believers in Christ from an early age, but it wasn't until our mid-20s when a close friend shared a booklet that explained the Spirit-controlled life that we began to grow in our faith. The booklet was written by Bill.
In it, he pointed out that God has provided for us an abundant and fruitful walk with Him, but worldly Christians (such as we were) couldn't experience it because they were trusting in their own efforts to live the Christian life. The Spirit-filled life is the Christ-directed life by which Christ lives His life in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of the overflowing life.
As we grasped this truth, and understood that we are directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit through faith, we followed the steps Bill suggested in the booklet, which culminated in a prayer of confession, surrender, and thanksgiving. It was the beginning of a whole new life together with Him. (Read the booklet online)
A little more than two years later, God picked us up and moved our family to southern California where, for almost two years, I had the great blessing of working with Bill at the international headquarters of Campus Crusade for Christ. He was not only a mentor, he became a beloved father figure. He was patient and gracious with this well-intentioned but immature young Christian. He and Vonette modeled the Christian life so powerfully and so consistently that I knew, beyond ever doubting again, that the gospel must be true. The presence of the risen Christ living within them is the only explanation for their lives and ministry. The biblical principles Susie and I learned from them have provided the foundation on which we've walked daily for more than 30 years.
While in California, we met Larry and Judy Burkett who had also joined the Crusade staff. Our assignments brought us together occasionally, and a friendship began that God would use many years later to call SMI into being. Along with millions of others, I can say that it was Larry who first helped me understand the importance and relevance of staying close to God's word when it came to making money management decisions. It was in 1989 that Larry challenged me with an idea for a monthly financial publication, one that would build on the biblical principles he taught and would make specific and appropriate investment recommendations without conflicts of interest or ulterior motives.
As Susie and I prayed, God put it on our hearts that we should undertake this. But we had a problem. I knew about investing and mutual funds, but I didn't know how best to write a newsletter, or exactly what should go in it, or how to attract subscribers. Larry was God's provision for those needs. He extended grace to me. Asking nothing in return, his mentoring, encouragement, and public support during the early 1990s allowed us to survive a difficult start, and his on-going friendship enabled SMI to grow and flourish. Without Larry, there would have been no SMI.
His memorial service was wonderfully balanced between honoring Larry and Judy for their faithfulness and humility in ministry, yet being careful to give glory to God as the one who "equips us with everything good that [we] may do His will, working in [us] that which is pleasing in His sight." As the various speakers reminisced about Larry, we laughed, we shed tears, we worshipped. We celebrated his life, and we celebrated the Savior who changed it and empowered it.
Our prayers are with Vonette and Judy. We appreciate them so much. God said it was not good for man to be alone; he wasn't complete yet without his soul mate. The Lord didn't commission Bill and Larry to launch their ministries alone. Vonette and Judy were full partners in the critical sacrifices and commitments that were made. As couples, they prayed, "Take our lives, use us for your glory." It was the total commitment of all they had together . . . their hearts, minds, bodies, and any material blessings. And so we praise our Lord for the witness of His word seen lived out in these lives: "This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
Bob Benson wrote: "I used to think, loving life so greatly, that to die would be like leaving the party before the end. But now I know that the party is really happening somewhere else. That the light and the music escaping in snatches, to make the pulse beat faster and the tempo quicken, comes from another place. And I know, too, that when I get there, the music and the love and the praise will belong to Him and the music will never end."
For me, the sad thing is not that Bill and Larry have gone on to the party. It's what we all look forward to. The sad thing is that they got to go, but Vonette and Judy didn't. And their families didn't. And Susie and I, and all who have longed for His appearing, didn't. Not yet. We're still here, still waiting to experience His glory and the wonder and the music. The last times I saw Bill and Larry, we embraced as we parted and I told these two men that I loved them. I can't wait to find them at the party and tell them again. 
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