Dear Sandy and family,
My sympathies and condolences to you on the loss of George. May the Spirit of God comfort your hearts in these days, and may the resurrection of Jesus be your anchor.
There are a few persons who have had a significant shaping influence on my life, and George was one of them. In a very formative season of my life—my teen years, college years, and young-adult years—God built into my life some very strong foundation pillars through the life and work of George and the communal life of Maranatha/Woodland Hills.
God fueled my love for Scripture and for Christ as I sat under George’s teaching in those early days. Seeds were planted that later blossomed into more than 30 years of vocational ministry. Patterns of thinking about the Bible and interpreting the Bible and teaching the Bible were formed in that season. They were a rich, sturdy, fruitful foundation that I have built on ever since. The authority of the Word, the power of the Word, and the applicational relevance of the Word came home to my hungry heart and, I trust, have been relayed to others over the years through the example set for me by George. I will always be grateful for his respect for Scripture, his attentiveness to the text, his trust in its truthfulness, his emphasis on application, his desire for fruitfulness, and his courage with its hard teachings.
I will also be grateful for his generous opening of the pulpit to me at times during the late 1970s. Practicing my preaching and teaching in that context was a priceless gift and fruitful laboratory of learning. That, too, helped to build a strong foundation for the future.
Through my years at DTS and then in the early days of my first pastorate in Minnesota, before your family moved to California, George continued to be an encouragement and source of counsel for me.
The passing of years brings perspective to life. Gratitude grows for the persons whom God is made instrumental in the shaping of one’s life. Such was George to me, and such is my gratitude to God for him.
His loss is great. May God’s greater grace uphold your hearts in these days of sorrow.
Sincerely in Christ,