Seven months ago, I met one of my heroes. After marinating in his books and sermons on YouTube for the better part of a decade, I finally had the chance to see Dr. Voddie Baucham face to face. Meeting your hero in person can be tricky. We all know what it’s like to feel underwhelmed when, in real life, we encounter someone we’ve long admired from a distance. Heroes are only human, after all.
That chilly Sunday morning, I was scrambling to make final preparations for Voddie to speak at The Story, and all of a sudden, one of the world’s greatest living preachers was standing right in front of me. At six-foot-four with a linebacker’s build, Voddie was larger than life. “Hello pastor, I’m Voddie,” he said, with a voice so deep and rich that it sounded like Darth Vader received the Holy Ghost.
Then Voddie preached, and when I tell you that he preached I mean he preached. His message, titled Do Not Love the World (1 John 2:15-17), was bold and unapologetic but also loving and kind.
After the last service, Voddie joined me in our Maybe God Podcast studio, where we spoke for over an hour about topics ranging from how he was raised by a single, Buddhist mother and how he became a Christian to his surprising views on the election of President Trump. That interview has been watched over 222,000 times on YouTube, making it Maybe God’s fourth-most popular episode of all time. I hope you’ll watch it if you haven’t already, especially if you’re unfamiliar with Voddie’s life and work and you’re wondering what made him so unique and powerful.
In the seven months since visiting The Story, Voddie had been working to establish a new seminary in Florida while also frequenting The Mayo Clinic to receive treatment for a hereditary heart condition. All indications were that he was doing well, but on Thursday afternoon, we heard the devastating news that one of the world’s greatest living preachers was dead.
Voddie’s shocking death is the latest in a string of recent, impactful departures. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, legendary preacher John MacArthur, and outspoken Christian Charlie Kirk have also passed away in recent months. Even more unsettling are the reports of Christians being targeted and even killed for their faith, especially in Nigeria, where over seven thousand Christians have been slaughtered by Muslim assailants so far this year.
They say that when it rains, it pours, and for followers of Jesus, this year has felt like the emotional equivalent of Hurricane Harvey.
Times like these present a unique challenge for Christians. The Gospel calls us to be people who cling to hope even when the world is neck-deep in despair, but how are we supposed to be hopeful when all we feel is sad?
Look no further than Voddie’s own words. In a moment that could only be described as inspired prophecy, he recently proclaimed from the pulpit:
You are going to hear a rumor one day that Voddie Baucham is no more. Don’t you believe it! Don’t you believe it! Don’t you believe it! Because though I die, I will rise with Christ. It will not be the end of me because Christ is raised, and I too will be raised with Christ!
(Watch the full clip here)
After hearing of such a giant loss, it’s only natural to feel deep despair, as though life has lost and death has won. Don’t you believe it! Don’t you believe it! Don’t you believe it! Not only have we not seen the last of our brother Voddie, we haven’t even seen the best of him yet. If he was a great warrior in this life – and he truly was – just imagine how great he will be in all his resurrected glory!
…But we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
Meeting my hero did not disappoint. But the best thing about Voddie was his passion to point me and everyone who admired him toward the One he admired most.
Please join me in prayer this week by thanking God for the life and ministry of Dr. Voddie Baucham, and by asking God to comfort and provide for Voddie’s wife and their nine children. If you’re led to support the Bauchams in their time of grief, visit this link to safely send a donation in memory of Voddie.
