A very dear brother and cherished friend of mine died today of complications connected to a stroke and heart attack. Mr. …knew he had blood clots and heart trouble, but he did not like going to MDs. He was not overweight, just stubborn and his body endured a lot of abuse in the 1960s and 70s. I did get to talk to him Lord’s Day evening. He called me Robert Mulligan. Mulligan was a Hollywood producer. Mr. …used to be an actor. Mr. …was a part of the church I started in CA in 1990. He was there when we left in 2006. I met him at a bookstore at Grace Community Church (Dr. MacArthur) in the late 1980s. He became like a grandfather to our kids and a father-figure to me and my wife. He went on vacations with us. He visited my folks with us, several times. He was over our house several times per month, usually at least once per week. He must have sat in on family worship over 100 times with us. He loved my wife’s cooking and my mom’s even more. He attended every roller hockey game my oldest son ever played (13 seasons), even when he was sick. My son’s roller hockey buddies loved him dearly. One of the hockey moms has already commented on my Face Book account. I was going to run today, but the news has floored me. However, I can hear Mr. …saying, “Pastor, you’ve gained weight. Get off your fat butt and run.” In honor of Mr. Sims, I am going to run. I am so glad that Mr. Sims is absent from the body and present with the Lord Jesus!
Dr. Richard Barcellos is associate professor of New Testament Studies. He received a B.S. from California State University, Fresno, an M.Div. from The Master’s Seminary, and a Th.M. and Ph.D. from Whitefield Theological Seminary. Dr. Barcellos is pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Palmdale, CA. He is author of Trinity & Creation, The Covenant of Works, and Getting the Garden Right. He has contributed articles to various journals and is a member of ETS.
Courses taught for CBTS: New Testament Introduction, Biblical Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology I, Biblical Theology II.
