Kyle Pope preaches for the Olsen Park church of Christ in Amarillo, Texas. He has written several books published by Truth Publications including How We Got the Bible. He can be reached at kmpope@att.net.

TRANSITIONS

As a young preacher I came to appreciate the work of Mike Willis long before I ever met him. Unlike some preachers, I did not have the privilege of working in a training-program or studying the Bible with sound teachers in school. When I began to preach, it was with smaller churches with no elders. That can be a rather lonely kind of experience. Advice from those older in the faith is valued as you struggle to answer tough questions, try to figure out how to resolve difficulties within a congregation, and determine sound positions on various issues.

Before the internet, it wasn’t always easy to find good sources for sound material. A subscription to Guardian of Truth and Christianity Magazine became vital spiritual nourishment. I would comb through every issue to consider what I could learn about this topic, that biblical text, or how to apply God’s word to our lives. It didn’t take long to realize that there wasn’t very much out there that Mike Willis hadn’t written about! Whether it was the challenging problems one encounters in First Corinthians, or practical challenges faced by an evangelist seeking to preach the gospel—Mike was never afraid to tackle even the most controversial of questions.

Probably the first time I saw Mike was when he and brother Ed Harrell engaged in an open forum discussion at the Florida College Lectures over issues concerning fellowship and false doctrine on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. I know some grew discouraged over battles fought on such subjects, but I saw it much differently. A few years before I started preaching I had come out of an institutional background. In my experience, there had been few with whom I worshipped that would ever be willing to standup for and test any doctrines. To me it was a breath of fresh air to see men love the Lord and the truth enough to defend it as they understood it. Somehow during those years Mike found an article I wrote entitled “Spanking and the Inspiration of Scripture” and published it long before we had ever even carried on a conversation.

Years later I got a call one day and it was Mike Willis. He had seen my website and we talked about various issues and I began to send him articles from time to time. This ultimately led to a request from him to write a Romans workbook and a commentary on Matthew. Along the way he also edited a few other books I submitted to him and commissioned me to draw dozens of maps and other artwork for Truth Publications.

Unfortunately, I have never had the opportunity to spend much time with Mike face to face for any extended period. We have always lived anywhere from 6-15 hours away from each other. Even so, you don’t work with someone on over 20,000 pages of material without getting to know him pretty well. Mike and I have not always agreed on everything, but in all things I have found him to be conscientious and respectful. He is a man seeking to demonstrate love for God and obedience to His word. Even when he and I have a different understanding of a particular issue, he has always been willing to consider my position and explain his own based on his understanding of Scripture—not his preferences or personal desires. Because of this, I value him as my brother in Christ and friend. I am grateful to God for the work he has done in the Lord’s kingdom and the blessing he has been in my life. I know he has been a blessing to many (like me in the past) who may never have met him in the flesh but grown because of the good work he has done. Thank you, Mike for the years you have devoted to Truth Magazine and the mountain of articles, books, and lessons you have produced in service to our God.