Pastoral theology is that branch that examines the challenges and sundry issues that relate to the pastor’s role among his people. It extends to pastoral care, homiletics, and a host of topics. It is an all-exhaustive theological field that expresses the minister’s presence, authority, and love for his people.
The most practical level impacts directly the personal life of the pastor: his learning, leisure, and friendship. These are the areas that stir my pastoral ministry and that play so very deeply into shaping the pastor I am today. Nevertheless, these pursuits become meaningless without another; someone who shares the same professional, academic, and ecclesiastical heart; someone with whom you can be open and to whom you can say, “Yes, me too; I feel that way, and I know that angst.”
For me, Rev. Dr. Gregg Strawbridge was the embodiment of everything good about pastoral theology. Gregg carried with him the insatiable thirst to see pastoral ministry alive in the academy, around the grill, and the mentoring. Gregg was and will be the gift of God to edify men contemplating or already invested in the life of the church.
At the young age of 57, my dear brother left us! He left us with honor and grace, but he left us. And my heart aches immensely at his absence. He was to me, a model; but more, he was the enlivening partner that I needed 13 years ago when we first met and the enriching friend I spoke with a day before his death.
For the last few years, we have talked on the phone at least monthly about everything. You see, Gregg was the pastor a pastor needed. He was the friend of those who were at the end of their pastoral ministry with no hope, to those struggling with little hope, and to those who were full of hope. He was the person God used to stir optimism and sobriety about the life of the church.
For the last three days before his death, we spoke on the phone three times, exchanged emails about book projects, and offered each other laughter; but to be honest, it was Gregg offering me life in it all. I never felt quite competent enough to meet his theological excellence. But Gregg never once made me feel as if I had a lot of catching up to do, or that I was never going to achieve something, rather, he treated me as an equal, even though his repertoire was replete with accomplishments, recognized projects, and a theological mind that was ahead of many of his contemporaries.
To us, he was just an ordinary pastor. Like many of us who do this for a living, he just wanted to talk, share his pastoral struggles, and I, like an eager child, speedily shared with him mine. I needed him to listen, but I needed him to simply speak; speak into my life and speak into my pastorate.
When I say Gregg was an ordinary pastor, it is an extraordinary-ordinary. He was unbelievably gifted, and that is not to embellish his accomplishments, it’s to state the reality of the kindness of God to pour the benediction of Gregg Strawbridge on us, on my denomination, and in my own life.
Dr. Strawbridge was a talented musician; the kind that touched a guitar and made magic, the kind that could compose and harmonize and provide something beautiful. Perhaps our mutual affection for music brought us closer, though his musical abilities were incomparable. It is safe to say that Gregg lived musically, throwing a note here and there, and wherever those notes went it offered joy to the recipients. I grabbed as many of his notes as I could since we first met.
One would think that with all his gifts, he would be intimidating and unapproachable. His academic prowess was all over his resume and his writing abilities were vast dealing with issues in classical education, covenant baptism and communion, eschatology, apologetics, music, typology, and an astounding love for the good, true, and beautiful. And don’t forget sailing.
Gregg was the kind of biblicist that inspired you to love Jesus more fully in the text of Scriptures. He always took you deeper into the life of Christ because he loved his Lord. We would take a Sunday text he was preaching on, open our Bibles, and spend the 30-60 minutes talking through it, looking for insights to preach more clearly. He was my visionary inspiration. Every time we met at a conference or when I got off the phone, I wanted to produce something for the kingdom, improve in some area, and be a better pastor.
But even though he was the guy recognized at conferences, the men whose debates brought many to change their positions, and though he was sought after for his wisdom, Gregg was approachable in every way. There was not one intimidating bone in his body. One would feel completely at ease with him. His charm, kindness, and experience would flow into every conversation because he believed that pastoral theology was the kind of thing that was practiced charitably, even though at times that included some heated dialogue. But refining was his love language and the common good was Gregg’s goal as a leader in his denomination and as a powerful proponent of orthodoxy everywhere else. Gregg was indefatigable for the kingdom. He was evangelistic for the kingdom and pushed the claims of Jesus in life and now he proclaims his excellencies in death.
The last words I said to him on the phone a day before his death was how much his productivity and pastoral life inspired me. He humbly replied, “Thanks, man!” I didn’t know that would be our last conversation. I keep waiting for another reply to my last email, another phone call to talk about our writing plans, or to talk about some ideas he had for wordmp3, or to talk about church life. And to be honest, though he was one of my dearest friends, he was ultimately my pastor; the embodiment of what makes shepherding desirable. And I will miss him greatly: his voice, humor, intellect, and our long conversations.
Rest in peace, friend! The world made sense to me and so many because you poured into us so purposefully!
I was blessed by Gregg as well. He will be sorely missed. We had our disagreements, even shouting arguments. But we always remained friends. God bless his family and you brother.
Gregg helped me through an extremely difficult time of transition and discernment in my own ministry journey. His insights and, as you already mentioned, long phone conversations, were of such immense help to me that I cannot calculate their worth.
I only knew Gregg for about a year and a half, but in that time we had many conversations, email interactions, and met for lunch a couple of times. That brief time was enough for me to know that this guy was the real deal, and the kind of brother I want in the trenches with me fighting for the Kingdom.
I will miss him, and I thank God for our far too brief friendship.
I really loved and enjoyed being around Greg, I regret that I never got to go sailing with him. He will surely be missed. AARG!
While swimming at the health club, almost daily, Gregg and I would do our hydro-therapy routines & exercises. Every week or so, we’d find time to embark on a long Bible discussion, the last of which was on singing the Psalter in church. As Gregg described to me how All Saints Church uses the Psalter, he became more and more animated. I was accustomed to our long-ranging discussions on Bible topics but had no idea of his passion for music. Thank you for alerting me to that aspect of his spiritual life. I will deeply miss Gregg. At present Gregg is absent from the body, but face to face with his Lord. Jesus has him, and that’s good enough for now.
These shared memories of Gregg Strawbridge are such a comfort. Your descriptions of him in recent years are consistent with the man he was in his twenties and thirties. I was blessed to be a child at Audubon Drive Bible Church when Pastor Gregg and Sharon came there as newlyweds. They both poured into the church, loving and taking keen interest in each person, including the young people. Pastor Gregg encouraged and helped me to begin playing the piano in church weekly, when I was 11 years old. In two years, I served as the primary pianist and began receiving requests by parents to teach their children, and by 19 years old, I had fifty students. It was Gregg Strawbridge who paved the way for this wonderful opportunity, by helping me (among many others) develop skill and confidence through music ministry in the church. Most importantly, he impressed upon me and the other young musicians, our purpose was not to perform, but to bring glory to God. It was a great loss to our community when Pastor Gregg moved away. However, he left behind a legacy of young people who became pastors, leaders, and others generally vibrant for the Kingdom of God, thanks to his example and influence.