Today, some very sad news has been made public. Clark Pinnock has permitted friends to share that he is suffering from middle stage Alzheimer’s disease. In his message to Tom Oord and John Sanders he stated that he will no longer be able to continue writing. This is no small loss for the evangelical theological community and academy.

Clark Pinnock is a remarkable scholar who has courageously championed biblical theology regardless of its popularity, or lack thereof. Although he has been criticized vehemently by some in the evangelical community, he somehow managed to consistently draw from resources of peace that are rarely seen in evangelical theological disagreement to maintain a charitable and humble spirit. I have witnessed this firsthand, and it was also the observation of William Spencer, professor of systematic theology at Gordon-Conwell Boston.

I have personally been deeply impacted by Dr. Pinnock's life and work, and wish to express my heart-felt gratitude for his perseverance and excellence.

My first encounter with Pinnock's work was in 2000 while I was attending Bible college in New Orleans. I came across an article he wrote entitled, "From Augustine to Arminius: A Pilgrimage in Theology." At that point, I would have considered myself Arminian in my view of divine providence, but I wrestled with the illogical nature of exhaustive definite foreknowledge when it comes to the future choices of free agents. As I read about Dr. Pinnock's journey from '5-point Calvinism' to the logical conclusions of Arminianism, I was struck by how deeply his words resonated with me. His testimony provided me with vocabulary for the thoughts I couldn't to that point adequately express. I was changed. From that point on, I devoured everything I could get my hands on that describe in greater detail the view Pinnock presented, which came to be known as "Open theism."

Later, I briefly lived with Rev. Bill Brown, a pioneer of urban ministry and father of the ministry director for whom I worked, while I sought a more permanent residence. Bill Brown was a Canadian immigrant and Presbyterian minister who started a racial reconciliation ministry in the Irish Channel of New Orleans in the mid-60s when the neighborhood was a hotbed of racial tensions and violence. Almost every night I would pick his brain and listen to as many stories as possible about urban ministry.

At one point, I was reading "The Openness of God" when Rev. Bill came home. I said, "Rev. Bill, I'm reading this amazing book. I wonder what you'd think of it." When I told him it was by Clark Pinnock, he said, "Oh, I know Clark." Thinking he meant he was familiar with his work, I asked, "Oh, what books of his have you read?" He said, "Clark was the associate pastor at the church." (The church he was referring to was Canal Street Presbyterian Church, which I attended, and which Rev. Bill pastored for many years.) It was an amazing coincidence that I'll never forget. I happened to be living in a city where Pinnock taught and began his theological pilgrimage to Open theism, and I happen to attend a church where he pastored during that time, and I happen to be living with the pastor of that church.

My next encounter with Clark Pinnock was through his participation and co-organization of the Open Theology and Science conference in Quincy, MA at Eastern Nazarene College in the summer of 2007. There I had the great privilege of meeting and speaking with Dr. Pinnock and was struck by his humility not only in personal dialog but when fielding difficult questions about the theology he has spent decades writing and teaching. In response to some questions he has written entire books on, he would often start "That's a good question." (Truthfully, it infuriated me, because I wanted to scream "READ HIS BOOKS!!!")

Clark Pinnock is a living legend and hero for young theological scholars who seek to have a conversant and relevant theology while modeling Christ-like patience and humility in theological discourse. I am in Dr. Pinnock's debt and pray that I can cultivate the sorts of internal resources of peace he had when I face criticism.

Thank you Dr. Pinnock!!!