Gayle Erwin and the Servant Heart of Jesus
In the last few years, I’ve used this page to express my appreciation for the older brothers in Christ who helped shape my life. They’ve included Dave Coleman, who helped me write So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore, Kevin Smith from Australia, Jack Gray of New Zealand, Tom Mohn of Tulsa, and my own father. Last month, Gayle Erwin, best known for his book, The Jesus Style, though he wrote many others about the nature of God, passed away at 86. Sitting at his celebration service this weekend, I thought of all the older men God had placed in my life throughout my journey. Each added something profound and transforming to my understanding of God and trusting him. They also shared their love and friendship with m. There’s only one of them left, then I will no longer have seniors on this journey, only peers. I miss them all, but I am so grateful to have lived when I could have known these men.
Gayle Erwin was not only a gifted teacher but also a fantastic storyteller with a rich sense of humor that allowed truth to be carried to otherwise well-defended places in our illusions. He had an amazing view of the servant nature of Jesus and his others focused life. You can discover more at GayleErwin.com or watch his videos on YouTube.
I met him over thirty years ago, at a prayer breakfast in Visalia, CA, where I pastored. He was not supposed to be the speaker but was subbing for someone who had taken ill. Though I had no idea what he looked like, I had been told for years at every YWAM base I taught that I needed to meet Gayle Erwin. I had read The Jesus Style and loved it, though I had no idea how our paths would ever cross. Then one day, I walked into the prayer breakfast that morning, greeting familiar faces, and there was one I didn’t know. When I approached him to introduce myself, I noted his name tag. As he stuck out his hand to shake mine, I pointed to his name tag and said, “The Gayle Erwin?”
He looked at my name tag and responded, “The Wayne Jacobsen?” I shook it off with laughter because I was not nearly as well-known as he was. It turns out that wherever he traveled, people were telling him he needed to meet me. We had a good laugh and got to know each other. I had no idea it would begin a thirty-year friendship and how helpful he would be to me as I transitioned from pastoral ministry to writing and traveling. Over the next few years, he generously shared all he had learned about travel, publishing, and the integrity of ministry on the road. He helped shape my heart in so many ways. We shared lots of laughter as well as insights about God’s nature. He was staying in my home the day O.J. Simpson was in the white Bronco running from the LAPD.
The most significant thing I learned from Gayle came in a conversation after watching him do yet another Jesus Style seminar. I was absolutely amazed how he could work through that material with such insight and humor as if he were sharing it for the very first time. I told him how stunned I was that he could do that without growing weary. I then added that when I used to teach three sermons on a Sunday morning, I would stick to the same theme but often change the illustrations and Scriptures around so I wouldn’t get bored.
With a laugh in his voice and a twinkle in his eye that disarmed my defenses, he responded, “So then, ministry is still about you.” It was the gentlest rebuke I’ve ever received. When it sunk in, I shook my head at the stupid thing I’d just said. Then he added, “Once you see Jesus touch people through your words, you could repeat the same silly sentence every night with sheer wonder and joy.” His words proved not only accurate, but they also set an internal compass that has guided my heart throughout the years since.
I am so grateful to have had a friendship with Gayle, and somehow, through our many travels, we could share a friendship that has lasted three decades. I miss knowing he’s a phone call away.
Whenever someone I know dies, my first thought is, I wish I knew what they know now. Someday, I hope to sit under a tree somewhere and celebrate again the friendship Jesus gave us and the grace he poured into both of our lives. And I will introduce him to some of the others I listed above, if he hasn’t already met them in eternity.
Relationships make us rich, and older brothers and sisters on this journey who know him well are some of the greatest treasures of all. I hope you have people like that in your life. If not, ask God to reveal some to you.