TOGETHER: An inspiring, courageous servant leader

Posted: 2/17/06

TOGETHER: An inspiring, courageous servant leader

Phil Strickland was one of the greatest leaders Texas Baptists have ever known. He could have been an incredibly successful attorney. He could have been a great Texas governor.

But he chose to be a good and great advocate for justice and righteousness in Texas.

He came to the task of director of the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas as a very young man. He was not a pastor/preacher, but he was a wonderful speaker of truth. He attended seminary after law school because he wanted to be sure that what he did in the field of law was informed as much as possible by his deep biblical faith.

What he learned as a boy growing up in First Baptist Church of Abilene kept growing in his heart and mind. He loved the gospel of Jesus Christ, which sets us free and keeps us free. He loved the Bible and treasured its truth and authority as he made decisions about life and ethics. He was grateful to God in all things and knew the power and blessing of prayer in the most intimate and spiritually meaningful way.

He was a brilliant strategist and bridge-builder. All of us in Texas who knew him knew how the executive directors of the BGCT, James Landes and Bill Pinson, depended on him for council and to implement the important, sometimes controversial, matters of convention life. He was a great help to me as I picked up the challenge of this same task. Texas Baptists would not be who we are today without Phil Strickland. All of you who love the historic Baptist vision and cherish its values owe more than you know to Phil’s work and spirit.

He believed in religious liberty and the separation of church and state. He also believed in the responsibility of Christians to live under the authority of God’s Spirit and God’s Scripture. He believed that Baptists ought to have a full voice in advocating in the halls of state regarding issues that affected public morality, children, the poor and those who had no one to speak up for them.

Phil was shaped by a deep sense of the grace of Jesus Christ and of the call of Christ to follow him.

And so, like Jesus, Phil knew the prophets and their call to righteousness and justice. And like Jesus, he knew that to save your life you must lose it.

In one of the respected Austin news services, Capitol Inside, Mike Hailey writes that Phil Strickland was “a powerful force at the Texas capitol for more than a quarter-century as the public policy director for the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas … . (He) gained a reputation as a bridge-builder who forged coalitions that were dedicated to helping needy children, to promoting high ethical standards in government and to fighting the expansion of gambling in Texas.”

One of my heart’s desires for Texas Baptists is that we inspire servant leadership among our people.

Phil Strickland is one of the great examples of what it means to be a servant leader. His life and the faith exhibited in his dying will continue to inspire us all to aspire to the kind of courageous servant leadership that helps everyone around us grow in Christ and attain all that God dreams for us to become.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.