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EULOGY FOR PHIL STRICKLAND: A PARTNER WITH CHRIST by David R. Currie

The last time I visited with Phil he was having a very good day. It was Friday, February 3rd. We talked as usual about Baptist stuff, hunting, my boys and the ranch. He left to go get an x-ray. I thought he had finished eating so I ate the fruit bowl off his hospital tray. When he returned to the room his daughter Delaine said, “Dad, you need to eat some more.” I said, “Strick, I thought you were finished so I ate your fruit bowl.” He looked at Delaine with a deadpan expression and said, “I guess I won’t eat Delaine, all I wanted was that bowl of fruit.” Then he laughed. He got me one last time.

Phil was good at getting the best of me in good fun. After Gay Eichler left the SBC Christian Life Commission, where I worked, to move to Texas and work for the BGCT CLC, she sent me an autographed picture of Dallas Cowboy Charlie Waters, with his shirt unbuttoned and his foot in a chair. I had a picture taken of me with my shirt unbuttoned and sent it to her, signed “Joe Cool.” A week later I got a picture of Phil with his shirt unbuttoned, foot in a chair, smiling, signed “The Original Joe Cool.” That he was.

I first met Phil when he came to speak at a ministerial alliance meeting at Howard Payne my senior year of college. At that time, I did not know much about Christian Ethics, but I was fascinated by the things Phil was talking about. He understood the gospel in a deeper and better way than I did. I asked him after his speech if we could go get a cup of coffee and he visited with me until at least 11 p.m. before driving back to Dallas. That evening began over 30 years of friendship that just grew stronger and stronger.

My son, Lance, worked with Phil for two years at the Christian Life Commission and recently commented he wanted to see Phil to tell him some things. I asked what he felt he still needed to say. He replied, “I want to tell him I love him, thank him for all he’s done for me and tell him he is the finest man I’ve ever known.”

Usually fathers want their sons to think they are the finest man they’ve ever known, but I was not offended at all by what Lance said. I feel the same way. I love Phil. I owe my entire ministry to him. And he is the finest man I’ve ever known.

I imagine many of you gathered here today believe Phil Strickland was the finest man you’ve ever known as well, and with good reason.

The Bible which Phil believed with all his heart tells us we are all sinners, but I can honestly tell you I do not know what sins Phil struggled with.

I certainly never saw greed. He could have made millions as a lobbyist in Austin but he chose to do something else instead and that is no slam against any lobbyists here.

I never saw envy. He was very secure in being who he was.

I never saw pride. He never spoke of himself as better than anyone else or thought that way.

I certainly never saw sloth. He did the work of five people at least.

He was a remarkable man in every way and I think I know the reason why. Phil understood that his task as a Christian was to partner with Christ and Phil did that in every area of his life.

Phil partnered with Christ in his humanity.

Frank Stagg wrote that the more human one becomes the more spiritual one becomes. Phil was an authentic human being. He loved and lived life to its fullness. He rode his motorcycle, loved to hunt, fish, hike and backpack. He spent hours staring at the stars out at the ranch and teaching my sons the constellations.

Because he was so in touch with him humanity, Phil was the easiest person in the world to talk too. He was very spiritual, because he understood humanity so well which allowed him to relate to persons with grace.

Phil partnered with Christ in his family life. Sybil, I cannot imagine anyone ever had a better son. Shannon and Delaine, I cannot imagine anyone ever had a better father. He loved you all so deeply. And Carolyn, I know the special intimacy you and Phil shared in your marriage.

Phil constantly shared with me stories of things he did with his Dad, hunting with his girls, trips with Carolyn. He loved his family and balanced his family life with the tremendous professional demands he had better than anyone I knew. He partnered with Christ as a son, father and husband and set an example for us all.

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Phil partnered with Christ in his professional career and ministry. Phil worked for the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission for nearly forty years. Two words sum up his professional ministry for me: creativity and courage.

I have no idea how many 501c3 organizations Phil formed to help meet the needs of people. He was constantly coming up with new ways to be more effective and to enable others to be more effective. People from all walks of life: politics, social work, denominational and church work, sought Phil’s advice constantly and he always had time to help them. And because of his integrity, his word had great credibility.

Let me tell two quick stories that show the power of Phil’s word or recommendation.

Several people questioned whether I was the right person to start Baptists Committed. I remember distinctly Charles Wade’s words to someone questioning him about me. Charles said, “Phil says David is the one and that is good enough for me.”

This past summer, Lance found out he was no longer accepted to the University of Texas Law School because he (or I, since the letter was mailed to San Angelo) had failed to return an important document guaranteeing his enrollment. When we found out about it I met Lance in Austin and we tried to convince the UT officials that it was an honest mistake. They simply said there was nothing they could do – Lance was not in the fall class.

So we called Phil. Phil called his friend, Dr. Doug Laycock, who teaches Constitutional Law and Religious Liberty at UT Law School and we met with Dr. Laycock. Through Dr. Laycock’s intervention, Lance was reinstated. When we thanked him he said, “Don’t thank me, thank Phil Strickland. I trust him and am taking his word that Lance needs to be here.”

Phil had the credibility to accomplish many things because his judgment and word were trusted by everyone who knew him.

He certainly always had time to offer advice to me every week over the past twenty years. And he usually had a better idea of how to get things done than I could ever think of on my own.

I truly believe no one did as much for the children of Texas over the last 30 years as Phil Strickland. No one had a more positive effect on state government than Phil: no governor, no senator, and no representative. I truly believe he could have been governor had he sought elective office. Years ago he turned down an opportunity to be a U.S. Congressman when the powers at be begged him to run in what would have been a shooin election. As Pete Laney said, “His influence will never fully be recognized, and his presence will be deeply missed in Austin.” As James Dunn said, “we only see the tip of the iceberg of all Phil accomplished.”

As creative as Phil was in getting things done, he was even more courageous. The concept of fear never crossed his mind. He was a prophet in the truest sense of the word. He did not worry about the personal cost when he chose to fight fundamentalism and gambling or when he fought for the needs of the elderly and children. He did these things because that is how he partnered with Christ in loving those God created. For Phil, the bottom line was doing the right thing in the right way and he never worried about personal sacrifices.

Phil, standing on the shoulders of Foy Valentine, Jimmy Allen and James Dunn, made the Christian Life Commission a shining light of hope for traditional Baptists everywhere. It is a unique part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and a special part of what it means to be a Texas Baptist. Phil accomplished wonderful things in Austin for the good of all Texans as well as Baptists. He led Texas Baptist churches and individuals to deal with many critical ethical issues like world hunger, ministerial ethics, and capital punishment. Because of Phil’s work and leadership, the Christian Life Commission is one of the most respected ministries in Texas Baptist life as is clearly evidenced by the crowd here today.

The Christian Life Commission is an essential ministry of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It is the only agency of it’s kind now in Baptist life. Its program and budget should grow significantly in the years to come. Many of us relate to the BGCT and Baptist life because of our passion for ethical issues and religious liberty. The Texas CLC should be a national ethics organization, drawing traditional Baptists to support it from all across the nation. The Lord knows Baptists need a real ethics agency.

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Phil partnered with Christ in his private ministry. This is the heart of what I truly want to say about my friend and brother, Phil Strickland. He was a remarkable man, selfless, others-centered, and creative. His ministry through the Christian Life Commission was very public and courageous. But Phil had another ministry, a private ministry, and many of us here today are grieving deeply because we experienced this private ministry of friendship, compassion, and unconditional love.

While Phil believed in and practiced Christian Ethics, grace was the defining ethic of his life. Phil partnered with Christ in showing grace to people when it was most desperately needed and thus, saved our lives in many ways.

The greatest gift Phil had was the Christgiven ability to love people when they were most unlovable, when they had driven off the tracks so badly they were totally lost personally. Phil would believe for us when we had given up hope, and he would believe in us personally when we had lost all faith in ourselves. In doing this, he saved our lives, and ministries, and careers and he did this over, and over, and over.

As I look in the faces of many you gathered here today, you are here because Phil found you, loved you, and believed in you, and thus changed your life forever. To me, this was his most remarkable ministry.

My friend David Sapp started his eulogy for Foy by quoting lyrics from his favorite “classical” singer, George Jones, “who’s gonna fill their shoes?” I want to end my remarks regarding Phil by quoting lyrics from my favorite “gospel” group, The Eagles.

After a recent visit with Phil in the hospital, I was struggling pretty hard with the reality that Phil’s death was now imminent. As I drove home, I turned on the Eagles and began reflecting on memories. The last song on the CD was a song I had forgotten they sang as it was not a hit single, but as it played, the tears started to pour down my face. They sang:

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
There’s a Cloud of fear and sorrow.
There’s a hole in the world tonight.
Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

I realized that was what I was feeling, this big huge hole in my life personally and in the world as well. And I think many of you are feeling that hole as well. As the Dallas Morning news said, Phil had become “a legendary champion of children, the poor and church-state separation.” More importantly, he had let us experience the Promised Land through his love.

Phil’s passing from this life leaves a huge hole in many areas.

Who could possibly fill that hole in Austin? — No one.

Who could possibly fill that hole in Texas Baptist life? — No one.

Who could possibly fill that hole in advocating for children? — No one.

Who could fill that hole left by losing a close dear friend, a son, husband or father? — No one.

And yet the song said, “Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.” Then I got an image of Phil smiling a big smile, a sly grin, and looking us all in the eye and saying to us, “you can, go fill the hole and do it quick. Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.”

The greatest memorial we can ever give to honor Phil is to follow his example of partnering with Christ trying to fill the huge holes in the world; to live our lives with creativity, courage and compassion.

Let it be Lord, let it be.

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