Bill Bright passes on to be with the Lord

e-mail ^ | 7/19/03 | friend

[ppaul]

Brothers,

Tonight, Saturday, around 6:25 Pacific time, Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ died and went to be with the Lord. There were tears of sadness seeing a brother pass away and there were songs of praise to the Lord for using Bill as God did. If you could bow before the Lord for his family and those close to him. Putting aside any opinions or disagreements you might have with CCC but as a great visionary brother in Christ that has been one of the most influencial person for the furthering of the Kingdom of God in the last 5 decades. Bill's vision has made a global impact that we cannot imagine. Praise God that he chooses us to preach his good news.

[bonesmccoy]

My condolences.

Prayers indeed.

We have lost a faithful servant and a man who will certainly be waiting in heaven for the rest of his flock to arrive (which could end up being a sizeable portion of the planet's population).

[Simcha7]

Shalom All

Our dear brother Bill Bright is now Face to face with his Savior and he has heard the words of His Messiah, GOD and KING:

"Well done good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:23)

ALL Of GOD'S Heavenly Angels REJOICED!

[Simcha7]

Please see post # 22.

[AUsome Joy]

Bill Bright had a huge impact on our family. Campus Crusade had so many ministries in Indianapolis during the 70's and it ministered to each of us, especially my kids. My sister was active in it at Auburn in the 60's. She almost went through the training after graduation so she could minister at high school campuses.

Who is going to replace these great men of God, such as Larry Burkett, Bill Bright and the ailing Billy Graham?

[ppaul]

Who is going to replace these great men of God, such as Larry Burkett, Bill Bright and the ailing Billy Graham?

Check out these men.

[f.Christian]

Romans 12


Living Sacrifices to God


Christians Should Lead Transformed Lives
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.


Serve God with Spiritual Gifts
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.


Behave Like a Christian
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

15 >>>> Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. <<<<

16Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

18If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

19Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,"[1] says the Lord.

20Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."[2]


21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

[ru4liberty]

Tears streaming for happy and sad as I read this. Happy he is finally in the glorious presence of the Savior, sad for those of us left behind to miss him -- especially his family and friends.

Something tells me that it won't be long until we're all gathered in His presence. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

[Jemian]

Who is going to replace these great men of God, such as Larry Burkett, Bill Bright and the ailing Billy Graham?

Even now, there are men in training to be His ambassadors. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses; those who have gone before such as the men you named and others who are lighting the way for those who are coming after. My son and daughter have committed their lives to being His people. Others have too. God will not be stopped. His power, His Spirit, is carrying on.

[The Energizer]

ping

[The Energizer]

Here's what I received via e-mail from a friend who works for Campus Crusade for Christ:


We want to inform you of the death of our dear friend and founder and former president of Campus Crusade, Dr. William R. Bright, known to many of us as just Bill. At 7:25 pm Colorado time, Bill was ushered into the presence of the one he loved and served for over 50 years. Tonight he is with Jesus.

Knowing he was near death, we have spend many hours praying and weeping ask asking the Lord if He would just take him so that he would not have to suffer
any longer. His wife, and co-founder of CCC, Vignette Bright called and talked to us yesterday from Orlando, Florida. She said she had on a bright red dress
and white pearls but thought this would be his coronation day. She plans to fly to Colorado tomorrow morning to be with the staff she and Bill love so dearly. It looks like we will have a memorial service here on Monday night with the 5,000 plus staff that are here. Probably a week from this coming Wednesday there will be another memorial service in Orlando, Fl.

Pray for Vignette, their kids and grand kids.

We share fond memories of our times spent with Bill and Violent, It was
just a few months ago that I had the privilege of setting with him in his home
and discussing plans for [deleted]. We we got ready to leave I asked
him how I could pray for him, expecting him to ask prayer for his health. He
said, "Pray that I will not forget my first love". That was his last words to
me.

Our hearts are saddened but we rejoice in his "home going"

[Engine82]

I attended the Promise Keepers event in Washington D.C. in 1996. After the event we were standing in line at the hotel resturant around 10:00 p.m. I stuck up a conversation with the fellow in fromt of me in the line. We exchanged introductions and he was Bill Bright.

I told him what an honor it was to meet him and he instantly replied to me "No David the honor is mine to have met you".

[ru4liberty]

He said, "Pray that I will not forget my first love". That was his last words to me.

What a wonderful memory to cling to! Your friend was blessed to have been that close to Dr. Bright.

(BTW, Vonette rather than Vignette or Violent.)

[The Energizer]

You know, I didn't notice the typo! I bet that's a "spell check" correction!

In a previous job, I once got a hand-written note from Vonette. Still have it.

[Fighting Irish]

I remember as a new christian listening to Bill on the radio back in the early 80's.

Great man of God!

God bless you, Bill (as I'm sure Heaven is logged on to FR now)!

[tame]

I thank God for Bill Bright. Well done, good and faithful servant. Now he rejoices in Paradise.

[txzman]

Great man - did so many things for others throughout his life. The impact he made will reverberate for generations.

[RnMomof7]

FYI


Manifest Sons lost their father

[Jonathan]

Bill Bright wrote a letter last year to evangelist Ray Comfort admitting that the "4 Spiritual Laws" approach to the Gospel was wrong and that reliance on the "prayer of salvation" was misleading.

Yet he never repented of his actions.

Now, one way or another, he knows how misleading his false gospel was.

Tragically sad.

[wallcrawlr]

William R. "Bill" Bright, Founder of World's Largest Christian Ministry Dies

ORLANDO, Fla., July 19, 2003 —William R. “Bill” Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, the world’s largest Christian ministry, died today from complications related to pulmonary fibrosis. He was 81.

Fueled by his passion to present the love and claims of Jesus Christ to "every living person on earth," Dr. Bright spent more than five decades building and leading the Orlando, Florida-based Campus Crusade for Christ.


As the world’s largest Christian ministry, Campus Crusade for Christ
serves people in 191 countries through a staff of 26,000 full-time
employees and more than 225,000 trained volunteers working in some
60 niche ministries and projects ranging from military ministry to inner
city ministry.

Bright was so motivated by what is known as the Great Commission,
Christ’s command to carry the gospel throughout the world, that in 1956
he wrote a booklet titled The Four Spiritual Laws, which has been printed
in some 200 languages and distributed to more than 2.5 billion people,
making it the most widely disseminated religious booklet in history.

In 1979, Bright commissioned the JESUS film, a feature-length
documentary on the life of Christ, which has since been viewed by more
than 5.1 billion people in 234 countries and has become the most widely viewed, as well as most widely translated, film in history (786 languages).

In 1996 Bright was presented with the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, worth more than $1 million. The Templeton Prize is
the world's largest financial annual award. Bright donated all of his prize
money to causes promoting the spiritual benefits of fasting and prayer.

“He has carried a burden on his heart as few men that I’ve ever known.
A burden for the evangelization of the world,” said Rev. Billy Graham, a
long-time friend of the Brights. “He is a man whose sincerity and integrity
and devotion to our Lord have been an inspiration and a blessing to me
ever since the early days of my ministry.”

Bright’s work through Campus Crusade for Christ will continue under the leadership of Steve Douglass, a long-time associate whom Dr. Bright
tapped in 2001 as his successor. “Not only have I lost a dear and
lifelong friend in Bill Bright, but the world has lost one of its greatest visionaries and faithful servants of Jesus Christ,” said Douglass.

Bill Bright is survived by his wife Vonette, who assisted him in founding Campus Crusade for Christ; a sister Florence Skinner; a brother Forest Bright; his son Zachary, who is pastor of Divine Savior Presbyterian Church in California; son Brad, who is on staff with Campus Crusade; and four grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the Brights have requested that friends honor Bill’s memory through the William R. Bright Legacy Trust to further the work to which he gave his life. William R. Bright Legacy Trust (account #2747894), 100 Lake Hart Drive, Orlando, FL 32832.

[Fifth Business]

It's customary to try to think of something nice to say about a recently deceased person or else to remain silent.