Tribute to One of God’s Servants
Rev. Don Spurgeon
South Central District Superintendent
Churches of Christ in Christian Union
Yesterday evening, May 2oth my District Superintendent passed for this world into the realms of Glory. Don was a strong leader with a heart that beat heavily for the fulfilling of the Great Commission and living out the Great Commandment. Don had a strong desire to see the churches which oversaw to be strongly active in the harvest fields for the Kingdom of God.
Though a strong District Superintendent, that was only a part of who/what Rev. Spurgeon was. He was strongly devoted husband and father. I had the privileged to sit in a series of special meetings with 5 other pastors for a period of time lasting over a year. These special days, facilitated by Rev. Spurgeon, were directed to the development of our spiritual and leadership character. During one of the sessions, that focused upon the priorities of life, dealt strongly with family commitment. As Don shared about his wife, it seemed as if the room grew brighter as his face glowed with a wholesome pride as he spoke of his wife. There was such a strong passion and love for his wife, son, daughter-in-law and his granddaughter.
As a leader, as with most leaders, Rev. Spurgeon had to make decisions and take steps that did not always set smoothly or was popular with all involved. I too, was affected by those decisions. At one point in our relationship there was some uneasy days and steps. However, through Biblical standards, we worked through that period. It was a great privilege to be able to ride around the Ohio Christian University campus on the closing day of Mount of Praise Camp meeting and to work through those feelings. I saw with in Don’s heart a passion for people that I had not seen in any other setting. I saw through his eyes, the vastness of his position as a district superintendent and the delicate balancing act that at times he had to do to keep the churches he was responsible for, marching forward.
To quote George Barna about leadership, “Leadership is not just influence, being efficient and accumulating control and power. Leadership is the process of motivating, mobilizing, resourcing and directing people to passionately and strategically pursue a vision from God that a group jointly embraces. A leader gets people excited about God’s vision.” (A Fish Out of Water). In my heart of hearts, I believe that Don fulfilled this to the utmost. He often lit a fire in my heart. Sometimes the fire was so hot, that Don even told me to slow down. Don’s passion was deep to see people to truly grasp exactly what could be done through them for the Kingdom of God. He was a man of great vision for the harvest and this vision was often passed on and adopted by those around him.
About 6 years ago, after setting out of the pastoral ministry for 7 years, I met with Don about returning. Through various events in previous pastorates, I was determined not to return to pastoring. But through Don’s gentleness and wisdom, I was offered the privilege to return. I have not looked back since nor will I look back in the future. Thank you Don for allowing me to return to the greatest job on all the earth! I am ever in-debt to Don for believing in me and affording me the opportunity to develop my leadership in the similar paths as which Don displayed and modeled.
There are so many more things in which I could write. This post is larger than I anticipated even now. As I write, more and more come to my mind. However, I wish to sum it up here. Rev. Don Spurgeon was a man after God’s own heart and he desired all those around him to experience and to be impacted by the passion of Christ. Don was a man which was surrendered to the things of God, and lived his life to fulfill God’s calling in all that he did. Thank you Don, for being my leader, mentor, friend and brother in Christ!
Rev. Don Spurgeon
South Central District Superintendent
Churches of Christ in Christian Union
Yesterday evening, May 2oth my District Superintendent passed for this world into the realms of Glory. Don was a strong leader with a heart that beat heavily for the fulfilling of the Great Commission and living out the Great Commandment. Don had a strong desire to see the churches which oversaw to be strongly active in the harvest fields for the Kingdom of God.
Though a strong District Superintendent, that was only a part of who/what Rev. Spurgeon was. He was strongly devoted husband and father. I had the privileged to sit in a series of special meetings with 5 other pastors for a period of time lasting over a year. These special days, facilitated by Rev. Spurgeon, were directed to the development of our spiritual and leadership character. During one of the sessions, that focused upon the priorities of life, dealt strongly with family commitment. As Don shared about his wife, it seemed as if the room grew brighter as his face glowed with a wholesome pride as he spoke of his wife. There was such a strong passion and love for his wife, son, daughter-in-law and his granddaughter.
As a leader, as with most leaders, Rev. Spurgeon had to make decisions and take steps that did not always set smoothly or was popular with all involved. I too, was affected by those decisions. At one point in our relationship there was some uneasy days and steps. However, through Biblical standards, we worked through that period. It was a great privilege to be able to ride around the Ohio Christian University campus on the closing day of Mount of Praise Camp meeting and to work through those feelings. I saw with in Don’s heart a passion for people that I had not seen in any other setting. I saw through his eyes, the vastness of his position as a district superintendent and the delicate balancing act that at times he had to do to keep the churches he was responsible for, marching forward.
To quote George Barna about leadership, “Leadership is not just influence, being efficient and accumulating control and power. Leadership is the process of motivating, mobilizing, resourcing and directing people to passionately and strategically pursue a vision from God that a group jointly embraces. A leader gets people excited about God’s vision.” (A Fish Out of Water). In my heart of hearts, I believe that Don fulfilled this to the utmost. He often lit a fire in my heart. Sometimes the fire was so hot, that Don even told me to slow down. Don’s passion was deep to see people to truly grasp exactly what could be done through them for the Kingdom of God. He was a man of great vision for the harvest and this vision was often passed on and adopted by those around him.
About 6 years ago, after setting out of the pastoral ministry for 7 years, I met with Don about returning. Through various events in previous pastorates, I was determined not to return to pastoring. But through Don’s gentleness and wisdom, I was offered the privilege to return. I have not looked back since nor will I look back in the future. Thank you Don for allowing me to return to the greatest job on all the earth! I am ever in-debt to Don for believing in me and affording me the opportunity to develop my leadership in the similar paths as which Don displayed and modeled.
There are so many more things in which I could write. This post is larger than I anticipated even now. As I write, more and more come to my mind. However, I wish to sum it up here. Rev. Don Spurgeon was a man after God’s own heart and he desired all those around him to experience and to be impacted by the passion of Christ. Don was a man which was surrendered to the things of God, and lived his life to fulfill God’s calling in all that he did. Thank you Don, for being my leader, mentor, friend and brother in Christ!
