November 2007 Archives

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 30, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 30, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 30, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 30, 2007 | Permalink

A few weeks ago, dear husband came home and told me about an episode that had occurred that day, at his office. A 20 something young woman, who is a co-worker of his, was utterly ridiculing an article that she had seen, in a copy of a magazine from the 1950’s. In the article, the homemaker was stating the importance of serving one’s husband’s favorite drink when he arrives home. My husband’s co-worker stated that, “I would serve it to my husband, right on his head.” Another lady and a man at my hubby’s office were agreeing about how foolish the lowly station of “housewife” is. The young woman stated that this is the very reason why she had attended college, so she would never be dependent on (gasp!)..... a man. I found this discussion very sad, yet very indicative of our current society. Having recently read Passionate Housewives Desperate for God has been a balm for my soul. Anyone aspiring to be a homemaker, or who is a homemaker will be blessed by reading this superlative book. It gives a fresh perspective and a renewed vision of the essentially vital role of housewife.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God is a candid collection of the writings of Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald. They share about the occasions where they have followed the lies of feminism, and when, through God’s grace, they have been victorious in their callings.

One thing that the modern feminist does not realize is that she will always be the servant to someone. She was created to be man’s helpmeet, and whether she is helping a boss in some ivory tower or her husband at home, she is always going to be the servant to man. It is God’s ordained estate for women. I much prefer to be my husband’s helpmeet and servant to my family, rather than to someone whom I do not love. There is much more joy in helping my husband to meet goals, than to selfishly pursue my own agenda. The desire of women to seek after their own purposes was apparent in Genesis 3. Eve had her own plans and goals and she lured Adam into her scheme. Had he been protecting her, and had she been submissive to Adam, what a great disaster they may have avoided. Women are created to serve, which is a blessed calling because it is the call of the Savior. Jesus came not to be served, but rather, to serve. As Passionate Housewives Desperate for God reminds us, when the laundry seems never ending, the dishes pile up, and supper needs to be cooked, we are to respond joyfully. Christ has transformed even the most menial seeming tasks into glorious, kingdom-building works. This is our sacred calling, our means of sanctification as Christian women. We were not created to nurture our flesh and self-love, but rather, to die to self. The realm of home is the only place where we will find true fulfillment as women. In our role as homemakers, we will flourish when we learn to lay down our lives daily, in service to our families. There are no better steps to follow, then those where our Master trod.

I am grateful for this encouraging book, which is a true blessing to those who seek to live a godly wife and homemaker. It is a gift for every woman, who is striving to fulfill her biblical role as the servant of God. Passionate Housewives Desperate for God reminds us of the sacred words of Matthew 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 30, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Special thanks to our very own Kevin Turley, who organized this year’s 10th Anniversary Faith and Freedom Tour, and made it one of our most successful to date. Kevin is pictured above with his faithful son, Samuel.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

“Good morning Vision Forum, I have now ordered 3 copies of your Return of the Daughters DVD and the accompanying CD. For the last few weeks, I have been doing an in depth Bible study on this exact topic, and I am so thankful that your DVD was released right in the middle of my study of this beautiful subject.

I was in tears as I watched your DVD. The scripting was tremendous and skillfully addressed the various emotions and rebuttals that the many different types of viewers will have. The narrating by the Botkin daughters was done with great skill and poise. The interviews with 7 daughters to drive this point home with actual live testimonials was brilliant. The video editing was as professional as a Hollywood movie. And the spirit that you presented this truth in, was not condescending at all, but instead, one of graciously declaring the absolute glory and biblical accuracy of the 6,000 year old plan that a young woman is designed by God to cheerfully and wholeheartedly serve 2 men in her life...Her father...and ultimately her husband. To listen to these young ladies express their hearts desire to use the strength of their youth to become Proverbs 31 ladies, and fully trained helpmeets “before” they meet Prince Charming took my breath away...and still does, when I think about it.

So simple, so lovely, so powerful, and a message so desperately needed in the church today. THANK YOU to every one of you, who played even the smallest part in producing this tremendous work! May the Lord richly reward you for this good work, and may he help you sell at least a million copies of this DVD. In Jesus Name, Chris S.”

Click here to purchase a copy

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 28, 2007 | Permalink

One of the most treasured traditions of Thanksgiving in Plymouth is the Pilgrims’ Progress—a recreation of the original Pilgrims’ march to Sunday meeting, followed by a brief presentation of their worship. Many of the participants in the march are devoted Evangelical Christians, home educators, Christian school students, and defenders of America’s providential history.

The Pilgrims’ Progress proceeds past Plymouth Rock and up Leyden Street—America’s oldest street.

In the past, radical groups have assembled to disrupt the march, but this year the Pilgrims’ Progress occurred without incident.

Only about seven women from the Mayflower made it through the first winter. They became the mothers to an entire nation—with more than thirty million descendants.

The Pilgrims’ Progress marched past the resting place of America’s great spiritual Founding Father, Governor William Bradford, the author Of Plymouth Plantation. (The reprint of this important document was the second book ever published by Vision Forum).

The Pilgrims’ Progress ends on Old Burial Hill, where many heroes of early American history are buried, and where the Pilgrims built their fort. The service begins with the singing of the “Old Hundredth” —the 100th Psalm, sung to the Geneva translation version.

The men of the Pilgrim congregation (like the men of the 1607 church at Jamestown) were expected to bring their firearms with them to Sunday service.

Like some modern Christians, the Pilgrims have been wrongly stereotyped for their modest clothing, which most certainly was not drab or colorless, any more than it was uniform in style.

Pastor Gary Marks replicating a sermon of the much beloved Elder William Brewster of the Pilgrim congregation.

My own Christopher Robin beside an eighteenth century grave marker.

A view of Plymouth from atop the Pilgrims’ Burial Hill.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 27, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 26, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 25, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 25, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 24, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 24, 2007 | Permalink

The 2007 Vision Forum Ministries Faith and Freedom Tour spent their first day touring the historic Plymouth Waterfront, followed by a memorable visit to the Plymouth Plantation.

Going to Plymouth Plantation is truly like going back into time. The interpreters have been so well trained to discuss theology, history, and their family lives, that one feels as if you are walking with the Pilgrims.

My son Providence especially enjoyed following this man and his cow.

Our visit also afforded a time of great fellowship.

William Brewster, was not only the elder of the Plymouth Colony, but a pamphleteer and publisher who had been greatly persecuted for making the case for the Separatist cause. He was known as a gracious man.

This interpreter protrayed John Howland, who years earlier was the object of God’s providential favor as he was cast overboard, but then saved, as recorded by William Bradford in Plymouth Plantation.

The young men and ladies on the tour sang hymns with the Pilgrims, and even assisted them with chores.

Howard Honor looks inside one of the Wampanoag homes, just ouside the Pilgrim village.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 20, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 20, 2007 | Permalink

Virginia Hope with Mommy in the gloriously chilly weather of New England. Tomorow begins the 2007 Faith and Freedom Tour.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 19, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 19, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 19, 2007 | Permalink

He was red-bearded, short, faithful, devout and the God-blessed military defender of the Pilgrim fathers. Miles Standish was God’s providential tool for keeping the Pilgrims alive in the midst of great challenges. This unusual grave we visited today is a fitting monument to this Christian man of arms.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 19, 2007 | Permalink

Liberty by the grave of one of her favorite Mayflower heroines—Priscilla (Mullins) Alden.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 19, 2007 | Permalink

Dear Phillips Family and Vision Forum Staff,

I just had to thank you for putting all the clips of your interview with Stacy and Jennie on the website! What a tremendous blessing to listen to them myself and to be able to direct others to this resource. I think it is an incredible way to whet their appetite for the book! I can hardly wait to get my copy! Thank you for publishing so many God glorifying products! Many blessings to you all this Thanksgiving!

Most Sincerely a Passionate Housewife, Mrs. Jennifer K.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 17, 2007 | Permalink

“I ordered Passionate Housewives from you and received it on Tuesday. I started it Tuesday evening and finished it first thing Wednesday morning. I could not put it down. I am a 54 year old happily married woman who really felt like I had squashed feminism in my life, but I was awakened by this incredible book. There is much subtly in that movement and I am so much more aware of how it has infiltrated the church in general. I am baffled by how much I still have in my life. I have already passed it on to my youngest daughter and am considering buying this book as Christmas presents for my other daughters as well. It is an easy read, well written and very informative. I am looking forward to having my copy back so I can re-read it more slowly. Thank Jennie and Stacy for me. In the King’s service, Marcia H.

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God continues to receive rave reviews from Christian leaders and moms across the nation. Because of its gracious, winsome, but uncompromising opposition to feminism, and stand for biblical femininity, love of children, and the joy of being a keeper at home, both the book and its authors are sure to come under attack and disparagement from feminists of all stripes. On the other hand, it is winning the hearts of many, like Mrs. Marcia H, quoted above.

The reason for this antithesis is the dichotomy between feminism and Christianity. At its heart, feminism is a theology of anger and rebellion. It is a worldview at war with biblical Christianity. Passionate Housewives Desperate for God offers no refuge for this dangerous worldview in the life of the Christian. Angry feminists, intent on synthesizing the spirit and presuppositions of the feminist mentality with Christianity, should be uncomfortable with the message of the book.

Get the book and judge for yourself whether these courageous woman have made their case. I believe that most of you will agree with anti-feminists like Vickie Farris (wife of HSLDA President Mike Farris); with Martha Peace (author of The Excellent Wife); with Michelle Duggar (mother of seventeen children), with Valerie Shepherd (daughter of Elisabeth Elliot); with Nancy DeMoss (Revive Our Hearts Ministries), and many others, that Passionate Housewives Desperate for God has a timely message of love and encouragement. We hope that this delightful book will hearten the spirits of many, and be used of the Lord to spark revival for greater love for Christ, the beauty of biblical womanhood, and the blessing of the Christian household.

I am also pleased to report that today Sermonaudio.com has featured Kevin Swanson’s interview with Jennie Chancey one of the authors of Vision Forum’s new book Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 16, 2007 | Permalink

Dear Doug,

I wanted to express the blessedness I felt, while reading your recent October post in honor of your wife.

I can appreciate the story God wrote for her, with a mother that may not have chosen “life”. I too, was born of a mother that was unsure, not do abort rather to keep me or give me up. She was 16. I was born, her parents said we must “keep her.” So today, I live with a desire to honor and glorify God with all of my life.

I did not come to know Jesus until I too, was married and a mother of a 3 year-old. and new born, as searched for meaning, purpose and comfort from my fears as a young mother. My daughter, Kristi, now 21 is very active and involved in our local chapter of Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy center. She is a trained/equipped counselor, and volunteers in many other ways. God has been so good to affirm her work...

Just as God walked with Beall, guiding, protecting and preserving her. He gave her the most precious gift of life on earth, to share with a godly husband, and the precious gift of many children.

I wanted you to know how much Kristi and I were blessed to read Beall’s story! Thanks for sharing it in writing. What a beautiful bride!

May God be praised in the work of VF.

For His glory, Mrs. Michelle W.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 15, 2007 | Permalink

Today, I conclude my present tribute to Michael Billings. There is so much more to say about the life of this remarkable young man who served his parents, his employers, his local church and his Lord with such devotion and skill. I have added a number of important blogs below—some rich with meaningful testimony from Michael himself, and all worthy to be read as an encouragement to your children at the dinner table tonight. Please also make sure to listen to Michael’s intern sermon “Life is a Vapor.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

Michael was a precious treasure to me; I expressed this to him frequently.

In God’s kindness He permitted our friendship to flourish and allowed a relationship of an older and a younger brother to be encouraged by one another. Michael’s mind was keen, and his heart was tender. He was always ready for dialog of the best sort - not simply heady, Gnostic, data-driven dialog, but substantive dialog nonetheless, and the consequences of which he always sought to implement in his life. Christianity - pursuing Christ as King - was a vibrant and real pursuit for Michael, not only as his profession, but as the definition of his life.

Michael brought joy to me and my family. His manly chivalry was always present as he revered my wife, and he always expressed gratitude for the least bit of kindness extended to him. His character was solid and rich.

Michael had knowledge and wisdom beyond his years. He was deferential to older men. And, he would hold his tongue even if his own thoughts may express some greater understanding of the issue at hand.

Michael’s chief love was Christ and seeing His character revealed in the law of God, applying it to his own life, and seeking to implement it in the most practical ways - taking his thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

Certainly Michael was my friend, and I will dearly miss him. I will miss him being in our home interacting with our children. I will miss his interaction on any number of a hundred subjects. I will miss his intensity, his urgency, his sobriety, and his humor. I will miss his smile. His departure is my great loss. And yet, I am at certain peace with God’s providential and kind hand directing all things for His pleasure.

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. Ecc 7:1 Our merciful and Almighty God has finished His handiwork in His vessel, Michael Garrett Billings. Michael’s death completes his race and has ushered him into the presence of his Maker, King, and Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord.

O Give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth forever.

A friend that loved him,

Michael Gobart

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

“Michael Billings was a man who truly delighted in God’s law. More than any other man I know he exemplified the man described in Psalm chapter 1 whose “...delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Michael’s indefatigable study of God’s word and his passion for the truths that he found therein was a constant challenge and conviction to me during the few brief years that I had the blessing of knowing him and working alongside him at Vision Forum.

“Psalm 1 goes on to describe the blessing that God promises to those who love his law and meditate therein: ‘And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ I know that Michael bore much fruit for his savior during his brief time here on earth, but I truly believe that our sovereign Lord will use his death to bear even more fruit for the kingdom, and that Michael can say with the Apostle Paul ‘According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.’

“May his death inspire, convict, and challenge a whole generation of young men such as myself to passionately love God’s law (Psalm 119:97), to be diligent in our study of His word (II Timothy 2:15), and to truly seek God with our whole heart (Psalm 119:10).”

Nathan Barnes, Director of the SAICFF, Vision Forum Ministries

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

Michael Billings once shared the following testimony with me in writing concerning his relationship with his mother and father (Note: I shot these pictures of Michael and his father at the Jamestown Quadricentennial. I had no idea at the time how precious they would become to me.)

“My Father and I have always been extremely close. I have always loved him deeply. Form the earliest age I can remember, I was always at his side. Whether we were working together, discussing matters of theology, doctrine, and politics, exercising our God given dominion by hunting together, or when we debated with those who held to different doctrines, I was always, always at his side. I have always respected him and thought the very highest of him, and have done my best to honor his wishes. My mother has sacrificed her entire life in raising my sisters and I. It was she, who first read to me the stories of the mighty men of old, and impressed upon me the immortal necessity of knowing one’s history. She, who first taught me the fear of the Lord. And it was she, who took me to many a conference, so that I might sit and learn at the feet of the mighty Patriarchs of this age. God increases my love for her more and more every day. As for my two sisters Jamie and Jennifer, we are all very closely knit in our relationships. I honestly couldn’t even imagine two better sisters in all the world. I love them both very much indeed. My older sister Jennifer also has 5 sons, which I have also grown to love as brothers.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

The following is an prophetic excerpt of a letter which then eighteen-year-old Michael Billings sent to a thirteen-year-old younger brother in Christ on the occasion of that younger brother’s birthday.

You have demonstrated honor to your parents and a supreme devotion to Christ and His word. You are as a well plowed field, whose soil has been cultivated, refined, and sown with seed by your Father and Mother all your childhood. You have been given much; and much shall be required of thee (Luke 12:48)....

My exhortation to you is this: Seek ye wisdom while there is yet time (Proverbs 4:7) and then apply this faithful understanding with humility to every aspect of your calling in Christ Jesus. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (I Corinthians 13:11). Now, as a young man, is your greatest opportunity to serve your father, study, implement, reform, apply, and learn to love the Law of God with all of your heart. The seemingly endless morning of youth is now, but the midday is soon come with all the responsibilities of family and business, and before you are even aware the twilight of the ancient will be upon you. Let not your years of spring fall into the chasm of idleness like so many around you. Read the writer of Ecclesiastes, “O young man...walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes, but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment? Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh for childhood and youth are vanity.” And lying in your bed many years from now, an aged and dying man, looking into the grand panoply of the heavens, you will think back to your youth and not be ashamed as the sons of vanity and idleness most assuredly will. It is they who will be heard crying out in the dark of night, in the twilight of their years, “if only I had done more with the time that God gave me, rather then frittering away the most precious years of my life with the silliness of boyhood.” There is no shortage of testimonies of sorrow, when men recollect the days of their youth. The foolish acts that he did... the time that was wasted... the openings of usefulness that he neglected... they that would not get wisdom at the time when their minds were most able to retain it. And now it is too late. There is no time to sit down and learn. Always remember that lost time can never be redeemed. These are the things that build sorrow in a man’s heart when he is in his latter days.

I would again encourage you to heed the hour. There is appointed for you a day to die and no matter how strong and healthy you may seem now, the day of your death may be very near. “You must not boast of tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions are, if only they are determined to be done tomorrow. Your days are but a brief shadow; a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, a story that is soon to be told. This life is but leaves in the wind; here for an instant and then flees with the rouse of a tempest. It is but a vapor...

Night is Falling.... You must seize the day.

With friendship and brotherly love,

Michael G. Billings

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

The following is an excerpt from an brief commentary on 2 Corinthians 10:5 written by Michael Billings, two years before his homecoming into Glory:

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

It is of vital importance that if we are going to cast down every thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, said Paul; then we must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. An ultimate commitment to Christ covers the entire range of human activity, including every aspect of our intellectual endeavor. To reason in a way that does not recognize this is to transgress the first and great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with... all your mind.” We, as Christians, must reason in such a way that Christ and His Standard “might have preeminence” (Col 1:18). If God did indeed create heaven and earth and all things therein, then nothing can have meaning or interpretation apart from God. Inasmuch as all things came into being by His eternal decree, so thus also all things must only have meaning in terms of His eternal decrees. Nothing can have meaning in and of itself, because nothing exists in and of itself. Every fact is a God created fact and therefore, for us to have a valid interpretation of any fact, we must first go to the Author of that fact for the true definition. As R. J. Rushdoony states, “If we are to have coherence in our experience, there must be a correspondence with our experience to the eternally coherent experience of God.” It is not possible for man to have true knowledge about anything apart from the God of Scripture. We must remember that, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prv.1: 7). Those who have no fear of the Lord are completely incapable of true knowledge. Greg Bahnsen put it this way, “From beginning to end, man’s reasoning about anything whatsoever (even reasoning about reasoning itself) is unintelligible or incoherent unless the Truth of the Christian Scriptures is presupposed.” Sin has permeated and completely vitiated the human personality, his intellect and logic, as well as his will, rendering him incapable of any neutral intellectual common ground. It is for this reason, as Van Til states, that “men must totally depend on the Scriptures altogether for their interpretation of reality.” When men trust in any other standard apart from Christ’s Word, they become “vain in their reasoning... Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom1: 21,22).

Everyone has a standard that they deem as infallible and ultimate that is used in their intellectual organization of “truths”, which determines their interpretation of reality. Every man is forced to believe either that there are self-contained facts, or that there is a self-contained Creator. Absolutely no thought is neutral. It will either stand at enmity with God, or it will be working to establish His kingdom. There is no middle ground. When the men of this age declare, self-consciously or subconsciously, that man is autonomously independent, or his own god in any area of life, exalting his own finite knowledge above the infinite knowledge of the Most High; we cannot suffer to do any less that that which the Potter has commanded: We must expose the foolishness of the fool, we must “ridicule the ridiculous”, by proclaiming the Lord’s sovereignty over all the affairs of men, the Creator/creature distinction, the ontological Trinity as the ground for all secondary being and reasoning, the self-attesting authority of Scripture, the impossibility of neutrality, and the illegitimate ethical and moral dualism presented by the natural law theory. We must answer these men according to their man-centered foolishness, and by God’s grace, as Calvin said, “stop his obstreperous mouth” with the only authoritative Standard. Greg Bahnsen stated in a commentary on this verse, that, “We must challenge the unbeliever to give a cogent and credible account of how he knows anything whatsoever, given his espoused presupposition about reality, truth, and man.” And once we have cleared the beach of all it’s man centered debris; we must seek to establish in it’s place as our first presupposition the complete self-consciousness of God, and the consequent sole legitimacy of analogical and derivative reasoning on the part of man, because “you can’t beat something with nothing...”

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

The stereotypical modern American model of siblings in a family is of quarreling, staying aloof from one another, and finding their friendships outside of the home. This is not only not “normal” in the biblical sense, but it is destructive and at odds with the beautiful picture of brotherly unity communicated in the scriptures. Psalm 133 states, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” One of my consuming missions and desires as a father to eight children is to see them become best friends. It is very hard work for any parent because it requires constant vigilience, wisdom, charity, and vision—all blessed by the grace of God. As a father who often falls short in the execution of this vision, I thank God for the encouraging testimonies of mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters who have persevered and won the prize of a faithful example. One of these examples was found in the lives of Michael Billings and his sister Jamie.

The Botkin sisters have posted a tremendous article that was written for their website by Jamie a year ago extolling the work the Lord had done in her life with regard to her relationship with her younger brother—Michael—our fallen comrade. In this insightful and articulate article Jamie explains why she wanted to become her brother’s best friend. I was so encouraged by her insights and the obvious testimony of her love for her brother that I wanted to share it with you all.

My brother and I are now the best of friends and each the other’s most trusted confidant. As I have watched my brother grow into such a strong and godly young man, and as God has blessed him with wisdom that surpasses his age, it is hard to even think of him as being younger. He has become to me the best of counselors and truest of friends....But this, ladies, is not the only glorious blessing that is to be gained! We as sisters can return this favor to our brothers by helping to affirm and prepare them for their future roles as leaders, and heads of their own households. When we treat our brothers like men, it can only encourage them to maturity in Christ. And you, my reader, may well be the tool that God has ordained to inspire your brother to become the man that God has created and called him to be. We need to always remember that “all things work together for good, to them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

Click here to read the full article

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 14, 2007 | Permalink

“As a co-worker and friend who shared a residence with Michael Billings during the last year of his life, four virtues especially impressed me about him.

“First, he took to heart the prediction of Proverbs 13:20 that ‘[h]e that walketh with wise men shall be wise.’ Michael sought wise men to disciple and counsel him throughout his life. That is why he wanted to work under Doug Phillips at the age of fourteen. That is why he regularly spoke with men like Geoff Botkin and his elder Jim Zes. That is why he studied the lectures, debates, and writings of men such as Rushdoony, Bahnsen, and Sproul. He once shared with me a list of five men he hoped to disciple under before beginning his life ministry. They were each leaders of the faith.

“Second, he took to heart the admonition of I Timothy 4:12: ‘Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example to the believers, in word, in coversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.’ Michael conducted himself with a maturity that was far beyond his years. I often forgot that he was only nineteen. Michael Billings has been teaching the Vision Forum interns in regular classes on the attributes of God, both the communicable and the incommunicable attributes. With great care he articulated (to some men who were even older than he) doctrines of God’s nature that have baffled the ages.

“Third, he took to heart the command of I Peter 3:15: “[B]e ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” I Peter 3:15. One of the reasons Michael loved to read, hear, and watch the lectures of men like Bahnsen and Sproul was that he was preparing to be a Christian apologist. He had a warrior mind-set. He was constantly training for future battle to advance God’s Kingdom.

“Finally, he believed the revelation of Hebrews 9:27 that ‘it is appointed unto men once to die.’ He trusted that God was sovereign over all things, including the time of his death. Not only did he believe that God was sovereign over all things, but he trusted that God alone was worthy of ultimate sovereignty. On the night before his death, Michael and I prayed together with a group of other men. Michael prayed, ‘Lord, let us adore you not merely for what you have done for us but for who you are.’ Michael knew that he could commit all his ways to a holy God. For him, to live was Christ and to die was gain (Philippians 1:21).”

Nathaniel Darnell

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 12, 2007 | Permalink

“Michael Billings loved God with a great passion, and so his every waking moment was consumed in the study and defense of God’s Word. Few men have read the books that Michael had mastered, let alone possess the precision of doctrine that he had worked to attain. In the two years that I knew him, I watched Michael grow from strength to strength, both in his study of scripture, and in the application of what he learned. It was both encouraging and convicting to watch him run the race that had been set before him, and it was inspiring to think what he could accomplish in the future.

“As we know now, however, that race was less than twenty years long, and he was called home at its seemingly premature completion. Nevertheless, those few short years were filled to overflowing with Godly pursuits, and having redeemed his time well, Michael was well prepared for death. This is a great loss to his friends and family, but it also encourages me to be reminded that God’s ultimate plan and sovereign power are so great that His will can be achieved on earth even without the impressive abilities of my dear friend.

“It also motivates me to press harder in my own studies of scripture, theology, and history. I know that I am not alone. A large community of young men no longer have Michael Billings to explain or simplify complex positions for us; we have to study these out ourselves. We no longer can expect Michael Billings to fight our battles and write our books for us; we have to bleed and toil ourselves. I pray that I will never forget the encouragement and inspiration that his life and death have been, and that many young men, spurred on by the legacy of Michael Billings, will step up to fill the gap he has left.”

-Isaac Botkin

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 12, 2007 | Permalink

“With Michael Billings, I had the joy of watching the progress of a young man over several years. He had one of the most important affections that young men can have - hot hearted desire to be useful and a relentless passion for the good use of time. This burned in the soul of Michael Billings, for he wanted to use his time for the glory of God. To have a burning desire to redeem the time is one of the most useful affections of young men. In this sense, Michael was a true son of Jonathan Edwards who ‘Resolved, never to lose one moment of time but improve it the most profitable way I can, and Resolved to live with all my might while I do live.’

My prayer is that as a result of his death, that many young and old can learn from this one who was cut down so young. We who are left have not been given the same intellect as Michael, but we have been given the same time... Let’s spend the rest of the days in our flesh, in this tent, in this house that will someday be torn down, walking circumspectly not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil, possessing our vessels in sanctification and honor.”

Scott Brown, Pastor, Director, NCFIC

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2007 | Permalink

“Michael Billings was a man who understood the calling of the dominion man and how that calling fit into the Great Commission. He was willing to learn fast and fight hard in the defense of the Faith. Michael was determined to get to the essence of the Christian life and to live it with all the many gifts with which his Creator had entrusted him. He had a ready mind for orthodoxy, but he knew the importance of cultivating a broken heart for orthopraxy.

He was desperate to know how wisdom and knowledge worked in a world that needed reformation. He was desperate to know the mind of Christ and how to exercise the power of Christ as His subject and ambassador. In March of 2006 Michael wrote, “In Matthew 11, Christ contrasts himself with the self-absorbed religious leaders of His day, calling out to the people, ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Through this one significant statement, Jesus tells us who he is as a person and as a leader: He is gentle and humble.”

Michael moved though life with deliberate and purposeful gentleness and humility because he was a deliberate follower of Christ. This is why the testimony of his life will continue to lead and inspire men for generations.”

Geoffrey Botkin

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2007 | Permalink

As I spent time with Michael Billings in recent years, his potential has consistently shone in our every interaction. I have known a number of men about whom this is true. The truly distinguishing mark on Michael’s life was that this potential was being realized before my eyes. For most men of remarkable gifting, passion, intellect and ability (men whose potential is remarkable), there is often a sense that this potential is not and will never be fully realized. Not so with Michael Billings.

I am not sure I have known a young man whose potential was fulfilled before my eyes as it was in the life of Michael Billings. Every time I saw his remarkable potential bearing fruit, I was struck by the sense that I had previously underestimated that potential. He was a young man who made the most of every opportunity and who challenged himself to serve and know God with every shred of his being. I never had an idle conversation with Michael, and I always came away impressed at his hunger for understanding and his respect and gratitude for our interaction. I also came away encouraged and instructed and often humbled at how he clearly had more carefully and thoughtfully considered a particular topic than I had. I believe that Michael packed as much Godly living into nineteen years as I have ever seen in a man his age. Every time I think fondly of him, I will also be challenged to make the most of every momen

Don Hart, Elder, Attorney,

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2007 | Permalink

“When I think of Michael Billings, I think of Psalm 91:14, where the Lord says: ‘Because he has loved Me, I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My Name.’ This was the text for a sermon preached shortly after Stonewall Jackson’s death by James Ramsey, entitled, ‘True Eminence Founded on Holiness.’

God set Michael Billings on high during his short life, not because of his superior knowledge and fervent zeal, although he possessed both; but because of his humility and holiness of life. Then on Sunday, November 4, 2007, God literally set Michael securely on high, rescuing him from this evil world, perfecting him in holiness and bringing him into His glorious presence where he is looking into the face of his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Joseph Morecraft, III, Pastor and Author

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2007 | Permalink

For a few short years, I had the privilege of shepherding Michael as his elder. Michael was a beloved son in the faith to me. He loved God and His Word. Michael was extremely well-studied so that he was always ready to defend the faith and hold to sound doctrine. He was a fierce apologist and a modern-day Puritan. He diligently worked to show himself approved and unashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. He had an earnest desire to please God, rather than men.

Michael tried to live out the Word of God to its fullest extent. Through knowing Michael and observing him in many different circumstances, I realized that he was a man of conviction, courage, principle and honor. For being only 19 years of age, he showed a great deal of maturity. He was a gentleman in every sense of the word, and always performed the duty given to him as a man.

The way he lived his life brought me a tremendous amount of encouragement. It is a blessing to me to have known Michael and to walk with this faithful brother in Christ.

I loved Michael and I will miss my friend dearly.

Jim Zes, Elder, St. Louis

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2007 | Permalink

“Michael Billings was that rare young man whose maturity and seriousness about his Christian faith were evident the first time I met him, and his intellectual gifts were quickly evident. With that seriousness came honest inquiry into the truths of God’s Word and how they apply in every area of life. He probed more deeply than anyone else when we discussed history and how to see the evidences of God’s providence. Michael was always humble and honest and had a servant’s heart. I was looking forward to long discussions into the night with him in the future, but now they will wait ‘til when there is no night.”

Bill Potter, Historian, Williamsburg, Virginia

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

“The death of Michael Billings is a grievous loss to all Christians and indeed to all Americans. He was a brilliant, dedicated, and effective young man with a future that seemed most promising. His death is a reminder that our continued existence on this side of the sod cannot be assumed. Only God knows the hour and the occasion. His family and friends are in our prayers.”

Howard Phillips, President, The Conservative Caucus

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

“It has been a great pleasure knowing Michael over the past thirteen years. From our earliest years of friendship he has been a stellar student of history who has since grown into an avid master of historical theology. Whatever Michael approached among the various venues of academics, he was quick to master, and his dedication, drive, and spirit simply amazed all who were privileged to know him.

I saw all of this come to the fore this summer at Vision Forum’s Quadricentennial Celebration in Virginia. Michael simply dazzled each of his tour groups with his sharp wit, thorough knowledge, and robust heart for the Lord. As much as he was gifted, he was mightily used during his brief earthly tenure. He will be greatly missed as a remarkable student, and accomplished associate, and most of all, the dearest of friends.”

Dan Ford, author of In the Name of God, Amen and historian for the Jamestown Quadricentennial: A Celebration of God’s Providential History

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

“Grace is made manifest in manifold ways. We see it in the love a mother has for her child, in the bread and the wine of the communion table, and from time to time in the faces of those who have been touched by it.

Michael Billings was one such young man. His eyes and his manner communicated the reality of his hidden heart: that he was a man who was both captured by conviction and shaped by grace. His ideological commitments were firm without being serrated. His communication was forthright, without being terse. But what drove him was not ideas about theology, but a love for His Lord.

Michael, having spent his last evening on this planet listening to my father teach on the gospel of our Lord, now beholds the glory of the very face of Jesus. Michael, because he was captured by that same good news, labored to make that face known in his all too brief, but faithful walk. We do not yet know what we will be, we have been promised, but we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

In the King’s Service, Dr. R.C. Sproul Jr.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

Dear Readers:

I am in St. Louis ministering to the friends and family of Michael Billings, and preparing to bring the memorial service message on the life of my friend, assistant, brother and spiritual son. Please pray for me. More importantly, pray for the family of Michael, and his many friends who have come to remember this life so well lived.

For today and tomorow, I am pre-setting this blog to launch every few hours, various testimonies and stories about the life of this young, but remarkable defender of the faith. Please take time to read these to your children as they are simply inspirational, and remind us of the importance that our young sons and daughters redeem the time, and aspire to great things.

Praising the Lord for the Blessed Death of Those Who Die in the Lord, I am,

Your Friend in the Bonds of Christ, Doug

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

“I had the privilege of meeting Michael Billings for the first time in August of 2004 at a Uniting Church and Home Conference in St. Louis. He impressed me then, and every subsequent time I saw Michael and conversed with him, my respect for this young man increased and increased. In him, I beheld a man who had a keen mind, a warm heart, and an irrepressible zeal to know the truth of God’s Word.

Most of our conversations began by Michael approaching me with a question on some difficult point of theology or on the meaning and application of God’s law. The depth of his understanding and intellect were reflected in his questions, questions that strained my ability to answer to the limit — not only were his questions penetrating, he was not satisfied unless the answer was focused, logical, and biblical. In addition to his notable intellectual gifts, Michael was always a complete gentleman who conducted himself with humility and showed appropriate respect to all around him. His love for God and His law-word was deep and real. I... had great hopes that he would rise to articulate and defend the law of God to his generation. His loss strikes my heart deeply. It is my prayer that God will use the testimony of Michael’s life and his zeal for the law of God to raise up hundreds of young men who will take up the cause of truth and righteousness that he so passionately loved.

Michael was a young Ezra: “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:10). God in His all-wise providence has called his young Ezra home, but the witness of Michael’s remarkable life will carry on in the lives of those who like him prepare their hearts to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach and defend it in their generation.”

Bill Einwechter, Pastor, Immanuel Free Reformed Church

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2007 | Permalink

A Letter to A Grieving Father

Compiled and Edited by Marcus Serven, Th.M., friend to the Michael Billings family, and Presiding Pastor of Covenant Family Church (RPCGA)

John Calvin (1509-1564) is best known as a distinguished theologian and leading Protestant Reformer. However, it must be remembered that he functioned first and foremost as a pastor to the congregation of believers at Geneva for 25 years, and at Strasbourg for a brief interlude of 3 years. The learned Calvin scholar Jean-Daniel Benoit had the following to say about Calvin’s pastoral ministry,

The work of Calvin is immense and varied. Theologian, churchman, organizer of Protestantism in France, founder of the Academy of Geneva, public lecturer, Bible commentator, preacher at Saint Peter’s - Calvin was all of these. But to forget or to neglect the fact that Calvin was essentially and above all a pastor would be to misunderstand precisely that aspect of his personality which discloses the essential unity of his work, and to overlook the deep source of those waters which fecundate the entire field of his activity. In fact, theologian though he was, Calvin was even more a pastor of souls. More exactly, theology was for him the servant of piety and never a science sufficient unto itself. His thought is always directed towards life; always he descends from principles to the practical application; always his pastoral concern occurs. [Jean-Daniel Benoit, “Pastoral Care of the Prophet”, from John Calvin Contemporary Prophet. 450th Anniversary Volume celebrating the birth of John Calvin. Edited by Jacob T. Hoogstra (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker book House, 1959), 51.]

This consolatory letter, written by Calvin to Monsieur de Richebourg, shows the caring heart of the young minister of the gospel. Calvin was only thirty-one years old at the time he penned this letter, and he was away on an important mission to Ratisbon, Germany where he represented the city of Strasbourg at an ecclesiastical gathering. Two deceased men are mentioned in Calvin’s benevolent letter; (1) Louis - the young son of Monsieur de Richebourg, and (2) Claude Ferey - the distinguished Professor at the Academy of Strasbourg and Louis’ personal tutor. Sadly, both men were carried away by the Plague that swept through Strasbourg with deadly consequences in April, 1541. Calvin writes,

The son whom the Lord had lent you for a season, he has taken away. There is no ground, therefore, for those silly and wicked complaints of foolish men: O blind death! O horrid fate! O implacable daughters of destiny! O cruel fortune! The Lord who had lodged him here for a season, at this stage of his career has called him away. What the Lord has done, we must, at the same time, consider has not been done rashly, nor by chance, neither from having been impelled from without; but by that determinate counsel, whereby he not only foresees, decrees, and executes nothing but what is just and upright in itself, but also nothing but what is good and wholesome for us...

In what regards your son, if you bethink how difficult it is, in this most deplorable of ages, to maintain an upright course through life, you will judge him to be blessed, who, before encountering so many coming dangers which were already hovering over him, and to be encountered in his day and generation, was so early delivered from them all. He is like one who has set sail upon a stormy and tempestuous sea, and before he has been carried out into the deeps, gets in safety to the secure haven...

But what advantage, you will say, is it to me to have had a son of so much promise, since he has been torn away from me in the first flower of his youth? As if, forsooth, Christ had not merited, by his death, the supreme dominion over the living and the dead!...However brief, therefore, either in your opinion or in mine, the life of your son may have been, it ought to satisfy us that he has finished the course which the Lord had marked out for him. Moreover, we may not reckon him to have perished in the flower of his age, who had grown ripe in the sight of the Lord...Nor can you consider to have lost him, whom you will recover in the blessed resurrection in the kingdom of God...

Neither do I insist upon your laying aside all grief. Nor, in the school of Christ, do we learn any such philosophy as requires us to put off that common humanity with which God has endowed us...set bonds, temper even your most reasonable sadness; that having shed those tears which were due to nature and to fatherly affection, you by no means give way to senseless wailing...May Christ the Lord keep you and your family, and direct you all with his own Spirit, until you may arrive where Louis and Claude have gone before.

Here we have an open a window into the heart of John Calvin. And surprisingly, for some skeptical readers, it reveals a heart that is warm and tender towards those who suffer through the trials of life rather than one which is cold and hard. It is the heart of a true shepherd and pastor to his people. May we learn from Calvin’s compassionate example.

The full text of Calvin’s letter can be found in: Selected Works of John Calvin: Tracts and Letters (vol. 4). Edited by Jules Bonnet, translated by David Constable (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, reprint 1983), 246-253.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 7, 2007 | Permalink

I just wanted quickly to share something personal. I was only ten years old when my father was stabbed to death twenty six times in his chest, but this past two years working on editing it was as if I relived with my father and I built memories that I never had with him and I saw footages that I had never seen from him. And for me everyday it was as if I was living with him; he was in our very office in our very home. And I was reminded daily that in this country you know peoples give their lives and sometimes we forget what we have; forget that when we raise our hands we don’t really appreciate it we take it as granted. So I just wanted to encourage you and ask for you to pray for countries like Iran and other third world countries and also pray because prayer really helps and we touched it and it’s not just a cliché thing that I am saying, but prayers really do work. Thank you! Andre Hovsepian, 23 years old

There are moments so beautiful and compelling, that it almost diminishes their value to try to share them through a video clip. A clip does not portray the electricity in the air, or do justice to the tenderness of emotions shared by men attempting to explain something so precious to them that it has defined their very life.

This is one of those moments—a brief window into the love of two sons for their martyred father.

Nonetheless, I am posting this clip—limited as it is—if only to urge families to watch this extraordinarily important film about true Christian heroism and martyrdom, as told by the devoted sons whose father was murdered by Islamic leaders to silence his proclamation of the Gospel. A Cry from Iran won the Jubilee Award for Best Documentary at the 2007 SAICFF, and it remains one of the films we are most proud of in the history of this festival.

(To view this video clip, you must have QuickTime 7 installed.)

Story Summary: An Islamic judge in the north of Iran condemned a zealous Christian convert from Islam, Mehdi Dibaj, to death. His crime was apostasy. Dibaj had already served ten years in prison. Haik Hovsepian, the leader of Evangelical Christians of Iran, chose to speak out and launch an international campaign for Dibaj’s sentence to be overturned. Haik’s campaign was successful, and Dibaj was released only a few days before his execution date. But there was a price to pay. On January 19, 1994, Haik Hovsepian disappeared. Twelve days later his corpse was identified by his son. The body had been stabbed 26 times. He was not the last to be martyred. Since then several Christians have been brutally tortured and put to death.

This is the untold story of their sacrifices, courage, commitment, and faith.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 7, 2007 | Permalink

We made Monstrous Regiment because we believe that feminism is one of the most detrimental philosophies affecting our church, family, and government. We want to thank the [Film Festival] for recognizing the importance of this message. Colin Gunn, Filmmaker

This year the Jubilee for Best of Festival, and the $10,000 grand prize, went to a remarkably courageous film dedicated to exposing the heartbreak and evil caused by one of the most insidious anti-Christian philosophies to infiltrate the Church and to pervert American Culture. The title of the documentary is taken from the famous pamphlet written by one of the greatest heroes of the Church, John Knox, who wrote “The First Blast of the Trumpet Against The Monstrous Regiment of Women” in response to the “feminism” of his own day.

As previously noted on this blog, feminism of every bent and stripe hurts women. All types of feminism hurts women—whitewashed “Christian” feminism, radical feminism, medium to radical feminism, or just old-fashioned feminism. It hurts women because feminism is an assault on femininity itself. It is an attack on the glorious biblical doctrine of womanhood. It is open hatred for the Creator’s order for His creation and His doctrine of the family. Feminism is a despotic master that enslaves the spirit, the mind, and the culture in a web of self-destructive falsehood. Rather than empowering women, feminism robs women of their womanhood, perverts the unique gifts and blessings of true femininity, and replaces the fruitfulness, order, civility, and security of Christian civilization with the barrenness of body and spirit associated with androgynous and prideful culture similar to that of which the prophet explained in Isaiah 3.

The Gunns do a masterful job of explaining these points. Using real-life examples of women who have been delivered from the feminist bondage of anger, viciousness, and (in the case of abortion facilitators) actual murder, they offer hope through the true spirit of liberation which comes from rejoicing in Christ and His created order.

(To view this video clip, you must have QuickTime 7 installed.)

Story Summary: The Monstrous Regiment of Women, The Gunn brothers’ second documentary, goes all-out to demolish the feminist worldview. From a consistently Christian perspective, they show how feminism has had a devastating impact on the church, state, and family. Featuring an all-star, all-female cast — including Phyllis Schlafly and F. Carolyn Graglia — the film demonstrates how feminism has restricted choices for all women, brought heartache to the lives of many, and perpetuated the largest holocaust since the beginning of time.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 7, 2007 | Permalink

“Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Dearest Loved Ones in Christ,

With tears of sorrow, but with the life-affirming hope of the promise of eternal life, the staff and families of Vision Forum mourn the loss of our dearest brother — Michael Billings.

Since Sunday evening when the news arrived of Michael’s God-appointed death, we have gathered at our office and in homes to pray, sing, weep, and mourn over the loss of our fallen comrade — an uncompromising warrior for God, our dearest brother, and a true son of Reformation. We are now preparing to bury our departed brother. In time to come, I will post a fitting tribute to Michael, but for now please permit me to offer just a few inadequate thoughts.

Michael Billings was a bright shining star in our lives. He was my student, my assistant, my comrade, and a spiritual son. There is no way I can describe the sense of loss and mourning we are all experiencing now. But this loss is made joyful through the certain hope of God’s absolutely perfect timing, the incredibly singular and ongoing spiritual impact of the life of this man of principle on so many others, and the unshakable confidence in the fact that Michael is not only in the presence of his many heroes (the Martyrs, the Apostles, and the Reformers), but with the love of his life — Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Michael first came to Vision Forum as a promising intern, but he quickly distinguished himself and ultimately joined our staff on a full-time basis. He was known to everyone as a passionate Christian, an honoring son, an indefatigable student of the Word, a brilliant thinker, and the man we all believed most brimming with potential.

Michael served Vision Forum as our Home School Conference liaison, and more recently, as my personal teacher’s aide for the 2007 intern class. Michael’s passion was teaching and Christian discipleship — and he did both very well. He assisted me with my classes on the apologetic methodology of Dr. Greg Bahnsen and Dr. Cornelius Van Til. But Michael was a noteworthy teacher in his own right. For the last two months, Michael had been teaching courses on systematic theology to our interns, drawing heavily from two books, The Attributes of God and The Sovereignty of God, by A.W. Pink. His courses were remarkable for their precision, their passion, their thoroughness, and their focus on studying the character of God so that the students can learn to love Him better.

This summer, Michael joined Mr. Dan Ford as an historical tour guide during the Jamestown Quadricentennial celebration where the two men brought a series of memorable messages on the providence of God. (His biography and image are featured in our Jamestown Quadricentennial Commemorative Brochure.) Michael was planning on bringing his teaching talents to the 2007 Faith and Freedom Tour in Plymouth in two weeks — but the Lord had other plans for him.

On Thursday, I spent the day with Michael. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. We taught a class to our interns. We sat in a beautiful garden, graded papers and tests, and spoke of life and future plans. Michael left the next day for Dallas with a large contingent of Vision Forum men in order to attend a theological conference and listen and learn from one of his heroes, Dr. R.C. Sproul, Sr. The last sermon Michael ever heard was delivered Saturday night by Dr. Sproul and concerned the glorious hope of the Cross in light of the doctrine of justification.

Michael was a devoted and faithful churchman who loved the fellowship of the saints at Boerne Christian Assembly where he worshipped, and who insisted on leaving Dallas early Sunday morning to attend the meeting of the church. On his way home, he pulled out of a dangerous intersection and was hit by a car, killed instantly and ushered into the presence of his Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He leaves behind his father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Michael Billings, as well as sisters Jaimie Billings and Jennifer Grady. Also to be remembered at this time are his devoted nephews and nieces, into whose lives Michael poured so very much — Dillon, Dakota, Justice, Isaiah, Gabriel, Liberty, and Isobeleh. Please pray for our staff at this time of mourning. More importantly, please remember Michael’s family — especially his dear father and mother who devoted so much of their lives to preparing Michael to be a great warrior for God.

Michael was the oldest young man I have ever met and the single most passionate champion of truth to emerge from the ranks of the Vision Forum students. He died without regret, justified, uncompromising — a righteous man if ever we knew one.

“The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

Mourning, Broken-Hearted, But Praising the Lord Jesus Christ Who gives Eternal Life to Those Who Believe, I am

Your Persevering Friend in the Cause of Christ,

Douglas W. Phillips

P.S. Before they graduate, I often require my interns to prepare and preach a sermon. I have attached Michael’s short sermon. The prophetic message he delivered on that day — at the age of seventeen — says more about the vision and character of this man than I could ever communicate in print. Please listen to it and share it with your children so that they will remember the brevity of life and the necessity that we redeem the time for our Lord.

(To view this video clip, you must have QuickTime 7 installed.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 6, 2007 | Permalink

Family and friends are gathering to worship God, give remembrance of Michael’s life well lived, and comfort one another in the Lord. The viewing will take place Thursday, November 8th between 5-9 in the evening at the Follis and Sons Funeral Home, 700 Plaza Drive, Fredricktown, Missouri. (On Highway 72, just east of Highway 67). [note: There will be no Friday morning viewing as previously mentioned] The memorial service will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, November 9th at Calvary Temple, 1725 E Highway 72, Fredricktown, Missouri. The burial will be immediately following. Please join the family for a reception at Calvary Temple for a time of fellowship.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:50-57

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 6, 2007 | Permalink

With a $17,000 budget these young filmmakers created a delightful original movie set in the Prohibition Era 1920s called The Photographer. They won runner-up for best narrative.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 3, 2007 | Permalink

One of the many very helpful messages presented by Geoff Botkin was his lecture on “How to Analyze a Hollywood Film.” Geoff went scene by scene through the blockbuster film “The Patriot” showing where the film was strong and where it missed the biblical mark.

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Pastor, radio talk show host, state home school leader, author, and father—Kevin Swanson, trains parents to have a biblical worldview when it comes to evaluating culture and film.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 1, 2007 | Permalink

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