“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.)