15
May 1984 A.D. Death
of Mr. (Rev.) Francis A. Schaeffer
Myers,
David T. “Death of Francis A. Schaeffer
(1984).” This Day in Presbyterian History.
15 May 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/05/may-15/.
Accessed 15 May 2014.
Death of Francis A. Schaeffer (1984)
A Christian Apologist of the Twentieth Century
What more
can be written about Francis Schaeffer that has not already been said? Born
in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1912 . . . Born again in 1930 . . . College
graduate from Hampton – Sydney, Virginia . . . Seminary student in two
historic seminaries, Westminster and Faith Seminary . . . Pastor to three conservative
Presbyterian churches for ten years before he went to Europe to begin
L’Abri Fellowship, reaching intellectuals for Christ . . . An advocate of
both the gospel and cultural mandate to the masses. In short,
Francis Schaeffer had an effective ministry in the seventy-two
years in which he lived in the twentieth century.
On
a personal note, this contributor was barely an adolescent when Dr.
Schaeffer came to my chaplain father’s Army installation in Dachau, Germany for
a series of evangelistic meeting in the late forties. Night after night, the
gospel was presented to lonely American soldiers in post-war Germany. And the
meetings were held right down the road from the infamous concentration camp
building of Dachau where sinful depravity was the order of the day barely
five years previous to these meetings. They were present in all their
stark reality in that this was before the whole site had been memorialized by
the West German government. But beyond the meetings to the adults, day by
day, this youngster, and a whole host of others, learned Psalm 19 by Edith
Schaeffer, which I remember today! (Edith Schaeffer writes about all this
visit in her book, The Tapestry.) In short, the Schaeffer’s were
hungry for the power of the gospel unto salvation to be demonstrated for
all who believe.
It
was in 1978 that cancer was discovered in Francis Schaeffer’s body. Despite
this disease, even by his own admission, more was done in his ministry in the
last five years of his life than before. He rewrote his book legacy and
ministered to large crowds everywhere. He spoke to the combined General
Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church in America and Reformed Presbyterian
Church Evangelical Synod in 1982, which had just merged together into one
church. [click here to read "A Day of Sober
Rejoicing"-- http://www.pcahistory.org/findingaids/schaeffer/JandR.html.
]
As
the days grew difficult, Edith Schaeffer tells how ten days before he died, she
brought him home from Mayo Clinic. She spoke about her conviction that he would
want to go to the house he had asked her to buy in Rochester, Minnesota to pass
from his body and be with the Lord. The medical staff agreed with that
decision. Edith Schaeffer surrounded his bed with the things he loved,
including music played into his room. All the favorites from Beethoven,
Bach, and Shubert were played. On the morning of May 15, 1984, he
was taken home to glory with Handel’s Messiah in the background.
Words to Live By: Francis Schaeffer was a sinner saved by grace, as all
believers are. We by no means believe that he was without difficulties in his
life towards those nearest and dearest to him, as well as the Christian family
as a whole. But despite these foibles, he will be remembered as the spiritual
father of many a Christian today, while his work continues on in
many lands today to reach the intellectuals of the twenty-first century
with the same precious gospel. As God enables us, let us each be faithful,
in word and in deed, in proclaiming the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ
alone.
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