Six years ago today, I lost my Pastor, and the world lost one of the greatest Bible teachers that God has ever given us. Dr. Gene Scott passed away on February 21, 2005, and it was a day I'll never forget.At the time, I still did not have a computer, so I watched Dr. Scott every night at 10 p.m. during his weekday broadcast, and his live "Festivals" on Sunday night. I also picked up a shortwave radio so I could listen at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was President's day weekend 2005, and my Brother-in-law was going out of town, so he asked me to watch his dog for the weekend. I jumped at the chance, because I knew that I would be able to spend the whole 3 day weekend watching and listening to Dr. Scott online. This was going to be great! I stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and as soon as I woke up, I was back online, taking it all in. I wished I had a computer so badly!
Anyway, to make a long story short, my Brother-in-law returned home around 3 in the afternoon on Monday, and after hearing about his weekend, I said goodbye, thanked him, and headed home. When I arrived at my house, I immediately went in and turned on my shortwave radio. It was 5 p.m., and the first thing that I heard was Doc's wife, Melissa, announcing that at 4:30 p.m., Dr. Gene Scott had passed away.
I just stood there. All I could do was stare at the radio. I didn't move. I was numb. They replayed the announcement over and over again, and I stood there listening to it, for what seemed like hours. I began aimlessly walking around the room. I felt a sense of loss and despair, as though someone in my immediate family had died. Even though I had never met the man, and was never any closer to him than the fourth or fifth row at the Cathedral, I considered him my spiritual father.
Dr. Scott taught me to look beyond the cookie-cutter brand of Christianity that is being force fed in most churches today. He taught me that you don't have to "check your brains at the door" when you enter a church building. He was not afraid to question mainstream teachings, and to consider that "church traditions" were not always correct. He was a bold, outspoken, and extremely intelligent teacher, and even though I have since come to disagree with some of his viewpoints, I'm honored to have called him my Pastor. I still miss you, Doc. See you when I get home.