It is difficult to put into words how great the sense of loss felt by those who love the Reformed faith at the passing of our dear brother Bob Sheehan. One correspondent quoted from Southey's Life of Nelson: 'The death of Nelson was felt in England as something more than a public calamity; men started at the intelligence and turned pale, as if they heard of the loss of a dear friend.'
If this were a more godly time that is how Bob's death would be greeted. It is certainly how it has been greeted not just in this country but across the world by those who have benefited from Bob's ministry either personally or through his writings.
We all have personal memories, of course. I picture Bob in full flight expounding Scripture and explaining truth to eager listeners. I see him in private conversation on a tube train or immediately after a meeting, typically with a smile at some anecdote or other. I remember too his ability to cut through the fog of confusion and disagreement that sometimes descends in a committee to bring us safely to a united decision. Then I think of an impressive spontaneous contribution at a Banner Conference, listing five reasons why Spurgeon eschewed the systematic expository method. I remember too how, with typical self-effacement, as he sat down he whispered that he was only able to say what he had as he had recently been preparing a paper on Spurgeon.
Then I recall a Sunday morning at Childs Hill early in my ministry when he and Wendy turned up unexpectedly. My reaction at the time reminds of an anecdote I later heard Bob share. It was of how as a student he was out preaching. Before going in a deacon warned him that if he should see an old man at the back slipping out just before the final hymn he was not to worry ... Dr Lloyd-Jones often did that! Bob's application to himself then and subsequently was that if the presence of a great preacher makes me fearful, how much more should the fact that I preach always in the presence of the Living God. In my situation, however, things were exacerbated by the fact that we were attempting a capella singing that morning in the absence of our only pianist. During the second hymn the singing broke down and I was at a loss to know what to do. Suddenly it was Bob to the rescue. He strode to the piano and taking the tune book from my hand he proceeded to accompany us with competence through the rest of the meeting.
Finally, I remember Bob in his final extremity, following the first of three brain haemorrhages that combined to take his life. Though flat on his back he was still typically lucid and systematic as he explained his situation. 'There are three possible outcomes ...' he explained. And then I remember him saying, `But I feel so weak, so very weak'. It is sobering to see how low our heroes can be brought by the hand of God. As he raised up Bob to preach his Word so now he has taken him to be with him - which is far better. He gave. He took. Praise to his name.
The loss, however, is ours. Our hearts go out to Wendy and to the rest of the family and to the congregation at Welwyn in their great loss. We in the wider Reformed world share in that loss too. We shall especially miss:
1. His commitment to the Reformed Faith. There was no question of his solid orthodoxy. One felt safe when he was tackling a subject either in print or at a conference or in private conversation. He not only held to the truth firmly but was able to articulate it clearly.
2. His erudition. Bob trained as a young man at the London Bible College but his theological education clearly did not end there. I remember him once at the Metropolitan Tabernacle revealing that he was considering his study programme not just for the coming year but for the coming ten years. His valuable contributions to systematic, historical and practical theology were all equally learned.
3. His youth. Bob was born in the fifties. There is a difference between the generation that grew up in the fifties and sixties and those from before that time. To hear someone this side of fifty expound ancient truths brings its own particular encouragement. It is tempting to ponder what might have been had he lived another 40 years but we submit to the Lord and give thanks for the years in which we did benefit.
4. His wisdom and vision. I was particularly aware of this in connection with the Evangelical Library. Bob became chairman of the trustees just a few years ago. His efforts did not please everyone but there can be no doubt that the situation there has been transformed. The Library is on a better financial footing than it has been for many years.
Bob's wisdom was not only biblically informed but of a very practical nature. I remember once arriving at the station in Derby, following a Carey conference, to find that flooding was blocking the line. My instinct was to sit and wait patiently. But not Bob. There he was over at the taxi rank negotiating a good price for the trip back to Welwyn for himself and his companions. Such practical wisdom is rare. How it will be missed.
5. His energy. Although there were enforced periods of inactivity due to illness and a great deal of time must have been spent on study there was a tremendous energy about Bob that will again be sorely missed. He wrote a great deal for Grace and for other magazines, spoke at several conferences and colleges, travelled to various countries and was often in the vanguard of new initiatives. His very manner breathed life. Part of the tragedy of his final weeks in coma was to see a man so active reduced to virtual stillness. How we need men of such energy!
6. His broad fellowship. Bob lectured and taught Greek at the School of Evangelism in Welwyn. He also lectured at the LRBS and had recently accepted an invitation to join the faculty at LTS. Few would find themselves acceptable at all three institutions. Despite clear and decided views and little appetite for organised unity there was nevertheless a real desire for that true organic unity found in Christ. The widespread sympathy evoked by his illness and death bears ample testimony to that fact.
So what shall we say? This death is sobering. It forces us to look to God. We dare not forget that we are entirely in his hands. But is there not more to say? Surely this loss should stir us, under God, to seek a better grasp of the faith, study harder, seek greater vision, work more vigorously for the kingdom and do what we can to foster organic unity. By God's grace, may it be so.
This article first appeared in Grace Magazine.
