Family, friends, and colleagues will gather at the chapel at Lincoln Christian University today to remember and celebrate the life of Dr. Robert Lowery. The service is scheduled at 1:00 PM and classes have been canceled from 1:00-2:50.
The school has posted an obituary for Dr. Lowery, available here.
Becky Boggs, administrative assistant in the Seminary, sent this message to the campus today:
The family has finalized the arrangements for Dr. Lowery. Visitation will be at Jefferson Street Christian Church In Lincoln, IL, on Sunday, May 1st from 2-4 p.m. and again from 6-9 p.m.
The funeral will be held in the Lincoln Christian University chapel on Monday, May 2nd at 1 p.m.
Again, the family is extremely appreciative of all your thoughts and prayers.
Dr. Paul Boatman sent the following message to the campus at 7:25 this evening:
Dr. Lowery quietly and peacefully passed from this life about an hour ago. Marilyn said that he squeezed her hand tightly, then quit breathing.
Visitation and funeral arrangements will be announced as soon as they are firmed up.
Marilyn and the children greatly appreciate the support that so many have provided during this vigil. They will look forward to visiting with friends at the visitation and funeral.
Dr. Paul Boatman, Dr. Lowery’s long-time colleague and co-dean of the Seminary, sent this announcement via campus email shortly after 8:00 AM today:
Bob Lowery spent a peaceful night in his hospital room with his family nearby. His breathing is halting and labored, but he does not seem to be in pain. His departure appears to be imminent, but his strong heart keeps pumping for now. We join family in praying for his peaceful passage.
While visitation with Bob is not appropriate at this time, the family in the waiting area would be receptive to a few visits.
NOTE: Dr. Lowery is at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, IL.
Dr. Lowery’s daughter-in-law, Sarah, posted this note on Facebook today:
Brian wanted me to pass along a word of thanks for all the love and prayers. They are making Bob as comfortable as possible, and the family is able to spend some meaningful time with him. Please keep them in prayer, and especially pray for peace and comfort for Bob. Much love to you all.
As regular readers will know, Dr. Lowery has not written a post for this site in several months. His health has taken a turn for the worse in the last several weeks and he has been moved into hospice care at the local hospital. My wife and I visited with him briefly this morning to say “thank you” for being our teacher, mentor, and friend. Gary Hall, Bob’s friend and colleague from the Seminary, was also there to read Bob a few psalms and a passage from Revelation (which, Gary quipped, Bob probably could have recited from memory).
More details on Bob’s condition will be posted as they come. Until then, here’s a portion of the text that Gary read to Bob today (Revelation 19.5-9, NIV).
Then a voice came from the throne, saying:
“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
both great and small!”Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
Some of you might be wondering why Dr. Lowery hasn’t updated his blog recently. During the second week of September, Dr. Lowery had a motor scooter accident that resulted in a broken collarbone as well as a broken leg. The collarbone is healing nicely. The broken leg has proven to be a longer process. After the accident, the doctors waited two weeks for swelling to go down and then did surgery to set the leg. After surgery, Dr. Lowery spent several weeks in a local nursing facility to begin physical therapy.
Dr. Lowery is currently at home, resting and on the road to recovery. He continues physical therapy on his leg. He sees the surgeon again on November 2nd to determine whether he can begin to bear some weight on the leg. The doctor has told him they are anticipating another month of limited mobility before he can get back to school. He has some times of discouragement because the process is slow, but overall he is doing well.
The other very good news is that his cancer has remained stable now for 7 months. All the current tests show no new growth and no growth of the tumors that already exist. They have assured him that the bone break had nothing to do with his cancer, either.
Please continue to pray for Bob and his family. For now he has requested limited visitors and phone calls since the doctor really wants him to rest. If you would like to drop him a note you can send it to the school at:
Dr. Bob Lowery
Lincoln Christian University
100 Campus View Drive
Lincoln, IL 62656
His mail is being delivered to him on a regular basis.
Last week I had the privilege of once again teaching Preaching from the New Testament. Over the years I have team-taught the course with Wayne Shaw, Chuck Sackett, and now Jeff Snell. This semester is the second semester Jeff and I have partnered together, and in light of his giftedness as a teacher and how well-read he is, I am looking forward to growing in my knowledge of preaching.
At one point during the first day, Jeff asked the question: Who is your model preacher? From whom did you learn homiletics? The answers were delightful. But then I thought that I had never asked the question: Who is your model exegete? From whom did you learn how to study the Bible?
So I invite you to weigh in on this question. Please be as personal or as impersonal as you wish (anonymous or not), I believe visitors would like to hear you response to the above. Who and how has someone in your life (a professor, a Sunday School teacher, a preacher, etc.) shaped you in your approach to Scripture?
Dear Readers,
It’s been a good summer for me, and I praise God for the time. First off, I was able to get significant rest (Doctor’s orders!). I feel the best I have felt in many months. My weight remains stabilized, my color is good, and my energy level, though still not up to where it was two or more years ago, is pretty decent.
Second, for the eighteenth summer I had the privilege of teaching at Haus Edelweiss, just outside of Vienna, Austria. This year I taught on the subject of eschatology to students from Russia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. What a marvelous group of people to study with!
Third, near the end of July our three families (Marilyn and me, Brian and Sarah and Eden, and Joe and Rachel, along with Carissa, Jocelyn and Dawson) spent a week together in beautiful Door County (Wisconsin).
Fourth, we returned from Wisconsin on Saturday, July 24, and departed for Brown County in southern Indiana on July 25 and stayed until July 30. A gracious friend provided funds for me to rent a small log cabin in the middle of the woods (a cabin built in the 1830s, by the way) so that I could have a getaway to write. And write I did. I praise God that I was able to finish the commentary up through Revelation 19, and I got a good start on Revelation 20-22. I ask you to join me in praying that, Lord willing, I will complete the work by the end of this calendar year. God provided the place for me to write and the funds to underwrite the project, and I am deeply grateful.
Finally, classes begin for me on Tuesday, August 31. For the twenty-seventh year I will be team-teaching Scripture in Context with my colleague and friend, Dr. Gary Hall. I have learned much from him over the years, and I am looking for joining with him once again. I am teaching I-II Thessalonians during the October intensive week and then Dr. Jeff Snell and I are teaching a class on preaching from the New Testament. We meet four times, one Thursday a month from September through December.
I am eager to begin and covet your prayers that I will teach with strength and clarity.
On Tuesday, September 7, I return to the hospital for a scan to see if the cancer has progressed any. Please pray for Marilyn and me and our family. We will be told the results on September 9. Frankly, I am praying for continued respite, but whatever the news, I hope that I may continue teaching and writing.
Your eternal friend,
Bob
In late July our three families took a vacation together, our first ever: Brian, Sarah, and Eden, along with Joe, Rachel, Carissa, Jocelyn, and Dawson, and Marilyn and me. We journeyed to beautiful Door County (Wisconsin) where we stayed a week. I loved the time together—the stories, the boat cruises, the miniature golf outings, the shopping, trying new restaurants and revisiting familiar ones, the laughter around the dining table, and countless conversations.
Marilyn and I had decided to take Carissa (6) and Jocelyn (4) with us a day or two ahead of the others. The first night we were scheduled to stay in the Milwaukee area. We had printed out directions but we got lost. We had rented a van, and the girls were sitting in the middle row and heard a rather spirited conversation going on between Papa and Grandma! Jocelyn piped up: “Papa, have you ever considered getting a Garmin GPS?” To which Carissa added, “Mommy and Daddy say that it has saved their marriage. Maybe it will help yours!” We all started laughing. The discussion was ended, and we found the hotel, at last. Marilyn had been right about what exit to take.
A few days later, I was sitting out on the deck of the house we had rented, enjoying the cool breeze coming off Lake Michigan. Jocelyn opened the sliding door and came out to join me. We were alone. She sat down beside me and reminded me of an encounter she and I had with a neighbor of ours in Lincoln just a few days earlier. This gracious neighbor had said to Jocelyn and me: “Bob, we pray for you often.” Jocelyn replied: “Well, we pray for papa every night!”
As we were sitting out on the deck, Jocelyn asked me how I was feeling. It had been a particularly demanding day–too much walking. I told her, and I asked her to pray for me. The darkness was coming on. Jocelyn grew silent, and I could barely make her out even though she was sitting right next to me. She was silent for several seconds. I asked her: “Jocelyn, what are you doing?” She replied: “Papa, you asked me to pray for you, and that is what I was doing. Daddy always tells Carissa and me that whenever someone asks us to pray, we should do so as soon possible.”
Amen!
By the way, late last week we bought a Garmin GPS. Our marriage is getting stronger.
Amen!