Today is the one-year anniversary of the passing of my friend Dwight Ozard.  Some of you were, like me, blessed and challenged by Dwight’s passion, truth-telling and gifted writing.  If you’ve never heard of Dwight I want to strongly urge you to get to know him through his website http://www.dwightozard.com  - especially his cancer journal, which chronicles his four year and seven month battle with multiple myeloma, which eventually took his life.

It was through Dwight’s writing that I first got to know him.  Following the March 1997 release of U2’s album Pop a friend of mine sent me a review of the disc written by Dwight for Prism Magazine, which he served as editor from 1994-1998.

There weren’t very many evangelicals thinking much less writing about the spiritual dimension in U2’s music in 1997 – most were convinced that they had turned their backs on their faith and God.  So when I read Dwight’s review I knew I had to get in touch with this guy.

I found Dwight at the offices of Evangelicals for Social Action (the parent organization for Prism) and he was more than willing to talk to a total stranger from Kansas (I was pastoring a church in Wichita at the time).  That conversation started a friendship that always included discussions about Bono and the boys and how the church, especially evangelicals, just didn’t “get it.”

But, Dwight wasn’t just a critic of evangelical Christianity.  If you go to his website you’ll see that he had an e-zine called Lover’s Quarrel.  Dwight challenged and critiqued the church because he had a deep and abiding love for Jesus and his church.  And he led by example.

Following his six-year stint at ESA/Prism Dwight took the position of Director of Public Affairs for Habitat for Humanity where he worked with various artists and celebrities to promote Habitat’s work.  Habitat is a household word today thanks in part to Dwight.

In 2000 Tony Campolo asked Dwight to come back to Philadelphia to assume a large part of the responsibilities at EAPE (Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education).  The position with EAPE wasn’t just another job; He was being mentored by Tony to take over at EAPE.  His whole life, with all of his incredible gifting and wisdom well beyond his years, was right there in front of him.

On April 1, 2001 a good friend of mine and I drove to Houston to meet up with his brother and another friend (these guys were all in my youth group 20 years ago) to go to the U2 concert the following night at what was then called The Compaq Center.  As we settled into our hotel room I checked my email and saw a message from Dwight.

He’d been experiencing severe back pain and had gone to the doctor to determine its source.  The expected diagnosis of a slipped disc was replaced by those two words no one expected – multiple myeloma.  As I read and re-read the message I looked at the list of other recipients – some very recognizable names from the ranks of national evangelical leaders and contemporary Christian musicians.  I knew they represented 1000’s of other believers and that Dwight would have a large army of people praying and pulling for him.

Over the next four years and seven months Dwight endured a bone marrow transplant, several rounds of chemo and assorted experimental treatments.  Even though I knew his prognosis was extremely grim I always thought he was going to beat MM.  How could God take someone like Dwight when he was on the verge of a ministry that had so much possibility and promise?  Why would God invest so much in this one life and then end it so prematurely?

I’m still asking those questions.

I recall a phone conversation I had with Dwight about a year before he passed.  I had called to check on him but he always had a way of turning the conversation toward the needs of others.  I was going through a really rough stretch of frustration in my own life at that time and we ended up spending about a half hour talking about ways to work through that.

The next day I sent him an email and apologized for thinking that my problems could in any way compare to what he was going through.  I felt like a first class jerk for spending half an hour complaining about my life to a guy with terminal cancer.

In a way that was uniquely Dwight, he wrote back and said something like, “Everyone has their “stuff” (OK, he didn’t say “stuff.” Dwight often had a very salty yet refreshing way of putting things).  Right now, cancer is my “stuff” and yours is a career that’s not living up to your expectations or calling.  This is just the “stuff” we’ve been served and we’ve got to find a way to get through it.”

The last time I talked to Dwight was about 10 days before he died.  When I called he apologized profusely for being too sick to talk for more than a few minutes.  I told him not to worry, to get some rest and we could catch up later.  He followed that up with a brief email promising to talk soon.  On November 14 of last year I got the email from Dwight’s wife Sheri telling everyone he was gone.

A few days later I got another email from Sheri.  The first time she drove Dwight’s car after he passed she turned on the CD player.  Of course, he had been listening to U2.

Getting to know Dwight and being counted as one of his friends was sacramental – a means of grace – because God used him, in good health and bad, to challenge my thinking, strengthen my faith and see a vision of the bigger picture that is God’s kingdom.  Every email he sent me in the eight years I knew him ended the same way – “Grace, Peace and Dirty Fingernails” –  which was Dwight’s way of saying get up and get to work.

My challenge to each of you is to follow the links I’ve provided and get to know Dwight Ozard.

By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.      Hebrews 11:4 (NIV)

Grace, Peace and Dirty Fingernails,

Tim Adams

tim@timadams.net