A Man after God's Own Heart
by Dr. Thomas K. Tewell

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus of Nazareth spoke continually of the correlation between hearing and doing. In Matthew 7:24-27, He spoke of the foolish person who heard the word of God, but did nothing about it. Jesus compared that to a foolish person who built a house upon sand. In contrast, He commended the wise person who built his house upon rock. He compared that builder to the person who hears the word of God and does it.

Such a person was the Rev. Dr. Bryant Mays Kirkland, a man after God’s own heart. I saw the brilliant balance between hearing and doing and a true integration of what he believed and how he acted. His faith was not simply an intellectual system of theology, but a practical, dynamic style of living.

Although I enjoyed many of Dr. Kirkland’s sermons, my favorite was “Attitude Is Everything,” because he lived it out in his own life. In it he challenged the congregation to remember, “We are what we think.”
Perhaps you’ve heard about the Ash Wednesday service when snow covered the New York City streets. Although several staff members urged him to cancel the service, Dr. Kirkland was determined it would go on as planned. On the bus down Fifth Avenue he prayed that God would transform the sparsely-attended service into a cup of blessing for all who would come.

He got an idea! He went up 55th Street and bought as many carnations as he could find. At the conclusion of the service he invited the few worshippers, who had braved the elements, to come forward and he handed each one a carnation. He urged them to wear it proudly and then give it away to the first person that commented on its beauty, as a reminder of God’s love. The next Ash Wednesday, someone remarked that she could not wait until the “carnation” service.

If you go into a situation thinking how bad, empty and dry it’s going to be, it probably will be that way. However, if you believe that God’s presence can transform a bad situation into a blessing — God’s resourcefulness, creativity and ability to turn a tragedy into a triumph may surprise you.
Other than my father, I admired Dr. Kirkland more than any man I’ve ever known. In him, I saw a person who not only heard God’s word, but did it! Although I miss him terribly, I carry his simple, but profound truth that “attitude is everything,” and try to live it out as a way of saying, “Thank you, God, for the gift of Dr. Kirkland: a man after Your own
heart.”

The Rev. Dr. Bryant Mays Kirkland, Minister Emeritus, and for over 25 years the Senior Minister of New York City's largest Presbyterian Church, died of heart failure in Charlottesville, Virginia on Easter Sunday, April 23, 2000. Dr. Kirkland was Senior Minister of The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church from 1962 - 1987.

Known throughout the world as one of America's finest preachers, Dr. Kirkland's entire career was marked by excellence. He brought a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a unique blend of wit and wisdom to every task in his ministry. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary, Past President and CEO of The American Bible Society, Vice President of the John Templeton Foundation, and had a distinguished career of pastorates in Willow Grove and Narberth, Pennsylvania, Haddonfield, New Jersey, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church of New York. In addition, he was deeply loved and greatly respected by many congregations which he served as the Interim Pastor, most notably The National Presbyterian Church of Washington, DC. Dr. Kirkland served with distinction as Chaplain to military personnel around the world and in numerous speaking engagements at theological seminaries, colleges, religious institutions and in congregations all over the world. Pastors throughout the world considered him their mentor in the ministry and looked to him for guidance and strength.

Born in Essex, Connecticut, Dr. Kirkland attended Germantown Academy and Townsend Harris Hall in New York and received his BA from Wheaton College, Illinois, his Bachelor of Theology from Princeton Seminary, a Master of Theology from Eastern Baptist Seminary, and received Honorary Doctorates from Beaver College, Lafayette College, Denison University, Tulsa University, Parsons College, Washington and Jefferson, and Lebanon Valley. He is the author of many books including Home before Dark and A Pattern of Faith, and numerous magazine articles and devotional materials.

Dr. Kirkland was born on May 2, 1914, and was married to Bernice Eleanor Tanis for 55 years before her death in 1996. He is survived by their three daughters, Nancy and Tom Thompson of Corona del Mar, California, Elinor Hite and Don McFerren of Chicago, Illinois and Virginia and Laird Stuart of San Francisco, California as well as by six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and his current wife, Lola Mae Shiflet Kirkland, whom he married in May 1998. He is also survived by two brothers, Nat and Burnham Kirkland, and sister, Margaret Musil.

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