Reflections

Dr. Ralph Winter, 1924-2009

By Justin Long ⋅ May 21, 2009 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Who in the evangelical missions world hasn’t been touched, in some way, by the life of Ralph Winter? I certainly was. Just as an expression of appreciation, let me take a moment to share some of the ways that Ralph was a blessing to me. (If you like, you can add your own thoughts in the comments below.)

* Ralph Winter’s efforts at promoting unreached peoples at least in part inspired the Operation Unreached program at AIMS, which is where I got started in missions—reading people group profiles.

* When I went to work for the World Christian Encyclopedia, and made one of my first diatribes about people who disliked statistics (and more to the point certain statistical researchers), it was Ralph who called to reassure me that no one in the particular group I was writing to felt as badly about the statistics (and the researchers in charge of gathering them) as I thought they did.

* It was Ralph who responded to an innocent question mine, at an ISFM society meeting, about churches doing missions work on their own (not through an agency): he delivered what I would term an impassioned diatribe on the loss of professionalization in missions. I didn’t feel great about it at the time, sure. But over time I have come to understand his point of view, even agree with it to a certain extent, and to appreciate the passion he felt.

* It was Ralph who persuaded me to start the World Christian Foundations course at the M.A. level, and it was Ralph who coached me through the process of presenting all that I had done to get life experience credit (because I didn’t have the B.A.). It was Ralph who encouraged me to keep going. The WCF program led me in part to the level of discontent with my life which at least partially inspired our first four-year term overseas.

* It was Ralph who wrote emails from time to time – not every day, mind you, and not every week, but often enough. The emails were occasionally critical, but always kind. I always looked forward to them.

* It was Ralph who cc’d me on a number of other conversations he had. I don’t know how many people he cc’d on those conversations. I was always deeply honored to have a little bird’s eye view on some of his thinking.

* It was Ralph who got me thinking more about spiritual forces and spiritual warfare directly in our life, as a result of his writing about demons and diseases and germs. At first, admittedly I thought he was getting a little crazy—but the more he talked, the more sense he made, and the more I experienced in Asia, the more I became sensible. I don’t know that I agree with everything he wrote on the subject, but I’ll tell you I’m more open minded on that, and realize there’s a lot I don’t know.

* It was Ralph who contributed to our return to the United States, and who urged me on to my Ph.D. studies. I haven’t even begun that yet—admittedly, being exhausted, I have no desire to do it. But I haven’t forgot what he said, and if (when!) I do Ph.D. studies, it will be in great part because Ralph urged me repeatedly and I can’t forget that.

Ralph Winter lived a phenomenal, passionate, intelligent life wholly devoted to the spread of the Good News to the ends of the earth. I don’t know of any higher accolade I can give him. I know many of the things he said and did had far greater impact than my little life. But I know that alongside everything else he did, he impacted me.

He is now in a place where these praises, these accolades, really don’t matter to him. They are perhaps a crown that he will toss at the feet of Jesus. But I would like to point to Ralph as a model of influence and passion. I hope in my own life I am as much an influence for good to others as Ralph was to me.

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