Some Personal Thoughts About Dr. William Wood

Yesterday we received word that our good friend Bill Wood had died. It was not unexpected news. As is often the case, my emotions are a mix of joy and sadness. I'll miss him. Here are some thoughts about my friend.

 Some Personal Thoughts About Dr. William Wood           

I met Bill around twenty years ago, when I first got involved with Liebenzell Mission USA and Pacific Islands University (PIU). I liked Bill and enjoyed talking with him, but didn’t really get to know him well until some time later.

Bill was the second President of PIU. Because of a series of events that I won’t go into now, I became the fourth President of PIU. I was in over my head. Bill knew that better than most. He saw me not only through the lens of our mutual interest in and ministry at (Bill continued in a teaching role at the school and was involved in the Faculty Senate, and other ways) PIU but, since he, Christel, Kathy, and I attended the same church we knew one another on that level as well. Not only did we worship together on Sundays, and participate in the same Sunday School class, Kathy and I also fellowshipped with the small group that met at Bill and Christel’s lovely home. Chats before and after the small group meeting were thought-provoking, sometimes gently confrontational, always helpful, and immensely encouraging.

As I said, Bill knew better than anyone that I was not qualified to lead an institution of higher education, yet, without lying to me, he never treated me that way. Instead, he sought to build me up. Perhaps it was because he knew that, “at the time,” and, “in the circumstances we were in,” PIU couldn’t attract a truly qualified chief executive. If that was it, I don’t recall him ever saying so. Instead, he’d point out times when I did something right, and offer thoughtful praise. I called him, “My Yoda.” He never lectured me, but from time to time he’d deliver some piece of wisdom, often from the comfort of his favorite living-room chair, that would encourage, guide, and/or challenge me. He knew where the snares were, and warned me. His “watch out”s saved me a lot of grief. When he told me he prayed for me, I believed he did.

I didn’t know Bill in his younger days. I’m told by those who did that he was a fine athlete. He played basketball into his late fifties. A contemporary of his spoke of “ferocious tennis matches.” Another of his colleagues who knew him decades longer than I spoke about her sadness at seeing him slow down and begin to shuffle in his later years. Bill proudly served his country in the Army. He carried that “stand up straight” posture and attitude for decades afterward. In the end, time, the relentless foe that wears us all down, won at least in regard to the way he carried himself. At the end, he was unable to walk.

By training, Bill was a Theologian and historian, but Bill loved music. He enjoyed playing the piano and keyboard. I understand that in his younger days, he was quite a singer, sometimes participating in Broadway-type musicals. He led the praise team at the church. He took great joy in encouraging younger musicians to serve the Lord through music. He greatly enjoyed teaching the class on the Psalms at PIU. It was one of his Yoda-like wisdom nuggets that led to Kathy teaching the introduction to music class at PIU. Bill’s confidence in her was well-placed.

As far as Theology, Dr. Wood was reformed to the bone. I think it kind of surprised him that he got along as well as he did with a dispensationalist like me. I know I enjoyed the repour that we shared in the things of the Lord. I attribute or getting along so well to his gracious spirit. While Bill did not enjoy preaching—though I think he was a good preacher--he dearly loved leading the communion service. When he led us in sharing the Lord’s Supper, it truly was a time of precious remembrance. As he would sometimes remind us in conversation, I think prompted by some words of Calvin, it was not so much that Christ came down, but that we were escorted up into the Lord’s presence.

When Kathy and I left PIU and Guam in the Spring of 2021, saying farewell to the Woods was our hardest good-bye. We knew we might not see Bill again on this earth. When we began planning the trip we’ll begin in a few days that will take us back to Guam, we hoped that our fear of three years ago would be wrong. Sometimes it hurts to be right.

Our prayers are with Christel. The love Bill and Christel shared was not only a love for one another, but a love for the Lord that was magnified by the relationship they had. I look forward to meeting my friend in Glory.

03/13/2024