A Balanced Life Well Lived - A Tribute to Steve Chilcraft

After the Global Committee meeting in June 2019 Steve and three similarly aged friends, including me, took a five-day road trip through the beautiful Alberta-BC mountains to the coastal cities of Vancouver and Victoria.  Long stretches of lightly traveled road left us dusting off old stories of what may (or may not) have happened and fighting for control of the cellphone in order to demonstrate the superiority of our top Spotify playlists. To no one’s surprise, historian-theologian-world class stamp collector-political analyst-avid support of everything and anything Milton Keyes Steve Chilcraft had the largest selection of “hit” songs, all of which he knew by heart. His knowledge of pop culture was not a surprise because Steve had demonstrated to us long ago how to thrive in our culture as a committed follower of Christ and not be overwhelmed by it. He modeled for us a balanced life fully devoted to God and fully engaged with the issues and achievements, complexities and concerns of a 21st century secularizing culture. Furthermore, we were not surprised by his prodigious memory or his eclectic taste, although both left us shaking our heads now and then. What surprised us was that he could sing along in key and on pitch, which is more than we could say for some of the singers he chose.

This criticism of the artists does not extend to Paul Simon whose Slip Sliding Away (1977) struck me as a kind of contrarian testimony to Steve’s life. In Simon’s lyrics three people with three different passions each allowed their dreams to slip slide away as life’s trials overwhelmed them. While there were certainly challenges in Steve’s life, one can say emphatically that he pursued his passions wholeheartedly to the end. There was no slipping and sliding. Taken together Steve’s remarkable interests were a wonder to behold. Who owns a stamp collection that takes a room to store?

Steve’s remarkable balance was not about suppressing God-given interests and abilities. His love of stamps was pursued with abandonment, but it was balanced by a superb theological library, which in turn vied for attention with a wonderful collection of videos, trophies from around the world, and a lovely backyard with bird feeders and enviable landscaping. Steve’s life was lived in vivid colour and its balance was derived by his orienting focus on Christ who reigned as Lord over all his loves and actions.

We learned from Steve that balance in the Christian is not about suppressing the wonderful qualities and fascinating interests God gives us in favour of perceived piety. Rather, piety and Christ-likeness come as we celebrate the gifts God gives, grounding their motivations and expressions in the truths of God’s Word.

1. The Early Years with Janz Team Ministries (pre 2009)

One of Europe’s truly beautiful cities, Minsk, is where many of Janz Team’s leaders first met Steve. The year was 2005, and we have Mr Nigel Spencer, our UK director in those days, to thank because it was he who brought Steve into our community. While Nigel was Steve’s initial credibility, Steve quickly distinguished himself as knowledgeable about mission agencies and their contribution to Kingdom work. His Biblical training and inclination to view the world through an historical-theological lens clarified our thinking about our mission’s processes and purposes while his friendly, gracious congeniality made him a natural fit in our multinational organization. He loved people of all cultures and backgrounds and was loved by them. It seemed to us that Steve was a TeachBeyonder in heart and mind before he was one in role and duty. No one in the little group gathered on the steppingstone footbridge in Minsk 15 years ago (cf., PowerPoint) realized that within five years Janz Team’s mission would be replaced with a new vision under a new banner known today as “TeachBeyond.” Furthermore, no one, including Steve, could have imagined that this transition would draw extensively on his character qualities, spiritual gifts, and life experiences.

2. Janz Team becomes TeachBeyond (2009-2015)

By 2012 all the various branches of the old Janz Team organization, except Switzerland, had come together under a new educational mandate and new name, and Steve was key to facilitating this transition. Why? First, and most importantly, because he was dispositionally and vocationally prepared to see how God could use equipping and discipleship in mission. In other words, Steve was himself an educator by gift and calling. Over the next decade as leader of the UK board and TeachBeyond’s Global Committee (the board equivalent at the international level), Steve never had to be pressed to shoulder the work. When I recommended that he be appointed chair of the Global Committee, his colleagues unanimously concurred because they trusted his judgment, valued his wide experience, respected his commitment to the historic values and core mission of Janz Team-TeachBeyond, and appreciated his commitment to the Great Commission and the church.

These were the reasons we verbalized.

However, we all knew that there was another aspect that was at least as important as these other qualities: Steve’s personality. The members chose him to chair because of who he was, not just because of what he had done or believed. In retrospect, it was a God-ordained, pivotal decision.

Sometimes greatness is measured by what did not happen rather than what did. Looked at this way, we can say that we have been united in purpose across the continents; harmony and dedication have characterized our work; joy and peace have been present even in trying circumstances. Over the last decade of dramatic upheaval, we do not remember a harsh word from Steve or an unkind expression, a failure to follow due process, or a stubborn, bitter spirit. Rather there was grace, kindness, patience, deferment to others, honour, and respect. These were the qualities God knew our chair would require given the stresses that lay ahead.

When he assumed his position none of us realized he would be exactly the right person and right personality to work with us on the development of our Constitution and a host of policies and procedures. A flashy, mercurial leader would not have tolerated the tedious work that needed doing. Between 2010 and 2015 we literally created a bookshelf full of massive notebooks and Steve helped the Global Committee work through it all to create the foundational documents and organizational structure we enjoy today.

Steve’s wonderful contribution in this area was not all about perseverance in the face of tedious boredom. Yes, he probably donated a year’s worth of work just reading and planning in his role as chair, but there were also times of real fun as Steve