07/10/2011 - by Chuck Monan, Preaching Minister

Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 4:4-7

God has no more precious gift to a church or an age than a man who lives as an embodiment of his will, and inspires those around him with the faith of what grace can do.
~ Andrew Murray

It would be difficult to count the number of preachers I’ve met over the years thanks to my friendship with Jeff Jenkins.  Growing up in a family of preachers in Alabama, Jeff seemed to know every pulpiteer in the state, and most east of the Mississippi River, for that matter.

Over a decade ago at the Freed-Hardeman University Lectureships he introduced me to Mike Nix.  There were several distinguishing characteristics that stood out about Mike.  He was tall, towering physically over most of the folks around him.  He had the bearing of an athlete.  He looked far younger than his age. And he was so nice that he very nearly had a nimbus around him, even in an environment saturated with preachers, elders, professors and assorted church dignitaries.  He was a kind, smiling, gentle giant.

On Sunday, June 26, I spoke at the Red River Family Encampment in the mountains of New Mexico.  Afterward we were able to have lunch and catch up with Jeff and his dear wife, Laura.  He told me something that stunned and saddened me:  Mike Nix was dead.  In a most unlikely development following minor surgery, a blood clot broke loose and took his life.  He leaves behind a wife and daughter.

Reading the tributes to him from friends and brethren at the Beltline Church of Christ in Decatur, Alabama, where he served since1998, was touching.  The local newspaper, The Decatur Daily, paid tribute to him by calling him a child of God who recognized God’s paternity in all he met.  A friend of Mike’s from Beltline named David Higginbotham writes:

Saturday this earth lost one of its best.  Our preacher and friend Mike Nix passed away suddenly.  This loss has been devastating.  Mike was an amazing man.  I can’t count the times that Anna and I said to each other, “I don’t understand how a family can be that nice 100% of the time.”  But they were and are.  There wasn’t anything phony about Mike.  He loved you in such a sincere way that when he told you he loved you, and he did often, you believed it.  It’s convicting because you realize the way a Christian should act simply by referring to the way Mike acted.  There is zero exaggeration in my words.

Aren’t you tired of losing too soon good people like this while those who contribute nothing to society enjoy longevity?  Job asked, “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (21:7). The Lord didn’t answer this question for Job, and he isn’t likely to answer it for us, either.  What we can find comfort in, though, is the knowledge that the lives of many were blessed by knowing Mike Nix…and that we will see him again.