My name is Eric Mason, lead pastor and
founder here at Epiphany Fellowship and president and founder of Thriving, a
resource collaborative that helps train people for urban ministry all over the
world. My first contact with Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship was becoming a member in 1995.
Of course, being at Dallas Seminary at the time, one of the coveted roles of a
seminary student at that particular time was to be in Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship's
internship program, so a year later, which was around '96, I got into the internship
program at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and was working in the fellowship department for
a little while. And then, Dr. Evans ended up calling me to his office, so I told
him what I was doing and he asked me where my passions was, and he put me in a
youth department and I ended up becoming one of the leaders over the youth
ministry and being a youth director for a few years, which is great. Transition
over to outreach and was working with evangelism and helping with prison
ministry and help lead and start the project turnaround—or the urban schools
alternative program that I believe still going on today.
The internship with Dr. Evans, I would say, it wasn't just a role I was in.
It was being a part of the church. And so because Oak Cliff is like a family, it was
like being raised in a family, being raised in ministry. My wife got to spend
a good bit of time with Dr. Lois and me getting to spend time with Dr. Evans
and just be around them. It wasn't like he was at home opening up the Bible
teaching me stuff, he just allowed me to be there, and as I interacted with
Lois, Priscilla, Crystal, him and Jonathan wrestling and telling
Jonathan to get off his back, and Anthony asleep on the couch. Just
that type of interaction was really really healthy for me in helping to
build the family. Now I'm coming up on 20 years of marriage, and I got four kids too,
so it was big part of my development. The beauty of the impact that that's had on
me in particular, in seeing this household, is spiritual leadership. And what
I mean by spiritual leadership is—he didn't pull out a PowerPoint
presentation or anything like that—but I got this deep sense from being around
him that he had a vision for his family. Got this deep sense that he initiated
leadership in the home and an environment of grace. You know he tells
the story and they tell the story of so many stories about him and his
interaction with his kids, but I think that seeing that the level of grace they
interacted with his kids in the home, his grandkids, you know it's just been a real,
real big blessing for me in how I interact with my kids. I'm always not
handing down the law to them but knowing how to graciously interact with them, so
they'll understand the gospel even from a young age. And I literally
still utilize that as imprinted memories. Paul says, "The things you've seen and
learned and heard in me, practice these things." And so those are the things that
I've seen and learned and heard through him, which God has used
ultimately him as a conduit. One of the ways that Dr. Evans' shaping of theology
helped shape my theology: it was seamlessly no difference between head
and heart. The way he illustrates things that connects theology to real, real life,
it made it easy to always think of theology as naturally a part of life, not
this false dichotomy of orthodoxy or the practical. It shaped my practice
of that, and being around him and getting nuggets and asking questions. And a lot
of people don't know man, he is probably one of the best dudes to answering
questions. Like, if you asked him a hard question, he always has a
very witty, even a micro comical yet great way of really—"Dag! Why didn't I
think of that?" And I think that's the evangelist in him. Dr. Evans, I want to
thank you on behalf of my wife, myself, and our church. I want to thank you for
giving me my first ministry job, believing in me, and giving me an opportunity to serve
and minister to youth in your ministry, always having the door open for me and
always being made available to me. I have stages that I believe men go through as
mentors. I believe we go through the big brother stage. When we grow a little more,
we go to the uncle stage. When we get from the uncle stage, we go to the spiritual
father stage. But then I believe that there's a stage above spiritual father, which is
sage. And sage, you could say very few things but make massive amounts of
reverbs of impact. And I believe just like a proverb can be
a pithy statement that can send reverbs to generations, I think God has done that
same thing with you. And a lot of where I am and most of where I am, what you say
Tom Skinner is to you, what you say Community Bible and the pastor there was to you,
what you say B. Sam Hart is to you, that's what you are to
me and my family, so we love you and we're thankful for you, brother.
