Dr. Charles E. Bradford : Graveside Burial Service

we'd like to thank everyone for coming this afternoon um before we get started just one announcement there are because of the rain i was told by our funeral director i'm just be mindful of where you stand there may be some friends that want to crawl up your leg and i don't want them to anybody to pull up into a holy dance that's why we're here to be mindful of the ants but with that said we're going to ask pastor wilson to come at this time and present our opening prayer let us look to the lord heavenly father we call upon you because you're the source of all our strength as we assemble here we pray that you'll be of support and comfort the family loved ones of the deceased we look to you lord because we know our hope is in the one who saves us we ask it through your son and our loving savior jesus amen standing here is a moment of reflection i i remember when i was a student at oakwood university many many moons ago and i remember hearing about elder bradford and the exploits he did as a phenomenal administrator and i never would have thought that years later we'd be standing here but one thing i remember the last time i had opportunity to meet elder bradford myself pastor goodrich and pastor rafael had opportunity to go and visit him in the hospital and before we said anything he said hey hey preacher how you doing he said what's the news that's fit to print he wanted to know what was going on and he said i love preachers i just hang i'm so excited about being together and one thing i love about his with not just his keen memory memory and his phenomenal intellect and his master of the english language mastery of the english language was his love for his family the love for his wife his impact on the church and on the kingdom of god we stand here today while we are saddened we can be at peace knowing we will see elder bradford again our job and our responsibility is to follow him as he followed christ and if we do and as we do we will see him again for those who are watching online i just want to share our program for the afternoon as soon as i finished dr richardson's going to give remarks on behalf of oakwood university following him is going to be a psalm psalmist and zion miss wanda lot will sing a wonderful song followed by pastor alfred johnson and then robert douglas senior followed by mervyn warren elder t marshall kelly and i will return for the committal at this time we would like to welcome dr david richardson on behalf of dr pollard president of oakwood university it's an honor this morning to be able to share words in behalf of oakwood university and of course to our wonderful pastor preacher friend dr bradford i just remember him as a young man coming up with leonard douglas who we all grew up together there here at oakwood university i'm a son of oakwood and it's honor i'm honored to be with you um this morning oh it was ralph sockman who said in one book fingerprints or footprints fingerprints are those things by which we track criminals footprints are the means by which we follow heroes and i'm so glad this morning that we've got a hero in dr bradford so on behalf of dr leslie pollard and the oakland university family faculty and staff i read this letter to our hero dr bradford and to the family beloved family your oakwood university family unites to express our heartfelt sympathy and to extend to your family our sincere concern over the recent love loss of your beloved elder charles bradford elder bradford lived a life of love and legacy not only did he inspire generations of ministers but he also empowered professionals across multiple professions his ardent love for the church of god his commitment to christian education and his love for evangelism have left shoes too big for any of us to feel i have shared many times how he blessed my life when he was president of the north american division that testimony also rings true for the thousands who were touched by his ministry of evangelism during his years as a conference president and throughout his golden tenure of service his loss affects each of us in a very personal way for which we are not prepared we can only imagine how difficult this must be for your family elder bradford was dear to each of you as well as many others whose lives he touched he dedicated his life to the service of many and he was an exceptional friend mentor administrator educator and colleague he has missed more than words can express we know how difficult this must be for your family you are in our thoughts and prayers as you gain strength from the fond memories you cherish of him god promises in his word that that the eternity he is preparing will surround us with his love and joy and everlasting peace first corinthians 15 52 states in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed to that end we extend to you and your family our prayers knowing that your weeping is for this night of sadness but god's joy is coming in the morning of resurrection even so come lord jesus such a beautiful day when we think about the words of our lord precious in the sight of the lord on the death of his saints and truly elder bradford was one of his apple of his eye and i want to sing this song i know that this was probably i know it was his testimony all he wanted was jesus so i want to sing this song to comfort the family and all those who listen in the morning when i rise in the morning when i rise in the morning when i rise give me jesus [Music] give me jesus [Music] give me jesus you can have all this whole world but give me jesus [Music] and when i am alone oh when i am alone oh when i am alone [Music] just give me jesus oh give me jesus give me jesus you can have all this whole world but give me jesus [Music] [Music] oh [Music] and when i come to die oh when i come to die oh when i come to die give me jesus oh give me jesus give me jesus you can have all this whole world [Music] you can have all this whole world you can have all this word but give me jesus dr pastor williams and fellow oakwood university church pastors sister bradford and family j alfred johnson ii is my name i'm really recently departed from the north american division departmental sector and i represent the johnson family a family that has been engrafted taken in adopted by the bradford family i know i represent many of you who are seated standing here and even viewing online i have the privilege of speaking and of having been chosen to speak at this time sister bradford and dwight rather than run the risk of speaking from my heart and my emotions and rambling on and on i opted to pin my commentary to you regarding elder bradford we have gathered today and also i have been instructed that i must call all of elder bradford's adopted grandchildren by name james alfred iii julian janine and jonathan amen i have carried out my responsibility we've gathered today to invest in the soil until the trumpet call of jesus christ the remains of one of god's most beloved and valued servant leaders elder charles e bradford one phrase dominated my thinking as i was approached to share these remarks the phrase encapsulates for me the genius of his impact as a family man preacher of the gospel scholar humanitarian internationally revered administrator chairman and counselor impactful author humorist and a people person and also a personal friend the phrase is a reflection of the words of rudyard kipling he perfected the art of walking with kings nor losing the common touch i suggest to you that this unique gifting had to have been in part a direct result of at least two things of his powerful devotional life and his deep dedication to biblical principles which drove him to embrace a non-bureaucratic approach in all of his interactions from his home all the way over to the board room and to all places in between he recognized that negative bureaucracy which insists that all persons are not created equally and invites only a privileged few for input in the decision-making process is not god's way and elder bradford would have none of this it was this open and accepting and non-bureaucratic mindset which rendered him so accepted by and accepting of all persons regardless of age or station in life it was this open and accepting non-bureaucratic mindset that led him to become the lifelong learner that he was and that compels us whether in person or via media to this place of tearful and expectant support at this very time thank you sister ethel mackenzie bradford thank you sharon in your absence charles and dwight for sharing your wonderful husband and father with us we share this moment with you because indeed we are among those who have been enriched by god's grace by elder bradford by elder bradford and his perfect and his perfection of the art of walking with kings without losing the common touch all of us have experienced added value to our lives because of him and now we await christ's return and the joyful reunion that shall ensue in that moment and so in the meantime family and friends please know that he is able to keep you moment by moment and that he will carry you through in jesus name i pray amen now i have brother robert douglas at this time uh here's where he's supposed to be at this time what do you mean we're going to go so far in this life the lord says well done thy good and faithful servant and when i come in the clouds of glory i'll be there and i thank the lord for guiding me there and hoping that you all will be so be there also yes good afternoon everybody especially to the bradford family friends family and all who are touched at the passing of our brother and leader our exemplar elder bradford charles bradford there's a bible text that's been rolling over in my mind this is not a sermon but there's a text in my mind jeremiah 6 16 this is what kind of got me going to find some some theme to follow in my thoughts jeremiah 6 16 thus saith the lord stand in the ways and see and ask for the old paths wherein is the good way and walk therein and you will find rest for your souls now we've been discussing and studying the various meanings and applications of rest during our sabbath school lessons recently and um i found that one of the sources of my rest my consolation rest at the passing of elder bradford reliving my path my past with him follow his path um i knew elder bradford before i knew elder bradford that might sound like an oxymoron but um i knew him in a certain way first and then i came to get a clearer view of him i was a teenager in south dallas texas all of a sudden out of nowhere some church people began pitching tents on our playgrounds during the summers phyllis wheatley middle school lincoln high school on it was on oakland oakland avenue i remember very clearly we neighborhood teenagers didn't like that at all because it interfered with our football and tennis and basketball softball track whatever we did for summer fun when my girlfriend's mother invited me to go with them to one of those tent meetings they called it camp meeting i saw and heard for the first time a young minister named charles bradford i even remember his sermon stuck with me he was making a point about keeping the same sabbath on a rotating world and that kind of appealed to me because i was kind of into science at that point in fact i came to oakwood as pre-med and then i jumped ship i can hear him saying now he said remember keeping the sabbath on a rotating around world and he said when the sabbath arrives in australia the australians get on board when the sabbath arrives in africa the africans get on board and when the sabbath reaches dallas and america you better get on board and i said well i said that makes a little sense you know it had a little ring to it that was kind of scientific as the lord would have it every day on my way to and from high school lincoln high on oakland avenue i had to walk right by that adventist church and their conference office both of them were on oakland avenue south side well fast forward after my decision to give up high school football track what have you and all the scholarships to universities around the country after my baptism came i after my baptism i came to know more and more about adventist ministers i mean the names became household terms to me i was the only adventist in my family but when i joined the others these names we would throw about among us in our conversations no most of these names would mean nothing to many of you i'm sure sister ethel bradford would recall them w.w fordham jeter cox sam myers pastor caruthers forgot his first name yes thank you fred parker there was a layman who left an indelible impression on me uh his name was elder proctor elder proctor um and then we had sister fitch she's the one who gave me the bible studies she gave me the bible studies sister fitz and then there was our own elder charles bradford among that family of sda pastors who spent most of their time in dallas because dallas is where well it still is it was the central it was the conference location the conference office location but more importantly during his retirement years i got to know him on a more personal level i knew him in the sense of being aware of his existence in those during those teenage times and trying to differentiate between the adventist church and my grandfather's church right there in the same city church of the living god bishop r.j bryant by the way when i told him that i had joined as a granddaddy i have i have become a member of the adventist church and he said oh really baby really well you know adventists are very well knowledgeable on daniel in revelation now i don't know how he knew that i know he was blind totally blind and he preached from braille and i saw his bibles all over his office at the time uh if anybody gave him a track it had to be in braille unless you're going to read it to him but he said that adventists are very well known uh on the books or in the books of daniel and revelation but during the retirement years of elder bradford i got to know him on a more personal level loving caring husband father grandfather uncle relative and for me i kind of graft in myself at some point i know it's not blood but i'm there somewhere it has been a precious privilege being invited to call him bread and it didn't come from his friend calvin uh his nephew actually my friend didn't come it wasn't calvin he said now merv you could call him brad it wasn't it came firsthand firsthand so thinking of tucson williams pastor tucson williams what is the news that's fit to print that's the new york times motto newspaper motto what is the news that's fit to print who would imagine a disappointed teenager unhappy with elder bradford and his company for pitching camp meeting tents on our school playgrounds that same teenager decades later becoming a co-author with elder bradford which was his final professional project before his passing now you figure that out i have figured it out it was providence two dimensions of my knowledge of him and uh dr dr rogers were here was here with good english would say if dr rogers were here um i'd say to you the new in the new testament there are two words for knowing one is gnosco and one is order one means to know intellectually just to be aware of something it's it's just objective knowledge but the other one means a personal experience a connection uh it almost becomes blood so this teenager once only being familiar with him seeing him being able to detect him and distinguish him from others that same teenager at the passing of elder bradford becomes a co-worker becomes someone who knows how he loved his family how he loved those beyond his family and certainly how i loved him i closed with a framed condolence here thank you pastor this is from pacific press oh it has about 200 words but i'm going to read just two sentences it says here pacific press association sends a special heartfelt condolence to mrs ethel bradford charles jr sharon lewis and dwight elder bradford was closely linked to pacific press in a number of ways he sat on the pacific press board for many years and we also treasured him as a pacific press author 2017 his book the king is in residence reminded us of his vision for churches the church's work and he he is currently or was currently in process of co-writing a book along with mervyn warren entitled dr gartner c taylor visits revelation the seven churches and adventists along the way and then finally along with each of you says president galutia i'm praying that resolution i am praying that resurrection day comes soon and we can see the fullness of joy in the face of our dear friend elder charles bradford god bless you i would like to thank sister bradford so much for allowing me to come and visit elder bradford before he breathed his last i praise god some don't know but my elder bradford was the one that baptized my father into the adventist church and i thank god for that i just want to share this song but before i do i want you to know that the angel that watched over elder bradford all of his life has marked this spot on resurrection morning he knows where to come he makes no mistakes and on the way to heaven he'll tell him all the things that he went through and like mahalia jackson said he'll let him know how he got over god bless his family let me just share this simple song for his god's glory [Music] he is lord he is lord he has risen from the grave and he is lord every knee shall bow [Music] every tongue will soon confess [Music] that jesus christ is lord he is lord [Music] he is lord [Music] he has risen from the grave and he is lord every knee shall bomb every tongue will soon confess that jesus christ [Music] is lord [Music] like we said earlier pastoring elder bradford is a challenging thing because it seems like how do you share words of acknowledgement words of you know trying to get intellectual or deep with individuals that have written so many words have touched so many lives but his impact on my life was not just academic or not just from a sermon series what really transformed my experience with elder bradford was something actually james you wrote and put on facebook a couple of i believe it was a couple months ago you said you guys were driving in a car i believe there was a hatchback and you said we were outside riding he had a sharp cut fresh hairline everything was edged up and it hit me that of all the things elder bradford was he loved his family he was a father he was a husband he loved each and every one of you it hit me a lot harder because i grew up without my grandfather's both in the mid past or along when i was at a young age but even deeper than that hebrews chapter 12. shares with us something very interesting the bible doesn't let us know who wrote the book of hebrews but this particular passage shares something that i firmly believe encapsulates the life we had with elder bradford the bible writer says we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses family look around we've been here way too many times every person that's buried in these grounds are waiting for a certain sound they're waiting for that specific instrument the bible calls the trump of god it's in that moment when like elder warren said his angel come to this spot and i firmly believe sister bradford i know you love to call him this hun the angel's going to come and touch this spot and say hun it's time to wake up and the same way he jumped at attention when you called the king of kings and lord of lords who said he holds death and hell in his hands and has the keys of death he's going to unlock what we find so unlockable he's going to open the door of death one that we feel even moments like this is impenetrable and he will be raised first and we who are alive and remain we caught up to meet him in the air family we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses we have witnessed what it means to be a husband to be a father to be a man of god we have a responsibility to meet him when he returns for as much it has pleased our almighty god in his infinite love and wisdom to allow elder bradford to fall asleep in christ we do tenderly commit his body to the ground earth to earth ashes to ashes dust to dust looking for that blessed hope when the lord himself shall descend with a shout in the sure and serpent certain hope of the resurrection when our lord shall return in glory and then this body will be changed and made like unto the lord's glorious body that he intended for us in eden i can't wait for that moment i can't wait i can imagine of all the people that the lord will allow to speak one sabbath he'll say brad you're up until that moment we're going to pray that the lord will keep us so that we can meet him when he returns dearly father while these moments are difficult they're not too difficult for you god will these next few days are going to be challenging they are not too challenging for you and because elder bradford trusted in your word we too are going to rely on your promises relying on the fact that you said you would never leave us nor forsake us so i pray at this moment that you will comfort us that god you will keep us and most importantly god when you return our prayer is that you save us in jesus name we pray amen if i can touch somebody as i pass along if i can cheer somebody with a word or song if i can show somebody how they may be traveling wrong then surely my living will not be in vain to each of you who have shared a kind word and came to support the bradford family on today with your love and support i do say thank you but i encourage you not just to remember sister bradford and the children and grandchildren on today but i ask you just to check in on them and most importantly pray for them in the days and nights to come and to all the ministers of the gospel who have played a part in this graveside service i simply want to say thank you and can we all pause now and give them all a hearty amen and to you the family on behalf of the royal management and staff it is with humble hearts that we counted in honor and a privilege to have served you through this time of bereavement family members i want to remind you that elder bradford fought a good fight he kept his faith and he has finished his race so family members know that there is going to be a crowd of righteousness for him on that day but family members he did also leave you with work to do when i think of his life i think of the simple hymn this little light of mine i'm going to let it shine everywhere i go i'm gonna let it shine and family members elder bradford let his light shine every where he went and family member he sparked a light not only to the gentleman who spoke earlier but to countless people here and around the world so family members and friends that hear my voice i charge you to let your light shine as elder bradford let his light shine and therefore he will never be away but simply of thought in all of our hearts so family members continue to love one another as god loved you continue to pray together as elder bradford often did but most importantly keep your hands entwined with the lord's hands so at this time we will never say goodbye but rather good night good night and good night elder bradford take your rest for we shall see you again in the morning may god bless you and keep you as our sincere prayer and we would like you to be mindful of what we say at royal and that is when only memories remain let them be beautiful thank you as pastor go pastor goodrich comes to give us our benediction i'm gonna ask that he also pray for sister sharon lewis we still believe god has the ability to heal and deliver pastor come at this time amen let's bow our heads father we come to you now feeling somewhat of a sense of paradox on the one hand our hearts are heavy because we won't hear that distinctive laugh we won't hear that booming voice we won't hear those words of encouragement and words of wisdom coming from charles e bradford but at the same time our hearts are light because we know that two-thirds of the equation have been put into place the equation of eternal life for you have done your part father in sending your son to die for us so that we can have the opportunity of having eternal life and elder bradford has done his part by living a life in such a way of service to you that is credited for righteousness but the last part is our part to live our lives in such a way that when your son returns again and lifts up elder bradford and he rises to meet jesus christ that we too would rise with him and live together with you with him and speaking of rising father we just want to once again lift up sharon knowing that you have the ability to heal to lift to restore and so we're claiming that today we're claiming that the work that you have placed on sharon's life is not over but just like her father she also has a work to do to be a living testimony of one whose life is surrendered to you and so perform that miracle today even as we mourn may we also rejoice and we thank you in advance for what you have done what you are doing and most importantly what you will do for whatever you choose to do it is for our good and your glory so glorify yourself in us we pray in jesus name amen amen just one reminder i want to let you know we will have a memorial service for elder bradford next sunday october 3rd at 12 o'clock at the oakwood university church just be mindful that it is important if you plan to attend in person you must register on the oakwood university church website thank you so much and look forward to seeing you there [Music] [Music] okay no no no no no no [Music] [Music] is [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] thank you [Music] [Music] this family members and friends tis so sweet to trust in jesus just to take him at his word just to rest upon his promise just to know that thus saith the lord family members and friends this concludes the celebration of life service for elder charles edward bradford at this time we're going to invite you to fellowship with the family as you return to your vehicles thank you

Channel: Oakwood University Church

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Keywords: ouc, worship, prayer, faith, love, hope

Id: pig0u9huCR4

Length: 52min 45sec (3165 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 24 2021