Only a few hours ago they found the wreckage of Forrest Pollock’s plane southwest of Asheville. Forrest served as pastor of the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida. He was accompanied by his 13-year-old son Preston.

I have known Forrest for a number of years and this is a great loss to the Christian community. He had served at Bell Shoals for several years and had done a great job in taking that church to a higher level. When I heard the news I was stunned. It is one of those things that you never expect. It is just another indication of how things can change in only a moment. Having been the survivor of a small plane crash, I was reminded of how quickly things can go wrong.

Forrest leaves behind a wife, five other children, and a great church. This is a time of great loss but we know that he is with the Lord. I knew Forrest well enough to know that in those final moments he did everything he could as a pilot and, at the same time, put his trust in the Lord.

He was not a guy who just “talked” it, but Forrest was a great Christian who knew how to “walk” it on a daily basis. Forrest was extremely creative and committed to the task. As I remember him, it is a challenge to me to make every moment that I have and every opportunity before me count in a very special way for the Lord.

Please be much in prayer for his family and his church in the coming days. Because of his great witness, I am confident that the Lord will use even this tragedy in the lives of many people. You did not have a chance to know him, but I can assure you that each of us should be challenged by his life to be more of what God would have us to be.