Jack Arnold, 69, was preaching in Orlando, Fla.,  [January 9, 2005] on his life verse: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He quoted John Wesley and pointed upward: “As long as God has work for me to do, I am immortal, but if my work is done, I’m outa here.” Moments later he spoke his last sentence about heaven, stopped, grabbed the pulpit, swayed briefly and fell backward. Medics say the heart attack killed him immediately.

My father died instantly in the pulpit two weeks ago after uttering his final words: “And when I go to heaven.” I immediately left Chattanooga for Orlando.
The story hit the AP Wire and was listed by Yahoo as the most-read story. A high school friend who lives in Sweden emailed me after seeing the report on CNN.
Jack Arnold, 69, was preaching in Orlando, Fla., [January 9, 2005] on his life verse:“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” He quoted John Wesley and pointed upward: “As long as God has work for me to do, I am immortal, but if my work is done, I’m outa here.” Moments later he spoke his last sentence about heaven, stopped, grabbed the pulpit, swayed briefly and fell backward. Medics say the heart attack killed him immediately.
“He was just all there, and then not there at all, like a hand came through the roof and snatched him out of his body,” said Chris Williams who told me he was sitting in the front row only five feet from where Dad fell.
My family is certainly sad to lose our father, but we are also glad he went out precisely the way he would want. Nevertheless, we have scratched our heads regarding why it became an international story. Our best guess is that people are concerned about the next life. Most of us have some early childhood image of the preacher urging us to prepare to meet our Maker. And when the man connected to God gets snatched away after a final warning, it makes you stop and think.
Even Paul Harvey reported the remarkable event. But perhaps he will let me go ahead and tell the rest of the story, which is far more poignant when you learn that my father was weak, flawed, and glaringly human. You don’t have to be perfect to finish strong.
I watched him lay in a hospital bed for weeks after a nervous breakdown two decades ago. As a child I remember him singing triumphant hymns early in the morning before preaching. But as a teenager I heard him cry out in rage and weep profusely in despair at 3 and 4 in the morning.
He had a temper. But to his credit, he would always come back to his kids and ask their forgiveness after losing it. He lightened up over time. He also had a streak of ambition and a desire for greatness that never quite materialized. He played basketball for the legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, just before they won an unprecedented 10 national championships. But Dad never started and didn’t get much playing time. He earned his doctorate from the premiere Dallas Theological Seminary, won the award for theology, and later wrote volumes of material on Christian living. But it was classmate friends like Chuck Swindoll and Hal Lindsay who became household Christian names after publishing a multitude of books. Dad could never get his church beyond three or four hundred folks, and it was this failure in his own eyes to rise above mediocrity that contributed to his mid-life crisis and deep depression.
Nothing changed immediately. But over the years Dad accepted his role – fame was a privilege, not a right – and he learned to serve his Lord as a simple, faithful pastor and then missionary to third-world countries. He struggled in his marriage, but he and mom fought through the tough times and both said their last 10 years together were their best. Early on a staunch Calvinist, he still never compromised on the basic tenants of his Christian faith, but later in life he graciously worked side by side with Anglicans, Pentecostals, Baptists and many others. He was a presbyterian with a little ‘p,’ he said, and calvinist with a little ‘c.’ To the shock of me and my siblings, he even allowed us to store our small portions of wine and beer in his refrigerator the last year of his life. He, however, never drank any.
He did struggle. He would fall and get up again. Yet he also improved and persevered. Yes, his final moments were glorious, but his journey also involved much pain and failure. Ironically, he finally made national and international headlines 24 hours after his death. But this too should encourage all of us who believe our reward is most likely on the other side of the river. And even the more secular folk can be encouraged that their labor and love may finally find its fruit and fulfillment in post-mortem fashion.
When I grabbed a handful of cold dirt and threw it on my father’s grave last week, my sadness was superseded by joy. The story could have been very different for the suicidal man in his forties. I trust God’s mercy for any of us who may not finish as sensationally strong as my father did. But he provides great inspiration for all of us to persevere during our life.
Words sent by Mr. Wooden were read aloud at the memorial service. “The circumstances of Jack’s passing was consistent with how he played the game of basketball as a member of the UCLA team. He always gave everything he had right down to the very last second. He was not blessed with as much physical ability as others, but no one worked harder or was more highly respected than Jack.” Paul Harvey reported that “Pastor Jack Arnold’s last words were, ‘And when I get to heaven,’ . . . and he went!”
If Paul Harvey reported it correctly, then my father won a great victory that day – even better than 10 NCAA Championships. I’m sure Mr. Wooden would agree.
Dean W. Arnold is a journalist and author in Chattanooga. He can be reached at [email protected]. 

So sin is a lose (offends God), lose (hurts people), lose (hurts you). Nobody is perfect. But if we think more deeply about the multi-dimensional impact of sin, we’d be more eager to avail ourselves to the means of grace to grow in love for our Savior and hatred of our sin.

Vertical (offends God)
First and foremost, your sin — whether in act, attitude, or nature — is an affront to a holy God. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. . .,” (Psalm 51:4) King David says, after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. Before we talk about how sin hurts the people in your life or is a form of self-infliction, we must say that sin offends God. Commit one sin, and you are guilty of violating the entire Law (James 2:10). As born sinners (Psalm 51:5), sin doesn’t just involve the wrongs we commit (sins of commission), or right actions we neglect (sins of omission), but also involves our nature, our very being. We are totally depraved, born as rebellious, God-haters, self-lovers, glory thieves who rightly incur the wrath of God apart from a Savior. Of the five points of Calvinism, total depravity is the easiest to prove.
Horizontal (hurts people)
Sin is willful treason that offends a holy God but also hurts the people in your life. The more you sin, the more people you hurt. The more influence you have, the greater the effects your sin will have on others (hence, why it’s particularly hurtful when sinned against by a leader).
Let me say this a different way. Your unrighteous anger hurts your children.
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No one will ever reach spiritual perfection in this life, but we are called to pursue it. Don’t wait for your pastor or church elders to say it’s time to do this. God works one-on-one with each of His children. We are all unique so our paths to the way of the cross may differ somewhat, but Christ will be the center of each of those ways and they will all be in the shadow of the cross.

11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 (LSB)
When the Lord circumcised my heart in August 2004, I was truly amazed at the level of spiritual discernment that came with that blessing. Leading up to this, God had drawn me ever deeper into our relationship. I had been in a deep, close, intimate walk with Him over a period of several weeks. I was fasting from anything that distracted me from my devotion to Him. I was praying, worshipping, studying my Bible, and researching doctrine, all in obedience to His drawing me to Him. Just a few days before Labor Day in 2004 I woke up one morning and knew that everything had changed. It was probably the most joyous and humbling experience I have ever had. I realized right then that I no longer cared for anything except to do His will. His glory was paramount. For someone who was had been in bondage to self-focused, flesh oriented, desperate pursuits for self-gratification for over 50 years, this was a genuinely miraculous thing.My level of spiritual discernment was beyond any previous experience I have ever had up to that time. I would be right in the middle of a conversation with my pastor and realize that he was completely blind to what I was trying to convey to him. There were a few others at our church who seemed to be on the same path as me. They did understand what I was talking about. There was no fear of the unknown in our little group. We were all terribly excited about the daily changes God was doing in our hearts. The problem was that this little group of sold-out believers was seen as radical and trouble makers at our church. The leadership just could not understand, refusing to believe the truths we were sharing with them were from God. I had one of the men there tell me that I was just excited and would eventually get over it.
There are some common denominators that I have noticed with all of the believers I have encountered who are on this narrow path. Each of us are committed to God’s glory. Each of us see man-focused religiosity as a complete waste of time. Each of us see spiritual maturity as key. Christlikeness is far more important than being part of a huge growing church. We all have a deep desire to see the Church repent, become pure and 100% focused on God as it obeys the Great Commission. Also, those whom God has awakened to this level of walking blameless before Him, have spiritual discernment that is completely outside of their own abilities. It is supernatural to be able to see the spiritual blindness in most professing believers. I can listen to someone speak on things spiritual or read what they write and know within a very short period whether that person is tenderhearted towards God and, therefore, not spiritually blind, or he or she is hardhearted towards God and, therefore, spiritually blind as a bat.
Does this mean that I can strut around showing everyone how spiritual I am. Oh, my Lord no! May it never be! Quite the opposite in fact. The closer I get to God the more I see how utterly helpless I am without Him. Any spiritual advances I have made are really His work. All I have done is obey Him and remain faithful as I abide in my Lord. Without Him I can do nothing. Humility is the marker of all who walk this narrow way of the cross.
What are the markers of those who are not walking this walk by Faith? Well, only the humble can do it consistently. That means that the prideful cannot do it at all.
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