This morning, as I prepare to leave for Wheaton, where I will attend the funeral of Brett Foster, I learn that Roger Lundin has died. Roger was my first friend at Wheaton College, and shepherded me through my first years there. I honestly doubt I would have stayed at Wheaton had it not been for Roger’s support and guidance, and he and Mark Noll were my first real teachers in theology as well. Later Roger and Sue became godparents to my son Wesley.

I will have more to say later, in tribute and in gratitude, but I must get ready for my flight, and in any case I am shattered by this news. To adapt a phrase of J. R. R. Tolkien’s, the events of this week are two axe-blows near the roots. Those of you who pray, please pray for all of those who have been left behind by the deaths of these good Christian men, especially their immediate families, but also their many, many friends.