T.L. Osborn poses in 2009 outside of his south Tulsa home.
Some of the world’s leading ministers in their own nations spoke at ORU Wednesday at the memorial service for Tulsa-based missionary evangelist T.L. Osborn, who died last month.
A lot of great things were said about a man who probably had as much influence on global Christianity as anyone else in the 20th century.
But none of the speakers was more eloquent than two of Osborn’s grandsons.
“Wow, did he change our lives,” said the Rev. Tommy O’Dell, of Frontier Evangelism.
“Millions and millions of people were influenced by T.L. Osborn,” O’Dell said.
“He had compassion for the poorest and the neediest. ... He was a tireless warrior against racism, against sexism, against classism.”
“No one was more courageous than T.L. Osborn. ... He was my mentor, my friend, my confidante, ... but most of all he was my grandpa,” O’Dell said.
The Rev. Donald O’Dell, another grandson, with World Harvest, said his grandfather was an “extraordinary man” who “taught me to never quit on people.”
I was reminded, sitting through the three-hour service, that grandparents have a broad, stable platform from which to speak into the lives of their grandchildren, one that somehow transcends generational barriers. It’s an opportunity that should not be squandered, especially in an age when too many parents are opting out of their parental responsibilities.
And it’s also an important measure of a man.
Osborn traveled the world speaking to millions, and left his mark on a generation. But to two little boys growing up in Tulsa, he was grandpa.
One could argue that in the end, the deep love and adoration of a grandchild carries more weight in the scale of life than all of the accolades of the world.
