I was Terry Scott's favorite person
/By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
The first thing I thought when I was told of Terry's passing was "I can't believe he's not going to be here for Star Wars Rogue One." And so it's fitting that his family entered the auditorium today to the Imperial march theme.
The friends and family of Terry Scott gathered together at Word of Life Tuesday morning to celebrate his life and legacy. But it wasn't a funeral.
To put it in the words of his wife, Linda, we did it Terry Scott style. There was a smorgasbord of coffee, because Terry loved his coffee. The attire was casual: Superman, OU, and plaid shirts were everywhere. The atmosphere was lighthearted and filled with laughter because "if you were around Terry, you laughed--even if it was a courtesy laugh at times" said Linda.
Micah and Holly Felts led the congregation in worship, and it was a large congregation. The church was packed front to back and dozens were standing along the walls. The reach of that man was so great that the service was live streamed across the globe, and the attendees had to put their phones on airplane mode to keep the servers from crashing.
Word of Life Carlsbad Pastor Daniel Shirley opened things up with tales of his many mission trips with Terry and shared some humorous memories. "Terry knew every song that had ever been written, and a few that had never been written and never should be written," said Shirley. Shirley was with Terry on their final trip together in Guatemala when he passed.
Terry's younger brother, Bert, shared tales of growing up with Terry. Particularly when Terry would wake him up in the middle of the night and trick him into thinking it was time to get ready for work.
Bert mentioned the quote "All you can take with you is that which you've given away," from It's a Wonderful Life. "I believe that's what Terry's life was all about."
"He loved my mom in a way that I have never seen a man love a woman," shared daughter, Ashley Scott. She recognized anyone who ever bought a cup of Daily Brew coffee and thanked them for supporting her father's dream. She recognized everyone who ever traveled with her father and his ministry, which just recently celebrated more than 20,000 individuals led to Christ as a result of Future Vision Ministries.
"I encourage you to love hard and never give up on people," said Ashley. She then shared a quote of her fathers that he would encourage people with. "you're nice enough, you're smart enough, and doggone it people like you."
Word of Life Pastor Chad Stewart shared Terry's love of acronyms and shared one that he came up with for Terry.
Technology
Encouraging
Reliable
Relational
Yearning
"Terry loved technology. Linda would still be carrying an iPhone 2S and Terry would already have the iPhone 9T," joked Stewart.
"Terry was always encouraging. You could go into a conversation with him where you felt like you were supposed to be encouraging him, and by the end of it he was encouraging you.
Reliable. If you asked Terry to do something, you could put it away because it was as good as done.
Relatable. Everybody Terry knew thought they were his best friend. Within hours of his passing he had more than 300 posts on his wall.
Terry yearned to know God more and to see other people love God more. He went where other people didn't want to go, he did what other people didn't want to do. And over 20,000 people came to know Christ because of that yearning. "
I first learned of Terry's love for acronyms on a mission trip to New Orleans in 2012. Whenever we would ask what was for dinner, he would tell us "WAFO," or "we're going to the WAFO house." WAFO meaning, "Wait And Find Out."
Everyone who Terry encountered felt his love. He greeted everyone he saw like they were a celebrity that he couldn't believe he was encountering. "Scott Emigh!" he would bellow. "How the heck are you?" he asked as he would firmly grip my hand and pull me in for a hug.
I was never one of Terry's closest friends. But I was his favorite person. Everyone was his favorite person. He treated us all the same, with warmth and compassion and love. I knew him my entire life, and in many ways he was larger than life. He was an icon of Christ--an apostle. It will likely be some time before the reality of his passing truly hits me. He made every one of us feel beyond important.
"We've all been touched and impacted in so many different ways by Terry Scott...we miss you, we love you, we can't wait to see you again." Said Stewart in closing.
