Memories of Paul

Memories of Paul D. Kooistra

A reflection on his life and the impact he had on my family

For more than thirty six years, Terri and I have been shaped by Paul D. Kooistra — first as fellow members

of the same church, then as a student at Covenant Seminary, and later as Board members and Post-game

coaches in the work of the Timothy Foundation. These are a few of the memories I carry: small moments

that reveal the kind of man Paul was, and the God he always pointed us toward.

1. Terri and I first had the privilege of knowing Paul and his family in the early 1990s, when we attended

Covenant Presbyterian Church together.

2. We reconnected when Paul said “yes” to joining the board of an idea (Bob Perkins) called the Timothy

Foundation, back in 2015 and 2016. For the past 6 years we have gathered at least four extended weekends a

year for our Timothy Foundation Fellowship, and Paul was an integral part of its founding and development

— through fundraising, preaching, teaching, praying, leading us spiritually, and, of course, telling stories.

3. During what I believe was our very first year of having Fellows, I was asked to introduce Paul. I was thrilled

and nervous all at once. I didn't prepare much, but I spoke about the times I had heard Paul preach at

Covenant Chapel and at Covenant Presbyterian Church. I wanted the introduction to be reverent — I wanted

the Fellows to understand that hearing him speak was a big deal. Listening to Paul, I said, was like listening to

Moses of old; hearing him preach was like watching Jesus walk on water. Paul stood up (I thought I had done

a fine job), and his first words were: “Well, there is only one person who ever walked on water, and that was the Lord

Jesus Christ — and that is why we are here.” Then he went on to preach.

4. We were at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis for a Timothy Foundation dinner, and I had invited a number

of guests as we worked to grow our base, both financially and by word of mouth. One of our Fellows, Travis,

had the honor of preaching on a long and difficult passage in Genesis, and Paul had served as his sermon

coach. The moment Travis finished his message in front of the whole group, Paul was up out of his chair and

on his way to meet him — ready with a word of encouragement.

5. At our first post-game night in Naples, Paul and Sandi shared their stories and took questions. Post-game

refers to the informal time after dinner with our Fellows into assigned groups of 12 and we’d stay up till late

into the AM engaging in conversation. However, Paul would typically tap out around midnight, so he could

have a workout before breakfast. Paul and Sandi’s honesty and transparency were unmistakable. One of the

biggest takeaways was something simple: doing a devotion together as a couple. Paul would often say this is

the best thing you can do with your wife — that it will actually improve the romance in your marriage.

6. Paul and Sandi also spoke about their blended family, and it was genuinely encouraging to hear. I loved

the way Paul described telling his children bedtime stories as they grew up, inventing special characters of his

own along the way.

7. I loved hearing Paul tell the story of being number twenty-one on the candidate list for president of

Covenant Seminary, alongside some very big names. Even his friends asked him why he would put his name

in at all. His answer was simple: because God had put it on his heart and mind to do so. He also said he had

nothing to lose, God’s with him. The ripple effects of that one decision dramatically altered the lives of

thousands — Terri's and mine among them. God's plan is always better than our own.

8. Paul also loved to talk about how God brought the professors to Covenant Seminary. It is funny to talk

with those same professors and hear their side of it — because Paul, to say the least, was persistent. He simply

had a way about him that made it hard to say no. It was one more way God used him to gather the right

people to the right place.

9. His leadership never ceased to amaze me, and neither did his desire to connect deeply with the Fellows.

He was not someone who would simply speak his piece and head off to bed; he cherished the post-game

conversation.

10. I loved that Paul never hesitated on the nights we did karaoke — even though it was not his strong suit.

He just had fun with it. Be prepared to laugh and cry!

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11. He told us about his early days in youth ministry. The ministry was doing well, but he was not. God

brought him to the point of a nervous, anxious breakdown — and that was where his need for God's grace

became profound and paramount. It seemed to be the moment he truly grasped that God's grace and joy were

his, imputed and infused. It was as if a great pressure had finally been lifted from him.

12. I had the privilege of leading many of those post-game sessions alongside him over the years and sermon

reviews. I was always learning from him.

13. In our Post Game conversations, Paul would often ask us a pointed question: what is the number one

heresy in the New Testament? The answer, he would say, is self-righteousness. We bring nothing to Christ;

Christ brings everything to us.

14. Paul was also instrumental in helping us understand — and then actually preach — a Christ-centered,

grace-centered sermon. He would humbly admit that he himself had preached many man-centered sermons,

because all of us so quickly forget the gospel. It is telling that this part of the Timothy Foundation curriculum

is one of the highlights the Fellows point to again and again.

15. Paul was acutely aware that being in a leadership role is challenging, and just as he emphasized Christ-

centered preaching, he gave the same care to leadership — teaching us on that important subject as well. On several occasions he said that if he had applied to the Timothy Foundation in his mid-twenties, he would not

have made it in, because we look for those who already have followers. Paul did not think he had followers at

that point; he simply had a leadership role, and over time God developed his relational leadership style. I think

there is some truth to that — but whether he would have gotten in or not was never really the point. We trust

that God directs our paths, and God's plan is far better than our own.

16. Paul always spoke about being a father, and he stressed how important it is — reminding us that our need

for a father never goes away, just as our need for our Heavenly Father's love never goes away. He reminded

and encouraged me to stay engaged with my children and to love them, and to do so with the love of our

Heavenly Father.

17. I still recall seeing and hearing Paul preach at a Covenant Seminary Chapel. I am sure the message was

Christ-centered, but what struck me most was the authority with which he spoke. He did have a funny quirk

in the pulpit — as Dan Doriani would say, Paul moved his hands, but he kept them in the

“strike zone”. Back then, when I say I was impressed, I mean I wanted to be able to speak like that. Now,

having come full circle and witnessed a good portion of his life, my desire has changed: I want to live each

day resting on the sufficiency of what Christ has done, and is still doing, for me. And from that, I want my

heart to be filled with eternal joy and gratitude — for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

I had the pleasure of being fed spiritually by Dr Kooistra for several years, and I am a better man for the wisdom he imparted to me. I only scratched the surface of his knowledge over the years of phone calls, conversations, and stories, and yet have grown enormously in my walk with God and fellow believers because of them. I saw God use him mighily in all of the Timothy fellows he interacted with; we respected him dearly and learned from him eagerly. I pray that we would all continue to spread God's word in ordinary ways as Dr Kooistra always emphasized: preaching the grace of God to ourselves and others daily, and realizing that our salvation is in Christ alone.