Thankful for the passion and leadership of friend and colleague Jannie Swart. As a Luther Seminary PhD graduate, I had the pleasure of walking alongside his questions, learning, and wisdom during his time in St. Paul. While the time was different, the story is the same as posted here. I’m thankful for these works which point to my experience with Jannie and want to share them. May we all have the gospel shine through our lives.
Last Monday, our seminary community was shocked by the sudden death of professor Jannie Swart. Despite having only served on the faculty at PTS for a year, his loving and enthusiastic faith had transformed the culture of the entire campus. The Lord used Jannie in such powerful ways that even people he never met were compelled to come to Friday’s memorial service.
My first encounter with Jannie was the day he approached me at the New Wilmington Mission Conference in 2013 and said, “We have to teach a church planting class together.” Jannie drew people into relationships in such a way that we couldn’t help but be implicated in whatever he was doing. Soon three other friends and colleagues had joined us and we planned the course I wrote about here.
Anyone who met Jannie felt as though they had made a new close friend. For me, Jannie was…
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Intersections by Terri Elton 