Ending Well – Reflection 19
August 1st 2026
Legacies: Titles or Testimonies?
Jesse Rowe writes:
This is Episode 19 of my dad’s podcast called Ending Well. Today he’s discussing legacies, the legacies of those who have been ill and died recently and the legacies that have impacted his journey. It makes him wonder what legacy will he leave behind as we’re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
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Kevin Keegan died this week, (at time of writing). He was such an inspirational football player and manager. I remember him well, he played and lead with such passion. It was only recently announced that he had stage 4 prostate cancer. And then he was gone. So sad. And yet he left such a legacy for football, especially for Newcastle United, Liverpool, and England.
Indeed, it has been a sobering couple of weeks. The TV presenter, Dermot Murnaghan, revealed that he now has stage four advanced prostate cancer, and he is hoping to take part in a charity bike ride with Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy, who also has prostate cancer. Their overarching message to all men over 50 is to get themselves checked. Early detection is crucial. So guys, what are you waiting for? My younger brother Paul faced some resistance from his GP about getting checked, until he told them that his brother had advanced prostate cancer. It was a good thing he did. He had his own diagnosis and faced surgery. Hopefully, it has all been cleared. We both appeared in the Brecon and Radnor Express as he, as a Marathon runner across the Brecon Beacons, made an appeal for a more thorough screening process.
I was first diagnosed when I was 55 in 2014.
It was reported this week that the broadcaster Edward Stourton had died of advanced prostate cancer. He was first diagnosed the same year as me and was the same age. Whilst I always feel concerned when I hear news of someone passing, this announcement hit me harder. It is all very close to home. And today I hear that the singer/songwriter and Canadian Worship Leader Brian Doerksen died from stage four cancer. I believe his diagnosis came at the beginning of the month.
It is such a reminder of the fragility of life, and if you are reading this with some kind of diagnosis or grief, please know that you are known and loved right here.
I have mentioned the following quote before, but it has come to mind again. In C.S. Lewis’ Narnia book, ‘The Last Battle.’ King Tirian says to Jill, on the eve of the battle,
“Courage my child, we are all between the paws of the one true Aslan.”
All of us face moments of challenge in our lives. The list would be endless if I tried to articulate them. From times of loss and grief to illness and mental well-being, job losses, financial crises, relationship breakdown and disappointment in results of some kind. Courage is called forth from within. And it’s good to remember that “we are all between the paws of the one true Aslan.” We are held, and we are loved.
My mind goes back to that great moment in the film, ‘Chariots of Fire,’ when Eric Liddell is running a race in the Highlands, there is a shocking moment when he is tripped and falls. Everyone gasps. Sam Mussabini, a coach who is on the sidelines watching, growls under his breath, “get up, laddie, get up…” and astonishingly, Liddell scrambles up and with unbelievable passion still wins the race. It was Nelson Mandela who said,
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Every kind of living requires courage.
Another person died recently. You will not have seen his name in the headlines of newspapers or announced on the BBC. He was not famous in that way. But he will be remembered in other ways. In the mid-1970s I was a rather lost teenager looking for direction. I had just been to see the screen version of the rock musical, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ I was into the arts, theatre, rock music, but I was going nowhere fast. The movie struck deep into my soul and pulled out all kinds of questions. Who is this person who can forgive, even those who have just instigated his crucifixion? Who was he? Why has he affected me so much through this movie? I decided to turn up at my local church, and I met a young vicar and his family who were kind to me and gave me some direction.
Now, those who know me will know I am a great lover of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia have flowed through the blood stream of my family through to my grandchildren, in Nottingham, New Zealand, and Mongolia. They have helped form a solid resolute Christian faith in all the corners of our clan. Well, it started with me meeting my local vicar, Jeremy.
The moving experience of Jesus Christ Superstar was followed by Easter. Jeremy announced that there was an opportunity for young people around the church community to stay and ‘watch with Jesus’ through Maundy Thursday night. He used the phrase from Jesus to his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “will you not watch with me one hour?” This was momentous for me. It was the first time I encountered such a thing. We stayed in church through the night praying and reflecting on the passion of Christ. There was a creative arts table, where you could write poetry, or a song, and a graffiti wall where you could paint a response. We worked out a dance movement to Simon and Garfunkel’s song ‘Bridge over Troubled Water’ for the service the next day on Good Friday. The experience was transformative.
Those who know me well, know that almost every year I have tried to repeat such an event in churches over Easter, especially for young people. These will now be in their hundreds. The use of the creative arts, of prayer stations, of extended times to reflect and engage with the Christian story, through music, drama, art, literature in all kinds of ways, flows from my inspirational encounter with this young vicar in the mid 1970s.
In those days, the church youth were invited to join others on an annual long-distance walk run by Bristol Diocese Youth unit. We walked The Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire, parts of the Southwest Coast path, parts of The Offas Dyke path and such events spawned further walking with Jeremy and others on The Pennine Way, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and the Brecon Beacons. It was this man who inspired my love of hiking, that now flows through my two boys, prompting lots of mountain walking in Scotland, walking The West Highland Way, and parts of the Cape Wrath trail, and even in Aotearoa, New Zealand on the Tongariro Crossing, and much, much more. All this goes back to him.
It was Jeremy who gave me my first opportunity to preach a sermon. I was not much older than 15 or 16. The amazing thing was that he asked me to do another one in a month or so! He had the courage to take risks with others and give them a chance to rise.
In time, my own faith journey, as a turbulent adolescent, took me into the world of the Charismatic Movement of the late 70s. I was hungry for a more passionate faith, and I lost touch with this lovely family. But his legacy and courage live on in my own vision of creativity and artistic expression of a well-formed faith.
I remember a story told by the American preacher and sociologist, Tony Campolo, about a black preacher in his church in Philadelphia who challenged students to think about what kind of legacy that they wanted to leave when they reached the end of their life. The preacher drew a distinction between ‘titles’ and ‘testimonies.’ He said that although ‘titles’ are not a bad thing, people don’t want to hear how many degrees you got or titles you earned at the end of the day. What will move them most is your testimony. How they lost the best friend they ever had. Or how you cared about your neighbourhood, or how you treated your family and others. As the preacher said, “if it ever comes down to a choice between titles and testimonies… go for the testimony.” Jeremy left a legacy that flowed on through many places he will never have known. He died peacefully with his family around him and will have been welcomed into glory. I am deeply thankful for his life and influence and how it shaped my own ministry journey for many, many years.
There is a wonderful text in Hebrews 12, after the writer has recounted a list of a host of courageous and faithful people who held onto faith and persevered despite great affliction and suffering. I sometimes imagine them all and many others seated or standing in a stadium watching us run our own race. Abraham; Moses; David; Mary Magdalene; Peter; Paul; John and Andrew. In another part of the stands, Mary the mother of Jesus; Elizabeth Fry; Mother Theresa; Francis of Assisi and Amy Carmichael; I can see John Wesley debating some issue with George Whitfield and John Newton. There are the Ugandan martyrs in all their colourful array. Archbishop Romero and Archbishop Janani are smiling and laughing. Tārore is there, still handing out the Gospel of Luke and Te Whiti and Tohu and the children and people of Parihaka are dancing together; Eric Liddell is there. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis are comparing writings with Dorothy L Sayers. Festo Kivengere is greeting Corrie Ten Boom and her sister. I can see Brian Doerksen standing with Charles Wesley, Keith Green and the original Sons of Korah. Jeremy is sitting alongside my friend Alyn Haskey – sixty years with cerebral palsy, now out of his wheelchair. And then your own loved ones who have gone before. In the centre, there is a Royal Box, with Father, Son, and Spirit seated on the throne and surrounded by the angels and archangels. It is a great celebration.
Then, there are those of us on the track who are still running our race. Sometimes we are knocked over and the whole stadium gasps and holds their breath. Jesus suddenly stands. Abraham urges longingly under his breath, “get up laddie/lassie, get up.” The whole stadium joins in, “Up! Up! Up!” They urge you on. And you pick yourself up. And you run with all their energy behind you and when you cross the line, there is a huge shout of joy. You have run your race; you have made it. And we were with you all the way.
The writer to the Hebrews says,
‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such hostility… so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.’
“Courage my friends, we are all between the paws of the one true Aslan!”
I’m alive because you are alive in me
Your love awakens like the morning light
I’m captivated by this hope that calls me home
Your inheritance now mine
Ki te whei ao (To the glimmer of Dawn)
Ki te ao marama (To the bright light of day)
Tihei mauriora (There is life)
(Te Rautini)
A big thank you to Ali Hull for help in editing my scripts – and to my son Jesse for editing the audio.
Thank you for listening. I am also very grateful for the many people who have sent encouraging comments about my reflections.
My personal email address is: davidbrowe1@gmail.com.
We have moved: 12 Bass Close, Linby, Nottinghamshire. NG15 8JW
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