Remembering David Powlison

When I think of the handful of times I got to spend with David Powlison, I can’t help but be reminded of Jesus, and how he interacted with people in the Gospels. Zacchaeus up in the tree, the woman at the well, the little children in the crowd.

One of the last times I spent with David was at a photo shoot with the CCEF faculty I had the privilege of doing. As I looked through the images after the shoot, I realized to my dismay there was hardly a single usable portrait of David. In every frame, he had been talking to me. He had asked how things were going at the Bookstore. He asked about my pregnant wife. He joked about how nervous everyone was to have their picture taken.

David was the kind of man who cared about the person behind the camera, and the tag-along husband (me) at a CCEF staff Christmas party. There was never any small talk or wasted words. Plenty of joking, certainly, but always with the aim of slowing down and connecting with the person in front of him in a meaningful way.

His writing bears this same winsome, slow, and measured tone. In his books you will find decades of studying people and God’s word distilled into clear-minded theology written at street-level reality. His insights are simple and wise; enriching reading for the brand-new believer, the veteran pilgrim, and those of us somewhere in between.

Josiah Pettit
Director of Marketing & Design
Westminster Bookstore