The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DR RICHARD Pinder was hailed as the “the best number two man in the history of the church in The Bahamas” yesterday at an emotional funeral service at Bahamas Faith Ministries (BFM).

It was a reference to the strong supporting role Dr Pinder - one of the founding fathers of BFM - played to Dr Myles Munroe, the late senior pastor of the organisation. Dr Pinder, 58, Dr Munroe and seven others were killed when their Lear Jet crashed in Grand Bahama on November 9.

Approximately 2,000 people attended yesterday’s homegoing service where numerous tributes were paid to Dr Pinder by family and friends living in the Bahamas and abroad.

He was repeatedly portrayed as a giant of a man, a “no nonsense” mentor who spent numerous years of his life developing people to achieve their purpose.

Dr Pinder attended the Oral Roberts University in the early 1970s, where he met and became best friends with Dr Munroe. He returned home in 1979.

The father of two had a bachelor’s degree in sociology and social work, a masters in social work and a doctorate degree in theology.

A sombre mood gripped the BFM congregation in the Diplomat Centre on Carmichael Road as people struggled to balance the sadness of losing one of the church’s most respected voices with the belief that his death was a part of God’s grand plan.

“We don’t have funerals, we have praise celebrations,” the praise and worship leader said at one point as tears streamed down the faces of family and friends.

“Today with tears in my eyes I have joy,” said Dr Pinder’s daughter Talia Marie. “I have joy in knowing that the grave will never have the victory. I thank God everyday that he favoured me enough to bless me with such an exceptional father.”

She told a warmly received story of her father randomly treating her to a restaurant outing nearly a decade ago. At the end of the experience he told her: “This is how your husband is supposed to treat you”.

Dr Sinclear Mitchell, a friend of Dr Pinder and the senior pastor of a church in Washington DC, also spoke about meeting Dr Pinder at a leadership conference 30 year ago.

He said: “There were occasions in my life and ministry where Richard literally saved me because God graced him with such a sense of discernment.”

David Knowles, the president of BFM’s Real Men’s Ministry, also shared intimate reflections on Dr Pinder’s character and the impact he had on men in the ministry.

He spoke about struggling to come to terms with Dr Pinder’s death.

“You didn’t give us no warning, no heads up,” he said. “The only confirmation that I got from you was the day when I started getting calls. When I got the first call I called Chairo (Dr Munroe’s son) first. Then I called Pastor Richards. What I expected to hear every time I dialled that number is for my friend to say, ‘boy we had to land somewhere else’. After about 40 minutes, the reality hit me.”