Mike Burns

I’ve known Mike for a long time. Today is a full circle moment. I met Mike when he was a young Aggie learning to walk with Jesus at Texas A&M. He stood out to me, first, because he was taller than anyone I’d ever met! But more than that, he possessed teachability and hunger for Christ that stood out among the several hundred freshmen our Cru ministry team was getting to know on campus. God gifted Mike with the power of WOO - Winning Others Over. He grew into a leader on campus - in the Aggie Corps, and ultimately becoming the Student Director of Cru’s campus ministry. Yes, I had the privilege of discipling Mike for a season. But he discipled me as well. One time I took the men I was discipling away for a weekend of camping, shooting, cooking, and fishing. At that point in my ministry my parents were still not fully on board with God’s calling in my life. I vividly recall, after complaining about their lack of enthusiasm, that Mike took me aside, and in his gentle giant way rebuked me, saying, “Ken, you are not honoring your parents, and God will not honor your relationship with them.” He called me out, and I repented, and changed the way I viewed them and spoke of them for the rest of their days. Thank you, Mike, for your candor and willingness to speak truth with grace. As Mike grew in discipleship he was developing his convictions that would lead to his one life ambition - to take the gospel to the world and share Christ to the nations. One summer, Mike joined our team and my family on a student mission experience overseas in China. There was another staff woman on that team, her name was Jill. Mike fell hard and fast, and one year later I was blessed to officiate their wedding as they became husband and wife. That was 30 years ago this summer. Fast forward to 5 years ago, when I was wrestling with my calling to the ministry I loved for 35 years, Mike spoke words of challenge, promise, and blessing over me. “Ken, God has something new for you!” He encouraged me to live courageously, to envision a new chapter of ministry where God might use me to broaden my influence beyond a single organization to dozens more. His was not the only prompt, but a significant voice in my discernment process. When I heard clearly from the Lord it was time to take a leap into the unknown, Mike was there to pray with me and coach me across the Jordan river into a new organization, and a new role that fit me like a glove, and into a new season of influence in these past five years. Mike and I partnered together to serve the global executive leadership teams - both of my former organization, Cru, as well as my new organization, East-West. Mike was highly respected by team members in both organizations. When I learned of Mike’s sudden and tragic death, I felt a deep sense of shock and loss. I thought immediately of Jill, of Tanner, Noah and Zoe, his growing company at Adaptive Leaders, and his extensive global network of friends. When we receive news like this, it is natural to wrestle with life’s deeper questions, and to direct them to the God of heaven and earth. But in Jesus’ kingdom economy, a man’s life is not measured by the quantity of his days, but by the quality of his relationships. By that measure, Mike’s life was like a bumper harvest: full, abundant, and overflowing. Jesus said: “I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly” - that is, above and beyond. Though seemingly cut short from our perspective, it is hard for me to think of Mike’s life as anything less than abundant! For me, in my 40 years of ministry - Mike was one of the most naturally gifted, Spirit-filled leaders I have ever had the privilege to know and work with. Top tier, bearing fruit 30, 60 and 100 fold. Prophetic in his ability to speak God’s truth and words of life into his relationships including Mike loved golf. He loved a tasty shared meal! No grass grew under Mike’s feet - he was a man of bold action. Mike was a man of action - building bridges between people, then mobilizing them to connect to a larger life purpose. How many times did I hear Mike say: “Yes… YES! Yes, let’s go! Yes, we can make that work.” He truly a man of faith. A man of hope, and a man of love. Mike was fearless with strangers; he could and did talk to anyone, anywhere, about anything! Mike wielded an extraordinary ability to bring people together and to draw others out. Mike invested in me, strengthened me, and sharpened me. Mike loved his family. Jill, he loved you. The way he tenderly spoke of you, of your partnership. I remember as the two of you were getting married, Mike shared with me some advice he got from your dad, Jill. It was along the lines of: “Don’t cage her in. She needs to be free to fly!” Mike took that advice to heart. He loved you. Tanner, Noah, and Zoe - he loved each of you very much. After we moved to Plano in 2021, Mike would regularly stay at our home when he was visiting clients in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We would rise early and go for prayer walks around our neighborhood lake - dreaming about future opportunities, updating on our wives and kids, then praying together - asking God to do the things in our relationships that only he could do. I loved Mike like a brother, and I will miss him dearly. Well done, Mike! You leave behind a rich legacy of faith and friendship. Oh, Lord God. Today we offer up our praise and thanksgiving for the life of your servant, Mike Burns. What a legacy of joy, faith and servanthood he leaves behind. I can picture Mike standing next to you, Jesus, savoring your presence and hearing you say, “Well done! Good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” I wonder what Mike would say in return…. Perhaps he would echo the words of your apostle Paul, who proclaimed: “The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, has awarded to me on this day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” Amen