Pastor Myles Munroe Remembered for Lessons of Leadership, Faith
The religious leader and his wife were among the victims of Bahamas jet crash.
— -- Myles Munroe was prepared for a week of speeches and seminars, mentorship and inspiration.
The pastor and motivational speaker, 60, had organized a Global Leadership Forum for Nov. 10-13 in his native Bahamas. The event will continue -- but under a cloud of sadness after a jet carrying Munroe and eight others crashed on approach near Grand Bahama International Airport Sunday, killing all on board.
Munroe’s wife Ruth, who served as co-senior pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries International Fellowship, also was among the victims. The two had been married for three decades. Senior vice president and pastor Richard Pinder also died in the crash, ABC News has learned.
A statement was posted to Munroe’s Facebook page Sunday.
“We would like to inform you that the Global Leadership Forum will continue,” the statement read. “This is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted. Please keep his family and the ministry in prayers.”
Munroe's death was especially upsetting in his native Bahamas, and Prime Minister Perry G. Christie called the loss "utterly impossible to measure."
"He was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures our nation has ever produced. His fame as an ambassador for the Christian ministry preceded him wherever in the world he traveled, whether in the Caribbean, North America, Asia, Europe or Africa. He was a towering force who earned the respect and admiration not only of Christian adherents but of secular leaders both here at home and around the world," Christie said in a statement.
Munroe grew up in Bain Town, a suburb of Nassau, one of 11 children. He became a Christian during his teenage years and later attended Oral Roberts University, an Oklahoma-based Christian university, graduating in 1978 with degrees in fine arts, education and theology. He obtained a Master’s degree in administration from the University of Tulsa in 1980. He also served as an adjunct professor at Oral Roberts.
Oral Roberts President William M. Wilson released a statement following Munroe’s death.
“His energy and enthusiasm for imparting Spirit Empowered Christianity to new generations was contagious,” Wilson said in the statement. “Whether in a leadership gathering with those in highest authority or in Bahamas as a caring shepherd in a community of believers, Myles was always the same -- upbeat, positive, loving, full of faith and searching for any way possible to make Jesus known in our generation. His loss will be felt around the world as well as in our hearts here at ORU.”
During his professional career, Munroe traveled to more than 100 countries and wrote dozens of books. His speeches addressed personal leadership, family structure, spiritual balance and principles.
He discussed purpose in a 2003 speech.
“You weren’t born just to live a life and to die, you were born to accomplish something specifically,” he said. “Matter of fact, success is making it to the end of your purpose, that is success. ... Success is not just existing, success is making it to the end of why you were born.”
He also discussed the human lifespan and making the most of one’s life.
“The value of life is not in its duration, but in its donation. You are not important because of how long you live, you are important because of how effective you live. And most people are concerned about growing old rather than being effective,” he said in 2003. “The people who have impacted the world didn’t live long. Martin Luther King. John F. Kennedy. These people who impact the world were not old people, but they lived so effectively that we cannot erase them from history.”
Munroe and his wife had two children -- Charisa and Myles Jr., nicknamed “Chairo.”
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