Hundreds gather at La Sierra University Church in tribute to Adventist researcher, professor

Dr. Gillespie, age 75, passed to his rest on May 7 at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. following a battle with liver cancer that began in early 2017. He leaves a 54-year legacy of dedicated service to the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, 42 of which transpired at La Sierra University, and a life of loving commitment to God, his family, friends, colleagues and students. 

The celebration service for Dr. Gillespie, which drew an audience that filled the university church sanctuary, included tributes, remembrances and prayers by university and denominational colleagues and representatives, and by his son, Dr. Timothy Gillespie, lead pastor at Crosswalk Church in Redlands. Performances were given by La Sierra vocal performance group United and by the William Chunestudy Men’s Chorus of which Dr. Gillespie was a member.

The service opened with a welcome by university President Randal Wisbey who is a faculty member with the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School where Dr. Gillespie taught for many years and which he led as associate and acting dean. 

“The focus of so much of Dr. Gillespie’s research contemplated the overarching and lifelong process of faith development. He was particularly passionate about young people and the need for the church, the school, and the home to embody a grace-filled climate that would encourage growth, a sense of belonging, and a meaningful connection to God,” Wisbey said. 

He recalled a university retirement celebration held for Dr. Gillespie last year. “It was a wonderful gift to each of us who were present, to be able to express to Bailey our gratitude for the significant contribution he had made through his years of research, teaching, mentoring, and friendship.”

Kendra Haloviak Valentine, associate professor of New Testament studies at the Divinity School noted Dr. Gillespie’s establishment of cohort programs, his most recent in the Central California Conference for pastors interested in completing their master’s programs. She recalled his diligent work with accreditation teams and his many tours to the Holy Land which he planned and led over more than 30 years. “He absolutely loved introducing people of all ages to the locations of Scriptures stories,” she said. “Bailey gave himself to the church he loved, and La Sierra’s Divinity School has been the location from which he served. We are grateful. And we miss him.”

Tracy Wood, director of Youth & Young Adult Ministries for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists based in Columbia, Md. presented a tribute on behalf of the NAD and thanked Dr. Gillespie for “the amazing work he did in the church of North America and around the world. The decades of research that he participated in, the work and the projects that he led, and the many articles and books that he wrote. The grace-filled life that he modeled. All of these have been paramount throughout the years and across North America,” Wood said.

He noted Dr. Gillespie’s collaborative effort in bringing together teams of authors and educators to write “pivotal” books that seek to understand the faith development process of the denomination’s children and youth. 

Wood also quoted various division leaders as they remembered Dr. Gillespie and his impactful work. He cited former NAD youth director James Black who led committees on which Dr. Gillespie served. “He said, share with the family, share with those who are there, and I quote, ‘Bailey revolutionized the grace discussions and what grace meant for youth. His work and influence gave youth directors and leaders a platform for bringing grace to the forefront of youth ministry. His investment into the lives of our church leaders’ kids and young adults will live on until Jesus comes.’”

Richard Rice, adjunct religion professor at La Sierra and a longtime friend and colleague of Dr. Gillespie’s recalled Gillespie’s broad professional and extracurricular activities. “Actually, what we will need is a full-length documentary, or maybe a well-edited series,” Rice joked. “I don’t know anyone who has engaged in a wider range of interests or pursued them more extensively than Bailey did.”

In addition to his lengthy pastoral, academic and publishing career, he and his wife, Judy, operated shorthand reporting and document managing businesses in Riverside, Rice said. He also served as a youth camp staff member and was a popular speaker for youth and young adults around the world. His influence from his early years onward inspired career choices – Rice credits Dr. Gillespie in having a key role in his decision to study theology.

Dr. Gillespie’s additional interests included archaeology and history. He was involved in archaeological expeditions in Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Israel for nine years and led a study tour for 33 years to historical sites in Israel, Jordan, Greece and Italy. He also held a strong interest in music, performing in vocal groups and male quartets. 

His educational and academic projects included developing programs for ministers and students in various places including the South Pacific Division and in Athens, Greece, said Rice. And his landmark Valuegenesis studies, the longitudinal analysis of students in grades 6 through 12 in Adventist schools begun in 1990 may prove to be his most lasting legacy, Rice said. 

“His goal was to discover what makes Adventist young people accept or reject the faith of their parents, and what the church can do about it. It led to the largest data sets available regarding young people over time of any religious group in America. It focused on the influence of home, church, and school. And inspired spin-offs in Mexico, South America, Europe, and Australia.

Looking back, I realized that Bailey never stopped to ask, ‘Why not?’ If something sounded interesting and worthwhile, if he said yes to ‘What if?’ the next step was, ‘Here’s how,’ and things just got done.”

Added Rice, “Bailey and I were colleagues and friends for many years. We talked together, traveled together, watched our children grow up together, and I can’t think of anyone over the years who has contributed more to my life than Bailey has.”

Smuts Van Rooyen, a long-time family friend also provided insight into his relationship with Dr. Gillespie and its impact on his life. He talked about the deep discussions he, Dr. Gillespie and David Osborne had on frequent occasions. 

“Our conversation tended to a depth as we walked on the road to Emmaus. … We’d discuss things like why are the scriptures authoritative today? What does it have to say? … We discussed what is epistemology. Do you look at life through the lens of science or rationalism or intuitionism or revelation or all of them? We were searching,” Van Rooyen said. He relayed the prayer they prayed for Dr. Gillespie’s healing, leaving it up to God and trusting in Him.

Timothy Gillespie, in a remembrance of his father described growing up in the Gillespie household “as a case study in momentum,” he said.

“While most kids were going to camp, we went to Israel. While most kids were learning their ABCs, we were learning to date pottery. While most kids’ dads were coaching little league, we were watching Dad chase down gypsies in Rome, or catch pickpockets on the train in Paris. We were eating ice cream in Qumran, climbing the Masada on the hottest day of the year, drinking Cokes on the deck of an Epirotiki cruise ship.

… In some ways, Dad was a time traveler, always living in the future, as if the present didn’t hold any interest to him anymore. He just sort of lived ahead. He was always the tip of the spear and he always had the statistic to back it up. … If life is measured by productivity, Bailey Gillespie didn’t live 75 years, he lived 150.”

He continued, “We watched how much he loved mom, how much he loved his students, how much he loved us, and how much he loved his grandchildren. How he was constantly frustrated because he was living in the future and the change wasn’t happening quick enough to get to him. But more than anything, we watched this long obedience, this obedience that produced so much change, being relentlessly pursued until his very last breath. If there is a hole in our lives, may it be quickly replaced with the admonishment that we continue in that same obedience.”

Dr. Gillespie graduated from La Sierra College in 1964 and earned a Master of Divinity degreefrom Andrews University in 1966. He served as a church pastor, as an academy religion and music teacher, and as assistant dean for admissions and student affairs in the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry before moving to higher education in Loma Linda’s Division of Religion in 1976. He earned his Ph.D. in Christian Personality and Faith Development from Claremont Graduate University in 1973.

In 1981, Dr. Gillespie returned to La Sierra University, then known as the La Sierra Campus of Loma Linda University, as professor of theology and Christian personality and chair of the church and ministry department. He retired in June 2017. He served as associate dean of La Sierra’s H.M.S. Richards Divinity School from 2015-17 and as acting dean from 2014-2015. 

Dr. Gillespie founded the John Hancock Center for Youth and Family Ministry at La Sierra University to create resources for churches and schools so that they could turn research findings into practical applications. Through the Hancock Center, the Adventist church created a curriculum for children’s Sabbath School classes worldwide called the “Gracelink Curriculum.” It presented “the four aspects of a growing Christian experience—grace, worship, community, and service.” 

He wrote or edited more than 30 books and hundreds of articles. He led the Caesarea Maritima  archaeological expeditions from 1976-82 and directed and led the Middle East Study Tour from 1983 - 2015.

Dr. Gillespieis survived by his wife of nearly 54 years, Judy Walcker Gillespie; son Tim and daughter-in-law Sara; daughter Shannon Quishenberry and son-in-law Kenneth Sievers; and five grandchildren.

To continue his legacy, Dr. Gillespie’s classmates from the La Sierra University Class of 1964 have initiated the Dr. V. Bailey Gillespie Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund for scholarships to be granted to students in the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School who qualify for scholarship assistance.

To donate, please contact the La Sierra University Advancement Office at (951) 785-2500 or email advancement@lasierra.edu.