William R. Cutrer, Best-Selling Author, Touched Many Lives (ANS Newswire story)

William R. Cutrer touched many lives.

He was the first medical doctor to join the faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
GRAND RAPIDS, MI (ANS) — Kregel author William R. "Bill" Cutrer passed away on Saturday, July 13, 2013, during a bike ride. He was 62.

William R. Cutrer touched many lives. The morning he died, Cutrer, left his home for a bicycle ride and not long after, fellow cyclists found him tipped over on his bicycle, according to the family. First responders tried to revive Cutrer without success.

Three days later, the family held a memorial service at the Cutrer's church, Crestwood Baptist Church in Crestwood, Ky. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., and a close friend of Cutrer and his family for more than 30 years, spoke at the service from Psalm 1.

"In many ways, the Cutrer family had four brothers and I was the fourth, and was always treated like that and so much more," Akin said. "In fact, were I to attempt today to share all the ways in which Charlotte and I were a part of this family, we'd be here a long, long, long time."

Akin, who formerly served as vice president of academic administration at Southern Seminary, shared to the story about how Cutrer delivered each of the Akin sons. One difficult pregnancy forced Charlotte Akin to bedrest. Cutrer and his wife, Jane, invited the Akins to move in with them for remainder of the pregnancy, which they did.

Akin concluded his comments drawing a parallel between Cutrer and the psalmist's vision of a blessed man: "Adrian Rogers said that life is lived in depth, not length," he said. "And if a life lived in the depth of God's grace and goodness is certain to be a blessed life, then Bill Cutrer lived a very blessed life as first trophy of God's amazing grace but also as an example worthy of all of us to study and in many ways emulate."

Also at the funeral, Cutrer's second son, read from Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the Bar," noting the poem's significance to three generations of Cutrers.

"Finally, I would like to end by reading a poem that my dad found solace in at the passing of his father, who also found solace in it at the passing of his," he said.

Following the funeral, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary, led at the graveside ceremony.

Cutrer became the first medical doctor to join the faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky, following his successful career as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Texas. While at the seminary, he served as staff physician of the school's Hagan Clinic, an on-campus limited health maintenance service staffed by a charge nurse and physician.

According to a Kregel news release, Cutrer touched thousands of lives through his medical practice, his seminary teaching, and through his diversified writing career. As a medical professional, he teamed with coauthor Sandra Glahn to help married couples discover intimacy as God intended for it to be in Sexual Intimacy in Marriage, now in its third edition with almost 150,000 copies in print.

Cutrer also worked with Glahn to create the riveting CBA best-seller Lethal Harvest, which explored the early promise, and peril, of genetic manipulation. As a seminary professor, he reached out to aspiring pastors, helping them learn the practical skills of shepherding God's people with The Church Leader's Handbook: A Guide to Counseling Families and Individuals in Crisis.

"Bill was one of the most genuine people I have ever had the privilege to work with," recalls Kregel publisher Dennis Hillman. "He was intelligent, insightful, caring, and always striving to focus on things that made a difference. His love for God and God's people was unmistakable in everyday life."

Note: Kregel Publications (www.kregel.com) is in an evangelical Christian publisher who develops and distributes—with integrity and excellence—trusted, biblically based resources that lead individuals to know and serve Jesus Christ. Kregel is represented by three divisions: Kregel Publications, Editorial Portavoz (Spanish), and a retail division. Kregel is also the North American distributor for Monarch, Lion Fiction, and Candle Books and the North American religious market distributor for Lion and Lion Children's Books.

William R. Cutrer, Best-Selling Author, Touched Many Liveshttp://t.co/5ycKSqKexw http://t.co/Dlg4jpvWN4
— ASSIST News Service (@ASSISTNEWS) July 23, 2013(c) 2013 Used with permission.