Yesterday, my friend, Dee Bowman passed from this life to go be with the Lord. He was a friend, mentor, and encourager to fellow preachers and brethren all across this nation.
My wife, Norma, along with Dee and his Norma have enjoyed many good times together for which we are thankful.
Dee was not only a powerful presenter of the Word but an excellent writer. In memory and honor of Dee, today’s list will feature various quotes and sayings from his books, Christianity magazine, and sermons throughout the years.
Encouraging Words From Dee Bowman
● We’re all just parts, nobody’s the whole.
● Truth has only one real aim–application. It is not enough to appreciate and admire it. It really never reaches its intention until it is implemented.
● My two favorite words in the Bible–“I Press.”
● The measure of a man’s faith is very often seen in how he acts when no one is looking.
● A good man gets respect the old-fashioned way–he earns it.
● Life is about little people. It’s not about the rich and famous, it’s about simple folks…who haven’t made a big splash in life, nor said anything special, or done anything worthy of public praise or honor.
● The success of Christianity is not measured by what you get out of it, but by what it gets out of you.
● Preaching that does not storm the will is not good preaching.
● You should never criticize anyone when you’re glad about it, only when you’re sad about it.
● Life’s problems tend to make us bitter or better, one of the other.
● I figure if God wanted us to drink skim milk, He would have made cows drink more water and eat less grass.
● Responsibility is ability plus opportunity.
● Application is what preaching is all about.
● The conscience is that part of a man’s intelligence that keeps him in balance regarding his convictions. It enforces moral obligation.
● It occurs to me that we must all make an honest self-assessment by asking: (1) Who am I? (2) What am I? (3) Where am I? And (4) What is to be done?
● You’ll never be truly happy if happiness is your goal in life. Happiness is a by-product of being good to others, of being right with God.
● Anybody can apologize. It takes a man to change.
● There is little to be gained by running people down; but everybody benefits when you encourage just one person.
● Bible teaching not only encourages bad people to be become good; it also encourages good people to become better.
● (Jesus) came to save us all, big and small alike.
● “If you miss heaven, you’ve just missed all there is.”
We know by faith Dee Bowman lives on in the home of the soul. But Dee will live on in his influence for good through his family, friends, fellow preachers, brethren around the world, and certainly through his writings.
Rest in peace, good brother. Your reward awaits.
–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
ThePreachersWord 
Beautiful memorial blog in memory of your dear friend Dee Bowman. His work will carry on through the work of other faithful men. Thanks for posting.
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What a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. I loved Dee Bowman as much as anybody I’ve ever known, even though I’ve had very little contact with him. I always attended every gospel meeting that I could if I was anywhere near where he was. He was so friendly and so easy to get to know. I know it’s impossible to get them all but you missed one of his sayings that I really loved. “If you can’t thank God for it you’d better not do it.” How to repeat that in a couple different sermons years ago.
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So, true, Frank. Your observations about Dee are sport on. And thanks for the quote. I remember it now. Maybe it will be fodder for another blog post.
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You’re welcome, Peggy. Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment
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Ken, thanks so much for listing these quotes. I love them all because I heard him say most of them. Dee was a true friend (to many). I remember traveling more than 50-miles to hear him preach on more than one occasion, knowing ahead of time I had already heard him preach that lesson before. And guess what? The lesson moved me and encouraged me as much the second and third time as it did the first time. Just like his writings did. I hesitate to say that I had a favorite quote because all of them are my favorites. But other than, If you miss heaven you’ve missed it all, here’s one that made an impression on me. “You’ll never be truly happy if happiness is your goal in life. Happiness is a by-product of being good to others, of being right with God.”
Thanks for sharing Ken. Keep up the good work! God bless.
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Thanks for sharing your memory, Randy. Your experience is a wonderful testimony to both the powerful preaching of Dee and the power of the Word. Yes, I like that quote too. Thanks for commenting.
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Brother Dee was the preacher I heard when I attended my first gospel meeting, and I feel in love! I loved his smile, I loved the way he made you WANT to go to heaven, I love his wonderful sermons, I loved his delightful sense of humor, and I loved his incredible love of GOD. We should all have a love like Dee Bowman in our lives…
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Thanks for sharing your special memory, Brenda. And your observations about Dee are so true. God bless.
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Heavens gain earths loss but while he was here he helped many to know God better. What a blessing to have known him, had him in our home, and heard him preach in Southern Ca, Sepulveda & Fairview in Garden Grove. Our kids, grandkids benefited from him as well and all know “if you miss heaven you missed it all” was a Dee Bowman quote. Prayers for the family going up in Oregon. 🙏 Michele Walker Kasper widow of Dann Walker, gospel preacher.
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So, true. Dee was a helper of many. Thanks for commenting, Michele.
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Many thanks to you for these remembrances. I knew Dee and Norma from Lubbock. He taught, encouraged, and baptized many college friends. He and Norma gave freely of their time to help us and so many others.
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I’ll try to keep this short. Dee Bowman sent me a note once in the mail. In it, at the end he stated “May the Lord increase your tribe” My youngest daughter Lana was born, and I didn’t realize the significance of his letter until I came upon it some months after her birth and realized the post date on the envelope was different than the date he had written on the note. I gave birth to Lana EXACTLY nine months from the date on his note. By the time I gave birth to her she was 3 weeks past the ” due date” given by the Doctor. And it was assumed she was late. But after seeing the date on the note, I realized she was right on time. (Ya’ll know there are many more details to this story….but like I said, I’ll try to keep it short.) Jeremiah 28:9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”
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Reblogged this on ThePreachersWord and commented:
Today concludes reblogging the top 10 tops of 2021 with this Friday’s List that was a tribute to Dee Bowman. It was a runaway #1 for the year in terms of reader views. We miss Dee, but his work and words live on in our hearts.
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I am several months late reading this. Had pleasure of hearing Dee when South Jacksonville would have their lectures of Christianity Magazine editors. Had great respect for this godly man.Mary Hawkins
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