Tribute to Brian Bayston

The following tribute is written by Alan Gijsbers, ISCAST Immediate Past President.

There will be many and very varied tributes to Brian Bayston, a widely read and respected solicitor at McCracken and McCracken the well-established evangelical law firm in Melbourne. It itself has a rich Christian history, and my wife and I personally have benefited from their wise advice which is full of integrity. The tributes will be varied because Brian had many different interests and contributions to places like Scotch College, PLC, Scots’ Church, Ridley College, The Bible Society and many others.

Let me, as former ISCAST President, be much more personal. Brian and Helen were enormously generous in allowing ISCAST Vic to hold some of its home meetings in their home in Camberwell, even when Helen was away and we somehow negotiated their kitchen for our pot-luck dinners. (How can you have a “fire in the belly” session without eating curry beforehand?). Their home is amazing, with books everywhere. There is even an extension at the back, a round two-storey room with a spiral staircase and a dome with books, books, and more books. Helen, as a librarian had all the books classified and shelved. Oh I broke the tenth commandment every time I entered their home! When asked whether he had read every book, Brian would say with a twinkle in his eye, “Some of them twice!”

We in ISCAST appreciated Brian’s generous wise counsel in relation to corporate legal issues, and his generosity towards ISCAST when administering various Christian charitable trusts. Mind you he checked us out to make sure we were bona fide!

Brian was not well in the last few years, but he was still generous, wise, and warm. He will be missed, but I am sure he will hear his master’s “Well done good and faithful servant!” A sentiment we all echo. At the end of Brian’s eulogy at Leon Morris’ funeral Brian said, “We do not need to weep for him. We do not need to weep for his family. We only rejoice that he is in the presence of the Lord of Glory and that his words and works continue here by the grace of God.” We now say the same about Brian.

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[1]https://theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/morris_eulogy.pdf