Departures: Expository preacher reached millions

John MacArthur

A pastor, author, and seminary chancellor whose passion for expository preaching grew into a worldwide ministry, MacArthur died July 14. He was 86. MacArthur attended Talbot School of Theology before becoming the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Calif., where he served from 1969 until his death. With his distinctive verse-by-verse style of Bible exposition, MacArthur’s preaching became popular throughout the nation through his daily Grace to You radio program. He produced nearly 400 books and study guides, founded the Master’s Seminary, and was unafraid to wade into controversy, at turns critiquing both charismatic practices and California’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Jimmy Swaggart

A Grammy-nominated gospel singer who would become a popular televangelist with a sprawling ministry beset by prostitution scandals, Swaggart died July 1. He was 90. A child of Louisiana sharecroppers whose father was a part-time minister, he eschewed a record contract to become an Assemblies of God minister. After gaining a following through revivals and radio broadcasts, Swaggart built a television audience, with his show appearing on hundreds of stations by the early 1980s. In 1988, a tear-soaked Swaggart confessed “I have sinned” during a live broadcast, owning up to adultery with a prostitute. Three years later, police stopped Swaggart with another prostitute in his car—a scandal that put his career into terminal decline.

Dave Parker

A Hall of Fame slugger and three-time Gold Glove winner who arguably became America’s first million-dollar-a-year athlete, Parker died June 28. He was 74. Nicknamed “the Cobra” because of his aggressive and quick swing from his coiled batting stance, Parker would become a top contributor to the Pittsburgh Pirates by his third season. In 1978, Parker won the league’s MVP Award, and the next year he was a key contributor to the Pirates’ World Series victory. Parker also signed a five-year deal with the Pirates worth $5 million after counting incentives and deferred money. After finishing his time with Pittsburgh, Parker signed with Cincinnati and was later traded to Oakland, where he helped the Athletics win the 1989 World Series.

Bill Moyers

A key figure within Lyndon Johnson’s political orbit who became one of the guiding lights of public broadcasting in the U.S., Moyers died June 26. He was 91. As a ­college intern in 1954, Moyers worked for state Sen. Johnson. By the time Johnson became president in 1963, Moyers was a top aide, coordinating policy, organizing Johnson’s 1964 presidential campaign, and serving as press secretary. From his perch in the Johnson administration, Moyers oversaw the drafting and passing of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. After leaving ­politics, Moyers would host a variety of investigative journalism series on PBS for which he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and earned numerous Peabody and Emmy awards.

Brian Wilson

A visionary songwriter and musician who turned the Beach Boys from a simple surf-rock band into an American phenomenon, Wilson died June 11. He was 82. While a teen in California, Wilson formed the Beach Boys with brothers Dennis and Carl along with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine in 1961. Wilson wrote some of the band’s most popular surf tracks including “I Get Around” and “Help Me, Rhonda.” Throughout his decades-long association with the band, Wilson struggled with mental illness that often drove him from the stage and into the recording studio. From that position, Wilson composed, arranged, and produced—nearly as a solo effort—the group’s acclaimed 1966 album Pet Sounds.

Carolyn McCarthy

A New York Democrat who represented Long Island in the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years, McCarthy died June 26. She was 81. McCarthy, who had previously been a nurse, decided to enter politics after her husband was killed and her son wounded in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting that claimed six lives. Running on a platform calling for stricter gun laws, McCarthy won her first of nine congressional elections in 1996. Blocked by Republicans on most of her more aggressive gun control ideas, McCarthy sponsored a bill that facilitated record sharing between state and federal authorities on gun background checks. Endorsed by the National Rifle Association, it was signed into law in 2008.