"Let me tell you the two most important things I learned from my dad," says Michael [Tait, of the dc Talk music group].

"Number one, love people. That's what he taught, and that's what he did. He cried with people, he laughed with people. Everybody was his friend. He could care less about your race, your nationality, your socio-economic status, whatever. All he cared about was you, your soul.

"Number two, live for God and don't get caught up in the things of this world, because they're just fleeting. The world will get the best of you if you let it, so we need to truly live for God.

"My dad [a preacher] preached those two things his whole life. And those two things have shaped who I am today. I love people; I realize that life is short, God is real and that I need to live for Him."

Michael was visiting his parents in Washington, D.C., during the Christmas holidays in 1997 when his dad complained of stomach pains. Michael took him to the hospital, where doctors found the cancer. Michael was there, a few weeks later, when he breathed his last in February 1998.

"The man was my hero."