YOU and GOD

A Deadly Sin

Genesis says that in earth’s earliest days, the elder son of Adam and Eve, Cain, was angry. His wrath was directed at his brother, Abel, who had worshipped God with the prescribed offering; but ultimately it was aimed at God, who appeared to Cain and asked, “Why art thou wroth? And why is thy countenance fallen?” God graciously counseled Cain that he need only do right by bringing the offering that was required, and all would be well. But Cain yielded to anger and killed his brother, the first recorded murder in history. It was a sin born of hatred and disobedience, and it is written into the record of history as an example of how not to deal with anger towards God and jealousy and ill-will toward other human beings.

American author and theologian Frederick Buechner, in his book Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, says that “of the seven deadly sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontation still to come, to savor the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back; in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.”

Aristotle said that “anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to become angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time and in the right way—that is not easy.”

Solomon spoke well and wisely to the matter when he admonished his son to “make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go, lest thou learn his ways.” (Prov. 22:24,25) And, again, the wise man warned: “Be not angry in thy spirit; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.” (Eccl. 9:7)

A parable on the subject: “A big, mean lion met a monkey in the jungle. The lion pounced on the poor monkey and asked, ‘Who is the king of the jungle?’ The frightened monkey replied, ‘You are, O mighty lion.’ So the lion let him go. The next animal the lion met was a zebra. He pounced on it and roared, ‘Who is the king of the jungle?’ ‘You are, O mighty lion.’ So the lion let him go. The lion next met an elephant and asked him the same question. The elephant grabbed the lion, twirled him around, and threw him 50 feet. The lion picked himself up and huffed, ‘Just because you don’t know the answer is no reason to get rough.’” Maybe the moral of this clever parable is: Be careful about tossing your weight around; you just might rouse the anger of the wrong person!

So, as Aristotle said, there is a time and place for one’s anger to be aroused. Jesus displayed righteous anger on more than one occasion, sometimes dealing with it by what He did, as when He cleansed the Temple in John 2; sometimes dealing with it by what He said, as when He excoriated the self-righteous Pharisees in Matthew 23, when He called them “fools and blind…hypocrites…whited sepulchers…generation of vipers;” and sometimes by both what He did and what He said, as when He again cleansed the temple late in His ministry on His final trip to Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:12-17) So, Henry Ward Beecher—the 19^th-century pastor and abolitionist—may have been right when he said that a man who does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good. A man that does not know how to be shaken to his heart’s core with indignation over evil things, Beecher said, is either a fungus or a wicked man.

The English poet William Blake put it this way: “I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow.” Paul said that we ought at times to be angry, yet in doing so we ought not to sin. He concludes, “Let not the sun go down upon thy wrath.” (Eph. 4:26) He clarifies further: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.” (Eph.4:31)

A Christian counsellor once said, “The greatest danger to a man’s success is uncontrollable anger.” King Herod, angry with the wise men from the east who had come to worship the Christ child, had hundreds, maybe thousands, of Judean Hebrew babies slain in a fit of rage because the wise worshippers did not tell Herod where they had found Jesus.

It is so very distressing to witness the wrath, anger, bitterness and evil speaking in recent days against the Jewish nation, Israel, in the wake of the October 7^th terrorist attack, during which Hamas committed unspeakable atrocities and in which they took hundreds of innocent civilians hostage. Family members and loved ones have posted pictures of some of those Israeli hostages, including children, and we have witnessed angry, hate-filled people pulling down the pictures in contempt.

The Roman emperor Caesar Augustus was quoted as saying that “whenever you are angry, say or do nothing before you have repeated the alphabet to yourself.” And another wise person said, “Call for the grandest of all earthly spectacles, what is that? It is the sun going to its rest. Call for the grandest of all human sentiments, what is that? It is that man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.” (Thomas De Quincey)

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19,20)

Souls for Jesus

Back in the mid-1960s, and probably before and surely after, the preacher boys’ class at Bob Jones University, where I was a ministerial student, began its weekly session in the then Fine Arts auditorium by singing the chorus, “Souls for Jesus.” About 800 young men bellowed out the words, “Souls for Jesus is our battle cry; souls for Jesus, we’ll fight until we die; we never will give in, while souls are lost in sin—souls for Jesus is our battle cry!” Dr. Gilbert Stenholm would then stride to the pulpit, survey the class of primed preachers, and lead in a soul-stirring prayer punctuated with cries of “Amen!” from an auditorium packed with pastors, evangelists, and missionaries in the making. It moves me deeply now, 60 years later, to remember those weekly meetings of hundreds of young men who would soon leave those sacred halls to go out to “shake” America for Christ. It brought “goose bumps” to my neck at the time—and even today, as I recall the experience, my eyes are being washed with tears.

Souls for Jesus. That was our mantra. Probably a cursory study of contemporary church history in the United States would reveal that from the early 1960s to the mid 1970s there was a vigorous effort to plant New Testament churches in America. Churches conducted revival meetings, and young men and women enlisted to go to the mission fields of the world. Others, like myself, answered God’s call to full-time Christian ministry. Many of the great, or once-great, independent churches were planted during that red-hot era of evangelism and church growth. It was a different age than this one, and it was fueled by young people who caught the vision—set on fire by men like Bob Jones, Sr., Lee Roberson and John R. Rice—to make “Souls for Jesus” their battle cry.

Well, the need is as great if not greater today. In fact, the population has doubled, from 4 billion to 8 billion. Visualize a point, then picture one person passing that point every second. It would take more than 250 years for every person to pass that point!

We cannot reach all the 7,402 unreached people groups of the world today, i.e. a group of people who have the same ethnicity and speak the same language. That would require us to reach 3.27 billion people. The task is more staggering when we realize that 3,150 of those people groups are not only unreached, they are unengaged (with no Christian presence or Church planting efforts). Roughly 66,000 of the world’s 8 billion souls perish every day with no access to the gospel. (The Titus Ten, J. Josh Smith, B & H Publishing, p.173). Souls for Jesus!

The late John Broadus, a leading19^th-century Baptist pastor and seminary instructor, told of his joy of leading just one soul to Christ. He related that “the greatest joy of his life was when, as a boy, he found Christ as his Savior, and immediately led another boy to Christ. He said he took him out behind the barn, on a pile of boards, and sitting there together, he told this lad the story of his new-found joy—the story of Jesus. His friend became a Christian and said to young John Broadus, ‘that is the prettiest story I ever heard. I am going to make Jesus my Savior. I thank you, John,’ he said, as they separated.

“Then good Dr. Broadus went on to say that they had both lived in that same city until now; they were both gray-haired men, he a teacher in the seminary, the other man the driver of a dray (wagon or cart); and he said that he had never met that man during all those years but what he touched his cap as they passed and said, ‘Thank you, John, thank you, John.’ Then Dr. Broadus said, ‘When I get to Heaven, after seeing my Savior and my father and mother, I want to see that lad. I know just what he will say when I meet him coming down that golden street. It will be just what he said this morning as I passed him on the way to this building to speak to you: Thank you, John; thank you, John.’” (copied) Ah, souls for Jesus!

One day Michelangelo saw a block of marble which the owner said was of no value. “It’s valuable to me,” said Michelangelo. “There is an angel imprisoned in it, and I must set it free!”

Yes, souls for Jesus! One imprisoned soul at a time.

Evangelist Gypsy Smith told of a time when he was sitting at a table with some preachers; one of them, a Scotsman, asked, “How did you get on at your meeting?”

“I said, ‘Oh, so many passed through the inquiry room.’”

He said, “Is it safe to count?”

I said, “Well, they counted at Pentecost and put it down at 3,000. He changed the subject.”

“Later the Scotsman asked, ‘Are you married, Mr. Smith?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Any family?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘How many?’ I replied, ‘Is it safe to count?’

“When the laughter subsided, I added, ‘You count your children, and the Lord counts us. You made enough fuss when your family baby was born. The Lord says there is joy in Heaven over one. The church doesn’t make half enough fuss when one is converted!”

Souls for Jesus!

Franz Kreisler (1875-1962), world-famous violinist, once discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, but because he had given away much of the money he had earned, he lacked the money to purchase it. He raised the needed sum and returned to the seller of the prized instrument to buy it, only to learn it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the collector’s home and offered to buy the violin, but the collector said it had become a cherished possession, and he refused to sell it. Dejected, the concert violinist was about to turn to leave, but before he did, he asked the collector if he might play the violin before he left. He was granted that request, and the great virtuoso filled the room with majestic, heart-rending music that greatly moved the collector, so much so that he said, “I have no right to keep that to myself. It’s yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it to the world, and let the people hear it!” Souls for Jesus!

“Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:10) Souls for Jesus is our battle cry!

Forgiven!

David said it with an exclamation: “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Ps.32:1)

In another of his Psalms of praise, the sweet singer of Israel reminds us that God is one “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities.” (Ps.103:3) In fact, David continued, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” (Ps.103:12). That makes Paul’s New Testament admonition much more doable: “And be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Eph.4:32)

Isn’t it sad that people, sometimes even those who claim to be recipients of God’s saving grace, live a lifetime without forgiving some old offense against them? As a young college student, studying for ministry, I was asked to preach one Sunday in a little country church close to the town where I was born. God led me to preach from Matthew 5 about leaving the altar where you are worshipping and going to make restoration, or to ask forgiveness, from a brother who has “ought against thee.” (Matt.5:24). Jesus tells His disciples that one should leave his gift before the altar and go and make restoration with the offended brother quickly. I found out some time later that two older women in that small congregation, sisters, had not spoken to each other for years. To my knowledge, they died never having made things right with each other. Had I known that fact before I preached from that text, as a college sophomore preacher boy, I am sure I could not have delivered that message. But I am just as certain that God put that text upon my heart that day. It is almost beyond belief that two people can live and die holding grudges against each other for years.

Jesus gave no comfort to anyone who held a grudge and had not forgiven an offender. When Peter asked his Master if one should forgive an offender “seven times,” Jesus must have startled him with His answer: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but until seventy times seven.” (Matt. 18:21,22) And, after a pertinent parable about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus concluded this discussion with a sobering thought: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.” (Matt. 18:35) The “so likewise” referred to a man who, having been forgiven a huge debt, showed no compassion on the person who owed him a comparably small amount—and even demanded the poor debtor be thrown into prison. Jesus said that those guilty of that kind of unforgiving spirit were liable to be “thrown to the tormentors.” It is not a matter to trifle with, this matter of an unforgiving spirit.

Augustine, before he was saved, had been a profligate rebel against God; on his death bed, he had Psalm 32 written on the wall opposite his bed. The Psalm begins with, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

“Not far from New York is a cemetery lone, close guarding its grave stands a simple headstone, And all the inscription is one word alone: FORGIVEN.

No sculptor’s fine art hath embellished its form, but constantly there, through the calm and the storm, it beareth this word from a poor, fallen worm: FORGIVEN.

The death is unmentioned, the name is untold; beneath lies the body, corrupted and cold; Above rests his spirit, at home in the fold—FORGIVEN!

And when, from the heavens, the Lord shall descend, this stranger shall rise and to glory ascend,

Well known and befriended to sing without end, FORGIVEN!” (Unknown)

A little boy was visiting his grandparents’ farm. He was given a slingshot to play with in the woods and, though having practiced quite a bit, was never able to hit the target. Heading back for dinner, and seeing Grandma’s pet duck, he let fly the slingshot and hit the duck square in the head, killing it. He was shocked and grieved, and in a panic hid the duck in a woodpile, only to see that his sister, Sally, was watching and had seen the whole thing!

After lunch the next day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to Johnny, “Remember the duck.” So, Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing, and Grandma said, “I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper.” But Sally just smiled and said, “That’s all right, Johnny told me he wanted to help.” Then she whispered again in her brother’s ear, “Remember the duck.” After a couple of days of this, Johnny had about all he could take of it and confessed to his grandma that he had killed her pet duck. Grandma knelt beside him and gave him a hug and said, “That’s all right, sweetheart. You see, I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing; but, because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Thought for the day: “Whatever your past, whatever you have done…and the Devil keeps throwing it up to you (lying, cheating, stealing, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness)…whatever it is…you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing.” (copied)

“…Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:9)

Jesus On the Worth of the Soul

Just after Peter had rebuked Jesus for revealing to the apostles that He would suffer, be rejected by the nation of Israel, and be killed by the chief priests and scribes before He would rise from dead after three days and three nights (Mark 8:31), Jesus taught His followers that discipleship was absolute, demanding even that a man should be willing to lose his own life for Christ’s and the gospel’s sake. It was a tough lesson to hear on the heels of what Peter had just said to Jesus. But the Lord used it as a teaching moment when He then said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

The value of one soul. Nothing comes close to it. Its worth is inestimable. Solomon posited that “He that winneth souls is wise.” (Provs. 11:30) Since the soul is life’s most valuable possession—the only part of one’s being that will live as long as God lives—it is wise to value it as God values it.

George Whitefield, the famous English evangelist, did: “O Lord, give me souls, or take my soul,” he prayed.

John Hyde, a missionary to India known as “Praying Hyde,” pleaded: “Father, give me these souls, or I die.”

David Brainerd, early 18^th-century missionary to the American Indians, prayed: “I care not where I live or what hardships I go through, so that I can but gain souls to Christ. All my desire is the conversion of sinners, and all my hope is in God.”

It was the “prince of preachers,” C.H. Spurgeon, who affirmed that “I would rather be the means of saving a soul from death than to be the greatest orator on earth. I would rather bring the poorest woman in the world to the feet of Jesus, than I would to be made the Archbishop of Canterbury. I would sooner pluck one single brand from the burning than to explain all mysteries.”

Evangelist D.L. Moody told of his conversion, which occurred at a time when he was working in his uncle’s shoe store, and when he (by agreement) was attending a Bible class taught by Edward Kimball. Kimball, a humble Sunday School teacher, went to the store where young Moody was working, found him, and put his hand on his shoulder, saying, “I’m concerned for you.” His lips quivered, and he was able to say no more. Moody later thought, “Now this is strange! Here is one who has known me only two weeks, and he is concerned about myself!” It is said that Moody straightway went down to the basement, knelt behind a stack of boxes, and gave himself to Christ. (Preacher’s Magazine)

Sometime after Moody was converted, a Sunday morning in 1856, a congregation of well-dressed people had been ushered to their rented pews in Chicago’s Plymouth Congregational Church. Their serene worship was interrupted on that particular Sunday morning by something they had never witnessed before. In walked a young man, a 19-year-old shoe salesman, followed by a motley group of “tramps, slum people and alcoholics.” The young man led them to the four pews he had personally rented for the visitors. He continued in this ministry of evangelism until the Lord called him into a worldwide ministry. (Selected)

John Wesley understood the value of one soul when he advised young preachers: “You may be elegant, you may be a good financier, yea, you may be in great demand, but if you do not win souls, you are a failure. You are not called to do this or that, but to win souls.”

Are you a member of a church that considers its first mission that of winning souls that can be discipled to win other souls? C.S. Lewis challenged Christ’s church: “He works on us in all sorts of ways. But above all, He works on us through each other. Men are mirrors, or ‘carriers’ of Christ to other men. Usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians, showing Him to one another, is so important. It is so easy to think that the Church has lots of different objects-education, building, missions, holding services-the Church exists for no other purpose but to draw men to Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons…are simply a waste of time. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose.”

There are now about 8 billion living souls upon the earth. If one person per second walked past a given point, it would take 253 years for the 8 billion people to walk past that point. I recently read that there are 7,402 unreached people groups in the world at present, a people group being a group that shares an ethnicity and a language. The total population of the unreached people groups is 3.27 billion, or 42.2 percent of the world’s population. Of the 7,402 unreached people groups, 3,150 are unengaged and unreached; that is, there is no known Christian presence or planted church where they are living. 66,000 souls pass out into eternity every day with no access to the gospel. (The Titus Ten, J. Josh Smith, B & H Publishing, p.173)

Jesus put an incalculable value upon every one of these 8 billion souls. A survey of 10,000 people conducted by a church-growth group found that of those who come to Christ, 2% had a special need; 3 % just “walked in;” 6% were drawn by the minister; 5% liked the Sunday School; less than 1% found Christ because they attended a revival service; 3% liked the programs; but a whopping 79% said a friend or a relative invited them to attend a service where they could hear of Christ.

Our task is daunting. But, we have God’s assurance that we “shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Let’s get busy in doing that which Jesus placed the highest value upon, that of winning souls. If we do, we shall “doubtless come again rejoicing…bringing (our) sheaves (with us).” (Ps.126:6)

“Go ye, therefore, and teach (disciple) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt.28:19)

You and God’s Church

A group of about 10 men in our church has met each week for several years, reading through various books that help us walk closer to our Lord so that we can serve Him more effectively. It has been my privilege to lead these men in our weekly book discussions, and to have witnessed spiritual growth in our lives as we share together what God is teaching us, though most of us have been saved for many years. Seeing old truths in a new light, or turning over a hidden treasure that we had not yet discovered, is ever spiritually thrilling.

The book we are currently reading and discussing, a chapter each week, is The Titus Ten, by J. Josh Smith (B & H Publishing Group, 2022). It is one of the finest books I have read on the subject of discipleship, especially directed to men, indicated by its subtitle, Foundations for Godly Manhood. In his chapter on “Mission”—where Smith talks about our purpose for being here, and for being created unto good works—Smith makes the following unequivocable statement: “The local church is at the center of God’s mission. God intends to accomplish His mission through the local church. As we have talked about at length, the local church must be a priority in the life of every man. A man will never be on a mission with God unless he is connected to a local church.” (p.162)

Words like these seem almost archaic in today’s world. For decades, parachurch ministries seem to have succeeded at doing an “end run” around the local church. We live in a day when affiliation with and attendance at a local church seems like merely one of many options available to those who are called Christians. Smith’s words will probably be met with doubt, debate, or maybe denial. But he has the New Testament with which to buttress his proposition.

Jesus Christ Himself founded the Church, as He promised His disciples He would. “I will build my Church,” was the first time any of His followers had ever heard of such a concept. (Matt.16:18) The Church was the mystery “kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25) that in one body, both Jew and Gentile, would be ONE in Christ Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. (Eph.3:1-7)

Most of the New Testament is written to churches about life in His Body, the Church. Of the more than 100 references to church in the New Testament, only a handful could be interpreted as referring to something other than a local assembly. It is, as Paul affirmed, the “pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim.3:15). And though it is an organism rather than an organization, it has organization—with Jesus Christ as its Head, pastors as under-shepherds, deacons as servants to the body, and members as gifted parts of His Body, all working to accomplish the work of the ministry, edifying one another in the faith, and propagating the faith once delivered through intentional, intense missionary, evangelistic efforts.

The New Testament knows nothing of detached, unattached believers who see no need to be part of a local assembly of saints. Lone Ranger Christians are not biblical—as prevalent as they may seem to be in this 21st century. If a person is too busy to be involved vitally in a local church, then that person is simply too busy!

James Garfield, during his first week as president of the United States, was reminded by a member of his cabinet that there was an important meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Though the cabinet member insisted that the president attend this meeting, which would be dealing with a matter of national security, Garfield refused on the grounds he had another important meeting to attend. The cabinet member remarked, “I should be interested to know with whom you could have an appointment so important that it cannot be broken.” The newly installed president replied, “I will be as frank as you are. My engagement is with the Lord, to meet Him at His house, at His table, at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, and I shall be there.” Garfield honored the Lord’s Day; the crisis passed, and the nation survived.

This week, after almost three weeks of what observers called “infighting,” the U. S. House of Representatives elected a new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, of Louisiana. Upon being elected, one of the first things the new speaker did was to ask his fellow congressmen to bow their heads with him in prayer, asking the Almighty for His good guidance. Johnson is said to be a Baptist—and from what we have seen so far, he might just be of the same conviction as was President Garfield. Spiritual matters matter most. His Church is still alive and well, and prayer changes things!

Mohandas Gandhi was a leader in the Indian movement toward freedom from British rule. His Hinduism, in religion and in politics, impacted millions of his fellow countrymen. When Gandhi was young, he contemplated becoming a Christian as a result of being influenced by the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. He attended the services of a church in Pretoria, Africa, and later wrote of that experience: “The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious; they were not an assembly of devout souls, but appeared rather to be worldly-minded people going to church for recreation and in conformity to custom.” The young Gandhi concluded that Christianity had nothing to offer over Hinduism, so, tragically, he turned away from Jesus. Sadly, a local congregation had forgotten the primacy, purpose, and place of their sacred Sunday gatherings.

Body-life in a local, New Testament church is of paramount importance to every born-again person in this day. Christ died for the Church. The Church is pictured as His Bride, “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph.5:27) Nothing in this world demands our sincere attention, and faithful participation, more than His Body, the Church. Local assemblies meet weekly, worldwide, keeping His ordinances, preaching His Word, fellowshipping around His table, and strategizing as to how they might best fulfill His great commission. (Matt. 28:18-20) Jesus promised at some moment, yet future, to return for His Bride. Let us then be found faithfully waiting, working, watching, and serving in that for which He died, His Church!

“Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Eph.3:21)

“Be Thou Faithful Unto Death”

Those words are in a recorded message that Jesus spoke through the Apostle John to the local, New Testament, first-century church at Smyrna: “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Rev.2:10)

Paul exhorts his readers and disciples in Thessalonica that “faithful is He that calleth you who will also do it.” (I Thess.5:24). We have His footsteps to follow: “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you and keep you from evil.” (2 Thess.3:3) Again, he wrote to the Corinthian church that “God is faithful, by whom ye were called.” (I Cor.1:9)

He does not ask or expect anything from us that He has not done and is not doing. God is faithful. Jesus is faithful, and His desire for us is that we will be faithful—like Paul, who said on the eve of his martyrdom, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim.4:7)

A leading pastor of a large Baptist denomination said that, though the official membership in his denomination was more than 15 million, only about a third of them showed up for church on Sunday. Marketing expert and church analyst George Barna found that, though evangelicals believe in evangelism, only one-third share their faith with a non-believer in the course of a year.

“Faithful over a few things” was a standard that Jesus commended (Matt. 25:21,23). Inventor and entrepreneur George Washington Carver once asked God to tell him about the universe, but the Lord replied, “George, the universe is just too big for you to understand. Suppose you let Me take care of that.“ In humility, Carver then asked, “Lord, how about a peanut?” And, Carver said, the Lord replied, “Now, George, that’s something your own size. Go to work on it and I will help you.” When Carver had finished his work on the peanut, he had discovered more than 300 products that could be made from that tiny particle of God’s great universe. He was faithful in just a small thing.

I was privileged to pastor a good many folk who were faithful in the small things that God had asked them to take care of. One such member was just 33 years of age when I became her pastor. At her funeral service, 37 years later, here is some of what I said about her:

“Joie always pretty much sat in the same row and seat at church; and you could always count on her requesting that we sing, “Victory in Jesus.” She had a great heart for her God and for truth. She loved preaching and she loved her preacher. She was a poet of sorts and shared with us some of her works of poetry. She loved the bus ministry and wrote of it in one of her “masterpieces,” in a poem entitled simply “Bus Number Seven.” She was a woman of simple tastes but profound thoughts. She had a heart for the down and outer; she loved her children and her family, but she would cut them no slack when it came to doing right and being on God’s side. She was not what you would call a scholar, but she was one of the first graduates in the Bible Institute (4 year) that we had at our church back in the 1980s, and I think she made straight As. She loved souls, and she shot from the hip without trying to present herself as something she was not. If she were here today, she’d have come without any coat on and probably wearing a short sleeved blouse. She never sang in the choir but always had a song in her heart. I don’t know that she was ever known to be one of the best cooks around, but she would never miss a dinner, because she loved the fellowship of it. She had children that caused her to lose some of her beautiful black hair, but every one of them were always in her prayers before the throne of God. She spent her last years receiving the most loving, caring, and compassionate attention any mother could ever hope for from a devoted daughter, who, ironically, may have given her the most heartaches when she was younger. Joie was not just a Sunday saint. She lived it 24/7. And now with a set of teeth and waiting for her glorified body, with brilliant, new black hair and all the wrinkles smoothed out, she is in her Savior’s presence. Yes, I was her pastor for almost four decades and privileged to have been so. But Ellen and I were more—we were her friends. She was a good woman, a genuine Christian, and a true saint. All of us who knew her loved her and look forward to spending eternity with her in that place where she has realized the glory of His presence.” (December 28, 2016)

So, reader friend, how would you like those kinds of words to be said about you at your funeral? Well, all it takes is a life of faithful, consistent walking with Christ. Now, I know that some of you would not want the preacher to be quite so candid as I was in eulogizing Joie, but I know that she would have wanted me just to say it without any flowers. That’s the kind of person she was, so I wanted to honor her in that way.

H.C. Morrison, pastor and author, went on a mission tour of the world about the time Theodore Roosevelt went to Africa to hunt big game. They both arrived back in New York on the same day, and Morrison wrote: “There were scores of reporters there. Cameras were clicking. There were news flashes. But nobody noticed me. I had won a good many people to the Lord in Korea, Japan, China and India, down in Egypt and over in Europe. I had not killed any big game. All I did was win some souls to Jesus. I checked through customs as quickly as possible and called my wife and told her I was getting home ahead of schedule, asking her not to tell anyone because I wanted to slip up on them. I got down to Kentucky, stepped off the train, and not even my wife was there. The driver came down to meet me in an old rattletrap buggy, announcing to me that my wife had a sick headache and could not come to meet me. So we went up the road toward home, and I said ‘This is funny. I have preached around the world. People have been saved. I didn’t kill any big game, though; and nobody recognized me.’” Morrison went on to say, “I just kept thinking about it, then suddenly it occurred to me that I was not home yet.”

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” (I Cor.4:3)

Theo’s Journey*

It was an exciting day for me, the father of two beautiful girls (ages 4 and 2) when, on June 5, 1970, the doctor who attended the delivery of our third child at Baylor University Hospital in Dallas, Texas, announced, “It’s a boy!” There was no way of knowing, back in those days, what gender one’s child would be until after the birth. I was elated, and at the first opportunity made my way to a department store to buy an infant baseball outfit for our newborn son to wear home from the hospital. It was indeed a glad day. I would have loved a girl just as much but of course was hoping for a son, too!

We called him “Teddy” for the first few years of his growing up, the early years being spent mostly in Kansas—first Wichita, until he was seven, and then Newton until he was going on 10. Newton was an idyllic little Mennonite community just about 40 minutes north of Wichita, where I pastored a start-up church for two and one-half years after having shepherded a flock in Wichita for a bit over six years. Ted and I loved to play catch together at every opportunity in our back yard on Pershing Avenue, and later on Broadway Avenue in Newton. He became an ardent Dallas Cowboys fan when the legendary Tom Landry was coach there, and a Kansas City Royals fan when Hall of Famer George Brett was putting on the uniform each day and near the peak of his career.

When we moved to Indianapolis in 1979, his junior-class Sunday School teacher, Don Harris (who is still a faithful member of Thompson Road Baptist Church) welcomed Ted on his first Sunday in the junior department greeting him with “Good Morning, Teddy.” Ted promptly responded that his name was Theodore Marvin. That encounter was the beginning of a long friendship between the two of them that continues to this day.

One weekend, a businessman in our church, knowing that Ted loved the KC Royals, and that the Royals were playing in Cleveland one Saturday, got tickets for both our families to attend the game. We arrived plenty early, and the two teams were warming up, with the Royals on the first-base line. We spotted George Brett close to the first-base chalk line, and of all people, Hall of Famer (1991) Gaylord Perry was playing catch closer to the dugout and fence, between us and Brett. Our host said, “Ted, ask Perry to holler at George Brett for you to see if he will come over to give you an autograph.” We did just that, getting Perry’s attention; but wouldn’t you know that when we kindly asked Perry to wave Brett over to the fence so we could get his autograph, the great hurler walked away from us in apparent disgust! We never got Brett’s attention, but it was fun to see him in person and up close that day.

Ted, as we called him during those years, joined a little league baseball team, and he enjoyed playing in the Bechtal League baseball program. We told him when he began playing that he should notify his coach that any practices or games that were played on Wednesday evenings or Sundays he would miss because of his priority of church attendance. I do not know if that was his conviction, but he knew it was ours, and we never exchanged any contrary words with each other about it. He still has some trophies of championships won on his LL team. Later, our church had a softball team that played in a church softball league. Ted played third base (like Brett) on that team, and TRBC won a good number of trophies during those years. Their most memorable game was two weeks before he left for college, when they won the championship on a last-inning, two-out hit by his friend Gary Brown, which allowed Ted to score the winning run from second base. A longtime member of the church, John Isom, was the team’s ace pitcher and captain that season.

Ted grew up at TRBC, attending Southport High School and graduating in 1988. He was editor of the school newspaper. He never played any school sports, though I think he would have liked to have played football. But he would have had to do so having gotten around his mother’s roadblock. I don’t remember him ever pushing the subject. During his high-school years he was active in the bus ministry of TRBC, bringing in boys and girls for Sunday school.

Ted applied to attend BJU in the fall of 1988, and in late August he attended an Indianapolis Indians ballgame at the old Bush stadium on 16^th street. He was not aware of it, but that happened to be “Used Car Night,” and during the 7^th inning stretch an announcer told every ticket holder to check his ticket # as he read off a string of ten numbers. Those who had one of those announced numbers on their ticket were told to report to a certain location behind the field and pick up the car they had won. Ted had one of those numbers and picked up a 1984 Ford Escort—a diesel stick-shift, taxes paid. He came home, woke us up, and said, “Dad, come take a look at my car.” Not knowing what he was up to, I followed him to the driveway and saw what looked like a new car! He got about 50 miles to the gallon (he never turned on the AC in order to save gas!), and drove that car for four years to and from Bob Jones University and for several more years through grad school. We had not even given much thought as to how Ted would get back and forth to Greenville, SC, but the Lord took care of it for us without any worries on our part!

Ted graduated from BJU in 1992 having majored in Journalism, and he stayed on a year following graduation to work at the BJU Press before enrolling in the masters program at IUPUI in Indianapolis as a history major. During these years Ted did quite a bit of research and writing for Polis, funded by the Eli Lilly Endowment, studying and writing about people, trends, and movements in Indianapolis-area churches. He then attended Yale University on a fellowship and graduated with a Ph.D. in history, focusing on twentieth-century U.S. religious, political, and intellectual history.

Before attending Yale, Ted met with us one afternoon to share with us that somewhere along the way he had come to the conclusion that he did not see the need for a relationship to a God that one prays to each day. His attitude was serious, somber, with no arrogance or hint of pride; he was near tears during our conversation. We were, of course, pretty much stunned by that conversation, but thanked him for his honesty. In the next few years it became apparent that Ted’s political views had become “liberal.” Again, it was not a rank, arrogant liberalism, but a sincere conviction, I believe, that liberals have a more compassionate view to the needs of the downtrodden. He believes that Christianity’s alliances with political parties and power structures are a betrayal of Jesus’s radical teachings about the corrupting influence of wealth, power, and worldly gain. We still have an amicable relationship, and he visits us several times a year. We respect the point of view of each other and have learned how and when to discuss issues.

In the past several years Ted has chosen to be called “Theo,” and he writes under the name Theo Anderson. He still does research and writing, much of which is published under someone else’s name, for graduate schools of business, university think tanks, companies, and various other organizations, including a high-speed-rail advocacy group. He’s also writing a non-fiction book, The Game, about how American politics became so corrupt, and a novel, May and October, about the midlife recollections of an ex-minor-league baseball player. He lives in Chicago, is a vegetarian, does not own a vehicle, and has a passion to see high speed trains (and rail transportation generally) become widely available. Many of you have assured Ellen and me that you pray regularly, some of you daily, for our family, including Theo. We are deeply grateful.

I believe my little baseball buddy was saved as a child, baptized, and active in our local church until he was, in his pursuit of higher education, infected by liberalism. Ellen and I and others are praying that Theo will return to the God of his youth and use his pen as a powerful tool for the cause of liberty, truth, and Biblicism. Thanks for joining us in our prayers to this end.

*This brief bio was posted with Theo’s permission.

Peace, Peace, Wonderful Peace

The well-known author and historian H. G. Wells was quoted as saying, “I cannot adjust my life to secure any fruitful peace. . . . Here I am at 65 still seeking for peace.”

George Vaillant, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, has spent his career researching adult development and recovery from schizophrenia and addiction. His extensive studies led Vaillant to the conclusion that happiness is more important than diet, weight, or heredity in life expectancy, and that that there is a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being.

God’s Word tells us that a right relationship to God through His Son, Jesus Christ, is the key to happiness and deep, abiding relationships. Jesus said, just before going to the cross: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Peter P. Bilhorn wrote 2,000 sacred songs, and one of the best known is the song that begins: “There comes to my heart one sweet strain, A glad and a joyous refrain; I sing it again and again, sweet peace, the gift of God’s love.” That same peace was proclaimed by the Psalmist: “Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” (Ps.119:165) About 200 years later, the prophet Isaiah added: “Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandment! then had thy peace been as a river.” (Isa. 48:18) And, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” (Isa.26:3) Scores of books in the Bible speak of peace, and almost every book in the New Testament either begins with or closes with, “Grace be unto you, and peace.”

As I write these words, peace in this world seems so very remote. Personal peace, national peace, world peace. Armies are squaring off against one another in the east, west, and Mideast. They are poised for war; some of them are battling in madness with missiles and constant bombings. World peace, until the Prince of Peace comes to establish His reign of peace, will ever be only a dream.

Poet and novelist Robert Louis Stevenson told of a storm off a rocky coast that threatened the destruction of a vessel at sea and its passengers. In the midst of the storm, a passenger dared to make his treacherous and forbidden way to the pilot house, where he caught a glimpse of the steer man “lashed fast at his post holding the wheel unwaveringly, and inch by inch, turning the ship out, once more, to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled.” Then the daring passenger made his way back to his waiting fellow passengers and gave out a signal of victory. “All is well,” he said. “I have seen the face of the pilot.”

Seeing the face of our Pilot, Jesus Christ, will enable us to face with courage the despair, discouragement, disbelief, disintegration of culture and time-honored mores that we see day by day, as well as the world-wide death due to famine, war, and unprecedented outbreaks of disease.

Laura Halsey found it: “There is a place of quiet rest, a place of perfect quietness, within a world of fear and dread, where human blood is being shed, there is a peace in God.” That peace can come to anyone, because “being justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) It is the peace that H. G. Wells and myriads of men will never find by seeking to “adjust” their lives to secure peace. Peace that passes all understanding (Phil.4:7) can only come through a personal relationship with the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, for we are “justified by His blood” and “saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:8)

Jesus stood in the midst of His disciples, before His resurrected body ascended back to Heaven, and said: “Peace be unto you.” It is a peace that cannot be wrought by doing anything; it can only come by the grace of God through the gift of eternal life. It is available to all and anyone because of Christ’s death on the cross, and it is a peace that saves, satisfies, and secures.

Nicholas Ridley, a leader of the English Reformation, was burned at the stake for his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the eve of his execution in 1555, his brother offered to spend the night with him in prison, but Ridley declined the offer, saying that he planned to sleep as soundly that night as ever—because he had the peace of God in his heart. Before going to the stake the next day, Ridley spoke to a fellow believer who was waiting the same death by fire: “Be of good heart, brother, for God will either assuage the fury of the flame, or else strengthen us to abide it.” They knelt in prayer by the stake, and in a few minutes were burned to death.

It is, without doubt, a “peace that passeth all understanding.”

“There comes to my heart one sweet strain, a glad and a joyous refrain, I sing it again and again; sweet peace, the gift of God’s love. Peace, peace, God’s peace, wonderful gift from above! Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace! Sweet peace, the gift of God’s love!” (P.P. Bilhorn)

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Phil.4:7)

Pastors Appreciation

Well, someone has designated October as “Pastor Appreciation” month. It has well been said that one’s pastor should be appreciated every month, but there is probably widespread agreement that it is well to set aside certain days to give special recognition and honor to those in our lives who are making significant contributions and differences for good. Pastors could be included in that category. I am not a senior pastor now, so I feel at liberty to speak to this subject, a liberty that I would not have had when I was in an active pastorate.

Paul spoke plainly to the first-century church in Thessalonica when he said: “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.” (I Thess. 5:12,13)

In fact, in Galatians Paul said that the church there had received him “as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.” He went on to say that had it been possible there were those who would have “plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” (Gal. 4:15) Talk about esteeming a minister highly! But Paul remonstrated, “Have I then become your enemy?” So, it would seem that sometimes those ministers we have held in high esteem may not always enjoy the deep regard once given them. That was the case with the Apostle Paul, and I am sure that almost every pastor has experienced the same shift in affection from those who once were very close in mind and spirit with their pastor—but, in the course of time, lost that esteem. I could testify to that fact. I do not doubt that every pastor could say, “Aye, me too!”

Sometimes a person will ask me, “How did you manage to stay so long in one church as pastor?” Well, my first response has to be, “The grace of God!” Over the course of time, in any ministry, there are ups and downs, mountain tops and valleys, and when one is down in the valley, a temptation to hang it up or move on to another field might just creep into one’s heart and mind. The pastor who stays long-term just has to commit it to God, the Lord of the vineyard, and determine not to leave in those low times unless and until God makes it crystal clear that He is leading you to leave. Problems await you at the next church; people are the same there as where you are laboring, working through the same issues, struggles, and temptations.

Years ago, at a pastor’s fellowship, a pastor addressed the subject of long-term pastorates. I took notes, and he said that he had done a serious study of pastors who had stayed many years in one church, and he had come up with six characteristics that those men shared in common. They were: (1) pastors who focused on preaching; (2) men who worked; (3) men who read; (4) men who kept notes on a simple level; (5) men who wrote; and (6) men who saw the importance of getting away to pray and to plan. Ironically, the pastor who shared that message soon thereafter resigned his pastorate, after a short tenure, and moved on to another place of service! But there was merit in what he said that day and so, 40 or so years later, I am passing it on to whomever might deem it worthy of noting.

Pastors “which labor among you” have a challenging job description. George Barna, the church marketing expert, reported that churches expect their pastors to juggle an average of 16 major tasks. Another study revealed that 90 percent of pastors feel inadequately trained to meet the demands of their job. Most of them work more than 46 hours per week, and 70 percent say they do not have a close friend. (Fuller Institute of Church Growth)

James R. Webb, Jr., points out seven ways you can help your pastor in his ministry: (1) Let him know of spiritual needs. When sickness or death strikes, don’t hesitate to notify your under-shepherd so that he can minister to you and yours through your difficult times; (2) Criticize constructively; (3) Attend services consistently. Good attendance inspires good preaching; (4) Carry your share of the church’s load. Take some initiative yourself; (5) Tell him about new people in the community, or in your circle of acquaintances, that might respond to an invitation; (6) Share the visitation. No pastor can make all the calls that need to be made. (7) Be his friend. A pastor can know loneliness. The comradeship you offer will be cherished.

I heard of a pastor that finally had all he could stand of ministering to a congregation that, he felt, did not appreciate him, so he decided to move on. He was starving to death on donations of catfish, ‘possum, and a $100 salary. He called a meeting of his flock and bid goodbye to his weeping congregation: “Brothers and sisters,” he said, wiping his eyes on his red bandana handkerchief, “I’ve called you together tonight to say farewell. The Lord has called me to another place. I don’t think the Lord loves this people much for none of you die; He doesn’t seem to want you. And you don’t seem to love each other, for I’ve never married any of you. And I don’t think you love me, for you don’t pay me my salary—and your donations are moldy fruits and wormy apples. ‘By their fruits you shall know them.’ So now brothers and sisters, I am going to a better place. I’ve been appointed chaplain to the penitentiary in Joliet. ‘Where I go ye cannot come; but I go to prepare a place for you.’”

So, appreciate your pastor. Speak well of him. Pray for him. Encourage him. Cooperate with him. Give heed to his preaching and teaching. Follow him as he follows Christ. He is God’s man. He is just a man, subject to all the temptations to which you are subject. He must give account for your soul, so do not take lightly what he is doing, nor why. Support him in every imaginable way, and don’t forget to lift up in prayer his dear wife and family. Make sure the church takes care of him financially. Don’t begrudge the time off that he may take. Love him. Trust him. Care for him. Be a part of a church-wide effort to build a great pastor; watch then as you and your pastor, through God’s enablement by His Spirit, build a great church.

“And He gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry….” (Eph.4:11,12)

“And Jesus…Was Moved With Compassion”

Ellen and I just returned from the annual meeting of Baptist World Mission, hosted by Calvary Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama. It was a Sunday through Wednesday meeting for the church, their faith promise missions conference running concurrently with the BWM board meeting, or vice-versa. The theme for the conference was compassion. It was a mountain-top experience for us, as always, and (I am sure) for the missionaries, the 30 some board members and mission-board staff, and the dedicated church members and guests. Missionaries from most of the continents of the world, or at least those headed for the various corners of the globe, attended.

I have had the privilege to serve on this independent, fundamental Baptist mission board for more than four decades. In that time, I have witnessed the skillful yet humble leadership of Board Directors Dr. Monroe Parker, Dr. Fred Moritz and Dr. Bud Steadman; and now, just a year into his directorship, Dr. Ben Sinclair. Each has brought his unique experiences, backgrounds of service, missions vision, and careful training to the awesome task of implementing directives and policies, imparting counsel, and maintaining careful, loving relationships with each of the 300 servants of Christ whose pre-eminent desire and sole duty is winning souls, discipling saints, and planting and nurturing local, New Testament churches in the “uttermost part of the earth.” The blessings that have come through the privilege of knowing and growing with this world-wide family have been immeasurable and unspeakable.

The highlight of each annual meeting is the blessedness of hearing testimonies of veteran missionaries; sharing their victories (and, yes, defeats); bearing with them in prayer their burdens, heartaches, and needs; rejoicing with them in souls saved, churches planted, lives transformed by the grace of the gospel; and having time over meals and between meetings to renew acquaintances.

Add to that the joy of hearing the stories of young (and sometimes not so young) men and women who have been called of God, separated by the Holy Spirit, and commissioned and sent by their local church to take the gospel to the regions beyond. One such young couple—appointed at this meeting to go to the Ivory Coast under the auspices of Baptist World Mission—was Matthew and Susanna Schrock. Susanna is daughter of Dan and Joan Cuthbertson, veteran missionaries to the Ivory Coast, serving there for several decades and having been joined in their ministry by a good number of their children and their spouses. It is a unique ministry team that God is quite evidently using to impact the Ivory Coast with the gospel. The stated mission of this young couple—in their mid-twenties, with a small child and another one due in December—is to “glorify God as we seek to fulfill the mission God has given us of establishing healthy, self-propagating, self-supporting, independent Baptist churches in Cote d’ Ivoire, West Africa. The glory of God is our primary vision.” To hear testimonies of young people who want to spend their life in Africa, planting New Testament churches, is a soul-stirring joy! God is still calling young people to the mission fields of the world. The Cuthbertson family—mom and dad, their offspring and spouses —are a 21^st century benchmark in missions ministry, all to the glory of God.

Then we met Priscilla Gerber, soon to be the wife of Will Esanyenko—the two of them planning to make their home in Canada to engage in the ministry of winning souls, discipling converts, and planting of local, New Testament churches. We heard Will’s testimony last fall. He is a dynamic, dedicated young man whose passion is missionary service for a lifetime. It was not a difficult decision for the BWM board to appoint Will in April of 2021 to go out under the auspices of our mission agency. But it was apparent to all that he needed a helpmeet for this awesome ministry mission. At that time, he said there was no young lady he was interested in marrying on the horizon in his life, and he seemed secure and settled with his singleness. But in one of his meetings as he was visiting churches on deputation, Will met a young single lady—a Canadian farm girl—who was godly and personable and seemed to “connect” with this missionary in the making. It was not long before the two of them, after serious sharing of their deepest thoughts and hearts’ desires, realized that this was a “match made in heaven.” Will went to the Victory Baptist Church of Alberton, Canada, to present his burden for Canadian church planting, hoping for prayer and maybe financial support as God would lead. He left having found more support than he could have dreamed of in the person of Priscilla Gerber, with whom his heart has been knit together in love and admiration. They plan to marry in the spring of 2024.

Next, it was our pleasure to meet Joanna Smith, another young single lady who has been actively serving God in Crossroads Baptist Church of Columbus, North Carolina. Her service in her church is in music and various children’s ministries. She has taken a Mapper (missionary apprentice) trip to Colombia, South America, where she worked alongside her missionary brother. God used this experience to convince Joanna that she could serve on the field as a church-planting team member. She is an exceptional woman and is wanting and willing to go to Colombia, a dangerous country to be sure, to give her life in missions work. No pastor, no committed believer, could listen to Joanna’s testimony without being deeply grateful to God for young people today who are still saying, with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me.” Joanna is now on the deputation trail, raising prayer and financial support to go be a blessing in a part of the world where, frankly, most of us would prefer not to live. But God!

Our Lord is the example of compassion. He responded to the needs around Him, all the time, irrespective of one’s station in life. As one reads the gospels and looks at and listens to Jesus moving in and through crowds—dispensing His grace and mercy because He was moved with compassion—one is moved to want to do the same. It was thrilling to hear the testimonies of missionaries who have done and are doing just that. Missionaries such as Tom Latham and his recently deceased wife, Penny, were moved by compassion to respond to Brazil’s need, and they were honored by BWM for their 50 years of ministry in reaching Brazilians with the life-changing gospel. All to the glory of Jesus Christ by the Church.

“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:13)