YOU and GOD

Saga of a Sovereign

Shakespeare, in “As You Like it,” wrote that “all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances, and every man in his times plays many parts.” The poet went on to say that man’s life has seven acts:

(1) “Infancy, when he is mewling and puking in the nurses’ arms;
(2) Whining schoolboy with satchel and shining morning face, creeping like snail unwilling to school;
(3) Lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow;
(4) Soldier, full of strange oaths . . . sudden, quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation;
(5) The justice, in fair round belly . . . eyes severe and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws;
(6) The sixth age shifts into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon (pants), with spectacles on nose . . . his big manly voice turning again toward childish treble, pipes and whistles in his sound;
(7) Last scene of all, that ends this strange eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion; sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”

Long before Shakespeare set forth the stages of the life of humans on earth, the Psalmist had said, “We spend our years as a tale that is told….” (Ps. 90:9)

In the Old Testament books of Kings and Chronicles, brief biographies are recorded of 39 kings of Judah and Israel that ruled over the northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) kingdoms following the passing of King Solomon. These histories are instructive and profitable for their lessons in life.

This post turns the spotlight on the eighth king of Judah, Joash, setting forth his providential rise, his privileged rule, and his pathetic ruin.

His providential rise

When Joash’s godless father, Ahaziah, was slain following his eight-year rule, his mother, Athaliah, slew all the royal seed of the house of Judah. (2 Chronicles 22) However, King Ahaziah’s sister, hid his young son, Joash, in the temple for six years until Jehoiada, godly priest, organized a coup against the wicked Athaliah. As a result, Joash was anointed king, and Athaliah was slain at the door of the temple. Young Joash was only seven years old when he was crowned king, but his mentor, Jehoiada, guided him wisely so that he had, for the most part, a “good,” 40-year reign in Judah. The Chronicler notes: “And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.” (2 Chron. 24:2) The infant Joash was left fatherless and motherless; but God turned a tragic start in life into something that was, for Judah, a blessing. One can only imagine the story had Joash lived under the tutelage of his grandmother, Athaliah. It was a wicked age for, as we read in 2 Chron. 22:3, 4, Ahaziah was counseled in the ways of the notoriously wicked Ahab.

His privileged rule

As noted, Joash had a spiritual mentor—the priest Jehoiada—who lived to be 130 years old. Therefore, during the reign of Joash, badly needed repairs were made to the temple. Jehoiada made a covenant between “the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people.” (2 Kings 11:17) Altars built to Baal were broken to pieces, and Mattan, the priest of Baal, was slain. The revival brought a period of peace, and “all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet.” Joash reigned 40 years and “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” Jehoiada’s spiritual counsel, and his special concern for the things of God, was such that Joash heard and heeded his guiding words and ways all of the pious priest’s days.

His pathetic ruin

After the aged Jehoiada died, the princes of Judah presented themselves before King Joash sadly and “made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened to them.” (2 Chron. 24:17) We then read that the people left the house of the Lord and once again turned to groves and idols. Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, rebuked this U-turn back to idolatry, but the people, with the approval of Joash, slew Zechariah, whose dying words were: “The Lord look upon it and require it.” (2 Chron. 24:22). A full year had not passed before the king of Syria came to war against Jerusalem with a small force, and “the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.” (2 Chron. 24:24) When the Syrian forces left Jerusalem, Joash was full of diseases, and the sons of Jehoiada the priest finished him off by killing him in his own bed. His son, Amaziah, took the reigns of rule when he was 25 years of age, reigning over Judah for 29 years. Of him it was said, “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.”

Such was the record of a king that had been providentially preserved, prepared, and presented to reign at the ripe old age of seven. Joash had such a privileged opportunity to live and die with God’s approval, primarily because of his closeness to the godly priest, Jehoiada. But, when Jehoiada died, Joash made critical misjudgments in departing from the covenant he had led the people of God to enter into with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. His lapse of faith and obedience resulted in a tragic end to his life—and a dismal final chapter to his story.

All of these Old Testament biographies were written and recorded for our learning and admonition. (I Cor. 10:11) We can surely learn from the life and death of Joash, king of Judah, that a good start in ministry with God’s blessings, and a good life of service before God, does not guarantee a good conclusion. As Yogi Berra, legendary Hall of Famer for the New York Yankees, is known for saying: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Selah

“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we received a full reward.” (2 John 8)

Remembering Them That Are in Bonds

In 1989, through the political engineering of two heads of state, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union’s Premier, Mikhail Gorbachev, the impenetrable “Iron Curtain” began to crack. The opening made it possible in June of that year for Evangelist Ed Nelson and myself, with Natasha Vins and a few other believers, to take a blitz trip to several Soviet cities—including Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Rostov on Don, and St. Petersburg (Leningrad). We visited churches that Natasha had contacted ahead of time.

Natasha Vins’ father, Georgi, along with many other believers in Russia, had been imprisoned for believing in and preaching the gospel. Most of them had been in Siberian prison camps— suffering separation from their families and torture—for their refusal to deny Christ. I had heard of their plight through ministries like Dr. Carl McIntire’s 20^th Century Reformation Hour which, in the 1960s, was broadcast on more than 600 U.S. radio stations daily. McIntire, through his radio broadcast and publications, alerted his audiences to the persecution of thousands of believers in Russia, asking that his listeners pray for these brethren. He and other ministries published pictures and brief biographies of those, such as Pastor Vins, who were imprisoned for their faith.

Pastor Vins was deported from Russia in 1978 as part of a prisoner exchange between the Soviet Union and the U.S. State department. He was flown from his cell in Siberia to an interrogation room in Moscow and informed that if he did not renounce Christ he would be deported, never to see his family again. He refused to renounce his Savior, of course, and thus was promptly deported, along with four other “dissidents,” in exchange for five Soviet spies that had been arrested in the United States. Credit can be given to the then President of the U.S., Jimmy Carter, for helping execute this exchange. Eventually, Vins’ family was able to join him in America—including Natasha, who accompanied Pastor Nelson, myself and a few others on our 1989 excursion.

Since I had heard and read of their plight for several years, this was the trip of a lifetime for me, and I am sure for Pastor Nelson, too.* Having Natasha as our guide and trip coordinator was an extraordinary blessing. She knew the churches, pastors, and people, as the underground church in the Soviet Union had been very active and organized in translating, undercover, copies of the Bible and distributing them as widely as possible.

When our plane landed in Moscow on that beautiful June day, we made our way through customs—facing the dubious glares of officials—and were met by someone who directed us to waiting cars, which would take us to our hotel, 30 minutes away. It was incredible that, on the way (the driver drove like Jehu!), we saw a huge billboard not far from the airport that read: “In God We Trust.” It might have been a ploy by the Soviets, but it did give me some relief that in a nation whose official religion was atheism, there was a testimony that God was not dead there, at least for some.

Our first meeting with believers was in a crowded apartment room somewhere in Moscow, where 30 or 40 people—children and adults—packed into the small living room. I do not remember who spoke, but the service began at 7 p.m. and concluded at 10 p.m. The next afternoon, we met with 20 or 30 believers and talked about soul-winning and the Spirit-filled life. We enjoyed a meal of sausage, cheese, salad, and some Russian candy.

The next day, it was off to Kiev—a city that, along with Kharkov and some others that we visited, was not in Ukraine then but in the Soviet Union. We had a well-attended Friday night service in the backyard of a believer’s home, about 20 minutes outside of Kiev, with 100 or so people sitting on the 2×6 benches. Children sat in the front. Songs were generally sung in a minor key, but there were a few that we could sing along with, including “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and “How Great Thou Art.” Saturday morning, we met with about 10 “preacher boys,” and Dr. Nelson spoke on “The Word of God.” He emphasized sermon preparation, and his talk was followed by a question-and-answer time.

Sunday, June 4, we had a service with upwards of 200 present, including some town authorities. A lady—a cousin of Georgi Vins—professed Christ as Savior. At the close of the four-hour service, the Lord’s Table was served. I am not sure what the common cup from which we all drank contained, but I noted that it “burned all the way down.” That evening, we met in a forest clearing and sat on logs for benches. Dr. Nelson preached, followed by a question-and-answer session. The local pastor read I Thess. 3:7-10: “Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God. Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith.” In every church we visited, there were pastors and lay people who had suffered in Soviet prisons for their faith in Jesus Christ.

At train stations when we departed from Kiev and Kharkov, scores of believers showed up to express gratitude to us for coming to visit. They asked us to bear greetings to churches in America, thanking them for not forgetting their plight and for our prayers for them. That was more than 30 years ago. The world has changed so much since then. Believers we worshipped with in Russia then expressed their belief that the then-open window would not remain open long. And, as we now know, it has pretty much closed in the former Soviet Union. But there are still masses of believers in many places who are now suffering for their faith. It behooves us, with our freedoms, to keep these saints in our prayers, and to not forget the admonition of Hebrews 13:3:

“Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in body.”

*Upon returning from our trip, Dr. Nelson arranged and campaigned for the printing and sending of Bible Concordances to Russian pastors.

Antidote For Our Heart’s Devices

Paul Harvey, the ABC newsman who for years ended his 5-minute radio program with the catchphrase “now you know the rest of the story,” once told of a man picked up in the middle of the night walking across a bridge naked. He was living in an area where there had been a drought. When the police found him, he assured them he was not drunk, but that the drought had made him hot and dry and he was “walking for rain.” Well, as the story goes, by the time they had gotten the man to the police station, it was raining! Harvey said, “The police let him go!”

When I heard that story, I chuckled. But it was not really any funnier than what I have heard people say when they want to do something and want God to approve of it. “Well, I have prayed about it,” they sometimes say. Or, “God is leading me to do it.”

I am a huge proponent of prayer, and there is no doubt that God leads His children in every step, major and minor. But He never leads contrary to His revealed will and Word. He will not lead a believer to do anything that would contradict a truth or principle set forth in His Word. For instance, God will never lead one to divorce his or her spouse, because God hates divorce. God would never approve of anyone verbally or physically abusing a child (or an adult for that matter), because God loves children and would never want them abused.

The truth of the matter is, we all need to heed the wise counsel of God’s Word: “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.” (Prov. 19:21) Job got it right when he affirmed that “with him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.” (Job 12:13)

Good counsel is imperative because “man at his best state is altogether vanity.” (Ps.39:5) Solomon wisely warns that “where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors, there is safety.” (Prov. 11:14) And, there is counsel aplenty from our gracious God, who reminds us: “Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.” (Prov. 8:14)

We have all tried to go forward without having sought His direction, and the result has been, on occasion, disastrous. It surely was once for the Israelites, who were deceived by the Gibeonites as they lied about who they were and where they were from! (Joshua 9) Against God’s direction, Israel entered into an agreement with the Gibeonites, who were posing as a people from a far country. Here is what we read in Joshua 9:14: “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel of the Lord.” It was a fault that Israel would regret and suffer the consequences of for generations to come. “Hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayest be wise in thy a latter end.” (Prov. 19:20)

That proverb was driven home to me early in my ministry. I had been through Bible college and even through seminary, receiving two degrees from institutions known for their stand upon historic, sound Biblical doctrine. Before seeking a place of service, I contemplated attending a graduate school of theology in pursuit of one final degree. It was required, though, that I have a referral from a former professor. I asked one of my professors at Central Baptist Theological Seminary if he would give me a word of recommendation to fulfill the requirements of admission. The good professor denied my request because the institution I had applied to was not known for their stand upon, and defense of, the fundamentals of the faith. In replying to my request, he wrote: “I am going to meet my Lord someday, maybe soon, and I would not want to have to answer for recommending you to a seminary not known for its adherence to the truth.” That is not a direct quote but pretty close to it, as I remember. I did not continue my attempt to enroll in that graduate school, and I have always been thankful that my former teacher made the right call—and, in doing so, gave me good counsel.

I am glad that my professor’s refusal to endorse my unwise course of action did not offend me, so that I would have plowed ahead with my intended course, seeking another teacher who would be willing to comply with my request. My life, no doubt, would have taken a different course, and I doubt seriously that it would have been a good conclusion, 55 years later, had I gotten accepted to the institution, fulfilled the requirements, and received the doctoral degree that I had contemplated receiving. The professor who denied my request had pastored for decades before joining the seminary faculty; in his wisdom, he could discern the possible pitfalls that I would face, submitting my mind to a liberal theological indoctrination, and he would not wish that upon myself or any other student. I have lived to thank his memory a thousand times.

Good counsel, given in the spirit of love, is priceless. David said, “I bless the Lord who hath given me counsel.” (Ps. 16:7) Solomon underscored the need for good counsel because of the deceitfulness of our hearts. “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” (Prov. 19:20) One can only imagine how the course of Israeli history would have been different had the son of the wisest king, Solomon, accepted the counsel of the older men when he sought their advice on how to rule God’s people following his father’s passing. They advised the young king to “lighten up”; to be more compassionate and thoughtful, easing the burden that had grown considerably heavy under Solomon’s administration. Seeking counsel from his younger compatriots, Rehoboam was advised to make the burdens of the sovereign’s subjects even heavier. Unhappily, he followed the unwise counsel of his young cabinet, and the crushing result of the divided kingdom is history. Israel suffered immeasurably from Rehoboam’s neglect of good counsel, and will continue to suffer until their Messiah comes again. Rehoboam did not lack for a multitude of counsellors—but he chose to listen to the wrong ones.

“And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him, and spake to them after the counsel of the young men.” (I Ki.12:13, 14)

Back to Bethel

Almost 30 years had passed since Jacob—younger son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau—had left his kindred and homeland due to the threat his estranged brother had made on his life, after Jacob and his mother connived to cheat Esau out of the coveted elder son’s blessing from Isaac. It was a sordid story, with tragic results. But God ruled and overruled, bringing good out of bad, as He so often does.

Jacob, on his flight to Padan-Aram, met God, wrestled with him, and built an altar at Bethel where, after this life-changing experience, he vowed that God would be his God, and that of all that God would bless him with, he would honor Him with a tenth of it. Having served seven years for Rachel, the girl of his dreams—and being deceived by Laban, his father-in-law, so that he got Leah instead of Rachel at first—he served another seven years, finally marrying Rachel. He eventually made the journey back to his homeland, laden down with material prosperity. Before going home, though, Jacob was told by God to return to Bethel, where he had built an altar to worship Him years earlier, when he was on the run from the rage of his brother. Returning, Jacob built the altar of renewal and revival, and God changed his name from Jacob (supplanter, cheat) to Israel (prevails with God).

According to a Barna survey, Americans’ religious devotion is declining in the 21^st century. In fact, there is generally “spiritual complacency.” According to Barna: “Too many Christians and churches in America have traded in spiritual passion for empty rituals, clever methods and mindless practices.” (Baptists Today)

Could it be that we need to return to Bethel? Our churches, our pastors, our people?

Bethel was a place of obedience. God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there and make an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.” (Gen. 35:1) Jacob immediately told everyone in his house to put away any strange gods that they had left Padan-Aram with, that they were going to Bethel to build an altar to God. Leaving in obedience to God’s instruction, it is said that “the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.” (Gen. 35:5)

It’s always best to obey the clear commands of God in scripture. God gives plenty of instructions to His church today. For starters, “Be ye holy, even as I am holy.” (I Pet. 1:16) Is it possible that we, as individuals and as a church, need to revisit that “altar” where once we made some holy vows to God to love, serve, and obey Him? Bethel, for Jacob, was a place of obedience.

It was also, as noted, a place of renewal. Strange gods were put away. One of the last admonitions in the New Testament is: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (I John 5:21) Are there idols that you have embraced, reader friend, that have sapped your love for, and obedience to, your Lord and Savior? Going back to Bethel means renewing your affirmation to love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind. One cannot do that clinging to idols—of materialism, pleasure, self, and any number of other objects of our heart’s absorption.

“We are many but not much—there is a reason for the disparity between our numbers and our real substance,” missionary and minister Cline Paden once wrote. “And the reason is not a pretty one. We could pour a lot of perfume over the situation and make the stench of our negligence seem less nauseous, but eventually we must face the ugly facts…with monotonous regularity…members present their bodies—not as ‘living sacrifices’—but for the Sunday morning body count. The problem is not that churches are filled with empty pews, but that pews are filled with empty people.” (Cline Paden, “What Lack We Yet?” Biblical Research Press)

There surely is a need for renewal, for returning to Bethel, the place where holy vows have been made to renew our commitment to His Word and will.

Revival. Renewal. It can happen today: “When the thorn tree of strife is rooted from the heart; when apologies are made for unkind, nasty words and grievances are adjusted in a manner pleasing to God; when the dead atmosphere of indifference, and lukewarmness is dispelled by a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit; when there are long vigils of prayer in which the soul is laid bare before God in humiliation and contrition; when self-discipline is practiced, and self is forgotten in service; when faith takes hold of God’s promises and resists every attack and accusation of Satan; when personal testimony is warm and is proven by a holy life; when we attempt great things for God and expect great things from God; when Christians are willing to face opposition, ridicule, persecution, hate, suffering and shame for Jesus’ sake, rather than compromise their convictions or soften their witness against sin,” then revival can and will come. (copied, unknown)

Hymn writer Fanny Crosby believed that revival was possible when she penned these words: “Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in Thine.”

That’s what it will take. Our will, lost in His! Jacob finally got it. He had some dark stains on his past. He truly had been a deceiver and cheater. But his gracious God worked on Jacob—and later through Jacob—so that, at Bethel once again, God said to His servant: “And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.” (Gen. 35:12)

Returning to Bethel can be a spiritually life-changing event. Jacob’s life was never the same. He did suffer some faith-stretching events, even after this historic meeting with God. But his faith never wavered, and he lived to see his sons, his wives, his entire family live in peace and prosperity, testifying to Pharoah and to Pharoah’s people that there is an “Almighty God,” whose hand guides and provides His chosen flock, through the hardest of times as well as the best.

Back to Bethel. It’s the place to visit today, if you have not been in touch with God of late!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10)

More Precious Memories (Part 2)

In a previous post, I shared snapshots of people with whom I have been privileged to co-labor during my years of active ministry. All of the people mentioned in that post (9/21/23) were in churches I pastored in Kansas from 1971 to 1979. In September, 1979, the Lord moved us to Indianapolis and to the Thompson Road Baptist Church. Four years ago this month, I handed the reins of the senior pastorate of this church (TRBC) to my successor, Pastor Joel Stevens. So, I am going back to the voices and faces of some very special people that Ellen and I have known, worked in ministry with, and prayed for, over, and with—laughing and weeping together, sometimes at the same time, spanning 40 years in the Circle City.

Henry and Mabel Davee: a deacon, retired, whose huge hands must have been about as big as his heart for God’s church. He knew the city of Indianapolis like the back of his hand, and in the early years he was my navigator, long before GPS. We got so involved in conversation on one occasion—when we were headed for a baby’s graveside service in London, IN—that we got on I-70 rather than I-74, and when we finally made it to the grave, the lonely grave digger, a young woman, was shoveling dirt back into and onto the infant’s grave, the family having left. I asked her to suppose that the grave she was filling was hers, and whether she was ready to meet God. In a few minutes I was able, Henry by my side, to lead her to Christ. The family was understanding and forgiving, and they called on me to do several funerals in the ensuing years.

Henry was the kind of deacon every pastor loves to have. He told me once that, before he retired, he arrived home tired and stretched out on his living room couch to rest, and there came to his mind a person he knew who was in Methodist Hospital and needed Christ. Tired as the big man was, he got up, drove downtown to the hospital, found the room and the patient, and the timing was perfect. The Holy Spirit having done His heart work already, Henry was able to lead him to Christ.

Henry and Mabel were the first to take us out to eat after we got settled into our new residence in Indy. On a Sunday following the morning service, we went to Gray’s cafeteria, in Mooresville, IN, known for delicious food. Back then, the line to get in the door seemed like half a block long, but it was worth the wait. Henry said Gray’s was the only establishment he would eat at, because as a trouble-shooter for Indianapolis Power and Light, he had been in too many kitchens of eating establishments to want to eat in any of them but Grays.

Henry was quiet, had a huge frame yet with knees bowed after years of climbing power poles, but he and his sweet wife could never escape my memory as long as I have anything left of my mind. He was be a “deacon’s deacon.” His memory and insight were deft, and his counsel was wise.

Early in my pastorate at TRBC, I decided, with the encouragement of the deacons, to conduct our own revival services. I was sensitive to dismissing each weeknight service on time, so that parents with school-age children could get their kiddies home and in bed at an acceptable hour. The only clock we had (before digital) was a wall-clock hanging at the back of the auditorium, visible from the pulpit and easy to see since I am far-sighted. I would glance at that clock once in a while to make sure I was not getting too lengthy with the message. On about Tuesday of the week, I had barely said “Amen” to the closing prayer, when Brother Henry met me in the front of the church and, not waiting until I had come down from the pulpit, looked me straight in the eye and shaking a bony index finger at me said, “Brother Tony, if you don’t stop looking at that clock back there on the wall, I’m going to put a calendar over it!”

I won’t mention his name, but Henry told me a humorous story about a well-known evangelist who was at TRBC back in the years before I came. This evangelist, a large man, was known for loving good food. Henry and Mabel had him over on a Thursday for a meal, and Mrs. Davee pulled out the stops, fixing fried chicken, mashed potatoes, home-made rolls, pie, and all the fixins. It was all you can eat for our dear evangelist friend, and Henry said he ate all he could eat. That night, the-next-to-last night of the meeting, about half-way through the message, the dear preacher turned white as a sheet, feeling the unsettling effects of the fried chicken and all. Pausing, he looked at whomever was pastor then (as I recall, Bro. Henry said it was Pastor Fred Moritz) and asked him to come take over the message and finish it. (Kind of like tag-team wrestling!) Upon the pastor’s coming to the pulpit, our evangelist friend made a quick exit out of the auditorium’s front door, and, as the story goes, promptly emptied himself of most of that huge, delicious dinner he had enjoyed a few hours before. He then went to his motel, packed up his belongings, and checked out!

It was a story that Henry Davee delighted in telling, and when he got to the finish, a grin from ear to ear spread across his face. Henry, by the way, grew up in Mooresville and remembered the legendary coach John Wooden, also a native of Mooresville. Henry used to accompany Pastor Roy Julian, who preceded Bro. Moritz as pastor, when Bro. Julian would hold special meetings in area churches; his preaching was with fire and lots of motion, and he was in considerable demand as a “revival” preacher. Bro. Henry told me that Pastor Julian, when the church treasurer or pastor would hand him the offering that had been given for the evening, could always tell when there had been lots of visiting pastors in the service on a given evening. Asked why, Bro. Julian would respond, “because of the number of one dollar bills in the offering.” Note: Julian had a great sense of humor, so don’t take the above remarks too seriously! He loved to make people laugh and he was a master at it.

Well, I had not intended to use all my space in remembrance of one person in this post, but my blessed memories of Henry Davee are too numerous to share in a statement or two. Many pastors reading this will probably recall in their ministries a deacon of like caliber. I hope every pastor has a Henry Davee to encourage, counsel, assist, and pray for them.

“For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.” (Paul of Timothy, Phil.2:20)

“Good Starter, Good Finisher”

One of the most famous names in auto-racing history, Mickey Thompson, was known for building “flying machines” that regularly broke down. Although they were often the fastest cars on the track, the engines, carburetors, and gearboxes failed so often that, in Thompson’s first 29 races, none of his cars even finished the race! (Our Daily Bread)

Paul, the Apostle, could say in his last recorded words, written from a Roman prison cell, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim.4:7). Finishing well ought to be the goal of every believer. Hours before he faced a cruel crucifixion, our Savior prayed: “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.” (John 17:4) And on the cross he simply said, “It is finished.” He finished well and became the premier example of how we, His followers, should strive to finish.

Written for our admonition are many Old Testament stories of men and women, often detailing how their walk with God began and ended. (I Cor. 10:11) For our learning, I’d like to focus on one such character—Asa, a king of Judah, whose story is told in I Kings 15 and II Chron. 14,15.

After Solomon died, the kingdom split into two entities: the northern 10 tribes, commonly referred to as Israel, and the southern two tribes, known primarily after that time as Judah (Judah and Benjamin being the two tribes whose capitol was Jerusalem). Asa, a great-great grandson of Solomon, was the third of the 19 kings of Judah, the captivity and destruction of Jerusalem occurring in 605 B.C. (first wave). The northern division, with its capital of Samaria, was dispersed in 722 B.C after their 20^th king, Hoshea, met his demise. (2 Kings 17:22) Sadly, not one of the 20 kings of Israel, after the kingdom was split following Solomon’s death, was a good king. From Jeroboam I to Hoshea, each was an evil ruler.

In the south, of the 19 kings portrayed in the books of Chronicles and Kings following the divide, only eight were characterized as “good” kings. Asa was the first. So, his life is instructive.

Asa had a good start in his leadership over Judah. Believing what God had said through Samuel to the newly anointed King Saul 100 years earlier—when he declared that “to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams”—Asa, upon his inauguration, immediately took away altars to strange gods, broke down images, and cut down groves where idol worship flourished. (II Chron. 14:2-8) We learn that because of his obedience, God gave his kingdom peace, prosperity, and power. (II Chron. 14:6-8)

But after a time of peace and prosperity, Zerah, king of Ethiopia, challenged Asa by coming against the armies of Judah with a million troops and 300 chariots. Though Asa’s army was formidable—with almost 600,000 well-trained soldiers—it was no match for this Ethiopian army, with its war tanks (chariots). Asa went to God, crying out to Him, acknowledging that “it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power, and in thy name we go against this multitude, O Lord, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee.” (II Chron. 14:11) God heard, God answered, and the Lord smote the Ethiopians with a mighty arm.

That victory was followed by a nationwide revival when, after a powerful message by the prophet Azariah, Asa led the nation in a renewed campaign against idolatry. Cleansing ensued, covenanting with God followed, and Asa, demonstrating courage and conviction, went so far as to remove his mother from being queen, because she was worshipping her own personal idol in a grove. (II Chron. 15:1-16) Another period of about 20 years of peace and prosperity followed this revival, but then Baasha, King of Israel, marshalled his troops for war against Judah.

This time, unlike what he had done years before when threatened by the Ethiopians, Asa appealed to the king of Syria, Benhadad, for help, asking him to join with him against Israel. Benhadad accepted the challenge, resulting in Baasha recalling his army and retreating from his entrenched positions against Judah.

Hanani, the seer, then approached Asa with a hard-hitting but well-deserved rebuke, reminding the king that when he had been overwhelmed by the million-man army of the Ethiopians, God delivered them Judah after Asa pleaded humbly to God for help. The seer’s message included that memorable reminder, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (II Chron. 16:9)

Asa did not take well to this rebuke from God’s man; in fact, he had him thrown into prison and then he “oppressed some of the people at the same time.” (II Chron. 16:10)

We are then told that, soon thereafter, King Asa became diseased in his feet and became very sick; but he refused to seek help from the God who had so singularly blessed him when he was younger. Instead, he sought help from his physicians and did not live long thereafter. His start was so promising, but his finish was so disappointing.

In 2011, Indy 500 racing rookie JR Hildebrand was a quarter mile from winning the centennial Indianapolis 500 race; just “a tap-in for the Masters title; a lay-up for the NBA championship.” (Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star) But, rather than slowing down to accommodate back-marker Charlie Kimball on the final turn of lap 200, JR kept cruising, “got high on the track, found some marbles and . . . bang. Broken car, broken heart.” (Kravitz) A quarter mile from immortality. He had such a grand start—but such a heart-breaking finish.

How about us? Let’s learn from this Old Testament account that we have not finished until we cross the finish line; let’s finish well, so that we may hear our Master’s commendation.

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful in a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matt. 25:21,23)

Precious Memories

You may have heard of the J.B.F. Wright song (1925) “Precious Memories,” the second stanza of which reads, “Precious Memories, how they linger; how they ever flood my soul. In the stillness of the midnight, precious sacred scenes unfold.”

This post, and maybe a follow-up or two in time, is a simple compilation of some of the precious ministry memories that come to me in the “stillness of the midnight.” I have written almost 400 “You and God” installments since the spring of 2020, and I do not know how many more the Lord will allow me to offer up. Some of these have featured people, some have spoken to issues, and some have been Bible lessons. This one, and surely at least one to follow, will be different. I am going to my memory bank and just listing people who come to mind, people who have been at some time significant in my ministry. I will, of course, forget some and not mention all by name. People who are still current, I may save for a future date.

I will start with my first pastorate in Wichita, KS, beginning in the fall of 1971. I can only make a brief statement about each person or couple:

Ira and Goldie Pray: He an engineer at Beechcraft/farmer; first chairman of deacons; good folk;
Gary and Leah Wickham: Loved God, supportive of our work;
Mike & Amy Maguire: Very young/in Air Force, Catholic background, could not get enough of the Word, eventually attended Central Seminary and pastored in RI.
Bob & Cheryl Poliquin: In Air Force, very young; his life verses: Provs.30:7-9; Godly couple;
Larry and Jerrie Beery: He was killed while on duty as a Deputy Sheriff; a few weeks before he was murdered, he and Jerrie sang, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith”; Larry said, “I’d like to see this auditorium filled with people one day.” It was full of Troopers from everywhere the day of his funeral. We have kept in touch with Jerrie through the years and over the miles.
Ronnie and Pat White: They loved God’s Word and encouraged this young pastor and his family in so very many ways.
John and Nancy Healey: Got excited about Bob Jones U. and moved there to put their children in the Academy; I just heard from their grandson that they both passed away this year; their son also died this past week; he was a dentist in Greenville (Matthew Healey); their grandson—a current student at BJU—is heading eventually toward a seminary in Detroit;
Fred and Lillian Liebau: She had cancer and prayed that God would allow her to see her children grown; He did and then she was graduated to glory;
Mrs. Stanley: A widow whose husband had sung in the choir; a wonderful, godly woman who prayed for us but was “inactive” because of her frail health;
Archie & Pat Conduff: Their 13-year-old son died of cancer, and as young pastor, it was my first time dealing with such an agonizing loss; it was a totally inadequate feeling but God’s grace was, as ever, sufficient.

These are some of the names and faces that pop into my mind and heart, sometimes in the middle of the night. Voices and faces out of the past. This list of Wichita co-laborers is not complete; there are many more, but these are some that are on my heart as I write today. God was so good to give us a core of committed people to assist us in our fledgling first attempt at ministry to a local church.

Next, God led us to a startup ministry in Newton, KS. There were about 40-50 people who had come together and had organized the Liberty Baptist Church, with an interim pastor, Sammy Hartzler, leading them. They assured me that they were not a split out of any other local church, but that God had led them to come together. Some of their names and a sentence or two that comes to my mind are as follows:

Wayne and Helen Partridge: His business was the largest salvage yard at that time in Kansas. He was rough around the edges but had gotten saved and totally committed to Christ, to getting the good news out to whomever—and however and whenever—he could. Wayne eventually moved his family to Greenville, SC, where he would head up the maintenance department at Bob Jones University.
Bill and Billie Krehbiel: These wonderful people lived in the neighboring town of Halstead, where Bill served as the high school football coach. They loved Christ, His Word, and the church. Bill was a World War II veteran and had fought for his country in the European theatre. They visited us several times on their way to Division reunions. Both are now with the Lord. Billie was a sweet Christian woman whose countenance exuded the love of Christ and His virtues.
Charlie and Della Mae Harr were graduates of Baptist Bible College (Springfield) in its early years. They were members of this young church, and Della Mae owned the piano keyboard. Charlie led the singing, and we made the little Methodist Chapel on Broadway in Newton ring with joyful music. The chapel was our temporary meeting place. We were there two and one-half years. The Harr’s son, Brian, was a teen-ager then; after my one-year interim pastorate at Coatesville Missionary Baptist Church in Coatesville, IN, Brian became the pastor there in 2021. He had pastored in Greenville, SC, and had been on the Bob Jones University Security staff for several years.

There were, of course, many other key people in this Mennonite community that became good Baptists and were part of our fellowship. That church got its permanent building built and is still a lighthouse in that community.

In 1979, after Dr. Fred Moritz went into full-time evangelism, Thompson Road Baptist Church in Indianapolis was seeking the Lord’s will about a pastor. A friend of mine, Pastor Tom Kent (Joy Baptist Church), gave my name to the pulpit committee, and in August of that year I candidated. The first Sunday after Labor Day, I began what was to become a 40-year assignment at this good church. I will share some memories of people (except those currently in the church family) that have made indelible impressions upon my mind/soul in an upcoming “You and God.”

“The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 16:24)

Tripp and Shelli

I delight in remembering people who have made a difference in my life, the lives of others, and in the Body of Christ. I have written several tributes to missionaries and evangelists, and some about those with whom I have been privileged to serve alongside of in the work of ministry through the local church. This post is about a special couple that God, in His wise providence, melded together through matrimony for a lifetime of Christian service. Their names are Tripp and Shelli Grossman, and their identity has been “servants of Christ.” Tripp joined that heavenly hosts of servants in glory four years ago; Shelli continues serving, with significant physical limitations, to this date.

I met Shelli sometime after she had graduated from Tennessee Temple University, having received her degree in Education. Her parents were charter members of the Edgewood Baptist Church, which merged in the mid-1960’s with the Grace Memorial Baptist Church to become Thompson Road Baptist Church (TRBC). The Edgewood Church was founded in the late 1950’s in a garage a few houses from the current location of the church I pastored from 1979 to 2019, TRBC. Shelli’s parents were faithful members of the church, and they were the kind of people who loved ministry, missions, and missionaries, entertaining God’s servants often in their large, white, two-story house just a few blocks from their church.

When Ellen and I first met Shelli, she was a single college graduate and already involved in public education. She eventually became the Indianapolis Public Schools Supervisor of Special Education. She is a masterful educator, with a heart as big as a full moon for children, a head full of practical, common sense, and a mind wholly consumed with a desire to please her Lord and Savior.

That is why, when we met the man that she married, Tripp, we were a bit taken aback at first. She met Tripp in Nashville, IN, where he was selling leather goods he made. He had a business or two and had met Christ as His Savior while serving a prison sentence in California. He said the story of his parole amounted to a “God Thing,” as there was no way he should have been released by the parole board. Yet he went into the meeting with every confidence and assurance from God, through prayer, that he would be released. And he was! He grew up in Indy in a staunch Catholic home and had his fingers, shoulders, and head rapped many times by his nun teachers, who were trying to maintain order in their classroom. He ended up in California, was incarcerated for the crime of manslaughter, met Christ in his prison cell as he sought Him through reading the scriptures, and became a new creation in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:17) We lived to see the day that we gave God thanks that Shelli did not see Tripp on their first meeting as an ex-convict but as a trophy of the amazing grace of God!

Upon moving back to his hometown in Indiana, he still had some of the trappings of his old life and had not yet found a mentor or a good, Bible-believing church in which to grow. Enter Shelli. She wanted to bring him to church and introduce him to her godly, very conservative mother (her father had gone home to Heaven already), but she told him he’d have to get his hair cut, shave, and clean up a bit before she would even entertain the idea. Why would she even pursue a relationship with this man? She was young, intelligent, attractive, etc. Tripp, though gentle, kind, and personable, was an ex-convict who had ridden with the “Hell’s Angels” before being saved. He knew by experience the seamiest side of life. There was, in the mind of any reasoning person, no way these two would ever be a match. But God!

Tripp got the haircut and shave, cleaned up nicely, and met Shelli’s Mom, Ruby (who was one of Ellen’s best friends). I cannot say for certain how Ruby responded on that first meeting, but I am confident in surmising that she was less than impressed. But, in time, Tripp and Shelli married and began a journey together with Jesus that touched literally thousands of lives for Christ.

Shelli is an excellent interpreter for the deaf in the American Sign Language. Tripp was a bus driver and picked up children (along with many adults) on one of our church busses, bringing them to Sunday School. Shelli taught many of these little ones in our Church-Time Children’s ministries, with Tripp assisting. They pursued the hearts and souls of the littlest and least amongst us for many years this way. When Shelli was not teaching the children in Church-Time, she could be found interpreting a message being delivered from the TRBC pulpit to one of our deaf attendees. For several years, we had two members who were deaf and blind. Shelli and some of the other interpreters were able to “spell” into the palms of the deaf-blind the messages preached. It was an amazing service done out of love.

Tripp and Shelli bought a house east of the city and made it their home for about 20 years. It had been, I believe, a house where Jehovah Witnesses met. Well, they fixed it up with skillets, pots, and pans hanging from the rafters, old vintage machines of all kinds, and two or three beautiful big dogs watching “guard” over the place. To visit their house was like going to a Cracker Barrel. Their door was always open to guests, friends, and church members, and they had a place for bonfires, church picnics, go-carts, trap shoots, and you name it. Shelli’s mother became sick one December night when Shelli had prepared and planned for a traditional after-church (Christmas Cantata) party at their place. When the ambulance arrived to take Ruby to the hospital, she told one of the EMS workers she was “going home.” The EMS attendant assured her that they were taking her to the hospital. Ruby assured him that she was “going home,” and she did! Before they had reached the Emergency Room, Ruby was in heaven. Shelli had gotten word that her mom had “gone home,” and she hosted the party start to finish.

Tripp drove busloads of kids to camp in the summer, often with his golden retriever by his side. He loved to see these boys and girls, many of them from the inner-city, run and play, splash in the lake, and eat three meals a day—some of them like they had never eaten before. It was at these camps that a young lady from our church, serving as a counsellor, Michelle Young, was further prepared for a life of missionary service. She and her husband, Harrison Banda, are serving (and have served multiple terms) in Zambia, building lives for His Kingdom there.

I have shared some snapshots from the lives of two of His choice servants. Shelli still serves, still teaches junior church, and still teaches the Bible in our Perry Township Religious Education outreach. It has been, for Ellen and myself, a profound honor to have been fellow servants of Tripp and Shelli these past many years. To God be all the glory and all the praise.

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

Happily Ever After

“Four-year-old Susie had just heard the story of ‘Snow White’ for the first time. Excited she came home and retold her mother the fairy-tale. After relating how Prince Charming had arrived on his beautiful white horse and kissed Snow White back to life, Susie asked loudly, ‘And do you know what happened then?’ Her mother replied, ‘Yes, they lived happily ever after.’ ‘No,’ Susie said, ‘they got married!’ Susie in her child-like innocence got it right! Getting married is not synonymous with living happily ever after.” (Strike the Original Match, by Chuck Swindoll)

(I am sharing some truthful tidbits on the subject of marriage in this post. Hardly anything here will be original. But this is like some needed, practical “nectar” that I have gained in years of reading, and I hope something of what you read in this and maybe in a follow-up post will be helpful to you. I will cite the source when I can.)

Ed Wheat in Love-Life for Every Married Couple: “These ties are not like the pretty silken ribbons attached to wedding presents. Instead, they must be forged like steel in the heat of daily life and the pressures of crisis in order to form a union that cannot be severed.”

Someone added, “Even if marriages are made in heaven, man is responsible for the maintenance.”

John MacArthur in his sermon “Divine Guidelines for Marriage,” offers ‘How could God command you to marry and not provide the right partner?’ But, listen to me people, if you’re not the right person, you’ll never meet the right partner. That’s the whole key. If you’re not the right person, you’ll never meet the right partner. So instead of looking for the right girl, start being the right man. And girls, instead of looking for the right man, start being the right woman. And then, the right man will start recognizing the right woman.”

Or, as Howard Hendricks, late eminent professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary for more than fifty years, put it: “Marriage is not finding the person with whom you can live, but finding that person with whom you cannot live without.” (BTW, that was a favorite quote of my dear mother!—and thankfully, I did find that person in Ellen Beshears!)

George Clinebell in Intimate Marriage, says, “Marriage has been described as the relationship of ‘Two reasonable human beings who have agreed to abide by each other’s intolerabilities.”

And, “The wedding ring is that small piece of jewelry placed on the finger that cuts off your circulation.”

W.A. Criswell, who pastored First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, for forty-eight years, following the fifty-year pastorate of George Truett, said, “Two can live as cheaply as one—if one doesn’t eat and the other goes naked.”

“When Brother Andrew became engaged to his wife, Corrie, he said, ‘Corrie, we don’t know where the road leads us, do we?’ ‘But Andy,’ she said, ‘Let’s go there together.’” (God’s Smuggler) Brother Andrew

Michael McManus in Christian News, (5/26/96) spoke to the subject of cohabitation or “living together” as it has become known as rather than the original euphemism of “shaking up.” He said that it is the “greatest destroyer of marriage in America…a double cancer of marriage. In 1996 he noted that (even then) “the majority of all unions between American men and women begin with cohabitation—not marriage, according to the National Survey of Families and Households—in depth interviews of a large sample of 13,000 people by the University of Wisconsin. This is a shocking finding. Being unmarried is not synonymous with being single, the study asserts. Many who begin cohabitating believe they can screen out a risky marriage. They are wrong. Cohabiting unions are much less stable than unions that begin as marriages…Marriage is one shoe you cannot try on before buying it.”

McManus, cited above, states that 40% of cohabiting couples break up before marriage; marriages that are preceded by cohabitation have a fifty-percent higher divorce rate than those which are not. Of the 60 couples who get married (after cohabiting) 45 of them will divorce. “That means that only 15 couples out of 100 who cohabit before marriage will make it. Cohabitation is almost a guarantee for failure.”

In my home state of Iowa there stood an historic church, the Little Brown Church. Hundreds of weddings took place there every year. It is said that the preacher adopted a special farewell to the couple when, after the ceremony, he took the couple to the entrance of the little chapel and said, “Before you go, the Bride has the honor of ringing the church bell.” He placed the rope in her hands and though she pulled with all her might, the heavy bell would not budge. Then the preacher turned to the groom and asked that he lend a hand to help his bride. Together they pull and the bell rings, sending out over the countryside the news of another wedding. Then the preacher says, “As you go out into life, never forget that as long as you pull together, you can ring the bell.” (Discovery, Little Rock AR)

Again, I turn to Pastor Chuck Swindoll, married more than sixty years, for some distilled wisdom on marriage: On an article entitled “We Rent Wedding Rings,” Chuck commented, “Doesn’t that just sum up the state of our world? Seven days after our first date, I knew that Cynthia was ‘the girl of my dreams’. She was 16 and I was 19 when I proposed. Twenty months later…we said, “I do.” We could never have imagined our life together…but four kids, ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and a worldwide ministry later, we still say I do.”

“Cynthia will always be the girl of my dreams. But that doesn’t mean I can sit back and relax! Loving her means being the man of HER dreams. It means practicing patience, kindness, and humility. It means faithfulness and trust…love notes and a few elegant dinners for two…thoughtful words and listening ears. It means making time for prayer, coffee, and especially thunderstorms. Every time a storm rolls in, Cynthia and I press pause on our busy lives. We prefer to go out on our screened-in back porch, where we watch the Creator’s light show, together.

Contrary to popular opinion, our more than six decades together haven’t been pure bliss. Neither of us is ‘easy to live with.’ We’re together for two reasons: God’s unfaltering grace and our uncompromising commitment.”

(So there you have it. Some of the choicest statements, observations and words of wisdom about marriage that I have clipped the past fifty plus years. I hope they will bless you and maybe even help you as you work on fine tuning your marriage (I still am after 58 years!), or as you strive to encourage others who may be struggling in this first and foremost of relational ties established immediately after God created the heavens and the earth.)

Pastoral Ethics

I vaguely recall some course or some lessons taught in seminary on “Pastoral Ethics,” though I cannot find any notes on the subject. However, there always has been (and still is) a need for basic reminders to all who are in the ministry—especially for those whom Paul labels as “bishops” or pastors—about the matter of ethics in our labors as Christ’s servants.

In I Timothy 3, Paul begins a list of qualifications for a man who desires the office of a bishop with the word “blameless.” This would include, above all, a person’s morality: is he honest, trustworthy, pure, Christlike? What about his standard of ethics? The word ethics is defined as “moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.” So, applied to those in ministry—specifically, in this discussion, to pastors—does he conduct his ministry on the basis of universally accepted moral principles? Is his ministry built upon a consistent ethical standard? In a generally deteriorating culture, it is not surprising that time-tested moral principles are being “stretched” today, and in some instances set aside entirely, even by men in ministry.

Since I am a pastor—or, for 50 years, was a senior pastor—I am going to speak to pastors in this post. Those of you who are not pastors may feel free to “listen” in, but again, I am speaking as a pastor to pastors. Yet the basic ethical principles demanded scripturally of men in ministry should also govern the lives of those to whom they minister, so there is probably something by way of application for anyone who reads this article. I am going to list some areas in which pastors, missionaries, and Christian-ministry laborers ought to be blameless in:

1) Do you pay your bills in a timely fashion?

2) Do you return things borrowed?

3) When members from another congregation of like faith visit your services, indicating they are looking for a church, do you contact their pastor to inform him that some of his flock are visiting your church?

4) When a person who is under church discipline, administered by another church of like faith, visits your church, do you accept them into your membership with no questions asked?

5) Do you sign checks on any of your church accounts as the sole signature required?

6) Do you sometimes mix church/personal purchases made when using a church-issued credit card?

7) Do you label as “heretic” (or similar names) people who differ with you on matters on which good men have historically differed? For instance, on communion (open, close or closed); eternal security; pre-trib, mid-trib or post-trib; mode of baptism; version of scripture?

8) Do you exercise “dictator-like” authority in your leadership of the congregation over which God has given you oversight? Is anyone allowed to differ with you, or even to criticize you?

9) When you give an evangelist or guest speaker a “free-will” offering, do you deduct any part of it for church expenses, or for any other reason, before giving your guest his offering?

10) Do you carefully protect confidentiality of those with whom you counsel?

11) Do you meet with women on church matters when there is no other person on-site while your meeting is taking place?

12) Do you cultivate friendships or relationships with members of churches you have formerly pastored because that relationship is financially advantageous to you?

13) When you sell bonds or have a fund-raiser for a project, are you careful not to use funds donated or given for said project for other pressing church needs?

14) Do you send missionaries the support you have promised to give them on a current, regular basis, or do you let several months transpire before you get around to sending them the support upon which they are dependent?

15) If you use a sermon or message that you read or heard another preacher deliver, do you give him credit for his original presentation?

16) Do you show preferential treatment in using people in your church/ministry because they are financially well-off?

17) Are you OK with the fact that you are accountable to your church through a group of deacons, or elders or advisors to the pastor?

18) Are you reticent to say “I’m sorry,” or “Please forgive me,” when it is apparent that you have offended another believer?

19) When relating to other pastors or ministries, are you genuinely interested in how God is blessing their work? Does rejoicing with them in victories come easy for you?

20) Would you accept a call to a ministry knowing that you differed with the church on a matter of faith or practice, but with the determination to bring the church in time to agree with your practice or position?

These are some questions that I have raised in light of my observations and experiences as a pastor and as a friend of pastors for half a century. Let me hasten to say that pastors, generally, are the finest people I know. Some of them are my closest friends. By far and away, those who have proven to be less than scrupulous in their ethics have been a minuscule minority. But, there are some out there who are the exception (just like undertakers, who are some of the finest people in the world—then you hear of one who has packed away scores of bodies for who knows what reason!).

So, pastor, I trust you passed the self-test above. No pastor is perfect, and we should be our own unrelenting watchdog; but, as long as we are in the body, there will be temptations. So I trust these reminders will have a positive effect upon you and your ministry so that the standard Paul set for Timothy and Titus (I Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6), “blameless,” will not be a problem to you. God bless you as you labor in love in ministry to the chosen flock over which God has placed you as His “under shepherd,” waiting the call and coming of the “Good Shepherd,” the “Chief Shepherd,” the “Bishop of our souls,” the Lord Jesus, Head of the Church.

“And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory.” (I Pet.5:4)