Click here for the livestream of Arlie's memorial service: https://youtu.be/EeEeyvX4Sng
Posted by turbooster
at 4:29 PM MST
Updated: Tuesday, 4 January 2022 4:32 PM MST
Arlie's Blog
Tuesday, 4 January 2022
Livestream Link
Monday, 3 January 2022
Memorial Service Livestream
We invite you to join us for Arlie's memorial service Tuesday, January 4, at 5:30 PM (MST). To view the livestream, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYeDLIysCm_XK0Qp8gMXgkg.
The link for the service will be posted just before 5:30 PM when the service starts. Thank you for your patience! Even in sorrow, we trust this time will focus our attention on the Lord.
Posted by turbooster
at 4:36 PM MST
Tuesday, 21 December 2021
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
COVID-19 (again)
Mood:
caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
The corona virus has impacted everyone, and I’m almost sick of hearing about it! Sometimes we look for other kinds of input in order to get away from it. But I have impressed upon my mind a little sharing about that. Maybe it can encourage someone. At least you can know how we are doing. Just so you know, the first case was just identified in our county a day or two ago. So it has arrived. We thought we might be exempt, but we are an older community in general.
So here are my ramblings. Hopefully there is some cohesion.
The facts seem to be that older people (of the category in which I fit), especially those with compromised immune systems are most at risk. So my I hope not too cynical response was that lots of people of this age group die of something.
(This paragraph is an aside. I have noticed that people almost always these days die of ‘something.’ In the past some died because they got old, but not now! The thought seems to be that if we could have cured that one ‘something’ for that person, he or she would still be living. Well, the fact is that we do die of ‘something.’ And the reason is that we are sinners in a cursed world. The intention at the beginning was not so. All we really need to bring in here is Revelation 21:4 (NASB): “And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying or pain; the first things have passed away.” The implication is that all those things are now common, and they are. That verse is describing the time after the end of the world as we know it when God has judged. Those who know Jesus Christ will experience that verse.)
People are ‘freaked out.’ Just look at the stores. Some are buying things they will never need just to endure what they don’t know. One of my good friends says, I’m 80 and I don’t care if I get the virus. But his lifestyle is now cramped because of the restriction placed upon us—at least no local bus service. Also, the ease with which these restrictions have been placed upon us leads one to wonder what other situations could bring life (economy, etc.) to a halt.
My wife and I are not worried. Ultimately our confidence is in the Lord, virus or no virus.
Our situation is different than some because we are retired. The big difference for us is no church services and no community chorus. That does have a silver lining for me, because I am freed to spend more time on my ancient square grand piano restoration. And at present I am making good progress on it. So far the restrictions have not curbed that, but they could.
Also, I have writing projects which I would do at home anyway, so now I have more time for them. And if I get too tired of ‘work,’ though it is enjoyable ‘work,’ I can always play chess or do my current puzzle. And so far I can still go for a ride or drive. I think we can even still get donuts! So life is not bad.
I am sympathetic toward those who need to travel and can’t, those who need to work for a paycheck and can’t, those who need medical attention and can’t get it because resources are directed elsewhere, really those who are hampered in any way from what they really should be doing. I think I’m ready to read the Bible and pray now.
Posted by turbooster
at 8:57 AM MDT
Wednesday, 11 December 2019
A Medical History
Mood:
not sure
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Mood:
not sureNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
October 7, 2019, I suffered a stroke. I had assumed that such a development comes with something like a thunder clap, but it didn’t. I just began noticing symptoms that seemed stroke-like. I lost strength on the right side, and it felt kind of like the aftermath of a cramp but in a continuing way. My walking, speaking, swallowing, grasping, writing, singing, playing trumpet all suffered.
So I did what you are supposed to do at a time like that. I drove my wife and myself to the ER (emergency room at the hospital). Well, the conventional wisdom actually is to call 911! The ER where we live has not had the best reputation, but I testify that they treated me well. They were quick to check me in and begin administering tests. Before all was done I had received two cat scans (one without and one with contrast), an echocardiogram, blood tests, and an MRI.
The echocardiogram was administered expertly, actually, in my opinion, handled better than the one I get annually through my cardiologist. Before the MRI they asked what kind of music I liked, and that played during the procedure. If I ever have one again, I think I would decline the music; the machine made various noises that had a kind of music of its own! I tried to concentrate on it.
When we arrived it was, of course, late in the evening, close to the next day. I was kept in ER until early morning when I was moved to an observational room. My total stay there was about twenty-two hours.
This is not a critique of the entire health care industry; it is only my extremely limited experience. There was good, and there was bad.
My primary care physician sees me once a year whether I need it or not. If I need to, I see him at other times. When I asked him what to do when I experience a problem, he said, “Go to ER.” Interestingly, the doctors in ER don’t know me except for the tests’ reports. They don’t have access to my history. So while they were nice enough, they are handicapped. The nurses also were personable.
Not once during the twenty-two or so hours I was there did the hospital offer me food or water. The wall chart in my observation room said NPO. I don’t know what that stands for, but it apparently meant that I was to receive no food. But no water? Again apparently that was because they were planning the MRI for about 7 AM. Actually it did not happen until 2:15 PM. Fortunately my daughter-in-law was there, and she smuggled me some food and drink. She herself is a nurse not employed by this hospital, but she realized the situation and did something to rectify it. Late that afternoon I did order in some supper, but again the hospital did not offer it, though someone else informed me it was possible.
The doctors had told me that if the tests were ok, I could go home later in the afternoon of that day. But time dragged on, and I was not released. Then a doctor came in and told me they still did not have all the results. Therefore, I should stay overnight, and in the morning he could share those results with me and send me home with new prescriptions.
Now, I have taken a ‘baby’ aspirin daily ever since my mitral valve repair in 2013. The doctors at the hospital recommended I increase that to the ‘adult’ size. Also, they wanted to add a statin drug to combat the cholesterol. I did not agree with the statin because of its negative effects and informed them of that. We deduced later how they settled on those prescriptions. They have four precursors of stroke, and two did not apply to me. One that might was cholesterol, and that must be treated. I have later discovered through my own simple research that other conditions can produce stroke-like symptoms. I don’t know if they ever considered those possibilities.
I didn’t think I needed to pay for another day at the hospital just to hear the results of tests in the morning. My daughter-in-law said I could check myself out, and so I did that evening. Checking yourself out can create problems apparently, because the hospital is no longer responsible for you. We did enquire if Medicare would refuse payment for the hospital if I checked myself out, and we were told they would still pay. Of course, I would have to pay something as usual, and that would also increase with another day there.
So in the end I left the hospital with some bills to pay after Medicare decided what it would pay and taking now an increase in aspirin.
We asked that test results be sent to my primary physician and to my cardiologist. So, soon the phone calls began. They wanted to see me. They didn’t see me until weeks after the event, but that didn’t matter.
So off to the cardiologist. He prescribes a yearly echocardiogram, and for some unknown-to-me reason he had no follow-up visit this past summer. So he would like to see me now. He ordered for me an EKG on this visit, and that turned out fine. Then he said I should absolutely not be taking more than ‘baby’ aspirin. So now I’m back to taking exactly what I was before the stroke, but we are hoping for a better outcome! And he assigned me to wear a heart monitor. The system was down, but they would send me one, and I could set it up and manage it myself.
Then it was off to my primary care doctor. There were questions and answers and a dismissal with a recommendation of seeing a neurologist. That seemed logical enough, except that again I did some research and decided against going to a neurologist after hearing that they would probably do no more than my primary care physician other than prescribing probably some horrendous drugs that I wouldn’t want to take.
Some weeks went by and finally the heart monitor came. It operated ok initially, and then I began having problems with the equipment. I can’t even remember all the trouble, but I did finally figure out some of it. I was confused. The doctor said to wear the monitor. It turns out you don’t actually wear the monitor. What you do wear is a sensor which is taped to your chest. (I had to do this once before, and my skin wouldn’t even tolerate the sensitive version. Months later the skin on my chest looked almost normal again.) There is a monitor which can be in your pocket or anywhere nearby (within thirty feet), and it looks like a smart phone. Actually, it is an Android phone dedicated to transmitting data to wherever the company has its equipment. So the monitor you wear isn’t a monitor--it is a sensor. And there is a monitor, but it’s really a phone. Some of the verbiage confused me. Once I got that straightened out, we began to move toward smoother functioning.
But wait a minute. Now my monitor was telling me “No Communication.” I had to call support to see what that was all about. It turned out I had a defective sensor apparently, and it wouldn’t keep a charge as long as they are supposed to. This meant that I had to remove and apply the patch which holds the sensor more often and irritate my skin more. Not only that, but I ran out of patches, so I had to also use the alternative method which involved taping several separate electrodes to my skin and hanging the sensor from a cord around my neck. They should give me a discount for their failing equipment. I need to add that the patch adhesive must be improved, because it did not irritate as badly as the previous time. And the electrodes did not bother my skin as much as the earlier time.
Through all this I have had great help. My wife, Ruth, is ever helpful, and so is my daughter-in-law. In fact, now I am calling her my health coach. It is special to have a health coach who has a great medical mind.
During all this I have been doing the unthinkable in seeing our chiropractor. Before you begin to scoff, let me say that he has made a specialty of studying the brain, harm done to it, and treatment to help it recover. He is the one who is actually doing something proactive to help me to build up and hopefully ward off a repeat or something worse. I am receiving laser brain treatments from his staff, and he has directed me to a food supplement that helps to make blood vessels more flexible.
As I write this I am recovering. I am able to do most everything. Most days I do an exercise regimen for post stroke victims, and that can really wear me out, but it’s helping. I had difficulty mounting and dismounting a bicycle or motorcycle, so those were off limits, but by now I have ridden a few times.
During all this, I have thought about my relationship with God. In the hospital when I didn’t really know what was happening I thought how sweet it would be to be ushered into the presence of Jesus. I so look forward to that!
It’s kind of funny, but at the same time I do wish to remain here for a while, because Ruth needs me. And now I need her. We have laughed and shared with many friends that since her left side isn’t so good and my right side isn’t so good, we lean on each other and get along just fine.
And I’m in the middle of a project. (I should quit taking on projects!) I have often had a prayer of being able to finish a project before the Lord takes me. I don’t want to leave a mess for someone else. I suppose they would manage somehow. Right now I am in the middle of restoring an 1851 square grand piano, and there is no one else interested enough or able to do it in our area. I’d like to finish that.
The Lord has our days numbered. He will do what is good and right.
So what will I do if another health crisis arises? I don’t know. I really don’t know.
Posted by turbooster
at 10:28 PM MST
Tuesday, 16 July 2019
Wrangling About Words
Mood: caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Sometimes I come to the point where I think: I just have to sit down and write on this subject. Maybe my mental hard drive is full, and I need to unload it somehow. In this case it comes about because of Bible classes, conversations, and radio programs. How’s that for a collection?
I just heard a program where the interviewee said that he never really joined the Catholic Church, he was just sort of born into it. And that’s often the way it happens. Of course, that never happens to evangelicals, does it? I was born Methodist, and I’ll die Methodist. I’m a Baptist, and this is how Baptists live. Where does the average Christian fit?
On to another loose string.... If you want to start a fight in a church setting, mention the word “Calvinist.” The arguments will immediately begin. Is it Bible teaching when you teach Calvinism? That’s a hot question. Ok, is it Bible teaching when you teach Dispensationalism? Now we are meddling for sure. Is it Bible teaching when you teach a systematic theology instead of Bible? That sounds like a silly question, but it’s not: many scenarios are called biblical simply because someone at some point referenced the Bible. Referencing the Bible is not intrinsically a faithful representation of the Bible’s own message. Even cults reference the Bible.
I have a friend who grew up in the Catholic Church but certainly couldn’t be accused of being faithfully involved all his life. He has also dabbled in other churches. He is reading the Bible for the first time and from the beginning, and he says it’s affecting him and changing him. Wow!
I have a friend who is Presbyterian who isn’t exactly confident regarding his heavenly status, but he says he believes in Christ as his Savior. I enjoy talking to these guys. I consider them friends. I want to be there to help when help is needed but not get in the way of what God is doing in their lives. I will answer their questions with God’s word but not hammer them to get a certain stereotypical response.
A class was very interesting as it surveyed a variety of salvation programs in the ‘church’ at large. One of the salvation programs was evangelical. The leader said that was ours. He never said why, so I left with the impression that someone could say all the salvation programs were valid. Why choose one over another? You chose that one, I chose this one. Is there any way to know? One could compare them to what the Bible says, and that would reveal some to be heresy, but he didn’t want to do that; he specifically said he considered people tied to these other salvation programs to be saved.
Every time we begin to discuss this systematic theology or that, we are talking outside the realm of the Bible. That is because a systematic theology is a human construct. It is preposterous to think that any human construct can summarize and organize properly the mind of God! It is preposterous to think that human logic can supply what the Bible does not in order to present a logical system. A systematic theology may be useful in some ways, and I know seminaries thrive on that and will defend it into extinction, but extrapolated to the extreme each becomes absurd and heretical, simply because it thinks beyond God’s word. There is something called biblical theology, and it is refreshing; it looks at the biblical data and organizes it without adding anything to it--the Bible provides its own context and parameters, even if it doesn’t match my mental organization.
2 Timothy 2:15 is a verse well-known: it is the theme verse for AWANA clubs, but it was really written to guide the pastor. We have not paid much attention to the previous verse which says, “Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers” (2 Tim. 2:14, NASB). These areas I’m addressing fit with the topic of word-battles. They are outside the Bible itself and are dangerous, even though they can be exhilarating!
From what I read in the Bible no names of denominations or systematic theologies will be obvious in the New Jerusalem. There will be the names of the twelve apostles and of the twelve tribes of Israel. Period. But the emphasis will be on the glory of God and of the Lamb Who is present. Couldn’t we promote some of that now? I hope none of us who appear there will seem lost at first because the emphasis is on Christ!
I would like to see pastors and Bible teachers simply helping us in the congregation understand the Bible better. I don’t really care what theology you espouse, but tell what God has revealed to us through the prophets and apostles. Then I will know that I am on solid ground when I believe and obey.
Posted by turbooster
at 12:26 PM MDT
Updated: Tuesday, 16 July 2019 12:28 PM MDT
Sunday, 31 March 2019
A Career Affected
Mood: caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
One of the blessings of being older is that you can reflect on the past. A little child can only look forward. As an older one reflects, certain providential acts of God become clear. And it is appropriate that we might share those in praise of Him.
The fact is that I grew up in a musical family. We were not “Julliard” musicians, but we sang and played instruments in our community where we grew up. My parents reported that I sang my first solo in church when I was three or four (I don’t remember it, so I have to believe them.). I do remember singing in the church choir as soon as they would let me join; that was probably in the seventh grade when I sang tenor and then soon switched to bass.
In school there was the regular vocal music class for everyone, and I began to play the cornet in the fifth grade and played in the band ever after. I did not join any choirs there until my senior year in high school. Then I sang in the chorus and in two smaller groups, a men’s group of sixteen, and a mixed chorus of sixteen called “Starlighters.” The Starlighters were occasionally asked to sing at various functions around town. These groups were pure enjoyment for me. I wanted to take voice lessons, but unfortunately our teacher would only teach those he chose, and he only chose one person from each voice group. I was not one of those.
Also, during the high school years, besides singing with my family, another youth about my age, Jim, and I sang duets in church. We also sang at multi-church events such as an annual songfest and an annual Sunday School convention. We were known in the area for our singing. On one occasion we even drove through the night from Montana to Minnesota so that we might sing at a church conference there! Rehearsals with Jim were always great fun, and we cherished the opportunities to sing for others.
The time came when I began four years of study at Grace Bible Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. Upon arrival I joined the band and played in it all four years. I also thought I would try out for the chorale which was the elite singing group performing on campus and on tours.
Parts of the tryout are not clear to me at this stage. We probably had to sing something alone, or match pitches and give evidence of a certain range. But part of it definitely was singing in a small group to show how one could sing a part. So I went through the test and did not pass, even though I did not think the test difficult. I was perhaps slightly disappointed, but I was naive and absolutely unfamiliar with the college scene. I concluded that the chorale was so elite that even with my experience I just did not measure up. Apparently the school had many very outstanding singers who made up that group. I would be content expressing my music in band and in congregational singing wherever that might happen.
Now we segue to a male quartet, The King’s Men, that sang and traveled for Grace Bible Institute. The current individuals in that quartet were only three since their bass had not returned in 1965. They replaced the missing individual with another bass and began their year. For some reason this bass did not work out, and they were looking for a solution.
So some weeks after the fall semester had begun, a student named Norm contacted me. He had grown up in an area of Montana close to where I had been, and we knew each other. He was the second tenor in that quartet. He asked me whether I would be willing to try out for that bass position. How quickly can I say “Yes!”? So I did try out, and they said I sounded very much like the bass they had lost. I was in! So I began to practice with them, learn the songs, and travel on weekends and the following summer. That was a very special time in my life.
Shortly after I was established in the quartet, the chorale director contacted me and asked whether I would now join the chorale after all. He did this at least partially because he liked to have the quartet available to sing a selection during the chorale concerts--the other three quartet members were part of the chorale. I don’t know if any other motive was involved. But at that point I could not accept. My schedule was set, and it was impossible to make chorale a part of it. I have thought it ironic that I was not good enough to ‘make the cut’ in trying out for the chorale, but once I was in the quartet I was acceptable; it still does not make sense to me. Later I did sing in the chorale, but I think I sang in the chorale maybe one and one-half out of four years.
I think back on that and marvel at the role Norm played in shaping my life. Music has always been an accompaniment (to coin a phrase from the musical vocabulary) for me even though my source of income has been mostly otherwise. I have been able to sing in a variety of groups large and small, direct some choirs, obtain a master’s degree in music, work as a piano technician, and today sing in a community choir of which I serve as a substitute director. Very likely most of the musical involvement, especially vocal, would not have happened had Norm not asked me that question.
Also, being in that quartet and the two quartets in following years allowed me to travel to many parts of the United States and Canada, meet many people, see many sights, eat great food, all as ‘frosting on the cake’ of ministering to people through song and sometimes in other ways. That opened up to me many vistas that had been otherwise closed. I have great appreciation for those experiences, and for me that is probably the highlight of my education at Grace Bible Institute.
Norm is not on earth anymore, but I value him greatly as I had always respected him for who he was as a person. Without knowing it, he greatly helped set the direction of my life.
I enjoy many kinds of music, but my favorite is sacred. The musical vehicle is powerful in expressing eternal truths, and to be a part of that is very satisfying. And this is all because the LORD’s lovingkindness is everlasting!
Posted by turbooster
at 6:39 PM MDT
Updated: Sunday, 31 March 2019 6:43 PM MDT
Tuesday, 5 June 2018
Philosophy of Sermonizing
Mood: caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
While reading an old book (Jonathan Edwards by Clarence H. Faust, published by American Book Company in 1935), I became enamored by what one might call the philosophy of sermonizing. This topic is no doubt boring to many and yet of fundamental importance. The author in one section was discussing Edwards’ style which was not happenstance.
In reflecting on this, I suppose that several elements may come together in one’s style. One element could be current trends. Another may be one’s own personality. One's education may fit in somewhere. And still another may be one’s perception of the biblical mandate and process. Perhaps there are other elements as well. As I read someone else’s effort to describe Edwards’ style, I realized that this is something I consciously or unconsciously evaluate when I listen to another preacher. And this evaluation may play some part in my acceptance or rejection of the message.
I am not here to discuss Edwards’ philosophy of sermonizing--one can read Faust’s book to get at that. But I was thinking of my own. What is my own? Perhaps I have never organized it, but I certainly do have one. So I will attempt at least partially here to put it into words. Maybe this can be useful to someone else.
One hardly thinks about the contemporary style of preaching, simply because that is what is. At least, growing up, how could one think of an alternative? I believe that most of the preaching I heard growing up, as I did, in consistent church attendance, could be categorized as topical, at least to the extent that it was biblical. It seems a shame, but from all the years of growing up I remember only one sermon series our pastor taught, and it was on the names of God. It may have been a rich study, but I remember no details, only the fact that it was done. But I now assume that I heard topical preaching. I do not remember a preaching style which made consistent sense to me until I had already graduated from Bible college (and that could easily have been my problem alone). So that was my experience growing up; if I had known at that time that there were different styles, I probably would have said it was topical and not very impactful. Sadly much of it did not seem relevant to me.
It was not until I was in graduate school at the University of Nebraska that I attended a church whose pastor practiced expository preaching and did it well. I had admired pastors we had in the past, but I never really grasped what their task was. They seemed to be super-humans. But when I heard his Bible exposition, I thought ‘That’s something I understand and could do.’ He treated the Bible as though it was true, was the absolute authority, and could be understood; and after three years under his teaching, so did I.
It seems to me that topical preaching hinges on the cleverness of the preacher, whereas expository teaching hinges on the quality of the text, and the biblical text is the best! Of course, nothing is guaranteed in terms of the quality of the communication or the outcome, but the content of the Bible is without equal.
All this could relate to the way God made me. He made me an analytical person. I thoroughly enjoyed math in school, at least all I could get through high school, and have spent a good portion of life in music. Along with that, I enjoy inspecting something that malfunctions in some way to discover and hopeful remedy its problem. This requires attention to detail as well as logic. So when in seminary I learned to diagram the Hebrew and Greek texts, I was hooked. That gave me the confidence to learn and teach the content; I had looked at the details and could gain a fairly good idea of the meaning of the text. And when the text called us to action, I had little trouble presenting it as the imperative it was. And being God's word, all of it carries the importance of imperative.
Throughout the years of ministry I periodically returned to foundational concepts in the Bible that encouraged me to continue in the expository style, even when people tried to redirect me. I will include some of them here.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is useful for a believer to be complete. In Matthew 5:18 Jesus said that even the smallest letter or even part of a letter must be fulfilled; He was suggesting that close attention to the text of Scripture is warranted. The love of the psalmist for the holy writings is evident in Psalm 119, that longest chapter in the Bible. The example of teaching in the day of Nehemiah (ch. 8) certainly supports expository teaching. The place of God’s word in creating faith and stimulating sanctification also promotes attention to the text as Romans 10:14-15 and John 17:17. The first message preached on the first day of the Church’s existence also focused on the plain meaning of a passage from the Psalms (Acts 2).
All of these have impacted me. The example of someone I could understand, the kind of person God has made me, and the values and even commands I see in the Bible have formed the style I have used. That is my philosophy of sermonizing.
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
While reading an old book (Jonathan Edwards by Clarence H. Faust, published by American Book Company in 1935), I became enamored by what one might call the philosophy of sermonizing. This topic is no doubt boring to many and yet of fundamental importance. The author in one section was discussing Edwards’ style which was not happenstance.
In reflecting on this, I suppose that several elements may come together in one’s style. One element could be current trends. Another may be one’s own personality. One's education may fit in somewhere. And still another may be one’s perception of the biblical mandate and process. Perhaps there are other elements as well. As I read someone else’s effort to describe Edwards’ style, I realized that this is something I consciously or unconsciously evaluate when I listen to another preacher. And this evaluation may play some part in my acceptance or rejection of the message.
I am not here to discuss Edwards’ philosophy of sermonizing--one can read Faust’s book to get at that. But I was thinking of my own. What is my own? Perhaps I have never organized it, but I certainly do have one. So I will attempt at least partially here to put it into words. Maybe this can be useful to someone else.
One hardly thinks about the contemporary style of preaching, simply because that is what is. At least, growing up, how could one think of an alternative? I believe that most of the preaching I heard growing up, as I did, in consistent church attendance, could be categorized as topical, at least to the extent that it was biblical. It seems a shame, but from all the years of growing up I remember only one sermon series our pastor taught, and it was on the names of God. It may have been a rich study, but I remember no details, only the fact that it was done. But I now assume that I heard topical preaching. I do not remember a preaching style which made consistent sense to me until I had already graduated from Bible college (and that could easily have been my problem alone). So that was my experience growing up; if I had known at that time that there were different styles, I probably would have said it was topical and not very impactful. Sadly much of it did not seem relevant to me.
It was not until I was in graduate school at the University of Nebraska that I attended a church whose pastor practiced expository preaching and did it well. I had admired pastors we had in the past, but I never really grasped what their task was. They seemed to be super-humans. But when I heard his Bible exposition, I thought ‘That’s something I understand and could do.’ He treated the Bible as though it was true, was the absolute authority, and could be understood; and after three years under his teaching, so did I.
It seems to me that topical preaching hinges on the cleverness of the preacher, whereas expository teaching hinges on the quality of the text, and the biblical text is the best! Of course, nothing is guaranteed in terms of the quality of the communication or the outcome, but the content of the Bible is without equal.
All this could relate to the way God made me. He made me an analytical person. I thoroughly enjoyed math in school, at least all I could get through high school, and have spent a good portion of life in music. Along with that, I enjoy inspecting something that malfunctions in some way to discover and hopeful remedy its problem. This requires attention to detail as well as logic. So when in seminary I learned to diagram the Hebrew and Greek texts, I was hooked. That gave me the confidence to learn and teach the content; I had looked at the details and could gain a fairly good idea of the meaning of the text. And when the text called us to action, I had little trouble presenting it as the imperative it was. And being God's word, all of it carries the importance of imperative.
Throughout the years of ministry I periodically returned to foundational concepts in the Bible that encouraged me to continue in the expository style, even when people tried to redirect me. I will include some of them here.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all Scripture is useful for a believer to be complete. In Matthew 5:18 Jesus said that even the smallest letter or even part of a letter must be fulfilled; He was suggesting that close attention to the text of Scripture is warranted. The love of the psalmist for the holy writings is evident in Psalm 119, that longest chapter in the Bible. The example of teaching in the day of Nehemiah (ch. 8) certainly supports expository teaching. The place of God’s word in creating faith and stimulating sanctification also promotes attention to the text as Romans 10:14-15 and John 17:17. The first message preached on the first day of the Church’s existence also focused on the plain meaning of a passage from the Psalms (Acts 2).
All of these have impacted me. The example of someone I could understand, the kind of person God has made me, and the values and even commands I see in the Bible have formed the style I have used. That is my philosophy of sermonizing.
Posted by turbooster
at 9:19 PM MDT
Updated: Tuesday, 5 June 2018 9:23 PM MDT
Sunday, 28 January 2018
Reminiscing on Grace
Mood: caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
It is sad to process the closing of one’s alma mater. I now have a college degree from a school that doesn’t exist! I have memories from a school that isn’t there. Is my life fiction or reality? Maybe it is virtual reality?
I’m thinking of the closing of Grace University (as of May, 2018) in Omaha, NE, which was known as Grace Bible Institute when I attended in the 1960’s. It will have existed forty-nine years past my graduation--just a bit too early for my 50th reunion. I suppose that every person attending had positive and negative experiences there. I choose here to remember the positive, and I wish to name some individuals that have had a lasting impact on me.
I would not have sung much except that Norman Rempel, like the chief-cupbearer in Genesis 41, put in a good word for me. That made all the difference. Because of that I sang virtually from east to west coasts in the USA and parts of Canada. And I’m still singing.
Mr. Ray Lutke was a positive example and counselor to me. My discouragement was not what God intended for me, he said, and he was right.
I had not planned to go on a summer mission, even though I served on the Grace student mission board where we interviewed those who were. But I believe it was Bob Brenneman who asked me late in the process whether I would consider going to Holland. My answer was “yes,” and the summer of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with primarily young people was superlative.
Mr. Don Tschetter while traveling with our music group on a tour said something I have not forgotten. We were discussing what we needed to do in the next increment of time, and he injected, “While you are doing (whatever it was), you might also polish your shoes.” I think of him when my shoes need sprucing.
When I was president of the band, we needed a secretary to enable the meeting to progress (probably the secretary had graduated the year before). So I asked a pretty flute player to provide the service. Later when she asked to take my now empty dessert dishes from the living room to the kitchen of a faculty home, I was smitten. Ruth and I have been officially together since Jun 26 of 1971.
Mr. Robert Wenger was a careful and organized expositor of Scripture. I think he let the text speak for itself as Nehemiah 8:8. May I suggest that we need more of his kind.
I have many friends in many places because of the time spent at Grace. I think we were a quite varied bunch, and yet, when we meet somewhere as we sometimes do, we have much in common, and we just continue from where we were. I could mention others, but I must stop somewhere.
There are scenes in my memory, but they may exist only in nostalgia. The buildings don’t exist anymore. Neither does the institution. But maybe most importantly the people do, and we shall meet again.
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
It is sad to process the closing of one’s alma mater. I now have a college degree from a school that doesn’t exist! I have memories from a school that isn’t there. Is my life fiction or reality? Maybe it is virtual reality?
I’m thinking of the closing of Grace University (as of May, 2018) in Omaha, NE, which was known as Grace Bible Institute when I attended in the 1960’s. It will have existed forty-nine years past my graduation--just a bit too early for my 50th reunion. I suppose that every person attending had positive and negative experiences there. I choose here to remember the positive, and I wish to name some individuals that have had a lasting impact on me.
I would not have sung much except that Norman Rempel, like the chief-cupbearer in Genesis 41, put in a good word for me. That made all the difference. Because of that I sang virtually from east to west coasts in the USA and parts of Canada. And I’m still singing.
Mr. Ray Lutke was a positive example and counselor to me. My discouragement was not what God intended for me, he said, and he was right.
I had not planned to go on a summer mission, even though I served on the Grace student mission board where we interviewed those who were. But I believe it was Bob Brenneman who asked me late in the process whether I would consider going to Holland. My answer was “yes,” and the summer of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with primarily young people was superlative.
Mr. Don Tschetter while traveling with our music group on a tour said something I have not forgotten. We were discussing what we needed to do in the next increment of time, and he injected, “While you are doing (whatever it was), you might also polish your shoes.” I think of him when my shoes need sprucing.
When I was president of the band, we needed a secretary to enable the meeting to progress (probably the secretary had graduated the year before). So I asked a pretty flute player to provide the service. Later when she asked to take my now empty dessert dishes from the living room to the kitchen of a faculty home, I was smitten. Ruth and I have been officially together since Jun 26 of 1971.
Mr. Robert Wenger was a careful and organized expositor of Scripture. I think he let the text speak for itself as Nehemiah 8:8. May I suggest that we need more of his kind.
I have many friends in many places because of the time spent at Grace. I think we were a quite varied bunch, and yet, when we meet somewhere as we sometimes do, we have much in common, and we just continue from where we were. I could mention others, but I must stop somewhere.
There are scenes in my memory, but they may exist only in nostalgia. The buildings don’t exist anymore. Neither does the institution. But maybe most importantly the people do, and we shall meet again.
Posted by turbooster
at 3:06 PM MST
Updated: Sunday, 28 January 2018 3:16 PM MST
Monday, 17 July 2017
Day of Special Thanks
Mood: caffeinated
Now Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
Mood:
caffeinatedNow Playing: The Uncomfortable Pastor
It is appropriate today to give God thanks for a prayer He has answered. Over the past few years we have had a heightened awareness of the uncertainty of life--there are no guarantees for tomorrow. We plan, but it must always be subject to “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:15).
So with that sense of uncertainty, I asked the Lord several years ago that, with the exception of the Rapture, Ruth and I might be able to live at least a couple years in the place we had purchased for our retirement.
Exactly two years ago today, we arrived in Sierra Vista. We are greatly enjoying life here with many friends, activities that are a blessing, and a lifestyle that is not highly stressful. This doesn’t mean our time is now over, but continuing is like ‘frosting on the cake.’ In any case, we are in our Great Shepherd’s care.
We have some health challenges and occasionally other troubles, but we have been able to cope. And tomorrow we leave on another trip, Lord willing, to spend some time with family.
Thank you, Father. We continue to be aware of Your love and goodness to us. We are content to experience Your nourishing and cherishing. But at the same time, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)!
Posted by turbooster
at 10:15 AM MDT
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