Lord's Day at Emmanuel Bible Church

We thoroughly enjoyed spending Sunday, December 14, with the people of Emmanuel Bible Church in Mauldin, SC. I was invited to share our ministry to France during the Family Bible Hour and then preach during the morning worship service. We also enjoyed getting to know people better through the Sunday afternoon prayer service. Pastor Brad and Becky Baugham (friends from college days) were very warm and hospitable to us, and many people showed a genuine interest in our plans to go to France. We thank God for the encouraging and edifying Lord’s Day spent with the EBC family, and the opportunity to meditate with them during this Christmas season on the role that the Incarnation plays in the whole scheme of missions.

Remembering France's Heritage: The Death of Cardinal Richelieu

On this day (December 4) in 1642 Richelieu (Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu) died. He had served as France’s King Louis XIII’s “Chief Minister” or “First Minister” for nearly 20 years.

Richelieu is known today as a leading character and a main antagonist in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. He is also famous for his patronage of the arts; most notably, he founded the Académie Française, responsible for matters pertaining to the French language. Many avenues or boulevards in French cities are graced with his name.

Richelieu should be primarily remembered, however, as the one responsible for beginning the process of taking away the rights and privileges of the Reformed Church of France, the Huguenots. He left the finishing of the work to his successors, but he clearly set a pattern of deliberately destroying (through coercion and deception) the power of the Huguenots by removing their privileges one by one. The climax of the campaign he began was reached 43 years after his death when the first and greatest of the Edicts in favor of the Huguenots (the Edict of Nantes) was revoked by King Louis XIV.

According to the historian W. H. Foote, “Under the influence of Richelieu, more or less direct, the number of the Reformed pastors was lessened; the number of congregations greatly lessened, and some have supposed that the great body of the Huguenots, by death and exile, were diminished one half from the remains of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Extortion, deception, falsehood, extravagance, selfishness and waste of human life under false pretences, consorted with his ideas of religion while living, and had his approbation when dying.”

The lack of Protestant witness in France today is in part the work of Richelieu. Leadership has consequences, even for the generations that follow.

Thanksgiving week with family and friends

We enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving weekend in North Carolina. We spent Thursday through Saturday with Ruth's parents at their home in Wake Forest, North Carolina. About 20 Pahnke relatives gathered for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday afternoon. We had a relaxing weekend eating, talking, walking through the woods, playing with the aunts and uncles, riding Papa's tractors around the farm, setting up the Christmas tree, reading and resting. We are grateful for our family.

Sunday, November 30, we spent with College Park Baptist Church of Cary, North Carolina. Pastors Matt Walker, Todd Carswell and the whole church family were very gracious to us. I was privileged to teach the adults in Sunday school and present our ministry to France in the evening service. Following the service, the church immediately voted to partner with us through regular financial support! That was the first time we had ever expereinced a church family partnering with us on the same day as our presentation. After the vote, everyone gathered around the map while I added a pin on Bordeaux, France. A prayer of dedication was then offered on our behalf. What an encouragement to have another supporting church! One more reason for us to give thanks during this season.

In Praise to God

(On the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, we were able to attend our church family’s praise service. It was a wonderful time of hearing individuals give praise to God for His goodness. I decided I would write my testimony out, and I’m including it below as another opportunity to give praise to God.)

Psalm 66 says, “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’”
Truly, God’s works are awesome as He brings to pass His global purposes, His redemptive purposes, and His purposes for me personally.

I. I praise God for His Sovereign control which unstoppably works out His global purposes.

I praise God that this county, along with all the other democracies, is not meaninglessly controlled by a fickle and unprincipled majority which convulsively flits from one leader to the next selfishly trying to achieve its own desires.
I, with the humbled and enlightened Nebuchadnezzar, bless the Most High and praise and honor Him who lives forever;
[that] His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
[that] His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
And [that] all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And [that] no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ’What have You done?’” (from Dan. 4)

II. I praise God for His gracious love which faithfully brings to fruition His redemptive purposes.

I praise my God, the sovereign Creator who works all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11), that He foresaw the ruin of the race through sin, that He determined to glorify himself by saving His chosen people, and that He appointed His Son to be born of a woman and effect their salvation by His mediatorial ministry

I praise God for preserving the seed through which Christ would come from all the forces that would have destroyed it: not only from the numerous attacks of Satan himself but also from the unprincipled actions of His own Covenant people (the chosen vessel through which the seed was eventually to appear) who repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to risk God’s covenant plan of redemption in order to achieve their own personal gain. I praise God that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, seed of the woman, subjected to the Law yet faithfully fulfilling it, in order that He might redeem those who miserably failed to keep the Law and thus found themselves in bondage to it.

As a gentile who appeared doomed to always be without God and without hope in this world, I praise God that His goal had been from eternity past, not the salvation of one of the world’s many nations, but the creation of a new nation, the members of which were to be drawn from every nation, receiving their spiritual nationality, not by natural, but by spiritual birth.

I praise God that “after the Son had been raised, exalted and enthroned in His messianic kingdom, He sent the Holy Sprit into the world in order... to bring His people, through faith in Himself, into the possession and enjoyment of the salvation He won for them.”

I praise God for accomplishing His redemptive purposes in His chosen people, not in spite of trials and persecutions, but deliberately bringing about His sanctifying purposes through the trials and tribulations of life, working all things together for their good.

I praise Him that world history has been to date, and will be to the end, nothing more nor less than God’s execution of the plan which He formed in order to achieve His redemptive purposes. (Some of the wording here taken from J. I. Packer’s 1956 article, “Revelation and Inspiration.”)

III. I praise God for His loyal love and faithfulness which providentially brings about His purposes for me personally.

Psalm 66:16 says, “Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.”

Well, I can’t tell you all that He has done, but I praise Him for loving me and choosing me in Christ before the foundation of the earth (by grace and apart from any good thing in me) to be delivered from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved son; and then to be conformed to the image of that Son. I praise God that He is even now relentlessly working to see that the good work which He has begun in me will be completed at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

When I think back on this past year, I think of the word ‘travel.’ I praise God for my lovely wife and two children, and for preserving my family in our travels through 29 of the United States and one Canadian Province, during 210 days of travel and nearly 30,000 miles of road, sleeping on at least 58 different beds. I praise God for providing the $5,665.96 we spent on gasoline in order to make these trips.

I praise God for the beautiful sights I’ve seen displaying His own creative powers: a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, a sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, the snowy forests of Maine, the Ponderosa Pines of Northern Arizona; the purple hues of the Smokey Mountains, the vast and open plains of New Mexico and upper Texas; the cacti and dessert shrub of the southwest, the red rocks of Sedona, the vast and breath-stopping beauty of the Grand Canyon.

I praise God for giving us the privilege to minister to and learn from 65 different local churches, each one unique in its own way yet equally loved and cherished by Christ their Bridegroom. And I praise Him for the 6 churches and 8 families who have partnered with us in order to provide 28% of our needed funds.

Finally, I thank God for this local church. I praise God for the incalculable privilege I had to serve as an undershepherd over this flock for nearly five years. I praise Him for relieving me of that responsibility and of gifting our church body with another undershepherd, more gifted and experienced than I, whom I respect, admire and love for the Gospel’s sake. I praise God for this church’s continued love, care, interest and provision for us in this new ministry of taking the Hope of the Gospel to France.

“O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our Salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God,
And a great King above all gods...
(Ps. 95:1-3)

Final Days in the West

Here are a few pics of our last few weeks in Arizona and New Mexico. We have such wonderful memories of all the new experiences that this trip afforded us. As we sat in our own home church in Spartanburg on Sunday, it was hard to believe that just one week prior we had been worshipping with Christian brothers and sisters in Tucson! Click here to view the pictures in a larger format.

Aound the World in 80 Days

Well, it wasn’t exactly around the world in 80 days, but we did travel through 13 states and drove 8,353.2 miles over the past 8 weeks. Our van, which now has more than 205,000 miles in its history, did not give us a bit of trouble (except for running out of gas in El Paso, Texas). We are very grateful for God’s protection which He gave to us and for the way He provided for us along the way. It was truly a memorable trip.

We have one family in Florida that has already begun supporting us on a monthly basis and several more churches or individuals who mentioned that they will be prayerfully considering partnering with us. Please pray that God will give us the partners we need in order to move to France.

We are excited to be home for five whole days before heading back out again! We are especially grateful to be able to spend the Lord’s Day with our home church family. Our travels between now and the New Year should be much lighter, though we do have three more Sundays away and trips to North Carolina and Pennsylvania on the schedule.

Thank you to each individual and church family who made this last trip such an enjoyable and memorable experience.

Trekking back East

Tomorrow (November 20) we leave Albuquerque, NM, and begin our 1,575-mile, 23-hours-and-30-minutes (according to Google Maps, that is) drive back to South Carolina. Our 56-day-trip to Florida, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico is coming to a close. Please pray that God would grant us safety and allow us to make good time. Please pray that the van would run well and that God would give grace and sanctification to those in the van.

This has been a trip like none other. We have seen so many places that we had only dreamed of up to this point. However, with our sights set on home, we feel like a cow on its way back to the barn--nobody better get in our way! We're excited to be homeward bound!

November/December Prayer Update

November/December 2008

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

It is a joy to be able to send out another update in the anticipation that many will be reminded to pray for us. It is difficult, however, to absorb the fact that this is our November/December update!

WHAT DO MOUNTAINS SAY?
If sound waves could be captured and turned into cash, the back seat of our Dodge Caravan would be a gold mine on wheels. While questions exude almost incessantly from the two car seats behind us, every once in a while there is a comment that leaves me wondering whether it was merely the product of a mindless endeavor to fill the void or the genuine outflow of some diligent cerebral activity. Take, for example, this question: What do mountains say? Should you chide the child for being ridiculous or praise him or her for being unusually perceptive and insightful? Before you give your verdict, consider the context: we are driving on one of the top five scenic routes in the United States up from the beautiful red mountains of Sedona, AZ, through the 8,000-foot-high Ponderosa Pine forest and on to the breath-stopping vistas of the Grand Canyon. Regardless of how the question was intended, it immediately brought to my mind the words of Psalm 19. It is a travesty to think that every year millions of people come to gawk at this beautiful scenery, and yet stop their ears as it thunders forth the glory of God.

ON A COVERT VACATION?
Some may wonder if this whole “pre-field ministry” is nothing but a smokescreen to cover for a clandestine, long-term vacation. Well, let me just say, some of it is out-and-out vacationing, pure and simple! Through the generosity of a friend, we were given three free nights in Sedona, AZ (two hours south of the Grand Canyon), that were just fabulous. Our travels have brought their own set of perks (a.k.a. blessings) and challenges (a.k.a. trials). I won’t venture to produce a list for either category, though I will say that Ruth and I often marvel at what a unique (even odd) stage of life we are in. The kids? They think it’s normal to have people take you out to eat in restaurants, sleep in new beds, spend hours in the van and ask, What do mountains say? as they’re scanning the beautiful landscape of northern Arizona.

THE ROAD BEHIND AND AHEAD
We are more than 5,000 miles into our present 8-week-long trip and finally at its most western point—which means we have a long way to go to get home! By the time it is over, we will have been in 17 churches in Florida, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. God has blessed us with good meetings and many new friends. We are especially grateful to the four new individuals/families who have committed to partnering with us, bringing our promised support to 28% of our target. We have been blessed by my Uncle Bacilio and Aunt Eunice Alfaro who have graciously allowed us to use their home as a base in the Phoenix area. We hope to return home to Spartanburg by the end of November. Plans are still in place for us to travel to France next June to replace my parents in Bordeaux through the end of 2009. We still need more support than we have at present to be able to make this short-term trip, and we would love to reach 100% of our goal before then in order to remain in France in 2010. Obviously, this is a major prayer request. Other prayer requests include the health of our van (which has held up well so far) and especially our own growth in grace during this time of transition. While we all pray, prepare and plan for the future, none of us knows where the road ahead will lead. We can, however, relax in an all-wise, good, and powerful God who has promised to make our paths straight. May God help us all to resist self-reliance and anxiety and to trust wholeheartedly in Him.

In Christ,

Tim, Ruth, Micaiah & Miriam


ITINERARY
November 2 (am) - Phoenix, AZ
November 2 (pm) - Avondale, AZ
November 9 - Gilbert, AZ
November 12 - Queen Creek, AZ
November 16 - Tucson, AZ
November 19 - Albuquerque, NM
November 30 - Cary, NC
December 14 - Greenville, SC

Travels in Arizona

Our first trip to Arizona has been a wonderful experience. We've been able to see many new, and before unseen, beauties of God's creation, such as the large Sahuaro cactus, the red rocks of Sedona, and the enormous cliffs of the Grand Canyon. We've also been able to experience many of God's new creations in the churches of this state. Here are a few pictures from our time in the Grand Canyon State. (Click here to view in larger format.)

A visit to the Grand Canyon!

While everybody else was busy watching the election coverage, we were enjoying the Grand Canyon! We were so grateful for the privilege of staying in Sedona, Arizona, for several nights. Click here for more pictures.

Travels in Texas

The immensity of Texas hit us the minute we crossed into the state. The first exit off of I-10 was numbered 880! We have many great memories from the Lone Star State. We got to visit with some old friends and make many new friends. The pictures below should give you a glimpse of some of our experiences. By the time we passed by Exit 0 and crossed into New Mexico on the western end of I-10 I felt we had fully acclimated to the Texan spirit: our children were chanting “Don’t mess with Texas!”

Reuniting with Friends in the West

One thing that has been especially fun about our travels is the opportunity they sometimes provide to pop in on friends who were formerly from our neck of the woods who have since moved to new locations. Thus far on this trip we have had the special privilege to visit with two young couples who were once a part of our lives at CPBC in Spartanburg.

First, we thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit with Josh and Amy Jensen. You may remember that Tim officiated at their wedding just last June. Josh and Amy now live in Arlington, Texas, where Josh is working on a degree in linguistics at UTA in hopes of one day using the knowledge he is gaining now in some sort of Bible translation work on the mission field. It was exciting to be some of their first (and due to their location--probably some of their few) friends from back home to see their little apartment and new situation. Amy, who has always had a special relationship with our children, told us that she wanted to keep our kids for the day while we did some sight-seeing. (We appreciated her thoughtfulness!) The kids had a royal time with “Miss Amy”, making brownies and I’m not quite sure what all else, and then we all enjoyed an evening of delightful fellowship, sharing some of the blessings and trials of the present duties to which the Lord has called us. We ended the evening with a precious time of prayer together, endeavoring to “commit our ways unto the Lord” as Ps. 37:5 admonishes us.

One week later the deputation trail has led us to Tucson, Arizona, where we have had the privilege of spending the last several days in the home of Seth and Autumn Clark. Autumn (formerly Kirkham) was a member of CPBC for more than two years during her college days, and Seth attended for a time as well. We were able to attend their wedding in Florence, SC, back in July 2006 shortly before they moved out here for Seth to become an assistant pastor at Bethel Baptist Church of Tucson. It’s been great to become reacquainted with them and to see how the Lord has been at work in their lives over the past two years. They have gone out of their way to make us feel perfectly at home, and Autumn gave us her entire day yesterday to take us up the 9,000 and some odd feet of Mount Lemmon to its peak. What a view! Autumn and I are both fall-lovers, and so it was a special treat to feel the cooler-than-typical-for-Arizona-weather at the top of the mountain and to see some yellowing Aspen fall colors. For those of you who may never have been out here, hardly anything with more height than a shrub will grow in the lower levels of Arizona (except for the Sahuaro cactus, and it doesn’t change colors in the fall! ;-), but somehow the tall evergreens and a few other types of deciduous trees do grow in the extreme altitudes. We’re grateful to be able to travel all around this huge country of ours and discover friends at nearly every corner! I'll close this post by sharing with you the gorgeous view of the area of Tucson we enjoyed from atop the mountain.

We've made it to Arizona!

Stay tuned. We hope to post pictures of our two weeks in Texas very soon. But for now, we just wanted to let you know that we made the long trek across I-10 and are in Tucson, Arizona!

Early Fall in Florida

Here are a few pics of our week and half in Florida. We had a great time getting to know believers from three different churches. We are now Texas-bound.

Visiting Home

Our lives on deputation have become such that when we return home, it’s not to stay, but merely for a visit. Nevertheless, we always enjoy visiting home. This last visit lasted for 10 fast and yet refreshing days. We rolled into town from Pennsylvania 20 minutes before our church’s annual business meeting. What made the service significant for our mission team is that the church was voting to officially accept the responsibility to become the sending church for the Bixby and Cole families. Though we were politely excused during that portion of the service, we were reintroduced and told that church family had unanimously voted to support each family for $350 a month. Between this support and the individual support of families within the church, our home church currently provides nearly 10% of our ultimate financial goal. This is actually quite astounding considering the small size of the congregation and the fact that they are doing this for two families in the church and not just one.

Another highlight of our home visit was the privilege to present our ministry to our former home church: Mount Calvary Baptist Church of Greenville. Pastor Mark Minnick and the people of MCBC were so gracious to us. It was almost nostalgic to be able to go back to the church that has played such a formative role in my own life and ministry, a church where I was a member for seven years, where Ruth and I served and grew together as a newly married couple, and where we still have many friends. Their generous love offering frankly astounded us and overwhelmed us with gratitude. We think highly of the MCBC leadership and church family and were delighted to be able to reconnect with them. We were so preoccupied with talking with different people that we completely forgot to take even one single picture. Sorry about that. We did get a few pictures of our pre-service dinner with my Uncle Steve and Aunt Donna Bixby and family (see above), who are members at Mount Calvary.

Some other highlights of our home visit (of which we do have pictures) involved time spent with friends from CPBC. Last Thursday we enjoyed an evening with our pastor and family. The Casillases kept our children while we went to the county offices to submit our absentee ballots. (It is nice to not even have to pay attention to the presidential debates or political mêlée since we have already cast our votes!) Micaiah and Miriam love playing with the Casillas children. Following the fulfillment of our citizenry responsibilities we enjoyed plenty of good food and fellowship with Pastor Ken, Soraya and their children.

Before we left for Florida on Saturday (September 27) we stopped by to visit with a dear man we highly respect and dearly love: Leo West. Last week, at the young age of 84, Leo (whom our children affectionately refer to as “Papa Leo”) finally retired from caring for the church lawns. If you had stopped by our church this summer, you might have seen Leo riding the old red lawnmower in the burning South Carolina heat, or walking with a cane in one hand and a blower in the other. Though he suffers from severe arthritic pain, especially in his knees, Leo is in church for literally every service. His endurance is a challenge to me. He’s one of the reasons we always enjoy “visiting home.”

Slideshow: September in the Northeast

(Double-click on the slideshow to see it in a larger format.)

We returned on Wednesday from our last 2,500-mile trip. We had meetings in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland. This trip also afforded us the opportunity to visit with family: Ruth's sister and her family in Berwick, Pennsylvania; Tim's sister and family in Stoughton, Massachusetts, along with their extra-special visitors--Tim's parents, who were in the States on a brief visit from France; and also Tim's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Phil Dierking of Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

Another special treat on this trip was the opportunity to visit with Pastor John and Diane McKnight (Evangelical Methodist Church of Darlington, MD). Pastor McKnight was a former pastor of Cleveland Park Bible Church, and was greatly used of the Lord here in Spartanburg in the late '80s and early '90s. (Unfortunately, the picture we took of them must have been inadvertently deleted.)

September/October Prayer Update

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

Where have we been in the last two months? Well, to tell you the truth, that’s a question I couldn’t answer off the top of my head. I had to look back at our calendar to remind myself of all the places we’ve gone. After you have been traveling for a while, all your separate experiences begin to amalgamate into one mosaic memory. Not that the individual pieces are all forgotten, but my memory doesn’t retain them on a chronological grid. A look back at our calendar has reminded me that in July and August we had meetings in Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Ohio again, and North Carolina. Some highlights were the extra preaching opportunities I was given by several churches, including the opportunity to do a mini-series on the book of Jonah in Madison, Ohio; a biographical sketch of missionary William Carey in Rockford, Illinois; and a full day of preaching just last week in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Don’t forget that you can view pictures and frequent updates of our travels under “Bixby News” at www.HopeforFrance.org.

UPCOMING TRAVELS
Before you receive our next update letter, we are should have had meetings in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina again, Florida, Texas and—yes—Arizona. Please pray that God will prevent our Dodge Caravan (with more than 194,000 miles already on its record) from entering an unannounced early retirement. With our hopes set on leaving for France in less than a year, we don’t want to invest in another vehicle. On the other hand, neither do we want to break down on a deserted highway halfway across Texas! We are confident that God has sovereign control even over transportation concerns.

A DEPARTURE DATE
We do have some exciting news to share! My parents would like to come home on furlough next year and have asked us to come and replace them in their ministry in Bordeaux, France, during that time. Our plans are to go in mid-June 2009 and stay at least through the end of the year. If we have reached our support goal by the time we leave, we will simply remain on in France. (Boy, wouldn’t that be exciting!) If not, we may have to return for a few months in 2010 to finish raising the needed funds. Since we were already planning to kick off our French ministry in Bordeaux, this new opportunity comes not as a delay, but as an acceleration of our plans. It will allow us to get re-immersed into French ministry (I’ll be doing all the preaching in French), to study and improve our French skills in the university, and to begin preparations for our own future church plant. Needless to say, we are excited to have a departure date in sight.

Please pray that God will guide us as we begin to navigate the complicated visa system. We will soon have to choose between the short-term fix of applying for a student visa (good for one year) or the more permanent (and more difficult to obtain) long-term visitor’s visa. The determining factor will probably be how much support has been committed by the time we have to apply for our visas. Please pray that God will either bring in all of our permanent support in time for the June departure, or give us partners who would be willing to support us as short-term missionaries for the six months we hope to spend in France next year.

THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Adoniram Judson once said, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.” As we (along with you) look to the future with hearts full of aspirations and uncertainties, may we always remember that our lives are guided by the all-wise, all-powerful, and all-good God. We wouldn’t want it any other way.

In Christ,
Tim for the family

ITINERARY
September 3 — Greenville, SC
September 7 (am) — Reading, PA
September 7 (pm) — Berwick, PA
September 10 — Pepperell, MA
September 14-15 — Darlington, MD
September 24 — Greenville, SC
September 28 — Lady Lake, FL
October 1 — Winter Garden, FL
October 3-5 — Panama City, FL
October 12 — Houston, TX
October 15 — Rockwall, TX
October 19 — Katy, TX
October 22 — Tucson, AZ
October 26 (am) — Sahuarita, AZ
October 26 (pm) — Scottsdale, AZ
October 31 — Buckeye, AZ

Slideshow: Carolina Travels

It has been a special blessing to be based out of our home here in the parsonage of Cleveland Park Bible Church for the last month. Though during that time, we have only trekked across the parking lot to church three or four times. One of those visits afforded us the joy of hearing our future French co-workers, Michael and Liz Cole, present their burden for France to our home congregation. Having the doctoral work behind them, the Coles are now seeking to hit the road on full-time deputation. We all would appreciate your prayers for them to find open doors for services and that God would direct them to churches and individuals who would be able to partner with them in ministry.

We have been grateful for the opportunities to visit a number of churches in the Carolinas during this month, where we found many friends from the past. Among them was a visit to one of our more recent supporters, Grace Baptist Church of East Flat Rock, NC, (though I’m afraid we neglected to take any pictures to add to our slideshow!). We also visited Emmanuel Baptist of Mills River, NC, a church that has supported Tim’s parents since before he was born. A full Sunday in Goldsboro, NC, gave us a good excuse to visit my parents in Wake Forest, and another supporting church there: Friendship Baptist Church of Raleigh (alas! No pictures here either!). We thoroughly enjoyed our Sunday with the people of Trinity Baptist in Goldsboro, a church which we had visited as youth group chaperones in our newly-married days. The slideshow above will give you a little pictorial history of some of those recent travels.

The death of a dear friend: Omie Deaton

We were heading out the door this afternoon (literally) to visit a 98-year-old member of our church, when we got a phone call from Pastor Ken Casillas letting us know that Mrs. Deaton had just died. Micaiah, who was holding a drawing of three crosses that he had made and was planning on giving to Mrs. Deaton, burst into tears. We all are grieving a lady we loved.

Mrs. Deaton loved Ruth because she was from North Carolina and loved me because I was Ruth’s husband. She had a wry sense of humor and loved to tease and be teased. I remember the time (before I even became pastor) that I preached over time and didn’t end the service until 20 minutes after noon. She reminded me after the service that some people in the congregation had diabetes and couldn’t wait too long to eat. When I assured her that I would try harder next time to end earlier, she responded with a simple, sweet, yet authoritative, “Do.” When we visited her for the last time last Tuesday, she could hardly speak due to fatigue, paralysis on her right side (the effects of a stroke) and a broken arm that was wasn’t even discovered until later. Though she was clearly aware and appreciative of our presence, she didn’t say anything in return until we were ready to leave. Ruth leaned down and said, “We love you.” She replied, “I love you, too.” Then we promised her that we would return to visit her after our brief trip to North Carolina. She replied with her inimitable, “Do.” We missed that appointment by a couple of short hours.

Mrs. Deaton ministered to me as a pastor because she always had a vital interest in the progress of our small church. She had a definite opinion about why this or that person hadn’t joined yet, etc., but, oh, how she rejoiced when new members were added to the body. She had passed her 97th birthday before she had to stop coming regularly to church. I’m praying I’ll have a similar record of faithfulness.

Remembering France's Heritage: Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre

August 24, 1572 (436 years ago) is a day that has lived in infamy in the annals of the French Reformed (Protestant) Church. The date is remembered for what is commonly called “The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre” (Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French).

Though Charles IX was enthroned as king, his mother, Catherine de Médici, still played a dominant role in the kingdom. In an effort to escape dominance by the House of Guise (Catholic) while at the same avoiding dependence on Admiral Coligny, leader of the Huguenot forces, Catherine desired to wed her daughter Marguerite (sister to Charles IX) to the young Protestant Henry of Navarre. The wedding took place on August 18, 1572.

The Huguenot nobility and followers of the young King of Navarre had flocked into a zealously Catholic Paris, heightening the tension already existing in the city. Four days following the wedding, Admiral Coligny’s life was almost taken when shots were fired at him from a window. The perpetrators were unknown but panic ensued. In the brouhaha of secret meetings, negotiations, etc., Catherine determined to capitalize on the presence of so many Huguenot leaders. Early on August 24 (a feast day in honor of Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles), Catherine gave the word and the blood bath began. The wounded Coligny was killed in his bed, his body thrown out the window and dragged through the streets. The blood-thirsty mobs and Guise-controlled gangs continued the butchery, atrociously slaughtering the unsuspecting Huguenots and committing crimes on their victims that are repulsive even to the most perverted of minds. The exact number of fatalities is not known, but it has been estimated that more than 2,000 innocent Huguenots were killed in Paris and more than 3,000 in the French provinces.

(Painting by François Dubois, 1529–84)

Remembering France's Heritage: A Protestant/Catholic Wedding

On this day 436 years ago, August 18, 1572, the 19-year-old, Roman Catholic-reared Marguerite de Valois ascended a platform outside the entry of a Parisian church to meet her groom, the French King of Navarre Henry de Bourbon. Henry (better known as Henry IV of France) was the son of Jeanne d'Albret, the acknowledged spiritual and political leader of the French Huguenot movement, and grandson to Margaret of Navarre, a sister of King Francis I of France and a strong supporter of the French Reformation. Hence, Henry had been raised a Huguenot and instructed in the Reformed faith.

Marguerite was the product of the union between Henry II, King of France, and Italian aristocrat Catherine de Medici, and it was her mother Catherine who was primarily responsible for arranging this new marriage alliance in an effort to escape dominance by the Catholic Guises. Henry’s Huguenot mother had at first strongly opposed the marriage, unwilling that her son should marry a Roman Catholic, but eventually caved in to the political pressure and allowed the union.

The two families had agreed that the ceremony should be performed in a way not entirely conformable to the rites of either church. It would not be entirely Reformed, in that the vows were to be received by a Cardinal; not Romish, because the vows were to be received without the sacrament. Following the ceremony, the groom retired to a Protestant meeting to hear a sermon and the bride went into the church to take Mass.

The religious import of this wedding that took place more than four centuries ago can be seen in two significant results, one more distant and one more immediate. On the one hand, it strengthened Henry of Navarre’s claim to the throne of France when it might otherwise have been challenged following the death of Marguerite’s three brothers. Because of his Huguenot upbringing and familial associations, Henry IV’s rule did for a time grant some relief to the Huguenot people through the signing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598. More immediately, however, this wedding set the stage for the terrible “St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre” which occurred just six days after the wedding while the festivities were still in progress. The wedding had brought a great flock of the Huguenot nobility and many followers of the young King of Navarre into a zealously Roman Catholic Paris, heightening the tension in the city. The Romish leaders, including Catherine de Medici and her son, King Charles IX, saw the presence of so many Huguenot leaders as a prize not to be lost and determined to “kill them all” (as Charles IX is reported to have screamed). More on that brutal Huguenot slaughter later ….

Celebrating Our Heritage: Singin' Billy Walker

Though it seems we often find ourselves far from home when we explore some bit of church history, we were pleased recently to discover a little bit of church history right in our own back yard (at least, not very far from it). Our very own hometown Spartanburg also served as home to musician William Walker (1809-75), who is important to church history most especially for the contribution of The Southern Harmony, a shape-note collection of Gospel songs and hymns. It was in this collection that the words and music of what has since been dubbed “the spiritual anthem of America” first appeared together in print. Walker probably derived the tune we now connect only with this great hymn, “Amazing Grace”, from the African plantation slaves. Though unconfirmed, some have surmised that Walker may have added the last verse (“When we’ve been there ten thousand years …”) to this famous hymn text by John Newton. It was Walker’s passion to educate the common man in the art of music, and it was his tunebooks (800,000 copies of The Southern Harmony were sold) which popularized Newton’s classic hymn.

We recently visited Walker’s grave in Magnolia Cemetery (pictured here), located barely more than a mile away from our present home at the parsonage of Cleveland Park Bible Church. It was “amazing” to stand there and consider that we were so near the spot where that famous hymn may first have been sung in the form in which we know it today, but it’s even more amazing to consider the amazing grace of God which that song extols.

Slideshow: Midwest Trip, II

God has brought us safely back from our Ohio/Illinois trip which lasted 3 ½ weeks and 2,375.9 miles. Our van now has more than 192,000 miles on it, but the only mishap was a flat tire on I-70 just inside Columbus, Ohio.

We are thankful for all that we experienced, the friends we made, and all that God taught us. We will be in the Spartanburg area for the rest of the month with a couple of weekend trips into North Carolina. Thank you to all who have ministered to us. Please keep praying with us that God will speed us on our way.

Slideshow: Midwest Trip, I

We are thankful for the safety and experiences that God has given us so far. We are presently halfway through a month-long trip through Ohio & Illinois.

Celebrating Our Heritage: P.P. Bliss and the "Ashtabula Horror"

Earlier this week our travels took us to Ashtabula, Ohio, near Madison where we had had a good day of services with the people of Tri-County Bible Church on Sunday, July 13. The town of Ashtabula is significant to church history because of one tragic event that occurred in December of 1876. Four days following Christmas of that year, American hymn writer and Gospel singer P.P. Bliss and his wife Lucy were traveling on The Pacific Express train bound for Chicago.

Bliss, who is the author of such well-known hymns as Hallelujah, What a Savior!, Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, Jesus Loves Even Me, Wonderful Words of Life, and the composer of the tune to Horatio Spafford’s It Is Well with My Soul, had given up his life as a professional musician and educator in 1874 to give himself fully to the task of “winning souls” as a full-time evangelist. He regularly partnered with D.L. Moody in evangelistic endeavors. Bliss and his wife were returning to Chicago to rejoin Moody following Christmas vacation in Pennsylvania when their train met with disaster in snowy Northeastern Ohio. The train had just crossed through the railroad station at Ashtabula and attempted to cross a wrought iron truss bridge. The lead locomotive made it across the fracturing bridge, but all the cars behind it plunged 70 feet downward into the river and ravine below. Bliss and his wife Lucy, along with 90 others, lost their lives. Bliss (who happens to share a birthday with Tim--July 9!) was 38 years old at his death. He and Lucy left behind two children: George, 4, and Philip Paul, 1.

Our tour guide, Pastor Joe Tyrpak, took us to the three Ashtabula locations associated with the event. We began at the monument that was erected in 1895 in Ashtabula’s Chestnut Grove Cemetery. There a large obelisk bears the names of some of those who were known to have died in the incident, as well as a memorial to the many who were never identified. We also visited the location of the accident. The original bridge had, of course, completely collapsed. However there is another one in its place that is still currently in use. In the picture with me in front of the bridge, there is actually a train crossing over at the very top above all the green growth. The final site we visited was a historical marker that is placed in front of the present-day Ashtabula County hospital. The accident revealed some major weaknesses in the county’s healthcare system, which resulted in the new, much-improved hospital.

It was good to be reminded of how quickly life can end. Though we do not understand all of God’s purposes, we rejoice at how He gave this man the ability to contribute so much toward the advancement of His Kingdom in only 38 short years of life! The following hymn text was found among Bliss’s belongings following his death:

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Sing, oh sing, of my Redeemer,
With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be

.

July/August Update Letter

Dear Friends and Ministry Partners,

Let me begin by giving public praise and thanks to God for the love and grace that He faithfully showers on His children. We are happy to be able to report back to you in safety and good health, very conscious of God’s care and protection over us. I last wrote to you from Massachusetts. After that time, we were able to visit several more churches in New England. Some of the special “extras” of the trip included a visit with a cousin in Vermont and a “jaunt” up into Québec where we were able to spend two days with church planter Jean Rousseau and family. I was able use my French both on the streets while we did some literature distribution and in the mid-week service where I got to preach in French for the first time in more than two years. It was an exciting experience for us to be able to be immersed into a French-speaking culture for a couple of days and heightened our own anticipation of arriving soon in France. Since returning to South Carolina our mileage has significantly decreased with only two weekends in North Carolina and the other services closer to home. It has been refreshing to once again minister to and with the people of our home church during this last month in Spartanburg. I was able to fill the pulpit on two different Sundays while our pastor was out of town, and our entire family helped with a large-scale community outreach that took place on June 14.

Ordination

On Saturday, June 7, the 10 men who formed my ordination council gathered to evaluate my call and preparation for the Gospel ministry. The three-hour questioning was a humbling experience for me, yet also confirming when they unanimously voted to recommend that my church ordain me to the Gospel ministry. The official ordination took place on the following day. I am grateful for all the friends and family who joined us for the occasion and for my brother Bob who brought an excellent message especially suited to the occasion.

Wedding

Last Saturday I was honored to be the officiating minister and preacher at the wedding of Amy Sutter and Josh Jensen. I was Amy’s pastor for nearly five years, and Josh is the son of our mission director and wife, Ken and Joan Jensen. The joy of seeing such a godly, mature couple united, along with our long-term friendship with Amy and our fondness for the Jensens made the occasion a special one for us in which we counted it an honor to take part.

Partners in Ministry

Since I last wrote, we have had three churches and one family begin partnering with us on a financial level. We are so grateful to God for providing through these friends. Not only has the Lord provided us with financial partners in these friends, but we are also grateful for the lifelong friendships and prayer warriors we have found in our travels. We have now reached about 17% of our estimated needs for living and ministering in France. Please pray that God will continue to burden and enable more churches and individuals to partner with us in this way.

Thank you so much for your prayers, interest and support. This missionary endeavor to France is truly a group effort, and we are thankful for all those who have joined us.

Grateful in His service,

Tim for the family

Itinerary

July 6 — Hampton, GA
July 13 — Madison, OH
July 16— Belpre, OH
July 20 — Columbus, OH
July 23 — Greenup, IL
July 27 — Rockford, IL
August 3 — Glenford, OH
August 31 — Pikeville, NC

Dr. Cole!!

We are pleased to announce that our dear friends and teammates, Michael and Liz Cole, have crossed a major milestone. Michael successfully defended his doctoral thesis on July 7 and will soon be awarded a Ph.D. in Theology from Bob Jones University. After 26 years of school, it’s nice for him to be done for a while (at least until language school begins!). Congratulations Dr. and Mrs. Cole!!

P.S. The calligraphy in the background represents the theme of Michael’s dissertation, which explored the relationship between the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.