Meeting Transcripts

Opening Remarks

Greeting

Thank you for coming. We also want to acknowledge the webcast audience.

Minister Resources Page

We have decided to webcast this event live as well as next Saturday’s meeting. This was announced via a memo on the Minister Resources Page of the website. It is the most effective way to send general communication out that relates to ministers and pastors. If you’ve not yet taken the two-step process to be able to access that page, it’s very easy. Next Saturday, we’ll distribute a handout on it, but it’s self-explanatory if you go to the bottom lefthand corner of the website. There’s a log-in button that gives access to certain aspects of the website. That’s the first step that needs to be taken for access to be granted to the Minister Resources Page. When you click on that button, it will take you through the process. After you have done that first step, then go to the Library. You will see Ministers and can follow the steps given there to be granted access.

We have to first validate that those who seek access are, indeed, Apostolic Faith ministers. However, I will say, we’re not embarrassed of anything that’s on the Minister Resources Page. We’d let the whole world see. However, once in a while, there are things that don’t pertain to a general audience, so we go ahead and require that log-in before access is granted.

Once you’ve been granted that access, which is usually done within a twenty-four-hour period, you simply check the Memo Page once in a while. You’ll be updated automatically as to whatever news and events pertain to our ministers and pastors around the world. It’s an effective way of communicating in a general sense. Obviously, if private communication is needed with me, that’s easy to obtain, as well. We have what is called a “telephone” or “email.” Just contact me, and you’ll jump to the front of the list. We’ll be happy to accommodate that as best we can. It is a priority, actually, so make sure you take advantage of each of those methods.

The Adventure of Pastoring

“And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends (Paul’s friends) sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre” (Acts 19:31).

Introduction

Isolated, this verse might not have profound meaning to you, but hopefully we’ll get something out of it here in the next fifteen minutes or so. Two components of Paul’s visits to churches that are laid out in the Acts of the Apostles are: first, revival happened, and second, riots came. This seems to be the way it worked. Like Paul, we probably won’t have too many successes in the Gospel without some adversity.

This incident took place during Paul’s visit to Ephesus. There was a revival, and twelve received the Holy Ghost. They had a book-burning celebration where curious arts and books were disposed of. There were a number of activities. The Word of God prospered, but some hearts were hardened. Those came together as, what they called, the great goddess Diana was in jeopardy, and proceeded to have somewhat of a riot. Paul was of an adventurous spirit and was inclined to speak to those rioters, but some of his friends came to him (in the text I just read), desiring that he would not adventure himself into the theater.

You have to refresh your own memory by going to the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 19, to recall whether or not he went in. Whether he went in or not, I’m sure he was persuaded by what he felt was the will of God rather than the will of his friends. But that is a separate topic.

I would like to address the idea of “The Adventure of Pastoring,” or “The Adventure of Being Married to a Pastor,” depending upon which state you find yourself in. Lest we get an elevated view of ourselves, we could also give a devotional on the adventures of being an electrician if you were electricians, or on being married to an electrician, or on any number of vocations. Life comes to everyone, and we must be careful not to think that because we are a pastor, or married to a pastor, that we have some unique trial in life that no one else in the world could relate to.

It’s possible that no one else in the world, indeed, could relate to exactly what we go through, but it is no different than how someone who is an electrician, or plumber, or whatever, goes through whatever they go through. Also, those who are married to them.

Life is an adventure. But we are pastors, or spouses of pastors. The question to us is, “Would you like to go on an adventure?” The answer is, “It’s too late; you’re on one!”

What Constitutes an Adventure?

What is an adventure? Well, I looked at a number of different definitions and came up with these words drawn from all of them. It’s an undertaking that has elements of a challenge, with danger, some risk, and an uncertain outcome, but it has potential and possibilities.

Some people are adventuresome or adventurous. Others less so. But really, we could say that adventures come to everyone, because they do. So, whether we want adventures or not, we are in one.

We think of the explorers of old that we’ve read about in our history books during our school days. There are some who still read biographies or histories about those who explored. They were adventurous. They saw the risks, the dangers, the uncertain outcome, but they were driven by the possibilities. That’s how this land was discovered by Columbus. Though, obviously it was discovered before him because people were here when he got here. But we’ll let others debate that.

Paul was on an adventure, wasn’t he? Whether or not in this account in Acts 19, he would adventure himself into the theater to address those people or not, he often did. The outcome was often uncertain, and it is well documented that in the natural the outcome wasn’t even pleasant. But he was driven by the possibilities. Obviously, the possibility in that case was converts, and we want to be driven that way, as well.

Adventures of Farm Life

An adventure kindles the imagination because it sees, also, the excitement of possibilities. As I pondered this idea of an adventure, I remembered one of the few books I read other than of sports figures during my school days. It was an assignment of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The setting of Twain’s book was on the Mississippi River. Perhaps I was intrigued by that book not because of its literary value, but because I was growing up on the banks of the North Umpqua River. My dad and mom still live on the North Umpqua River.

Growing up on that farm, there were adventures. We had livestock, and the water trough was a big 55-gallon drum that had the top sawed off. It was great big, about this high, a barrel with water in it. The neighbor who lived across the street, gathered stray cats from everywhere, and the cats would come over to our house. When I was a boy, my mother told me, “Cats don’t swim.” Well, you don’t tell a ten-year-old that cats don’t swim. So, one adventure I had was of taking a cat and dropping it right down in the middle of that 55-gallon drum of water. Well, they don’t swim, so I rescued it. Whether that adventure was for me or for the cat, I don’t know, but that is the one that came to my mind.

Then there was the adventure of the saltlick. To encourage the cows to drink, there were a number of saltlicks throughout the barnyard. I could see the cows licking that salt, and as a boy, I scraped away the dry manure, and got down and licked that salt to see what it tasted like. As with the cat, the outcome was uncertain. I didn’t view this as risky, but adults would.

On the farm, we had the excitement of living on that North Umpqua River. We swam throughout the summer every day, sometimes twice a day. In the heat of the afternoon, we learned that when it was very hot outside, the water seemed very, very cool. In the evening before bedtime, when it was a bit cooler outside, the same water temperature seemed warmer. My brothers and I also had the excitement of playing rope football. A big oak tree’s limb hung way out over the bank with a rope attached to it. We would stand on the shore and one of the brothers would go out on the rope. As soon as he reached the peak of his climb on that rope, he would let go and we would deliver his football right into his hands. So we had excitement.

Adventures of Christianity

Then there was the adventure of my first Apostolic Faith meeting, and getting saved, and then embarking upon the lifelong journey of being a Christian. After a while, there was the adventure of preaching my first sermon. The text was Matthew 10:39, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall find it.” The first sermon wasn’t so bad. It was the second, third, and fourth ones that gave me trouble, and all the ones since then. I remember telling Brother Nolan Roby once that I was so desperate during a sermon. I don’t know if he recalls this, but I told him I didn’t even know the next words that were going to come out of my mouth. There was just nothing there. He probably was gracious, because he could have agreed there was nothing there, but he didn’t.

Adventures of a First Pastorate

Then there was the adventure of my first pastorate, and the challenges that accompanied that. I think some view being called into the ministry—maybe dragged into the ministry—with a certain amount of glamour, or they have an elitist view. That is so contrary to the Word of God. We are called to be servants, not to be served.

I suppose being appointed pastor could also be viewed by some as having a certain amount of glamour. People pat you on your back and say you did a great job whether you did or not. You feel good about that, but that stops after a while, and you have to deliver sermons because it’s the Word of God, not because someone is going to pat you on the back.

I always thought it would be easier to assume the pastorate of someone who people didn’t love, but it seems that my role has been to follow those who people did love, which I appreciate, as well. I don’t want you to take that wrong. There’s a certain amount of challenge to step in either way. It was particularly challenging where we had lived already, in Dallas—me for twelve years and Debbie for fifteen.

The first Sunday I was in Dallas was the dedication of Emily Allen (now Macomber). The last Sunday there, before the camp meeting when I was asked to move, Tim DeBusk’s sister, Teresa DeBusk McDonald, was saved. Between that first Sunday and that last Sunday, a five-year span, there were a number of victories, and there were a number of challenges. Not in regard to the church; it just purred along because God’s people are good people. But life comes, and we don’t share all of the challenges that come our way as individuals. Challenges come to us, and often must be handled in a private manner if the circumstances dictate so. Congregation members have similar challenges that often have to be handled between them and the Lord. They may solicit help along the way, certainly so. But that’s part of the adventure of serving the Lord—of being a Christian.

Adventures in Eureka

Then there was the adventure of Eureka. Brother Loyce Carver called me on a Wednesday or Thursday in January and asked that I come up and preach on a Friday night. He said he would like to talk to me about moving to Eureka. So we came, we talked, and he asked. My answer was, “Whatever is best. That is what we want.” He was noncommittal. We went from January to camp meeting, and finally he told me in the prayer room before a night meeting. He said, “Yeah, you should move to Eureka after camp meeting.” I asked him, “Is this public?” He said, “Yes, it can be public,” so I went out of the prayer room and told Debbie. Then I told Brother Earl Phillips. He must have been in the prayer room. He wanted to know the details. How did Brother Carver ask you? I told him I was praying in the prayer room, and he nudged me and said, “Yeah, you move to Eureka.” It was a little less glamorous than what Brother Earl was expecting, I think, but that’s the way it came about.

Initially, our daughter was excited. She was adventurous. Later, she would be a literature major. She was only fifteen or sixteen right then. She had an adventurous spirit. Our son was reluctant. We moved to Eureka, and the roles reversed. Our daughter was petrified, and our son thought it was kind of cool. So that’s the way it went. We had adventures in Eureka. There were good times and fun times. In fact, Debbie turned forty in Eureka, so we arranged to have a fortieth birthday party for her as a church, but then Brother Burley Burlingame passed away. Actually, his wife, Sister Annabelle, just recently passed away as well.

I had ordered a cake from the bakery with black frosting to imply somewhat of a mourning situation. Then when Brother Burlingame died, I quickly called the bakery and said “Hey, have you decorated that cake yet?” Well, they hadn’t gotten to the “Happy Birthday” part. I thought that would work perfectly as a funeral cake. So, Debbie didn’t get her fortieth celebration, but she got to eat her cake at that funeral.

To make it up to her, I took her to Mendocino for a couple of nights. That’s a few hours’ drive south along the Coast. We stayed a couple of nights there and then came back home. October 17 is her birthday, and she wanted some fall foliage for a pulpit arrangement. It was beautiful that time of year and as we drove, we saw colorful fall leaves. We stopped along 101 and picked up a few of them. Debbie asked me, “Is this poison oak?” Well, I grew up in Roseburg; I know what poison oak is. I said, “No, that’s not poison oak.” We got the leaves together with some other foliage and then brought it to the church and fixed it up nice in front of the pulpit. Then we got up on Sunday morning and I had poison oak on my hands, and Debbie had poison oak. Also, Sister Katie Jones who was artistic and had come to the church to help rearrange things got poison oak. It was all part of the adventure!

Adventures of Our Current Location

Later Brother Dwight Baltzell called and asked us to move to Portland. So now, currently, we are in the adventure of living in Portland! For you, the adventure is where you live. After you leave camp meeting, your adventure will continue. It will continue with those elements of a challenge: of some excitement, danger, and risks. But the possibilities . . . the possibilities, the potential! If we ever get our eyes off of those possibilities, that’s when we will run aground. We’re promised the hardships. There’s no crown without bearing a cross. There’s no picnic. Not just for us, but for anyone else in our congregation. So we carry on.

We face the adventures. We address them with the help of the Lord. I don’t know how many of the old explorers had faith in God. I would hate to be out in the middle of the ocean with Columbus and his crew during those storms and not know the Savior. Whether they did or didn’t, I know one thing, we know One. We know One to go to. When the storms of life assail our ship, we just head into it, and by the grace of God know that He’s going to carry us through it. He’s never failed one yet. We cannot wilt or cower or hang our heads. We serve a great God. We avail ourselves of His grace rather than our own strength because we see the possibilities. More than that we see that God is the One who called us to this task, and if He called us to this task, He’ll see us through this task.

The Adventure of this Camp Meeting

In the short term we have the adventure of Camp Meeting 2011. We have the possibilities that exist before us here. They’re exciting! We’re due for a major stirring. We really are! Every camp meeting is a blessing. I don’t diminish last camp meeting and the one before that or any before that. But, simply stated, we are due for a stirring. We need that at any stage of any year. Complacency settles in with some. Some lose their focus, some drift away, others become lethargic. But we thank God we are surrounded by those who have the same adventurous spirit they’ve always had, and we look to the God of Heaven who we’ve always looked to. He will answer our prayers. Let’s determine in our hearts that we’ll pray all the more earnestly this camp meeting. We know the victories are won in the prayer meeting.

Obviously, many of you—most of you—help carry the camp meeting. Let’s make prayer a priority as much as we can beyond the tasks that have fallen upon us to help the camp meeting run smoothly. We can’t abandon serving others so that they might have a camp meeting. But, where it is possible, commit yourselves to the prayer meetings, to the prayer room, to the altar services. It would really be helpful if we see that we have the ministers all lined up on the chancel rail there on the platform, but there’s room down below. Obviously, the men need to pray on the men’s side of the altar. If there’s room at the altar and you can commit yourself to prayer before your next assignment, then do so. Let’s be active as altar workers. That’s one element that caused us to be asked to preach our first sermon. It was noted that we prayed. That’s an element that we don’t want to lose. If we don’t pray as pastors and as leaders of this organization, we cannot ask the saints of God to pray. We cannot assign them, “You all go to prayer, I’ll be back after coffee.” Nobody’s doing that obviously, but we have to lead by example.

There is a great deal of business that is pressed upon every one of us at any time of year, at any gathering. You can be sure the devil will remind us of who we need to talk to every time we go to prayer. Pray first. Give yourself that time of prayer, because that meeting that is so important can hold, most of the time. And as we do that, the possibilities are endless. Many of you have loved ones who have lost their way. We pray that God’s Spirit will reach out and draw them to the meetings. They know these meetings are going on. They’re keeping track of them. Some of them are hoping that the Lord doesn’t come during these meetings. So, let’s pray, commit ourselves to it, and be bold as we approach the Throne of Grace. God will answer our prayers, and we’ll see that this adventurous journey through Camp Meeting 2011 will have an outcome that is amazing to us though we knew God could do it. Let’s pray to that end, shall we?

Conclusion and Dismissal

Paul had discretionary power as to whether or not he would venture into that theater, but we have an adventure that God has compelled us to follow through with. May God help us to do so.

We do appreciate you all being here. I don’t want to leave you thinking otherwise. Not that you would, but we are glad you’re here. You’ll make camp meeting go. We thank God for each of you. Perhaps we could have a closing song. Then we’ll have a closing prayer.