June / July / August 2012 Revivalist (.Pdf)
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the CONTENTS editor’s SUMMER 2012 view Volume 124 No. 5 FEATURES Sheila Wolf And Transition In The Faculty 6 by Ken Farmer GBS Thanks You For Your Service 6 by Michael Avery LARRY D. SMITH An Open Letter To Sheila Wolf 8 by Charlotte Frederick DEPARTMENTS HOLINESS SEED NEVER ROTS The Editor’s View 2 The President’s Page 3 Called Unto Holiness 9 “ oliness seed never rots.” In these startling words, News From The Hilltop 10 “Uncle Buddy” Robinson expressed his supreme Revivalist Family 10 confidence in the message God had given him to H Dear Phil 14 preach. Indeed, “holiness seed” is so durable, as that World Pulse 15 sturdy old evangelist insisted, that it “will keep for many years in any climate on earth and grow as well in poor cli- Student Focus 15 mate as rich.” Even when it is neglected or opposed, it will From The Classics 16 not disappear but in God’s time “will produce an abun- Revivalist Pulpit 17 dant harvest in the poorest soil on earth.” The World To Win 19 This was illustrated May 3 when the United Methodist Alumni News 20 General Conference, meeting in Tampa, Florida, kept faith Thoughts For The Quiet Hour 23 with its heritage and voted decisively to reaffirm the Bible’s standards for sexual practice. Other major Protestant de- STAFF nominations have sold out to the militant homosexual agenda that includes approval for gay lifestyles, ordination Kevin Moser, art director, managing editor for gay ministers, and ultimately marriage for gay couples. Shane Muir, assistant graphic designer But at Tampa, determined Bible-believing delegates banded together with God’s help to turn back the tide. Jon Plank, assistant graphic designer, webmaster “Despite a lavish and relentless lobbying effort, United Larry D. Smith, e ditor Methodism once again took a stand to be the last remain- ing mainline denomination to uphold biblical standards in God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate (ISSN 0745-0788) is published monthly except for regards to marriage and sexuality,” as the Rev. Thomas combined issues in January-February and June-July-August for $12.00 per year ($28.00, Canada; $45.00, other countries) by the Revivalist Press of God’s Bible Lambrecht of Good News, a UM renewal group, has ex- School, College and Missionary Training Home, 1810 Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio plained. Debate centered around paragraph 161 in the 45202. Periodical postage paid at Cincinnati, Ohio, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate, 1810 Discipline, which condemns homosexual practice as “in- Young Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. compatible with Christian teaching.” Amendments that God’s Revivalist and Bible Advocate, the official organ of God’s Bible School, is a maga- zine founded by Martin Wells Knapp in July of 1888. We seek to proclaim the good news would have gutted this language were rejected three times of salvation; to stir a revival spirit among Christians; to stimulate Christian growth and “in percentages ranging from 54-46 percent or 61-39 per- responsible Christian living; to present the happenings and interests of God’s Bible School. cent,” as Good News reported. Please obtain permission before reprinting any articles from God’s Revivalist and Bible Homosexual activists and their supporters, charging Advocate. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed, but not returned. God’s Bible School and College seeks to glorify God and to serve His Church by pro- that the present rule is unloving and intolerant, disrupted a viding higher education centered in Holy Scripture and shaped by Wesleyan convic- tion, thus preparing faithful servants to proclaim Jesus Christ and spread scriptural holi- morning business session. But conservatives held their ness throughout the world. ground, rejecting a “we agree to disagree” substitute which God’s Bible School and College does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, stated that a “significant minority of our church (p22)¬ national or ethnic origin, or against otherwise qualified handicapped persons in its admission of students or employment of its faculty and staff. Contact us by telephone at (513) 721-7944 (Revivalist Press, ext. 1351); by fax at (513) 763-6649; by email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit us online at www.gbs.edu or www.godsrevivalist.com. COVER PHOTO: Mrs. Sheila Wolf receives a mounted and framed proclamation GOD’S REVIVALIST and BIBLE ADVOCATE from Pres. Michael Avery naming her “professor emerita” of God’s Bible School. Photo by Kara Moore. 02 the president’s page LIGHTING A CANDLE IN EUROPE by Michael R. Avery, President My trip to Switzerland to speak in a pastor’s conference this past April has generated a great deal of interest from the GBS and Revivalist families—enough that I decided to share the ex- perience with you. Rev. Timothy Keep, who traveled with me, and was also a speaker at the conference, assisted me in writ- ing this article. hen I placed the Kwasizabantu Pastor’s Con- ference in Switzerland on my web page Wspeaking schedule, I had a number of people ask, “What kind of Christian minster’s conference is there in Europe?” For those who understand the spiri- tual condition of Europe, the question makes perfect sense. There are many conferences that take place in Europe but not many that are made up of local pastors from Europe. In today’s Europe less than 8% of the population attends church with only 3% attending regu- larly. It is predicted that by 2050 there will be no signifi- cant church presence in Europe at all! To make matters worse, the Muslim population has tripled in the last 30 years. This has given rise to the belief that parts of Eu- rope are beyond being Post-Christian and are quickly becoming Pre-Islamic. So it was natural for people to wonder where you could find enough conservative evangelical ministers in Europe to have a pastor’s con- ference. The answer lies in the conference’s sponsor. The conference was sponsored by the Kwasizabantu Mission that is based in the Republic of South Africa. The mis- sion was born out of a revival among the Zulu people that began in the 1960’s. The Rev. Erlo Stegen, who is the Director of the Mission, tells the story of that revival in his book Revival Among the Zulus. A brief recounting of that story is impor- tant to understand the conference in Europe. Rev. Stegen explains that the roots of this revival began with a crisis he faced early in his missionary service. He had been called upon to pray for the deliverance of a young demon-possessed Zulu girl, but after three weeks of intense intercession her condition remained unchanged. He writes: We prayed day and night for three weeks, but the girl wasn’t healed. Instead, I was at the end of my strength and close to a nervous breakdown. The girl sang her satanic hymns incessantly. Someone advised me to plead the blood of Jesus, which the devil would fear and flee, but to no avail. On the contrary, the girl began to blaspheme the blood…. I couldn’t understand it. We had done what the Bible taught us, but it didn’t work…. What was I to do? Go back to the mother and tell her that her daughter had not been healed? Everyone in the area knew that we Christians were praying for the girl. They had heard me preach, “Don’t go to the witch doctors, don’t sac- rifice oxen and goats to the spirits. Jesus is the answer to every problem, come to Him.” They were all wait- SUMMER 2012 03 ing to see what would happen, and now we Christians had failed. In his humiliation Stegen begged God to send him TO THE EDITOR to another place of ministry, but the Lord would not. For six long years he preached while suffering intense spiritual darkness, even doubting the truthfulness of Letters should be addressed to the Editorial Office, 1810 Young Scripture. “I deemed it possible that some parts were Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202, or emailed to [email protected]. true and other parts weren’t.” He struggled to believe Letters reprinted here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the the words of Jesus in John 4:13-14, “Whoever drinks of editor of God’s Revivalist nor those of the administration of God’s this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the Bible School. Names and locations of writers will be withheld at water that I shall give him will never thirst.” Through their specific request or at the discretion of the editor. We reserve his years of ministry hundreds had come forward to the right to edit and condense. accept Jesus Christ, but he knew that most of them still craved the things of this world. “Perhaps Jesus had “WHERE TWO WAYS MEET” made a mistake. Or maybe the authors of the New Testament did – for what I was experiencing was dif- I applaud the effort and research [Larry Smith] put ferent than what was recorded in scripture. I had into this column [editorial, April 2012]. If every one preached the gospel for twelve years, and there who claims to be “made perfect” would measure up weren’t even twelve true Christians to show for it.” to the claims…what a difference it would make in the Stegen grieved that most of the young people who CHM. I intend to try and do just that. claimed they had become Christians under his ministry NORMAN UBER still craved the things of this world and were conformed Email to its ways.