A Reminiscence

We receive a magazine entitled “Reminisce.” A friend has given us a subscription to “the magazine that brings back the good times.” It is filled with pictures of days gone by. For example, you might find an article on the year 1921 revisited or a time capsule as it is called. Some of us find visiting the past quite interesting. The Eskimo Pie and the perfume Chanel No. 5 were new in 1921, just in case you were interested. Yes, this is trivia, but one may like to know what it was like when one’s grandparents and parents were alive. But a remembering of the past doesn’t have to be just about nostalgia, do-you-remember-when, and the so-called good old days. Remembering can be a useful exercise of mind in pondering the really important things in life. If you were to look up the word “remember” in a Bible concordance, you would notice this word is used thirty two times in the Book of Psalms. God wanted Israel to actualize His hand in their life as a nation. Worshipers of God need to be confronted with God and His acts and respond in faith. Remembering can be valuable to the extent that it opens up our minds to God’s mercies, faithfulness, grace, sovereignty over all of life, and the marvels of His redemption in Christ.

The occasion of dedicating a new building to the service of God is an appropriate time to do some reminiscing. This is not a tightly bound history of Berachah Bible Church, but rather thinking about some of the past experiences in its thirty-seven years of existence. The thought of starting a church came to mind in the summer of 1970. At the conclusion of a Sunday morning worship service, I was sitting next to one of my students from Carver Bible College. He had been attending church with me which had raised some eyebrows in an all white congregation. But this particular Sunday was different. At the end of the service my African-American friend went forward during the public invitation to present himself as a candidate for membership. This might not seem like a major event in the post-segregated South, but in 1970 it prompted a social, moral, and spiritual earthquake. Space does not permit the full story. However, after deliberation by the board of deacons a called conference of the church revealed a startling announcement. Tony Evans, the student, would not be accepted into the membership of the church. It was decided that he would be better served if he worshiped with fellow African-Americans. Such a conclusion seems so preposterous that it is embarrassing to repeat it. But that is what happened.

Our family could not remain in a church that was willing to compromise biblical truth and insult fellow members of the body of Christ. Beth and I withdrew our membership and contemplated what to do next. Out of this crisis came the thought of starting a church where God’s Word would be preached and no one would be excluded based on skin color. That seems like a very simple and unquestionable standard for a new church. But there were few churches that were committed to rigorous Bible exposition and racial inclusion. So the journey began. Bible studies were held in the home of Lew and Deanne Rabbitt in Red Oak. From there the developing church rented a school, and then leased an office building in East Point. It was in 1978 that thirteen acres were purchased in northeast Fayette County. It took another four years to start the first building. We did not want to incur any debt, so some years of patience were necessary. A new addition to our original building was completed in 1994. Six more acres were purchased and plans were begun for construction of a new fellowship hall and classrooms (the building that we dedicate today). It is with thanks to God that all this has been completed and paid for by His grace and the faithful giving of His people. The fact that debt has been avoided is not in praise of our church family, but it is a testimony to the way God has enabled us to give “not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God’s loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Grace giving is not a celebration of the giver but of God who provides. It has been the desire of our church to exemplify how Christians should handle their finances. Saving money, exercising patience, giving generously to the work of the gospel, and living within our means have been exercised through two land purchases and three building programs. Our personal finances and our church finances are to be governed by a passion to live in such a way as to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

Laying up treasures in heaven means a lavish support of world missions. On Saturday, November 5, 1983 Dr. Robertson McQuilkin conducted a Great Commission Workshop for our congregation. During this time we evaluated our church’s involvement in world missions. We all agreed. There was a lot of work to be done. We were encouraged by Dr. McQuilkin’s messages on the Sunday following the workshop. We were challenged to prayer for missions and taken to Matthew 9:13 to be reminded of God’s compassion for sinners. These themes moved us to enlarge our commitment to reaching the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, since the founding years of our church, hundreds of thousands of dollars have flowed into the support of missionaries and special projects. Families and individuals, such as the Sherwoods, Dawn (Scherer) Cagasan, the Jarnigans, and the Heinzes, have gone to the Philippines, Haiti, and Kazakhstan. The church has sent the pastor and usually his wife to seven different countries. Short term missions teams have ministered in Trinidad, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia. At the present time two young couples in our church are setting their sights on missionary work in Africa and Eastern Europe. For all this we are supremely thankful to God for working in hearts and lives and setting before our eyes a world in desperate need of the hope of the gospel.

In order to carry out the work of the ministry these many years, God has generously supplied pastoral staff assistance. Paul Curtas gave invaluable help for nine years before he was asked to become the Director of the Fellowship of Christian Airline Personnel. Many in the church family were able to celebrate Paul’s marriage to Claudette, the answer to his prayers regarding a helpmate, by traveling to Switzerland in October 1995. Two of our young men, gifts from Nelson and Jody Wallace, Rob and Seth, gave us valued service in working with the youth and in pastoral assistance. In 2000 Bryan Ryan became our Minister of Youth and served us well through his commitment to the Scriptures and his love for God. In 2001 Justin Culbertson, newly graduated from the Master’s Seminary, joined the church staff as an associate pastor. He not only brought himself but gave us Brook, his wife, who fears the Lord and loves His Word. Justin and Brook are an answer to this pastor’s prayers. Beth and I and Betty Clark are the only charter members remaining at Berachah. A new generation is taking on the responsibilities that go with proclaiming the excellencies of Christ. That is as it should be. Praise God for faithful believers who carry on the work of God’s kingdom.

In the next few days a new chapter opens up for Berachah Bible Church. Wade and Natalie Grubbs will be taking their place among us as Wade serves on the pastoral staff. He will help with the youth, music, Sunday School, and other works of the ministry. Beloved, there is much work to be done. My continuing prayer for Berachah is that we will be a Bible-loving, Christ-centered, missionary-sending, gospel-proclaiming, mercy-giving, Spirit-energized, God-exalting, worshiping community of rock-solid believers. Reminiscing counts for something. It can be a way of reviving our zeal for God. Come. Let us go on to maturity and new frontiers with God.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church