News

Spring 2012

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:18:57 -0500

Spring 2012

We as a church had a wonderful Christmas season. Hundreds from the community came to listen to our annual "Christmas Music Night." The gospel is given in the form of the Christmas story, and we pray many will return for a regular service.

Our two dining rooms were full for our 40^th annual Christmas Banquet with Pastor Paul Williams from the Northstar Baptist Church in McMillan, Michigan, preaching. He was a great blessing along with wonderful music and great fellowship. Christmas day again saw a couple hundred guests hearing the gospel with some coming at the invitation for salvation. It is still thrilling to see God do His wondrous works.

Most of you know about the attack on our church by CNN, local newspapers, and radio stations, along with protestors yelling and cursing in front of our church for months. They did hurt our bus ministry, but as would be expected, our church is more unified than ever. The world can't stop God's church. God is blessing us personally, numerically, and monetarily.

Revival

I've been preaching on the need for revival for over twenty years, and we've seen sprinkles of it in individual's lives and families along with showers in our congregation a couple of times.

It is my opinion, though, that if we don't have revival of some sort in our nation, our country is doomed. We are going to see the judgment of God and soon. A nation collectively never has revival. God never blesses unbelief; however, He does bring revival to individuals and it spreads through their local church and sometimes further.

I believe the next ten years are going to be the hardest independent Baptists have ever faced in America. Satan has set the stage to attack, win battles, and destroy churches. For the first time in my life strong, independent Baptists are in retreat en masse-not trusting God but trying to appease the world and church members. We've always had compromisers, but good men are tiring, backing off, changing, and compromising. Satan, like the ravaging lion he is and with the blood of recent victories running from his fangs, is about to go on a rampage.

Holiness, separation, godly living, and dedication have been replaced with cynicism, hypocrisy, finger pointing, excuse making, and compromise. We need revival, and the only place it starts is within an individual. Running a bus has become "too hard," and having a Christian school is "too much trouble." Christians today are lying back with few returning on Sunday night and just a handful meeting for Wednesday. Fundamentalists are even drinking wine and venturing to the beach. Pastors are afraid that if they rock the boat, they will have less yet to speak to, and so they have added more lively, "feel good" music, and, now, even clap for someone trying to honor God. Our church services have become performances. We need to stop our programs and beg God for real revival.

As I've studied the history of revivals, they usually seem to start from God's man preaching in God's power-yet today we sit in our pew, content and making excuses. The pastor never "comes down hard enough" on others, but you always have excuses when he deals with you and yours. When preaching on your pet sin, he is "using the pulpit as a battering ram." When he tries to correct your children he is "in the flesh." Where is the honesty and conviction in your heart? We fret about our money or family problems but never take time to see our sin problems. We are too busy rationalizing them.

How long has it been since you looked at your own sins and held them out before God brokenhearted? Have you looked for sin in your life in the past year, or even two? I'm not talking about a ritual or crying over a condition we got ourselves into because of our pride. I'm talking about getting desperate about the matter, wanting to be convicted and painting our sin black, pouring our heart out to God. "...godly sorrow worketh repentance." The last words of Jesus, found in Revelation, were to our generation, urging us to repent.

Repentance is a change of mind about self-when you come to the place where you ask God's forgiveness for allowing your pride to keep lying, you put it in the dust, and you agree with God. Repent if you have left your first love and your heart is cold.

We read in Revelation 3 that Sardis "hast a name that thou livest and art dead." Most independent Baptist churches have a name but are dead. Most pastors can't get their deacons to the midweek service, and our young people are no longer surrendering to full-time service but instead are studying in our Christian colleges how to make more money. Our music ranges from questionable to rock and roll, and door-to-door soulwinning is something we "used to do." If this is not what you want, repent and just do right. Conviction leads to confession, repentance, and restitution.

Summer 2011

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:13:37 -0400

Recently we finished a wonderful school year in both the academy and college. The majority of our children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade are mostly third generation Christians, such as my grandchildren. The minority's parents have been saved here but are growing nicely spiritually. I expect to see more than a hundred strong soldiers for Christ grow out of this group. I'm thrilled with this.

The college grew just a little but stepped up in the quality of students. We feel privileged to help educate serious young people who come from good, solid homes.

Clint Schreiber Joins Teaching Staff

For the first time in years, we've hired a new staff member for the college. Clint Schreiber was saved here while studying engineering with one of our young men years ago. Instead of following his chosen field after graduation Clint took graduate classes at Fairhaven Baptist College. Later he married our friend Rodger Bottrell's daughter, Rebecca. They now have four children. Clint will be heading up our Spanish ministry and teaching Bible, math, and science. He received an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps in 1995.

Preaching Conference a Rousing Success

God was evident in every service of our 35^th Annual Preaching Conference. The congregational singing lifted the rafters, the specials touched our hearts, and the preaching was powerful.

People came from coast to coast and in between with all vowing to be back next year April 22-26, 2012. Mark these dates down. We provide housing for all who ask.

Dr. David Cloud's Library Acquired

What a wonderful surprise it was for David Cloud to offer his extensive library of over 6,000 books to us for an extremely affordable cost. More important than the size and the cost is that these volumes were carefully chosen by a scholar over a 25 year time span to make up probably the best set of books to which a serious student could refer.

Spring 2011

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:33:21 -0400

Reminiscing over our church’s first 40 years presses home to me our great accountability to God as a congregation. He has given us so much that we will answer for. He doesn’t want us to be like passengers on a bus, just watching the scenery go by and leaving everything to the driver. Neither does He mean for us to resemble patients in a hospital having all our needs attended to by the staff. Some church members are like perpetual students, “ever learning, and never able.” They value doctrinal knowledge but never graduate and get a job. They remain “hearers only” and spectators, yet the Bible is full of passages which rebuke head knowledge not matched by real service for the Lord.

I read everything I can get my hands on concerning revival and how preaching has changed in modern times. Today often there is not a single word of exhortation to do something significant in the service of God. People seem to think that the spreading of the gospel and growth of churches do not depend in any way on Christians witnessing or working for God. All they need to do is believe the right things, pray, and remain at ease in Zion.

This type of Christian organizes his life as though his sole calling is to enjoy the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, live a godly life, and look after his family. But what about the work of God? If our church is right we must try to bring about total involvement of all healthy members into the service of the King.

We must labor in our churches if we are right with God. The word for Christian service most commonly used in the New Testament means “a striving.” It calls to mind scything the harvest, resulting in the laborer becoming tired or weakened. Paul said in I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” By using that word he means to say that intensive and tiring service is what the Lord wants from us, and this is the kind of service He promises to bless. This word is used in John 4:38 to describe the heavy work of plowing. Many passages help us see the strenuous nature of Biblical service for the Lord. Today, though, this term seems to have lost its force. However, according to the Bible it is our costly, tiring, labor that will never be in vain in the Lord. Our labor must qualify.

This tiring-toil term is found in a promise in Hebrews 6:10 when the writer says, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.” He will always bless and reward our strenuous work for Him. Oh, how I want Fairhaven Baptist Church to continue to be productive in this way so as to continue to experience His great blessings.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” The writer has only one word for those who decide not to be a part of this great effort, and that is, slothful, which means slow and lazy. Fatigue and pain are necessary if we are going to be accepted Bible Christians. We cannot allow Satan to undermine a vigorous service for God if we expect His blessings to continue.

Paul used another labor-intensive word reminiscent of the great public games of his day in Philippians 1:27, “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” A wrestler used to be and still is prepared to suffer exhaustion for his sport. When I was in the best physical shape of my life I was introduced to the sport at Iowa State University, and after only three minutes I felt I couldn’t move. But Paul knew an Olympic athlete had no thought of his rights or comforts. He was willing to do anything—determined to do his best. This is the picture Paul uses to describe the Christian committed to God’s service—visiting for the bus routes on cold, dark winter nights or working hard and late to finish a project on a new building.

The wrestler would never walk off the mat when things got hard and change into his street clothes, but that is almost expected in today’s area of Christian service. Even church attendance is down in bad weather and people stay home from prayer meeting when they feel “down,” instead of “girding up the loins of our minds.”

We are in a life and death contest for souls and must do our dead level best. Runners are out in all kinds of weather—wind, rain, or bitter cold. They are regimented to do what they said they would. As Paul wrote, “they do it to obtain a corruptible crown.” Shouldn’t we as church members show the same single-mindedness?

We shouldn’t be seeing fewer and fewer bus ministries. Our Sunday School attendances should not be failing for lack of workers. Christian day schools should not be fading off the scene. There is no reason that our churches should not be the hives of activity we saw across our nation when Fairhaven Baptist Church was planted 40 years ago. The result of this activity is always satisfied, fulfilled, and assured people of God who are close to one another because fellowship in service always brings about the deepest and best friendships.

In Colossians 1:29 Paul uses another strong word taken from the area of sporting contests. Speaking of his preaching, he writes “Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working. . .” The word striving means to agonize in a do or die effort. He uses it again as he exhorts Timothy to, “Fight the good fight of faith,” and later declares, “I have fought a good fight.” This term tells us that our Christian service will demand times of supreme effort. We are to be like gladiators, prepared to commit our last ounce of strength to secure success and victory. See the wrestler in the last minutes of the match, between victory and defeat, or the runner, even with his opponent, running toward the finish line. More than once running the 440 in high school, I ended up in the cinders, completely “out of gas” at the end.

This “fighting verb” tells us that we are to finish the tasks we have begun for the Lord. We should take full responsibility for projects and keep going when we are tempted to let things go. No matter how tired we must make a magnificent last effort. We should want every week of this short life to count in the battle with Satan. How much blessing, victory, and spiritual happiness are you missing by not yielding up your life for His service and just shuffling through life? Christian service is a fight against the powers of darkness but also the lethargy of our own bodies.

We should be glad to sacrifice time and great effort for our King, not allowing our Lord’s work to be pushed around by our pleasures and aspirations. Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” One job of the pastor is to train the saints for the work of the ministry. As boot camp is a training ground for soldiers and a college trains accountants and engineers, the church is the place to be trained for the service of the Lord. Church attendance should mean more than coming to hear a sermon but wanting to learn to be a better soldier—to be an integral part of the ministry. Romans 12:11 shows us that we are to offer up a “fervent spirit” to Him.

But what has gone wrong? I have heard of pastors pushing back the zeal of members because they themselves are backslidden and lazy. Usually, though, it’s the members who are fighting against the service of the Lord. Some have indicated that women, for instance, should do no more than stay home to raise their children and pray—and these are great responsibilities. But there is so much more a lady can do better than a man, like playing the piano or organ, being a church secretary, visiting ladies and children, or even being a bus worker. You don’t have to push the family aside to do this.

I believe it is the responsibility of this generation’s local church to raise up the next generation of Christians in our towns and communities. It is Fairhaven Baptist Church’s job not only to replace itself, but reach out to every neighborhood within reach and train many of its children to go around the world winning others. That is our job! Yet the average Christian today doesn’t seem to care that bus ministries and Sunday Schools are shriveling up, and day schools which were so prevalent are almost non-existent. Why?

The middle-aged think they have contributed all they need and are at ease. We travel on the weekends, not concerned about our local church. We love our leisure, sports, recreation, fellowship, and television. Have we lost sight of the fact that the Lord knows our accomplishments or works. When Christ says to the Laodiceans, “I know thy works,” He is referring to the entire church. He isn’t referring to their doctrinal stand or constitution but their accomplishments. They were lacking any costly toil for the Master.

One day we will stand before God and give an account of what we have done with the local church committed to us. Oh, that the Lord could turn us away from the pursuit of beautiful homes, easy lifestyles, worldly fulfillment, and excessive leisure to have a genuine dedication to the wonderful service of God. We ought to be thrilled that God still uses human instruments and be determined to allow Him to use us in a great way for the rest of our lives. There is no other avenue to prove the power of God and bring Him down in our midsts in revival—with blessings, souls, assurance, joy, and peace.

We fight the idea of working much, but real hard work is a key to Biblical lives.

2010 Commencement

Fri, 28 May 2010 12:12:56 -0400

Thursday, May 20, was a very special evening for students at Fairhaven Baptist College. For some students it was the end of another semester and closer to finishing their college careers, but for others it was the end of their formal education. Also, this night was a tremendous encouragement for the members of Fairhaven Baptist Church.

More than just finishing a school year, how exciting it is to see those who graduate from college and walk across the platform to get their degree. Our commencement exercises for the high school and college took place on May 20, and we were privileged to have Pastor Ron Royalty from Gospel Baptist Church in Poland, Ohio, come and bring the message. Two of the graduates were young people who are products of his church and ministry. He presented a great challenge of "Don't Forget Your Sword" to the graduates, emphasizing the Word of God and its importance. We had over twenty graduates in the college graduating class and nine in the high school. All nine from the high school will be attending Fairhaven Baptist College in the fall of 2010.

-- Fairhaven Baptist College is a ministry of Fairhaven Baptist Church in Chesterton, Indiana. The college trains students for full-time ministry as pastors, missionaries, Christian school teachers and church secretaries. One-year certificates are also available.

Final Student Activity

Fri, 14 May 2010 11:11:02 -0400

Finals are in full swing, projects are being completed, and the end is in sight. Wednesday, May 12, the college filled two buses and spent the entire day in Springfield, Illinois, the center of activity for Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. We left at 5:15 a.m. and traveled about four hours to begin at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. The tour continued to the home of the Lincolns, Abraham Lincoln's burial site, and then to New Salem, a historic settlement where this influential president spent six years of his life. It was a long day, but a nice break to rest from preparing for finals.

2010 Preaching Conference

Fri, 14 May 2010 10:43:06 -0400

The last week of April, our annual Preaching Conference, at Fairhaven Baptist Church and College provides us with a tremendous time of preaching and fellowship. Weeks ahead of time we begin praying that God will work in our hearts and that we can draw closer to Him. This year we were blessed to have people from across the nation, especially many of our alumni, come and join us in this special week.

Dr. Wilbert Unger from London, Ontario, began the week preaching our Sunday services and laying the groundwork for a special time in the house of God. Pastor Bill Smith, from Zion, Michigan, one of our first graduates, spoke at our special Sustainer's Banquet for the college. Then, our pastor, Dr. Roger Voegtlin, along with Dr. Don Strange from Fort Myers, Florida, Dr. Don Green from Lansing, Michigan, Dr. Rodger Bottrell from Lyons, New York, Dr. R. B. Ouellette from Bridgeport, Michigan, and Pastor Don Whitecar, assistant pastor at Fairhaven (preparing to go to Belize as a missionary) preached messages to stir our guests, as well as our own hearts, to do more for Christ.

40 Years of Blessing

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:35:20 -0400

Forty Years of Blessing

Forty years ago Sharon and I were living in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, thrilled to be serving God as an interim pastor. I loved exactly what I was doing, but God would not let me stay. Every time I got alone with Him for a period of time, the Lord made it very clear that we were to move to the little town of Chesterton, Indiana, to start a church. When we traveled out to meet with the family who wanted to plant a church, I hated the town. Growing up in the city of Chicago, I loved the big city life with all its people, and still do. As I came to the flashing stoplight at the heart of the business section, I was sick. There was nothing. Added to that, humanly speaking, Chesterton didn't need another church. There were four Bible-preaching ones in existence-one being independent Baptist, running about 250 in attendance.
Believing in a definite call of God, though, and knowing His will in the matter, Sharon and I moved to Indiana, living with the one family for a short time. Our oldest child, Jeff, was born two months later. Gerry Regnier, the one man, wanted to pay us $100 per week; however, he was the only breadwinner in the group and could only give a small fraction of that amount per week-so we learned to live by faith. I'm not saying it was easy, but we learned to live totally trusting God. The church met in a small room in the Sandpiper restaurant, with my wife playing a toy organ and me preaching behind a cardboard soapbox. We had a very simple start, but God answered our prayers with the meeting room rent, our home rent, Sunday School material, etc., always paid for on time with no support and no secular job. It is wonderful to think back on how, time after time, God would miraculously provide after fervent prayer. The foundation of our faith became very strong in those early years.
We knocked on doors 35 or 40 hours a week, praying and preparing an equal amount of time. People were saved just about every week, but none of them grew and they fell away, week after week. After a period of time, though, God gave us a mini-explosion of blessings with eleven family units added to our little congregation and Fairhaven Baptist Church was born.
Soon we purchased eight acres of land, meeting in the basement of an existing house that we lived in while building our first metal building. The new building was designed to house a school that we planned to start at two years old. These were times of real struggle with the people doing all the interior labor; however, in the fall of 1972, after putting the finishing touches on throughout the night, we started with 100 students. Our church exploded to 200 in attendance with next to none coming from other congregations.
Those were exciting times, not only building seven days a week but designing a curriculum, hiring teachers, and then starting our first bus route, which was to become the heart of our ministry. Thousands have been saved throughout the years-future deacons, staff members, and missionaries being brought to the Lord through these efforts. Within the next 2½ years we added other routes, averaging 300 riders. Our Christian academy also exploded to 365 students in its third year (the church's fifth), majoring on strong discipline and excellence in academics. God was blessing so much that I didn't think I could handle it, and I was asking Him to stop the growth. I had discovered that every new person had a new problem to be dealt with.
At 4½ years old we ran into a "buzz saw." A woman in our church with an alcoholic husband wanted to put her 15-year-old son in the academy. He rebelled and ran to the Welfare Department. Up to that time in our country, authorities would have called his mom and sent him home; however, unbeknown to us, our county, out of the entire nation, had been chosen as the pilot program for all that is wrong with "child advocacy" today. People, such as Hillary Clinton, were designing a plan to take the rights of parents from them, grabbing the responsibility themselves. These bureaucrats told the boy's mother that she had no right to make him go to Sunday School, let alone a Christian day school. Added to this, they said she could not have her boy. We stood next to her, and the battle began.
During the fight, I ended up going to jail, we lost the loan for our expansive new auditorium (with the exterior already completed), almost went bankrupt, and found we could trust the Lord again. We lost approximately 200 academy students, and our bus numbers went down to basically nothing. It seemed that we were dead, but miraculously God gave us a wonderful local lawyer who helped us stand against the judicial system, welfare department, news agencies, and even law enforcement, to clearly win our case. The school enrollment regained 100 students, the auditorium was miraculously paid for, and the church grew from 200 to 1,100 the following year and then to 1,600 and 2,000 the next two year. God performed miracle after miracle because we trusted in Him and not man.

Old-fashioned Beliefs

I am 66 years old now and wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world. More than the story of our church, I'm thrilled with the way God blesses a person's faith if he believes His promises on the family. I realize that many today look at me as some kind of weird relic, but my life's decisions have been made by the principles and promises of God's Word.
My father was born in 1902 and came out of the north woods where all formal education ended after five years. After salvation, he always read the Bible and other books, learning all the time; but his greatest asset and gift to me was strength. He was saved at 40 and was backward, but he knew what the Bible said and followed it if no one else did.
We three boys were not only always at church if the doors were open, but we arrived an hour early to set things up and never missed a "work party." He gave to the Lord "because the Bible said to" and was the head of the home because it came natural to him and God said he should be. I learned much from my father; and even though he was a "rough" man, I loved him very much.
Another man who had a great influence on me was John R. Rice. The only preaching on cleanliness in dating I ever heard was when he came to our church in Chicago once a year, and it stuck with me and enabled me to marry my wife without immorality. His preaching on the home, soulwinning, and prayer greatly influenced me. When I finally surrendered to preach and attended Bible college, he was there again greatly affecting me. He gave us "preacher boys" some of his books and my beliefs in the Holy Spirit's power, prayer, and the family were reinforced again. I am a relic from the past because we came on the scene at the end of the ministries of great men, such as Lester Roloff, with whom I'm proud to say I fought many a battle shoulder to shoulder.
Today's younger generation is made up more of "spiritual politicians" or "biblical psychologists" than the prophets whom I saw build old-fashioned fundamentalism. Look at the difference between Bob Jones, Sr., and his great grandson. Old Bob Jones said he would want to come back and "blow up" the university if it ever got to the place it is today. It was my friend, Bill Rice, Sr., who helped me see that pants and shorts on women are wrong. Enough said there. And as we've reordered John R. Rice's book, The Home, we've been told, "People don't buy it anymore, so it may not be reprinted."
Young preacher, if you want to see God's blessings on your ministry, go to the Bible for direction-not some conference full of hype and hoopla. "Turning to the Old Paths" is more than a "theme." Be strong as you see the men of God in the Bible were, not a man-pleasing personality trying to build a kingdom here on this earth.

Preaching Conference, April 26-29

This is not a conference of personality and hype but one where prayer, power, revival, cleanliness, and strong preaching are emphasized. Our church's theme for 2010 along with our conference is "Revive us again that we may rejoice." Preachers and their people come from across the country for these meetings. You will find wonderful fellowship with true, old-fashioned believers. The music is godly and good quality, but the meetings center around strong preaching. This year our preachers are Don Green from Michigan, R. B. Ouellette also from Michigan, Wilbert Unger from Ontario, Canada, Rodger Bottrell from New York, and Don Strange from Florida. Mark your calendar to be here. God will bless!

Fall 2009

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:29:34 -0400

In my devotions this morning I read a passage that is probably the testimony of many Christians in 2009. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair. . .Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." With a socialist President of the United States who has turned his back on Israel to woo hard core Muslims and who seems bent on destroying our economy along with our ability to continue in the ways of our forefathers, it would be easy to become discouraged. I got angry when Barack Obama told radical Muslims that we are not a Christian nation. Yes, our country as a whole does not practice what the Bible teaches, but he meant it as opposed to Islam.

With all this turmoil and our beloved country crumbling around us, it would be easy to quit striving for God and just "go through the motions." However, now is the time to truly live out what we say we believe. The Bible still teaches, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Our congregation has had our share of men either losing their jobs or having their income curtailed severely. Fairhaven Baptist College's enrollment is down just as every other fundamental institution in America. People are colder than ever towards us in Chesterton and Porter County, but that doesn't change the Great Commission, among other charges to us from God.

We as a church have determined to fight back and have revival. We are having special prayer meetings and canvassing. I plan to preach more on revival, not stopping until we see substantial results. Our people have recently promised to raise our offerings considerably to offset those with lost jobs and the smaller college income. Last Sunday after a lot of hard work, we saw 2,164 ride our buses. There were 2,026 the week before, and 1,741 the week before that. Numbers of souls have been saved and baptized each of those weeks.

Three years ago Phil Shuler preached for our Anniversary Sunday and wept when describing the number of souls that walked the aisle. He said it was like the "old days" and that he hadn't seen anything like it for many years. How did it happen? A church full of people beat their brains out to get everyone and anyone into the service. You can't see someone saved if there are only Christians in the audience. Yes, even with strong precautions, I'm sure we have some false professions of faith at times. But, as a whole, we Baptists have accepted too many of the devil's lies and excuses for not seeing results. I hate this "easy believism" that is all around us, but that shouldn't stop us from being true Bible soulwinners and soldiers for Him. God knows I am not bragging, but there used to be a dozen buses from other churches in each of the towns we minister to, but they are gone now. Most of my friends across America had bus ministries that have now shriveled up also. Why? My challenge to you is not to give up, but believe God when He tells us that we will reap if we sow. Get going and keep going. Don't get mad at me for saying this, but stop treating God's church as a business and do God's work by faith.

It is important for God's people to get together and encourage one another. We have two events a year to try to implement this without much cost to the participants. The first is a special time for teenagers. November 9-12 we have our Empowered Youth program. Kids love it because of the combination of hard preaching and fun. Then, April 26-29 we will conduct our 32^nd annual Preaching Conference. This is a great time of fellowship for Christians of all ages-preachers, laymen, men, women, and teens. It is a week of activity and relaxation with great music, but most of all preaching. Our guest speakers will be Don Green, Rodger Bottrell, Don Strange, R. B. Ouellette, Wilbert Unger, and some of our staff. Put these dates aside.

Summer 2009

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:48:55 -0400

We have had a wonderful, busy spring. The annual Preaching Conference was a great challenge with many, many good results. I think we saw a good number of life-changing decisions. My counseling has been enjoyable. Please put the dates of April 26-29 aside for next year's meetings. We have asked Dr. Don Green from Lansing, Michigan; Dr. Wilbert Unger from Ontario, Canada; Dr. R. B. Ouellette from Bridgeport, Michigan; and Dr. Rodger Bottrell from Lyons, New York, to preach in 2010.

We are excited that my son-in-law Don Whitecar has answered the call to go to Belize in Central America as a missionary. He, our daughter Debbie, and their three children will start deputation in one year and plan to arrive in Belize a year and a half later. Our church loves them, and they will be sorely missed; however, we have known for years that God was calling them elsewhere, so it's exciting to know where. He plans to start a church in Belize City and a school shortly thereafter. We as a church are looking forward to helping.

Vandals burned our pavilion to the ground recently. It was very nice with a full kitchen and bathrooms, etc. The men of the church built it originally, but we will use the insurance money to have it re-built professionally.
Dr. Wilbert Unger preached for our college graduation May 14. He is always soul stirring and a blessing. I praise God for his friendship.

It is more thrilling all the time to see our graduates going out into the fields all around the world. One hundred eighty were able to come to our conference, and there are hundreds more in God's service. I never realized when we started Fairhaven Baptist College in 1977 the impact it would have. After 33 years, though, pastors, assistant pastors, missionaries, evangelists, and Christian school teachers have been continually sowing, and there is a wonderful harvest.

Spring 2009

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:35:29 -0400

Like most of the country we have had a very cold, snowy winter. On Christmas Sunday we experienced a serious snowstorm with the temperature not reaching 0°, and wind chills of -40°, yet we saw over 200 visitors in our auditorium to hear the plain story of Christ's birth. I praise God for a hard-working congregation, and God blessing their efforts.

Two highlights we have each winter are our Father/Son and Mother/Daughter Banquets. It was a real blessing to me for us to have José Moreno, one of our graduates who pastors in Clio, Iowa, preach to our men and boys. He brought a good challenge and reminded me of the privilege we have to train men to go out around the world spreading the gospel. Mrs. Stan Roach from Achorage, Alaska spoke to the women at their banquet and was a blessing. It was good to have her husband preach on Sunday night. Both of these preachers have wonderful ministries.

We are planning for and looking forward to our annual Preaching Conference. I honestly believe that there is none better in the world for old-fashioned independent Baptists. Our preachers are fundamental and powerful. Our guests come from coast to coast and Texas to Canada. What grand fellowship we have encouraging one another. The special music is alive, but not compromising. Even the food is delicious. Why don't you plan to "come apart" at Fairhaven this spring? We need it.

Fall 2008

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:38:41 -0400

We have had a wonderful fall. We've seen hundreds of first-time visitors and dozens of salvation decisions. As you know, each person's profession has its own wonderful story. All of us are keeping busy making follow-up visits and discipling new converts.

On Sunday, September 14, we had more rain from Hurricane Ike than Houston did. With 12 inches of rain falling and some captains using wading boots and a few kids swimming to the bus, we saw 1,646 in church just from our buses. The next Sunday 2,132 rode in. The most wonderful thing, though, was to see the aisles flooded with sinners at the invitations.

On October 5, we celebrated "I Love America" Sunday with many government officials and local businessmen attending. Dr. John Stormer, who wrote None Dare Call It Treason, preached in the morning and evening and did a great job.

Our annual Stewardship Banquet was also a wonderful success. With utilities and fuel spiking high, our people came through allowing us to continue moving forward in our ministries.

Even the college had some growth this fall, and we are experiencing a very good school year. It's always nice to have young people who want God's will in their life.

Like most of you, I am concerned about modern Christianity. Today the average Christian is not Christlike, but is quick to defend his flaws and defects. He has no desire to perfect his life for God but is more interested in covering up his problems and "looking good." Isn't it amazing how we can read the strong appeals of our Lord and His apostles to do right, at the same time fighting them, yet we still want to be accepted as spiritual?

Of course, if we are right with God we will always be making decisions for Him, seeing our needs, and not making excuses in the pew or in our devotions, telling ourselves we are "okay." The Apostle Paul said, "I die daily." Romans 6:6-8 "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." Oneness with Christ means to be identified with Him in crucifixion, and then going on to be identified with Him in resurrection and power.

We love to hear the wonderful stories of martyrs embracing their crosses. We would like to believe we could die for the cause of Christ, but we can't even figuratively nail this old life on the tree. God has had to deal hard with me in this matter. Would I stand even if my extended family were torn apart because of it? Would I stand if this would hurt the feelings of those I love in my congregation, and they would leave? What about if I would be scoffed at by the accepted powers in fundamentalism? Would I still serve Jesus, nailed to the cross as Job was?

Many are content to sit in their pew singing, "Have Thine Own Way." But, if serious, it would mean bringing their entire life into accord with New Testament teaching. The reason Elijah and other Bible men had such power with God was that they not only heard God but did exactly what God wanted them to do, no matter what the consequences were. God will bring problems and trouble into the person's life who has surrendered in order to build him. The Apostle Paul called this "the fellowship of Christ's sufferings." One of the reasons we exhibit very little spiritual power is that we are unwilling to accept and experience the fellowship of our Saviour's sufferings.

When we have a serious problem with our teen, rather than say "I will do right-I will claim God's promises, and if he or she goes bad it must be my fault," we compromise to "look good" and we lose our children and the smile of God. Then, we live our lives with our "feelings on our sleeves" and usually go to the devil defending ourselves.

Listen, if we are going to be truly used of God, we will be acquainted with sacrifices, suffering, and hating our pride. In Galatians 6:14 we read, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Our thought life, money, entertainment, pride, family-all will have to be crucified if we are to be truly right with God.

Daniel was a good man and the world put him in a pit of lions. Job was perfect in my estimation, and he had to lose absolutely everything to be really right with God. The apostles were persecuted, and throughout church history, Christians have been persecuted and hated for their surrendered lives. The Roman Catholic church persecuted Martin Luther and killed millions because they actually strove to be in the will of God and not passively "let God's will be done." I challenge you to find one Christian who obediently looked for God's will and did not have as a result painful, but fruitful, trouble. If we are going to know Him in power and strength and spirit, we will have to suffer with Him here in this world. God takes pleasure in confounding everything that comes from or produces human power, which is weakness in disguise. He wants our mind, talents, mental toughness, or spirituality all nailed to the cross so He can raise us for His glory and eternal good.

You parents know what it is to chasten without pity-but with love-wanting the results in your children to be a broader horizon and higher goals. When you want your child to become the finest example of manhood and character and Christianity, you pray for him, you love him so much that you would give the blood out of your veins for him, but you don't make things soft for him. I did everything in my power to be sure my son strove as hard as possible-in academics, in sports, in music, in work, and, of course, spiritually.

I believe God wants to raise up a group of Christians in our day who are willing to be completely separated from all carnal desires, but we fight any and all hardship or suffering. We want our Easter to come without a crucifixion. We forget too easily that there must be darkness before the beauty of dawn. Oh, a new, beautiful day as a Christian is great, but first we must follow Him no matter what the cost.

As Christians we often say we want revival. Revival will come to us and come within us when we really want it-when we pay the price. Have you come to the place of heart searching and trouble for Jesus' sake? What is God trying to pry away from you? What are you arguing about? What is that thing your pride is using to keep you from victory? Without a decision to die to self, you can pray for blessing and revival to your dying day. You can read your Bible through weekly, and it will never come. We must dare to pray-"O, God, lay me in the dust-all my pride, all my strength, all my glory." Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 6:14 "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."

Summer 2008

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:41:17 -0400

God has blessed wonderfully this spring. The Lord was especially good to us during our annual Preaching Conference with His men being used in a mighty way. The congregational singing was uplifting, and all the speakers truly extraordinary. As usual, though, my favorite part was having so many of like mind with whom to fellowship and be encouraged. You would not be disappointed if you set aside April 20-23, 2009. We need to be heartened, and I guarantee you will be if you attend.

I was encouraged by all of our graduates who attended. During a testimony time at the alumni picnic, it was thrilling to hear how God is using them and that they are still in the battle for Him.

The spring bus attendance campaign was truly a success also. Numbers were up; but more important than that, many souls have been saved. What a joy to see couples not only baptized but also sitting in the congregation and joining in on activities.

We see the culmination of much of our work at this time of the year. During the graduation ceremonies we couldn't help but get emotional thinking of more workers joining the 400 we already have actively serving in the fields. Fundamental Independent Baptists are in real need of help, and we are happy to send out "reinforcements."

This was the best school year in a long time. We had to ask several undergraduates not to return last spring, which hurt us financially; however, we had a fine spirit among the students as a result. We want to educate as many as possible for God's service, but we find that we must be more selective all the time in our recruiting.

This year we had our men's and ladies' retreats. Pastor Dave Mallinak of Ogden, Utah, did an exemplary job stirring up the guys, and my wife Sharon and staff ladies challenged the women. We met again at Gintaras Resort outside of New Buffalo, Michigan. It is a beautiful site right on Lake Michigan; but more than that, we saw good decisions for God. If we don't hold the line and keep Bible families, nothing else will matter.

Fall 2007

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:08:12 -0400

We had a wonderful fall with our buses averaging 1,778 and seeing many souls saved. On September 23rd we celebrated our 37th anniversary praising God for all His goodness.

The thing that excites me about Fairhaven Baptist Church is that we have become stronger as a congregation with each passing year. The major reason for this over the past 15 years has been our preaching staff. We have five assistants, including my son Jeff heading up the college and music, and my son-in-law Steve Damron as our youth pastor and handling the finances. Dan Armacost recruits students and teaches Greek and Hebrew among many other things. My other son-in-law Don Whitecar is the principal of the academy and teaches. All are bus captains and stay extremely busy in ministries. Of course, Dr. John Kenderdine is our future pastor and is working hard at "learning the ropes." All of these men have exemplary wives who never hold their husbands back and are hard-working helpmeets. I praise God for these and the rest of our faithful staff along with a large group of outstanding Christians.

August 19th was our 40th wedding anniversary for Sharon and me. God was very good to me when He gave her to me. I of course loved her at the time but had no idea what a good woman she was. Fairhaven would be a shell of what it is now if I had married out of God's will.

Why are Fundamental Baptists Following Neo-Evangelicals in Our Church Services?

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:31:22 -0400

In modern churches the congregation "dresses down," claps for performers, drinks coffee or Coke in the services, and in general does not come to church to worship God or be convicted by Him, but to be entertained. Rock music is normal in today's churches. At a recent funeral I was officiating, one of the neo-evangelical family members of the deceased sat in the first pew drinking Dr. Pepper during the sermon.

Throughout the Bible it is evident that God is to be worshipped with joy, yes, but in awe. Revelation 4:8b-9 and 11 is an example.

". . .and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, . . .Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

We, as Independent Baptists, never believed in formal services. We want life but through generations have always showed respect to God by coming in our "Sunday best," not talking amongst ourselves in the pews, and just plain honoring God with our reverence toward Him.

I want to stress that there is no call for formalism here. We love lively, hard, hot preaching and dislike dead music almost as much as the worldly junk that is fast becoming accepted in our circles. But why are we following the neo-evangelicals and Pentecostals in this area? It's sad for me to say this, but I believe we are following the crowd in order to attract a crowd. We've seen in the past how liberalism crept into the Southern Baptist Convention through their schools. I can see this coming into our movement by the same means. We are familiar with the way Dr. Falwell fought to keep the "description" fundamentalist while discarding all standards of dress, music, and ecclesiastical separation. He built a large university not with God's blessings and power but, I believe, with man's cunning. Now we see many in our ranks who on one hand would never openly accept Jerry Falwell, yet on the other are following his philosophy and methodology to a great extent, attempting to build an organization. Many would fight to say they are fundamentalists but are moving their music, standards, and style of services ever closer to the world.

We as pastors need to practice what we preach and hold the line. Not only should we fight against Satan's corrupting power as we see some going to the theater, the beach, and wearing immodest clothing, but we must hold the line in our services. All of my life I've heard that compromise starts in music programs. Now some of the very people who warned us are trying to lead us in that way. We should never follow any man blindly whether he is in the pulpit or as a musician. A song should not be judged right or wrong by its author but by its "content." I don't know the technicalities of music, but I know what is right or wrong.

I'm not going to let my church be dragged toward the world by some music man.

I'm glad I know without any shadow of doubt that God not only called me to preach but to pastor Fairhaven Independent Baptist Church. I don't have to wiggle around and draw people into our church with Starbuck's coffee and the devil's music. My job is to keep the church I am charged with as pure and straight as possible so God can bless us. I'd much rather see Him "open the windows of heaven" than for me to manipulate for a few more people in the pews.

If the President of the United States were coming to our services, we would dress our best and leave our coffee at home. Like the elders of Revelation 4, let's worship God in our services with life, yes, but let's sing our specials for Him and not for applause. Let's keep our music pleasing and acceptable to Him and not the world. Let's act as though we are worshipping Him and looking for His blessing instead of the approval of a sensual world.