Email Newsletter from the FELLOWSHIP OF MISSIONS
Editor: Rev. Leigh E. Adams
Chairman: Executive Committee –
Dave Little [ dlittle@bcpusa.org]
for….
Prayer Concern for David Marcum, President Titus International
Dr. C. Raymond Buck now with the Lord
Evangelism is for every believer including missionaries—Dr. David Little, BCP
2008 Annual CEO Retreat—Holiday Inn, Westlake, Ohio
2008 Annual Conference—Baptist Church Planters Headquarters, Grafton, Ohio
BCP Seminar on “Theology of Fundamentalism”—speaker Dr. Kevin Bauder
FOM Prayer Concerns:
the lymph nodes but to no other organs.(this is wonderful) He will require 6 months of chemo, every 2 weeks, and this will begin as soon as he is strong enough and has healed sufficiently from his surgery. They have scheduled his first one, tentatively for the 13th of March, if he is strong enough to withstand it. A major concern is that he has already been diagnosed with neuropathy in his legs and feet, and one of the drugs he will be taking causes this very thing
Report on Dave Marcum: As far as doctors can tell at this time, the cancer has spread to
BMM former president, Dr. C. Raymond Buck now with the Lord. Baptist Mid-Missions mourns the loss of a godly servant of the Lord, Dr. C. Raymond Buck, president of Baptist Mid-Missions from 1983 to 1989. Dr. Buck went to be with the Lord February 29, 2008, after suffering a stroke on January 26. He was 83.
Long before Dr. Buck took the presidency of BMM, God had richly prepared him with extensive training and experience. A native of Kansas, Dr. Buck graduated with honors from Ottawa University in 1945, gaining membership into four national honorary fraternities. He went on to receive the B.D., M.R.E., and Th.M. degrees from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. He and his wife, Catherine, served in pastorates in Kentucky, Ohio, and Kansas before joining BMM in 1954 to serve in the Central African Republic. There, Dr. Buck applied his biblical knowledge through training Africans for leadership, along with evangelizing and church planting. He served with distinction and was elected president of the field by missionary colleagues. He also won the respect of CAR’s president himself, who publicly honored him for his service. During his missionary furloughs, Dr. Buck also completed his M.Ed. degree through the University of Kansas.
In 1964, when health concerns made it impossible for the Bucks to return to Africa, Dr. Buck returned to his home state to pastor the Beth-Eden Baptist Church in Wichita. At that time, he finished his sixth degree, a Ph.D.
It was not long until BMM sought him as its Northern Deputation Secretary, a position now known as Enlistment Director. Dr. Buck served in this post from 1969 until being named Foreign Secretary for Africa and Europe in 1972. Six years later, in 1978, he was chosen as Vice President. A man of great intelligence, Dr. Buck conducted himself with humility, humor, and friendliness. He held others in high esteem and was never known to speak a bad word about another person. When then-current President Allen E. Lewis announced his intended retirement, BMM leaders found in Dr. Buck a missionary statesman who would make a worthy leader. The BMM General Council unanimously elected him as president in 1983.
The theme of Dr. Buck’s tenure was “The Mission on the Move,” which highlighted his desire to see even greater expansion of BMM in numbers and effectiveness. During his administration, we saw our Mission Family grow to more than 1200 missionaries and expand into numerous fields and ministries. Another significant change took place for the Home Office — its move to our present facilities in the southwest suburbs of Cleveland. Under Dr. Buck’s leadership, a former elementary school was retrofitted to provide the space needed for the growing Mission.
In 1989, at age 65, Dr. Buck retired from the presidency but not from ministry. He continued his long-standing connection with Baptist Mid-Missions through his service on its General Council. Additionally, the Lord showed Dr. Buck a new channel through which to use his education and experiences. He and Catherine moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he spent more than a decade as the chair of missions and evangelism at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Countless students in the U.S. and abroad benefited from Dr. Buck’s vast reservoir of biblical knowledge and missions experience.
Evangelism is for every believer, even missionaries: Dr. David Little, BCP Have you ever read the story about the man who loved to fish and wished he could fish all day every day? Well, he got his wish. He fished and fished and fished. The problem was that he was so successful that he soon attended fishing shows, held fishing seminars and had a weekly TV show. Pretty soon his schedule was so full, he couldn’t fish any more. Have you ever felt that way? I sure have. After leaving the pastorate, I missed two major things. First, seeing people grow in their walk with the Lord and secondly, have many occasions to witness for Christ and watch some come to Christ. Christian leaders are consumed with activities with believers. This is not wrong, but in our personal and church life, there must be a pre-eminence on personal evangelism. Recently, I was in church and next to me was a missionary wife, crying. I asked her what was wrong. She said, nothing, I was just thinking about the seventy year old woman I talked to at the playground yesterday that had never heard the good news. Thank God that this missionary was not too busy to witness.
Gary Corwin, “Missiology—God Medicine and a Fourth Leg,” EMQ (July 2007): 282 (Notes from FOM 2007 Annual Conference workshop) A few months ago, my favorite convenient store was bought by Asians. I must confess that my first thought was to change stores. But the Holy Spirit reminded me that this may be a personal mission field, God designed. I presented myself as a regular customer and met Roger, Mo and Sonny (I’m sure American names). I have found them very open to talk about religion and I have had the privilege of buying Sonny a Bible, sharing the gospel with Roger and my wife has invited them to our home for dinner. Maybe God will save them! It is my responsibility to share with them.
Interestingly, after meeting them, I have met a pastor from India and a converted Hindu engineer who have helped me in sharing Christ with them. God does have a plan and I’m glad I’m part of it.
Dear missionaries and mission leaders-evangelism is our heartbeat and cry. It is our mission! But we may get so busy living, holding meetings, reporting, conducting conferences, and everything else that goes along with our work that we hardly do any evangelism. May it not be so among us!
I pray the agencies connected with the Fellowship of Missions will be filled with vibrant and passionate evangelists, never losing our passion for lost souls all around us.
2008 FOM CEO Retreat
—September 13-15 (Holiday Inn, Westlake, OH)
Our main speaker will be Dr. Doug McLachlan. Our hearts will be challenged and blessed from the Word of God and the experiences of our dear brother. A donor has graciously provided for the housing and main meals for our retreat. (Your room, Sunday noon meal and Sunday night meal will be cared for.) However, you will be responsible for your Saturday evening meal, breakfast (see priority coupon-if you sign up, you get one free breakfast for each morning), and noon meal on Monday. The Holiday Inn is located near Crocker Park–a specialized shopping area with lovely restaurants and shops. Ladies, you will love the area. If you would like to see the possibilities, go to “www.crockerpark.com.”
Each CEO should make reservations with Holiday Inn, as part of the Fellowship of Missions Retreat. Confirm with your own credit card. The number to call to make reservations is 800-762-7416 or 440-871-6000.
In addition, if you desire to use this hotel for the FOM Annual Conference (15-17 make reservations and you will be responsible to pay for the extra nights. The motel is located in Westlake, Ohio about 20 minutes from Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport and 25 minutes from Baptist Church Planters. Other motels are closer and will be listed on the regular conference form sent with the March FOMenter.
– David Little, Chairman FOM Executive Committee
2008 FOM Annual Conference
—September 15-17 (Baptist Church Planters’ Home office, Grafton, Ohio)
“…Information technology (IT) has created an entirely new playing field for missions…IT empowers people to get information for themselves…This is very fertile ground for the gospel.”1
Mission Agencies need to recognize and avail themselves of ever-increasing opportunities to extend their ministries. Leadership must provide proactive direction to its personnel. Frequently, missionaries in remote areas are better equipped and informed than their home offices. It is time to change!
Leaders take note!
Our 2008 Annual Conference will address the theme
“Tools For the Trade”.
The Tools of Leadership (Plenary speaker Dr. Brad Quick, Elyria, Oh)
The Tools of the Internet (Ron Winsek and Rob Heijermans)
The Tools of Publishing: Articles / Books (Dr. William Smallman)
Women’s workshops
Women Mentoring Women (Joan Seger, Biblical Ministries Worldwide)
All conference sessions will be held at Baptist Church Planters new facility in Grafton, Ohio. This is located south of Elyria, Ohio. Further details regarding conference program, accommodations, meals, etc. will be available in the next FOMenter. However, it is not too soon to reserve these dates in your calendar.
Single Women serving in a Man’s Mission (Dr. Joy Anglea, BMM)
Seminar Offered at Baptist Church Planters
“The Theology of Fundamentalism”
Instructor: Dr. Kevin Bauder, President of Central Baptist Seminary in Plymouth, MN
Date: October 28-30, 2008, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. daily
Place: Baptist Church Planters, Grafton, Ohio
Purpose: To instruct and encourage Christian workers registration and remaining $25 upon arrival
Cost: $75, which includes lunches, refreshments, supplies and instructor. $50 required for
Here is a description of the class: “Fundamentalism is distinguished by a commitment to ecclesiastical separation. fundamentalists, however, have become uncertain about the boundaries and implementation of separation. This uncertainty traces partly to a failure to understand the nature of Christian unity and fellowship, and partly to a failure to connect notions of unity and fellowship to a robust doctrine of the church.
Defining issues of separation is rarely as simple as just quoting texts. Rather, decisions about fellowship and separation must rest upon a comprehensive, theological vision of Christian unity. The development of this framework is an exercise in biblical and systematic theology, and it provides the mechanism by which individual texts can be brought to bear upon specific issues.
In this seminar, Kevin Bauder will teach a series of classes, which will explore the theological underpinnings of a biblical doctrine of separation.
Contemporary
Bauder’s approach takes full account of the nature of Christian unity and fellowship, understanding how unity and fellowship affect and are affected by the nature of the church. While the classes will occasionally deal with specific issues and situations, the thrust of the class is to articulate the timeless biblical principles that should guide Christians through every decision about ecclesiastical fellowship and separation.
To register, contact BCP, PO Box 836, Elyria, OH 44036 (PH: 440-748-1677 or bcp@bcpusa.org)