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  • December18th

    Bible Up! The Legacy of Brother C. J. Arbuckle

    Posted in: League News

    This article was originally published in the April 2008 edition of The Sacred Sandwich:

    For those who knew our late brother Constant Joseph Arbuckle, it should come as no surprise that the League has finally adopted a proper motto which exemplifies the kind of Kingdom work that Bro. Arbuckle stood for, and for which the League hopes to further emulate: “Bible Up!”™

    Bro. C.J. Arbuckle was a simple farmer by vocation, but after much wrestling with God over whether he should pursue the things of this world for the sake of comfort or accept his calling as a proclaimer of the Gospel for the sake of Christ, he succumbed to the prodding of the Spirit and with great joy became an itinerant country preacher and church planter in the County of Nodaway and beyond. The only possessions he had for his work were a mule named Truman and a tattered Bible; yet by the grace of God, he and his family’s comforts were always met as he pursued his humble ministry throughout the tri-state area. Though Bro. Arbuckle did not officially establish the League of Tyndale, his dedication to the Gospel was so profound among the people of Nodaway that it planted the seeds that would eventually grow into the League. Indeed, in later years, Bro. Arbuckle served two terms as president of the League, and was president emeritus until his death ten years ago.

    I first met Bro. Arbuckle in the long, dark winter of my nineteenth year when boys of my age, full of spit and vinegar, were stymied by the oppressive siege of knee-deep snow and desperately searching for any activity to alleviate our colossal boredom. My friends Lydell Butterworth, Hamish Rooney and I had taken into our minds to go ice fishing on Earl McGonigle‘s pond, though none of us had any experience with such an obscure sport. So severe was the monotony during that barren season that we were very excited at the prospect of taking an axe to the ice and sitting on lawn chairs in the frigid air with our fishing poles poised with great expectation. No doubt, this would be the highlight of our wintertime, right next to a sizzling game of Parcheesi with my Aunt Thelma.

    Two hours into our impending frostbite (with no fish in sight), we saw an old man on muleback approach the pond’s edge, dismount, and walk on the ice towards us. Introducing himself as Bro. Arbuckle, he inquired upon the state of our sanity. We, in turn, informed him of our impulsive search for the smallest of thrills to ease our boredom in the midst of these arctic days. Immediately a twinkle leapt from his eyes and he explained to us that there was an excitement to be had that would transcend any glory found in that ice hole. He invited us to put down our rods and follow him back to his home where hot coffee and a warm fire could spark further conversation on the matter. We gladly accepted on behalf of our frozen appendages.

    I can still remember the pop and crackle of burning hedgewood in the fireplace of his modest farmhouse as Bro. Arbuckle began to speak of the desperate state of our souls and the Good News of redemption through Jesus Christ, the Crucified. It wasn’t the first time I had heard this message, but Bro. Arbuckle’s passion was so palpable that it infected me with a stomach-churning excitement. His twinkle was now a bonfire in his eyes as he spoke of Jesus and the glory of His resurrection, and how a life in Christ was filled with great joy and hope, even in the midst of our suffering. Every gospel truth he spoke was electrified by the power of the Spirit, and soon the boredom that had driven us to the pond had vanished.

    To make a long story short: this would be the beginning of my walk with the Lord and a lifelong brotherhood with C.J. Arbuckle. He was a simple man of simple means with a simple message, but oh! what spiritual fruit it produced by the power of the Word and the Spirit. For years to come, my friends and I would be taught, baptized, and shepherded by this servant of God, and it was under this kind of faithful, Bible-based mentoring that the first thoughts of a League of Tyndale began to emerge among me and my friends as we grew in the Lord.

    Aye, but here comes the twist to this story. One week after the ice fishing incident, Earl McGonigle, who could no longer suppress his secret, confessed to me that his pond had never been stocked with fish. He admitted that he had been feeling a bit ornery on the day that he had given us permission to go ice fishing on his property and was quite tickled to send us off on a fool’s errand. He apologized for his prank, of course, but it was difficult to gauge his sincerity in the midst of a laughing jag that was so lengthy and robust that it literally brought him to tears. Said Earl between his hysterics, “Angus, my boy, there’s a fine line between a fisherman and an idiot sitting on ice.”

    True enough, Earl, but what you meant for evil, the Lord used for good. It is fully resolved in my mind that the sovereign Hand of God brought me and my friends to the pond that day and granted us the amazing opportunity to meet Bro. Arbuckle, a true fisherman of God who found three young minnows named Lydell, Hamish, and Angus caught in his net. All I can say is, Glory be to God for His grace and wisdom in this matter.

    In closing, I would like to thank League historian Eldon Drake for reminding us of the legacy of Bro. Arbuckle during our last meeting and suggesting the fitting slogan which aptly defines the objective of the League in the cause of sola Scriptura: “Bible Up!”™ As Christians and fellows of the League, may we all be like Bro. Arbuckle and never forget our mission to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ with a twinkle in our eyes, a Bible in our hand, and a good mule to take us wherever the Lord sends us.

  • December3rd

    Shocking Study: Only 93% of Teens Find Themselves To Be Totally Awesome!

    Posted in: Bohemian Baptist

    American parents and educators were stunned to find out this week that only a measly 93% of U.S. high school students in a recent Josephson Institute survey were “satisfied with their personal ethics and character.” This leaves a whopping 7% who apparently have fallen though the cracks of our educational system and become inexplicably burdened by their moral shortcomings.

    If 7% of our kids are still experiencing bouts of low self-esteem, then where did we go wrong, America?

    Over the past several years, we have bombarded our children with enough indulgent parenting and ego-boosting school programs to swell the head of the most respectable self-flagellating hermit monk. With this amount of positive reinforcement, even perpetually-defeated Eeyore would get cocky and start talking smack to Christopher Robin in the Hundred Acre Wood.

    On top of that, we have created a pop culture that has done its best to spare our young generation any hurt feelings by eliminating all possible references to negativity in the English language. That’s why in the last several years the words “bad,” “sick,” and “wicked” have become adjectives to describe something positive. Just try telling a teen that he’s wearing a bad pair of shoes or that his new tongue piercing is sick, and he will certainly thank you for the compliment. Never mind the fact that giving these words an opposite meaning can cause a person over 40 to think he’s suffering from a stroke-related injury to the language center of his brain. All that really matters is that we have helped our children feel better about themselves by not bumming them out with judgmental terms.

    All in all, I’d say we’ve set up a pretty good child-rearing system over the past three decades that produces the kind of kid who is oblivious to his imperfections. In fact, according to research in the November 2008 issue of Psychological Science, today’s American high school students have a very lofty (and unrealistic) opinion of themselves in comparison to their more down-to-earth counterparts who were surveyed back in 1975. Based on this study and others, you would have to believe that we have successfully produced a generation of high-schoolers completely in love with themselves and their ability to rock out “Barracuda” on Guitar Hero III.

    So how in the world do we still have 7% of our teenagers immune to all the gratuitous adoration lavished upon them? It makes a person scratch his head and wonder how these pesky self-loathers could still exist. Oh sure, you can point to the Josephson Institute study and see that a disturbing percentage of today’s teens admit to stealing from stores (30%), lying to save money (42%), and cheating on schoolwork (64%). But this is merely an unfortunate by-product of telling these kids to be the best that they can be. Who knew they wanted to be the best liars, cheats, and thieves they can be? 

    Undoubtedly, this alarming revelation of guilty conduct among teens explains why those poor 7% couldn’t bring themselves to give a big “thumbs up” to their ethical standing. I certainly understand their apprehension. But the last thing we need is for the other 93% to fall into the same trap as the minority and start feeling bad about themselves just because they recognize their tendency toward corrupt behavior. What good would it do if parents and teachers allowed these kids to beat themselves up over their predisposition to sin?

    Over two thousand years ago, there was a very famous teacher from Nazareth who felt it was wise to challenge a confident young man to acknowledge his own lack of goodness. And what was the outcome in that confrontation? It only made the young man feel sad. Is that what we want? A bunch of miserable people feeling sorry for themselves? We already have too many post-election Republicans moping around as it is.

    So let’s think about this. If we force these kids to look hard at themselves in a healthy way, then what will happen? It’s possible they will finally realize that their self-worth can never be established on the basis of their own perceived goodness— a goodness which has already been discounted by their unethical actions. Next, they might start looking outside of themselves for a genuine goodness on which they can depend. Good grief, they might even hear the gospel of God’s grace, deny their vain reliance on self, and find their true worth in Jesus Christ.

    Whoa. Come to think of it, that sounds like pretty heady stuff. Maybe, just maybe, we should start telling our kids about this wicked alternative to self-esteem called “faith in Christ.”

    By the way, for those of you over 40: a “wicked” alternative would be considered a good thing.

  • November19th

    Of Fire and Water in Gazingstock

    Posted in: League News

    If you live in Gazingstock, Missouri (the hometown of the League of Tyndale), you can usually get your late-breaking local reports from Action 4 News, anchored by Bertha Stettner. Bertha lives in the yellow Victorian house on the corner of 3rd and Maple, and if you need to know what’s going on in town, you just dial 4 on your telephone and Bertha will convey the latest in cutting-edge investigative journalism.

    Yes, Bertha’s actual phone number is 4; Gazingstock is a very, very small town.

    Last Wednesday evening during her six o’clock newscast, Bertha was the first “journalist” to report that the Gazingstock Baptist Church building was on fire and about to burn to the ground. She had received this tip from her trusty street informant, Vida Whitlock, who claimed to have seen several people forming a bucket brigade outside the church. According to Vida, Deacon Milton Sinclair was manning the church’s well pump while a line of church members frantically passed along pails of water through the side door of the church building to douse the hidden flames inside.

    Realizing this was the biggest scoop since last summer when Ned “Bat Ears” Blanton got his head stuck in his porch railing, Bertha immediately rang up every member of the local garden club to broadcast her exclusive report. The garden clubbers then relayed the information to various friends and family, and the story sprouted legs from there. Within minutes, almost everyone in town had heard the news and rushed out of their homes to witness the blazing inferno. The only people in town who didn’t hear about the fire were the boys down at the firehouse. Apparently no one had thought to call them.

    When the curious townsfolk finally arrived at the church, however, they saw no evidence of a fire. In fact, the Baptist church stood as it always had. There was no lingering scent of charred wood, no haze of smoke, and no dancing flames of fiery destruction. The bucket brigade that Vida had seen earlier was no longer there; they had abandoned their buckets and disappeared.

    Needless to say, it was a bitter pill to swallow for those who had braved the cold night air in hopes of being entertained by the spectacle of tragedy. Realizing they had been horribly misinformed, most of the disillusioned mob went back to their homes to finish supper and settle in for the night. A dozen stragglers, however, stayed behind to salvage the evening as best they could. These stubborn souls found it difficult to believe that Bertha could be wrong, so they decided to have a peek inside the church to see what was going on.

    As they snuck towards the building, they were quite surprised when the church’s front door suddenly popped open and Deacon Sinclair started waving at them as if he’d been waiting for them to arrive. “You’re just in time,” the deacon told them with a big smile. “Come on in!” And with that, he shook each of their hands and guided them through the door one-by-one with the aplomb of an experienced church greeter (which he was). By the time the band of looky-loos realized they had been ushered straight into a church meeting, it was too late. All they could do in order to save face was slink quietly into the empty back pew and wait it out.

    Of course, when the twelve had a chance to look around, they realized that Bertha’s report had been a bust. There wasn’t a single sign of smoke or fire damage. All they saw was Edgar Sedgwick, a seventy-year-old farmer, standing in front of the congregation in a large galvanized steel trough filled with water. Standing next to Edgar was the church’s pastor, Jeremiah Bone, and they both wore white linen robes.

    It wasn’t a fire; it was a baptismal service.

    Normally an event like this would have been held down at Nodaway Lake, but being as it was the middle of November, the decision was made by the elders to perform the ordinance inside during their midweek meeting. Church member Tom Bingham donated a unused water trough from his barn, which was hauled into town and placed behind the pulpit. Several other members then formed a makeshift bucket brigade and filled the trough with well water— a sight which Vida Whitlock had woefully misinterpreted.

    And so, in the sight of God and the congregation and the twelve visitors, ol’ Edgar now stood in the waters of baptism to testify that Christ is the Son of God. Through heartfelt tears, Edgar acknowledged he was a sinner who had no righteousness of his own to withstand the judgment of God. But thanks be to God, he declared, that Christ had taken the punishment due him on the cross, had risen victoriously from the grave to display His power and triumph over death, and now sat at the right hand of God to graciously place His cloak of righteousness on those who came to Him through faith. And with that, Pastor Bone plunged Edgar into the watery grave to die to self and to live for Christ.

    Upon Edgar’s baptism, the congregation celebrated with a chorus of fervent amens and joyous praises to God for graciously drawing another lost sheep into the fold. As the people began to sing the hauntingly beautiful strains of Amazing Grace in the pureness of harmonized voices, the twelve visitors in the back pew felt a chill go down their spines. They sat there not knowing what to do, and yet deep down they realized they had been placed in a position of having to do… something. Each of them had been shaken, in one degree or another, by what they had seen and heard.

    What these visitors had witnessed during the baptismal service was the good news that is rarely reported by news anchors, journalists, or even town gossips like Bertha Stettner. It does not have the fleshly intrigue or morbid fascination for which the world often clamors. Nonetheless those who hear this message are never unmoved, for either the heart is pricked by it or pride resists it. The gospel contains a power that places the hearer at the crossroad of life and death and forces them to choose a path. To feign indifference only delays the decision and threatens to dull the eyes and ears to further appeals, perhaps leaving them with no time to recover except by the grace of God.

    Within these twelve souls, the seeds of the gospel have been planted. Whether in the future they take strong root or not is known only to God, but we pray as always for a good crop at the harvest as we seek to engage them further.

    So thank you, Bertha. The only fire to be seen on Wednesday night came from the wick of your tongue, but it sparked a series of events that, in hindsight, had an eternal direction and purpose. By the providence of God, your efforts drew twelve unbelievers to Gazingstock Baptist Church who perhaps would have never darkened the door of a church in their life, and yet on this night they witnessed the power of the gospel in the life of Edgar Sedgwick, who was buried with Christ and arose to find new life in Him.

    This is the good news we all need to pass along to a perishing world: Turn to Christ, that He may save you from the fiery judgment to come. And this time, let’s make sure the boys down at the firehouse hear about it, too.

  • October2nd

    The Plea of God: A Testimony of the Gospel

    Posted in: Food for Thought

    by Steve Ward, Pastor – Heritage Baptist Church

    By nature, I am not an extrovert.  In both environment and heredity, I come from a long line of people who would just rather get along with everyone and never be noticed or bothered.  Throughout my journey into adulthood my quiet nature was evident.  Then, one day, something changed.  I heard something so amazing, so beautiful, that I couldn’t remain comfortable keeping to myself.  It was the Gospel of the Lord Jesus that I heard.  It was the message of truth, of redemption, and of the glory of the God and creator of the heaven and the earth.  From that day forward, there has been a burning desire in my heart- to speak about the subject that is addressed in the Bible.

    There is a passage in 2 Corinthians (5:18-21) that states:

    Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

    In these verses, we see one of the grand and glorious pictures of the Gospel.  Please consider the following points that come from this passage.

    1) The Christian message is “the word of reconciliation”

    Have you ever seen the bumper stickers that state “God loves you”?  It sounds very nice and proper in an age of tolerance.  But I don’t know a single person whose life has been changed by it.  I don’t even know anyone who even had a moment of goosebumps or a warm and fuzzy feeling in their souls by seeing it!

    The message of the biblical Gospel is not simply “God loves you”.  It is a much more powerful message; God is calling you to be reconciled to Him!

    You see, God has made it clear to us through the Bible that every person is guilty of being ungodly and unrighteous.  Even the great heroes of the Bible such as Abraham, Moses, David, Peter and Paul are all guilty of sinning against Him.  Every person who sins in ungodly conduct is not just merely making bad choices, these sins are acts of rebellion and hatred against God.  Therefore, we all by nature are not on God’s “good side”.  In fact, God’s wrath is kindled against us all.

    Forgive me for getting a little ahead of myself in my presentation, but we will see that God has sent His Son to reconcile people such as you and I to Himself.  In other words, He has done something that will fix the terrible situation we are in.  He sent Jesus to be put to death on the cross so that we may believe in His righteousness and His work which brings us forgiveness by faith.  If you deny that you need to repent of your own sins and believe that Jesus alone is righteous and that you can be saved from God’s anger against you by faith in Him, then you are calling God a liar and making Him your enemy.  In other words, you are taking a stand against God.  You are opposed to Him.

    This is where the “word of reconciliation” comes in.  The message of the Gospel which the Church preaches is not that you need to be good enough to get into heaven.  It is not a message that God loves you, no matter what you do.  It is a message of reconciliation.  God calls you to repent from your hostility against Him and be blessed by believing in Jesus as the Lord and Savior.

    2) God was in Christ

    Our passage in 2 Corinthians shares another powerful aspect of the Gospel.  It is not just that God loves us, but God is in Christ.  Why is this significant? Though all of us are enemies with God because of our sin and denial of the Gospel of Jesus, God still did something to bring a remedy.

    Jesus is the eternal God.  Jesus was born as a man.  Do you see the peculiar nature of those two truths?

    We must now ask ourselves what the purpose was of God becoming man. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) record for us the events of the life of Jesus.  What do they show us about the purpose of his life?  Upon casual observation, we may think that the Gospels begin with the birth of Jesus and end with his death, but the important stuff is the life in between.  However, this is not quite the case.  Jesus did not just run out of time to teach when he was crucified.  Instead, all of His life led to His crucifixion and then His resurrection.

    God came in the human form of Jesus.  But humankind did not appreciate this.  Jesus taught wonderful things, but men hated him for it.  Jesus healed people with the power that only God can have, but men hated him even more.  Jesus also spoke of judgment against men, not only of the ‘heathen’ men who worshiped pagan idols, but He also spoke of judgment upon His own people…the nation of Israel for ignoring the commandments of God and for rejecting Him, the promised Messiah.

    And so the Gospels show us how the people of God (Israel) conspired with the Romans to have God in Christ put to death upon the cross.  This was no accident either.  This did not take God by surprise.  The prophets had revealed long before and Jesus himself told those who followed him that this would take place.

    God was in Christ, and Christ was put to death in agony and anguish upon the cross.

    3) Christ was reconciling the world to Himself

    The Gospel message of salvation in Christ begins to to take shape here.  Since God was in Christ, death could not hold Him.  Jesus rose from the dead.  The Gospels and Acts (the historical account that Luke’s Gospel continues after the resurrection) record that Jesus appeared to many after his resurrection from the dead.  Then it was witnessed as He ascended from earth back to heaven, where is now seated upon the throne as He rules over His church.

    You see, God was in Christ with a purpose.  Jesus had to die and have his blood spilled upon the cross.  As our text in 2 Corinthians says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself”.

    God’s wrath is stirred up by the sins of men and women.  He is just and will punish people for their sins.  Hell is reserved for all who continue to reject Him, denying the righteousness of Jesus, and choosing to live in pride, greed, and lust.  But Jesus suffered the wrath of God even though He did not sin.  Why?  This is the question of all questions.  This is the crux of the Christian faith.

    4) God made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf

    If you will believe in the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, then you have a personal stake in this matter.  Jesus suffered the judgment of God that was deserved by every person, Jew or Gentile, male or female, black or white, who trusts in Him.  He took our place!  He took upon himself the judgment of sin, even though he did not sin!

    He did so in order that our sins would not be counted against those who would trust in Him as our text says.  They were counted against Him instead.

    5) That we might become the righteousness of God in Him

    Not only is our sin transferred to Him, but there is an unbelievable exchange.  His righteousness is conferred upon those who believe!  A sinful human being who repents and believes in this Gospel of Jesus Christ has been reconciled to God.  His punishment for sin was taken by Jesus, and the righteousness of Jesus has been give to him!

    Oh, what a glorious message!  It is a message that has transformed people for thousands of years, and it is just as powerful today as it was then! There is no other religion, no other philosophy, and no other hope that offers such perfect glory in truth. Therefore, as our passage from 2 Corinthians says:

    “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,

    as though God were making an appeal through us;

    we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

    He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf,

    so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

    There is no way that you can earn such righteousness – the righteousness of God.  There is no other hope.  This salvation can be yours by repenting (sorrowfully turning away) from your sins and hostility against God, and by believing in the Gospel message.  May God shed His marvelous grace upon you!

    6) Other Verses for Consideration

    Finally, let me just list some other passages of Scripture that drive home the message of the Gospel.  I pray that God’s Word will convict you and bring you into the perfect shelter of the Gospel.  There are powerful testimonies of men and women who have meditated upon these verses and it has led to repentance and faith in the Gospel.  In fact, the Ephesians passage listed below led to my own personal faith in the Gospel.

    • Acts 4:12: “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
    • Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
    • Ephesians 2:4-10: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
    • Colossians 1:21-23: “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach–if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard”
    • Titus 3:3-7: “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
    • 1 Peter 1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

    Copyright © 2008 Heritage Baptist Church

    Permission granted to copy this material in its complete text only for not-for-profit use (sharing with a friend, church, school, Bible study, etc.), and including all copyright information. Other uses require written permission. This material may not be sold or included in publications intended for sale.

    Scripture references New American Standard Bible © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, All rights reserved.

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