WHERE HAVE ALL MY HERO'S GONE?

WHERE HAVE ALL MY HERO'S GONE?



I couldn't help but notice the distinguished man across the airport waiting room in Nashville . He represented all the things I hoped to look like at his age. He had nicely kept snow white hair and an extremely nice gray suit accentuated with a sterling silver eagle bolo tie.

However, more than his looks drew my attention. It was his demeanor. His manly actions and the way he carried himself.

I knew he was familiar; then, I finally remember-ed he had spoken at a meeting I had attended in Detroit , Michigan some years before. Rising to my feet, I strolled sheepishly toward him assuring myself I was correct in my assumption.

I blurted, “Aren't you Dr. W. A. Criswell?” Startled, he looked up at me and said in a deep Texas draw, "Why, yes, young man! And who are you?"

I was amazed at his kindness and willingness to welcome me to join him as we discussed the Lord's work. I'm sure he had put up with many before who didn't care to question him.

However, his life seemed to be opened before me that afternoon as we shared about six hours together before arriving to where we were both headed.

He told me how he was appreciative of the opportunities God had allowed him. "My first church was one where they plowed right up to the door. Then I moved to a small village church. Afterwards, I became the pastor of a county seat church where I was pastor sixteen years. Then I was called to the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas where I have remained now all these years." (Dr. Criswell went to his reward a number of years ago).

I couldn't help but think of how God had blessed this humble man. He had followed Dr. George W. Truett who had pastored forty-seven years before him. "You know Dr. Truett never drove a car or flew in a plane like this. He did all his visits in a buggy." "Things have changed a lot," he continued. "I was the first pastor at First Baptist to visit in a car or fly in a plane,” continuing our conversation which interested greatly.

After our discussions, I asked permission to publish his remarks. He granted it.
Things have changed I thought. He took that church with 3,000 members to over 20,000 active members and a budget of millions.


Our flight soon landed and we were about to separate when he turned to me and said, "I'm going to preach tonight over at Newark First Baptist for the state evangelism conference of my denomination. Why don't you come as my guest?"

I didn't have to think long before I replied, --I would like that!

After changing some appointments and driving nearly 40 miles through a foot of blowing snow, I arrived at the overflowing church parking lot.

Could he have just been inviting me to be polite a I thought as I approached the door. The thought fled as I entered and there he was just inside waiting. "I am glad you came. I was about to think the snow might have discouraged you."

He escorted me to an assigned seat and then he made his way to the pulpit area.

After the normal church program, he was intro-duced. Standing to the side of the pulpit, he laid his arm thereon, and before he started his address, he said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, before I preach I want you to meet my friend. He is not a Southern Baptist, but he is a servant and we are in the same battle together. Dr. Loveless, would you please stand!”

Afterwards his message began with: "How do you build a great church?"

He forcefully projected his four points which I will never forget:

"You build a great church with a great preacher." "You build a great church with a great people." "You build a great church with a great passion." "You build a great church with a great program."

Now I am older, and God recently has given me more years for my life--after three years of operations and recuperation. I love just to sit and drink in conversations with God’s chosen ones. To feel with them the benefits they have had in serving the Lord because I have been so blessed.

I am now unable to do what I did in the "better days." But I want to continue to be faithful.

So if I stop you, it is because you impressed me as a servant still willing to aid the hurting and I needed you to bless me.

God continues to use great men and people willing to serve Him and enlist others to follow the same Christ. Then someday people will say of you, “He was one of my hero’s.”

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”--Luke 4:18

WELCOME MY FRIENDS

Willkommen!

When we were considering moving to Farmington, Missouri, we thought we would be living in a French community since the county is St. Francois, obviously a French name. However, to our surprise the area is much more German than French.

My wife is from German descend whose great-grandfather was from Alsace, (which has been both French and German, since it is located on the west bank of the upper Rhine river adjacent to Germany and Switzerland), so we have been to Germany a number of times. But recently I have discovered you can visit Germany without going very far.

Now just past the railroad tracks on highway D north you have a new business called Ole Tyme Pantry, filled with Amish and Mennonite cheese, meats and food items from various sister businesses in the country. What an addition to our community for those of us who still enjoy the delights of the old country and unprocessed foods. Let me voice my approval with; “Sie sind willkommen,” or as we would say in English, “You are welcome.” This pantry is the results of five Bethel Mennonite families who recently moved to our area and hope to establish a church with three more families moving here soon. What a thrill to have people of their conviction and compassion among us.

Then a few days ago, I was driving on Jefferson west of the courthouse and saw Bauhaus Kaffee. (Bauhaus means schoolhouse). I called my wife and we returned to share in another welcomed desired. I walked to the order desk and said, “Kaffee Bitte!” My request for “Coffee please!” was met by "Danke" or "Thank you.” We knew the coffee would be great, because Germans annually consume on a per capita basis 118 gallons or 1,888 cups of coffee yearly. We saw three blends and I picked the right one. It was great! My wife ordered a Rueben and halved it with me. It too was satisfying.

Preparing to leave, I inquired if the new place would be enlarging to a wider German menu. “Yes, we plan to begin a Bavarian breakfast and start a good selection of German brats, kraut, and potatoes as soon as our kitchen is ready,” the new owner replied.

My appetite began to run away with me as I dreamed maybe one day: “Wiener Schnitzel, Jaeger Schnitzel, Bratwurst, Currywurst with sides such as German potato salad, Blaukraut and Sauerkraut.

I began longing for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) and such German pastries as Black Forest cake or Torte, Apfelstrudel, and German Käsekuchen.

I hope my dreams are not unrealistic and my desires don’t run them away before they can get their business well established.

Just think! Now it is cheaper for me to go to Germany--because Germany has come to our town.

“All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.”--Proverbs 15:15 (NKJV)

ALL TRIPS HAVE A PURPOSE

MISSION OF BLESSING

It is interesting how the Lord knows how to bless His children by putting someone near to help at the right time.

Such was the case as my wife and I were visiting some missionary families in France.

We had planned to visit Switzerland, but our friends who were to take us could not. However, this would enable us to spend some extra days in Paris before returning back to the United States.

Our friends, who were serving on the Atlanta coast in Lorient, had agreed to drive us to Paris and were eager to do so even though the wife had not been feeling well for some weeks. Most of the local physicians had not been able to find any reason for some of her painful symptoms.

As the day arrived to leave she expressed that she was fit for the trip and it might do her good to get away for a few days.

Since it was a full day's trip she grew weary before days end and she was quite ill. After finding a place to stay, her husband took her to the American hospital where she was admitted. The next day she was operated on and a four inch tumor was removed. God had allowed us to be with our friends at a crisis time. Their children were for a few days, not our chore, but rather our guides in Paris.

Both spoke fluent French having been raised in the French speaking country of the Ivory Coast, Africa, and France.

Everywhere we went over this huge city they were "business like" in showing us around. Whether it was on a boat trip down the Seine, going up the Eiffel Tower, or buying cotton candy in the mall, they gave us five star tours while their father was able to stay with his infirmed wife.

Our families were able to be a blessing to each other. Often I think of the following Bible truths:

Deut. 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

ONE SIZE FITS ALL

His garments were provided from another not once but twice

Our flight from Columbus, Ohio to the city of Port of Spain, the capital city of the country of Trinidad, had been uneventful until we got to the luggage claim after deplaning.

The airport was not a very large one so finding our luggage was quite easy. Immediately I spotted my two suitcases, but my friend who was traveling with me became alarmed as all the luggage had been removed and his was not there. His first thoughts were that someone else had taken his, but after a few moments came to the conclusion that they had missed the flight.

After a few minutes at the airline office, he was told they could locate where his luggage was at that time and they would call us at the hotel as soon as they found them.

Arriving at the hotel we settled down in our room to relax as our discussion began with what he would wear for the services which were only a couple hours away. Since there would be no more flights until late that evening he began to worry. As I looked at him, I realized we were about the same size so I asked him his size. To my amazement we were identical in all sizes.

My clothes had already been put in the closets and chests when I said, “see if my suits and shirts will fit you?” They fit him better than on me, I thought to myself.

That night as he addressed the congregation, I could not keep but see my garments on my friend and how well they looked on him. This was nearly a miracle because at our size 52 suits it would have been next to impossible for him to have found a store to fit him in such a remote island only miles off the coast of South America.

Well, for a whole week his luggage failed to show up, so he wore my clothes from foundational to outerwear all the time we were in Trinidad. When we landed in Miami on our return, while changing planes his name was paged just before boarding. His luggage had been found and had been put on the returning plane. He picked them up in Columbus with gladness. His last words to me were “Well, at least I won’t have to send them to the cleaners!”

For a number of years I teased him about that trip telling him how well he was dressed and it cost him nothing. He would only smile.

Well, my friend passed away recently and he is wearing heavenly clothes today. He is wearing a “one size fits all” prepared by the Master tailor.

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Rev. 3:5

Cuba in 1988

I WAS NOT A SPY IN CUBA

So far as I know there is only one flight from the United States to Cuba and it is run by a Havana travel company flying Cubans back and forth from Miami to visit family. It only flies from 12:30 to 2 a.m. on Tuesday and even though you have made prearrangements you do not know until moments before takeoff if your name is on the manifest and will be permitted into the country.

About one a.m. my named was called and I was boarded into the plane. Then others continued until it was full. Then we were in the air and it seemed only a few minutes that we began our descend to an airstrip whose lights had just come on where we landed and then sat for a few moments when the police and military met us at the end of the runway. We boarded the buses they were on and were driven to the customs building where we waited until our names were called. Aqui, por favor! I replied. (“Here I am thank you.”) I was given my visa and noticed immediately that the signature on the visa was Castro’s direct officer, named Coronado, a man known for his forceful demeanor. Finally, after completing all the entry requirements, I was met by friends from Spain and Panama who were to be in my traveling entourage and serve as translators. It was a joy to see old friends after this frightful beginning.

By now it is about 2:30 a.m. and we boarded into a small Russian car and headed on a 5 hour drive to the western end of the island with 4 others, and our luggage, in an overloaded vehicle. We had been on the highway for about an hour when two state policemen pulled our car over. They asked for the driver to show his license and then ask him about his passengers. Seeing we were not Cuban, they said, “Are they Russians?” To which he replied with, “No, they are Americano!” Stunned they asked for our passports and visas. I could overhear them while they queried each other. “Americano? Coronado? They were having difficulty as they compare Americans with Coronado the chief assigned to Castro. However, they took a brief look at the trunk and suitcases and told us to go on.

Finally, we arrived to the city where we were to address the churches, speak in the seminary, and in a coming annual convention. Everything went well afterwards, but we knew we were watched daily with even government guests in the services. We were advised to not discuss politics in the cafes since they would seat us in designated tables. Once we were even invited to a city meeting at about 11 p.m. where a session was put on for our behalf. I knew it was done for our benefit since they waited for us to get there before they started.

At the convention without thinking I chose to preach one of my favorite sermons where God told Moses to choose 12 men to go to Canaan to spy out the land that He was giving them after 430 years of bondage in Egypt. Little did I think how this could be misunderstood by communist officials attending. It reads, “And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwells therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.” (Numbers 13:17-20) Afterwards, I was concerned as to their thinking from then on and chose my subjects with more caution.

Since an embargo is held against the country, I was told I could not spend any American dollars, use a visa card, and would be totally at the expense of the Cuban churches where I was visiting. This proved to be hard on the people, but they rejoiced at our presence and many families would send about a cup of beans to help in feeding the other speakers, translators, and me.

I was deeply moved with their compassion because they receive so little to live on. One quarter of a pound of beef a month to eat. One dress, towel or sheet, one pair of shoes a year for the women each year or a pair of pants and a shirt for the men, along with one pair of shoes. Fifteen gallons of gas every three months. And so on.

Each morning my shower consisted of a heated coffee can of water poured over my head and a towel I shared with a missionary friend from Spain who had to bath as I had. We also stayed in a small room together on narrow beds with little room to walk between us.

Our hosts slept on the cement floor in another room.

But one thing over shallowed this, knowing these people even in suppressed condition had a deep belief in God who helped them daily.

The conference choir was filled each night with young people from the many churches whose voices lifted in sounds of praise. I began to notice that the girls had been swapping clothes so one could be dressed differently each night. After the services they would gather around the piano and sing to late at night. The next day you would see them all hand in hand walking around greeting everyone and rejoicing in His goodness.

When I left Cuba I praised God for His blessing on us, but remembered what the Bible says, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

At the American customs in Miami the attendant picked up my large suitcase and immediately realized it was totally empty. His first and only remark was, “I see you had a good trip on the island.” He knew I had given everything away.

Nearly 15 years later I was invited to speak in a large beautiful Cuban church in Miami and had the surprise of my life when I met again the young man who had played in that convention. He introduced me to another who was just a small lad, a minister’s son, who remembered me eating in their home.

Thank the Lord heaven will be a place of free people.

“Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” --Ephesians 4:8

Mexican Ruins still available to visit.

Tulum tells of a long history
--Photo by Eldar Kadymov

My son Randy called me while I was teaching a series of Teacher Training workshops at the Mile High church in Denver and asked if I would like to be his guest on a western Caribbean cruise. I was aware that his wife was pretty far along with their second child and the doctor might not recommend her going. Because of this I had set aside the next two weeks just in case.

His company forwarded the tickets to me by internet in Denver so my flight was direct to Miami the next Monday early.

I was looking forward to spending some time with him and we did have a great time visiting the areas and laying awake at night just talking.
One of the most unusual stops was down the coast of Mexico south of Cancun (which in Spanish means “den of snakes.”), and near the little town of Tulum where one of the most beautiful old Mayan cities still partially stood and the only one overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Perched on a cliff, Tulum is thought to have been a major Mayan port. Here one can see the temple of the descending god and El Castillo a temple on a cliff with commanding splendid views of the coast.
After visiting Tulum we journeyed to Xel-Ha (Mayan for ‘clear water’) the perfect spot for snorkeling and relaxation. This natural aquarium is made up of interconnected clear-water lagoons that form a great habitat for angelfish, lobster, barracuda, parrotfish, French grunts and many others.
My son was excited about snorkeling so got his equipment and headed for the water. The clear water and colorful fish was even pretty for me who had not brought a bathing suit, but enjoyed watching him have-a-ball.
The day came to a close and we headed back to the ship which would travel overnight porting in Key West in the morning.

Key West is a great town to visit with a multitude of stores and famous places to visit. Two of my favorites are the home of Hemingway and the Fisher museum.

But the best part of the trip was the times with my elder son, because life is to short without days of memory.

“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”-- 1 Corinthians 15:2

Remote and beautiful

Cozumel and Cayman Islands

My wife and I enjoy cruises and have been on many of them. We always have more fun when we are with people we know. For a number of years we liked to go on a cruise sponsored by a friend who worked for our National Home Mission Department. He knew how to make you have fun and was always a great host.

One of our last trips with him was a trip to the western Caribbean which included Cozumel, Mexico and the Cayman Islands.

Cozumel is 11.5 miles from the Mexican mainland and one of the largest cities along the Riviera Maya coastline. It is Mexico's largest island and has a mix of cosmopolitan restaurants, hotels and shops set around astounding natural beauty. It has become famous for its superb scuba diving, and as a cruise ship destination.

We departed from our ship on a tender and arrived at the port in Cozumel. Four national leaders all saw carnival looking horses, and like kids we hopped on them, laughing and forgetting we represented a large denomination. After a few minutes of fun we noticed our wives beckoning us to come on. We buttoned our billfold pocket, but it didn’t do much good as we saw many shops with “sell” on the owners mind and “sale” on our mates.

After a day of Cozumel we took the tender back to the ship for our meal and presentation in one of the show auditoriums.

The next morning we woke to the beautiful blue water surrounding Grand Cayman, located about 150 miles south of Cuba. The Cayman Islands are made up of three main islands. The largest and most developed, Grand Cayman, has a population close to 35,000 and is 22 miles long and 8 miles at its widest point. Grand Cayman has become a good tourist destination in recent years. George Town is by far the most modern in the gulf, with more than 500 banks and is the offshore banking center of the Caribbean. Many businesses cater to the locals even though some still stock with the tourist in mind which my wife can attest to.

Cayman has the only green sea-turtle farm of its kind in the world. Once a multitude of turtles swam in the surrounding waters of the islands, but today these creatures are few in number practically extinct elsewhere in the Caribbean and the green sea turtle has been designated an endangered species

Also Grand Cayman's west coast is where you'll find the famous Seven Mile Beach and its expanses of powdery white sand. The beach is litter-free and sans peddlers, so you can relax in an unspoiled, hassle-free atmosphere.

Due to the beauty of the island, it has become a place of retirees drawn to this British Crown Colony and is a site of major condominium development.

While these two islands are great to visit, it is better when it can be done with friends.

“On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city,”- Acts 10:9