Personal reflections on former President Jimmy Carter

By Filings on

“dozens and dozens of stories were posted to recount and evaluate the presidency of Jimmy Carter, who had traveled from the U.S. Navy to the work of a peanut farmer to Georgia governor to the White House, most noting that he was quite effective as a former president while his four years as president were evaluated less favorably.” - Baptist Press

In Memory of Dr. John Hartog II

By Paul J. Scharf on

Thirty years ago this summer, Lynnette and I set out to visit Faith Baptist Theological Seminary.

When I was investigating seminaries, a trusted pastor friend told me that Faith must be good, as Dr. John Hartog II was teaching there. When we went for a visit, I asked about meeting with some of the faculty, and they called Dr. Hartog first. He left his beloved garden and yard projects and put on a shirt and tie just to meet with us in his office. There he regaled us with tales from his years of training at Dallas Theological Seminary, as well as his time in the doctoral program at Grace Theological Seminary.

Maynard Belt with the Lord

By Filings on

“Maynard was president of the Fellowship of Missions since 2011. Previously he was state representative of the Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches from 1990 to 2006—the longest tenure of any MARBC representative” - GARBC

Remembering Dr. Jimmy DeYoung

By Paul J. Scharf on

This past Sunday, I spoke in a small church in northeast Wisconsin. Knowing of the love that many in that congregation have for Bible prophecy, I shared that Dr. Jimmy DeYoung had been announced as the featured speaker for this fall’s IFCA Wisconsin Regional meetings in October.

I did not realize until that evening that—by the time I gave that announcement—Dr. DeYoung was already experiencing that which the Apostle Paul described in Phil. 1:21:

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.1

And, as Paul also wrote in 2 Cor. 5:8:

Theologian and churchman J.I. Packer dies at age 93

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“Packer authored hundreds of Christian books and articles over more than half a century, but he’s perhaps best known for his 1973 work Knowing God. Publishers have sold more than 1.5 million copies since the book’s release and have translated it into more than a dozen languages.” - WORLD

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Hope Fulfilled, Treasure Gained

By Paul J. Scharf on

No one will ever replace Dr. Myron J. Houghton.

“Dr. Myron” was my seminary theology professor. He served at Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary from 1983 until his retirement in 2019.

He died on Tuesday, less than two weeks from his 79th birthday.

There are, in fact, many aspects of his life that can never be replicated—such as his wit, his unique life experiences and the incredible rapport that he had with his students who, through the years, became an increasingly smaller fraction of his age. He even spent most of his evenings going out to dinner with one, or sometimes a small group, of them.

Ravi Zacharias Dies of Cancer

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“He preached in more than 70 countries and authored more than 30 books in his 48-year career, teaching Christians to engage with skeptics and arguing that the Christian worldview has robust answers to humanity’s existential questions.” - CToday

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