by Keith Bassham
I’ve always loved the Noel Smith line of 50 years ago, “We have finally gotten around to Easter.” I cannot remember anticipating Easter as I did Christmas as a kid, but these days I think I have a greater appreciation for the holiday. For the secularists, Easter is a day made for an Irving Berlin musicale, but for the people of God it is the Lord’s Day of all the Lord’s Days. Parades and bonnets are far from our thoughts, and we prefer to think upon an empty grave, a moved stone, a folded shroud, unbelieving disciples, and an enlightening conversation of the Lord with two of his own on the road to Emmaus. Easter Sunday for the Christian is like … well, there is nothing quite like it, is there? It’s like the Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and Thanksgiving all wrapped up in one great celebration. In one wide swath, the observance of the Lord’s resurrection is a declaration of freedom, a call to remember, a realization of the great struggle between good and evil, light and dark, and finally a sense of gratitude for the One who, due to our own helplessness and hopelessness, went into the grave, and in the words of S. M. Lockridge, cleaned it out and made it a pleasant place to wait for the resurrection.
Editor Smith had it right. We should be impatient for Easter.
I am grateful to the pastors, churches, missionaries, and lay people who participated in the February Tribune Offering we received and reported during the meeting in Houston. As the report in this issue states, we were a bit short of reaching our goal, but I am convinced that is as much due to faulty and late reporting as any reflection of financial struggles. No matter what the eventual total amounts to, I am thankful. The Tribune staff and I will serve this Fellowship and continue to do our best to produce a quality publication that speaks well of us. We will do all we can to help your church to be better and more informed.
One of my less than joyful duties is to prepare death notices for the Tribune. This month, I have had to report the homegoing of four, and that is about the average these days. Founder Jim Barta is among those. Ohio pastor Eldon Jones is there. Texas Panhandle preacher Roy Martin and my friend Rick Austin are on those pages. Just as we went to press, we learned of the death of missionary Joan Rohr. While I am in tune with Paul’s sentiment that to be with Christ is far better, it is a painful separation.
I was also affected a couple of weeks ago by the death of Paul Harvey. Mr. Harvey was an American original. He began working in radio while still in high school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He began his News and Comment broadcast in 1951, and by the time of his death, February 28, the broadcast was streamed on the World Wide Web twice a day, carried daily on 1,200 radio stations, 400 Armed Forces Network stations around the world, and 300 newspapers. His broadcasts and newspaper columns have been reprinted in the Congressional Record more than those of any other commentator, and Paul Harvey News has been called the “largest one-man network in the world.”
Harvey, whose real last name was Aurandt, was a fellow Oklahoman, born and raised in Tulsa. He was an avid pilot, and he is credited with coining the word “skyjack.” And oh, yes, what you may have heard is correct. He was the Baptist Bible College graduation speaker in 1963. He was introduced by John Rawlings (who is recovering from quad by-pass as we go to press, by the way), and after the address, Harvey said he “never enjoyed an experience more.” The Tribune reported portions of his speech, and there is a nice photo of Mr. Harvey with former editor James (Jimmy) Combs on page 8 of the June 14, 1963, Tribune.
I am always glad to give a nod to the writers and publishers among us in the independent Baptist movement. Jerry Beaver, pastor of Victory Baptist Church in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, has published Walking Through the Valleys of Life. Writing as a shepherd from a shepherd’s perspective, Jerry has written a thoughtful book about getting through the valleys of life. He says the Bible gives instruction for when rather than if we are in the valleys. You can preview the book and meet Jerry at walkingthroughthevalleysoflife.com.
BBFI missionary Garry Matheny is also nearing a publication date for The Quest for the Great Stones. His book reads like a detective novel, a biblical handbook, a museum guide, and a research manual all in one volume. It details his study of a curious passage in Jeremiah regarding two stones the prophet buried in Egypt. Writing on such a subject could lead to an Indiana Jones-like work of fantasy, but instead you look over Garry’s shoulder as he does some fairly complex sleuthing to get at an unexpected conclusion. I don’t have publication information to share, but you can email Garry at gmmatheny@aol.com.