A tribute to Missionary Elmer Deal
The following tribute was delivered during Elmer Deal’s memorial service May 8, 2015, at Tulsa Baptist Temple, Tulsa, OK
by Mike Randall – Former Editor of the Baptist Bible Tribune (1995-2002)
For over a year and a half, I was involved in the process of helping Elmer Deal write his and Mary’s life story. Elmer and I were in contact by phone or email on an almost daily basis. By completion, I spent approximately 1,000 hours in interviews, research, discussions, and writing. As you can imagine, I came to know Elmer and Mary quite well. His joke that I knew his life better than he did isn’t possible, but I think I know his and Mary’s lives well enough to make some valid observations. I believe several principles guided Elmer (along with Mary) during his six decades of missionary ministry.
The principle of Biblical authority
His book, Out of the Mouth of the Lion, demonstrates that Elmer and Mary did their best to live life according to the Scriptures. Since their conversion and especially since their surrender to become missionaries, they read their Bible daily. Each year they read through the entire Bible. They discussed it and attempted to practice what it taught. It was their final authority for faith and practice. They constantly claimed its promises in life and prayer. Declaring the Bible’s Christ and Gospel was their ministry.
On Sunday, September 17, 1961, crossfire from opposing forces nearly destroyed the home where they hid under mattresses. They prayed for safety, claiming the promises of Psalm 91:15, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.” They felt a wonderful comfort and peace. At that exact time, their home church had an unusual prayer meeting for their safety. God answered. They were delivered from possible death or injury.
The principle of personal accountability
All his life, Elmer Deal accepted the fact that he was accountable. He was accountable to his parents, accountable to his teachers, accountable when in the army, accountable to his wife and family. Ultimately, he knew he was accountable to God. This made it easier for him to accept Christ as his savior. This made it easier for him to tithe, giving God ten percent of all God gave him. This helped him surrender to become a missionary. This made it easier for him to be hard working, honest, and reliable. Accountability was the reason he wrote letters to his supporting churches and filed monthly financial reports. Accountability made it easier for him to remain a missionary despite difficulties, defeats, dangers, threats, and losses. It helped him write a daily journal that became the basis of his autobiography.
The principle of the Golden Rule
Elmer Deal tried to live by the Golden Rule, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12). He and Mary were constantly doing little things for others. They hosted guests. They helped people in need. They gave or loaned money and paid the bills of other missionaries or acquaintances. Sometimes they were repaid, sometimes not. It earned them a good testimony from the people they were trying to reach (Luke 6:35). Because they treated others well, the Deals were often treated well themselves.
The principle of sowing and reaping
Elmer Deal believed in the principle of sowing and reaping. He saw his life as an attempt to sow as much good seed as possible, to reap a good harvest. This caused him to take time to teach his converts to read, to know the Bible, and to share it. This caused him to emphasize honesty and a man keeping his vows to be faithful to his wife. This caused him to invest in the children of his ministry. He often gave time and funds to Kipili, Gregoire’s orphaned son, and the other children of his people. Mary taught the children and their mothers. Elmer led youth meetings to reach young people. He encouraged youth to get educated. Although he focused on planting and building churches, he didn’t discourage his pastors from having schools. He lived with the end in view, looking for a result in several years. This was one of the motivations for all the giving they did to their pastors, pastors’ wives, families, and others. Galatians 6:7 says, “… for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” This practice brought amazing results in their ministry.
The principle of Christian friendship
Over and over again in his life, Elmer Deal befriended, encouraged, and helped non-believers and other Christian missionaries who were not of his denomination. He and Mary had discernment and ability to accept others, maintain their own convictions, and reach out in Christian love. This opened many doors. In fact, it was the written invitation from Brethren missionaries that helped establish them in the country in 1960. Years later in 1987, more written commendations from Brethren and Methodist missionaries helped Elmer and Mary’s mission receive government recognition. Their friendship with non-believing businessmen helped them handle funds, obtain supplies, secure safer housing, and other assistance. They earned respect and assistance because of their beneficial attitude and treatment of others, including rebel soldiers. Elmer said his actions followed the example of Christ, who identified himself as “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). He also cited Mark 9:38-41 and Romans 12:20-21, saying, “We have enough enemies. We don’t need to make more by the way we treat others who don’t believe as we do.”
The principle of Gladys Brown
Gladys Brown was Elmer Deal’s favorite teacher from high school. He spoke with her after he surrendered to be a missionary. She encouraged him with these words, “Mind your own business. Stay out of the way. Do what God wants you to do.” These three ideas stuck. They helped guide his ministry. He stayed at doing the things that needed to be done, the grunt work of day-to-day ministry. He didn’t toot his own horn or seek recognition. He sought the Lord and His guidance. God answered with protection and provision. Elmer felt Mrs. Brown’s admonition paralleled Paul, who wrote, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands …” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).
The principle of the Good Samaritan
Many times in his life, Elmer demonstrated the spirit of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Early in his Congo ministry, Elmer was driving home from a preaching opportunity at the jail and came upon a crowd of Africans. A native on a bicycle had been hit by a car and was lying on the road. An elderly white man had been assaulted by the crowd when he tried to intercede for the Europeans, whose car was involved. At his own peril, Elmer rushed upon the scene, dispursed the crowd and took both the injured to the hospital. Another time, Elmer and Mary were staying at a cabin on Lake Kivu. In the morning, they found a badly beaten Batusi woman on their porch. As they put her in their vehicle, a crowd of Hutus gathered and warned them not to help their enemy. They shouted and threw rocks as the Deals drove away.
The principle of contentment
Elmer and Mary Deal learned early in their ministry to do without. They lived by the principle of contentment stated in 1 Timothy 6:7-8, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” After national independence in 1960, Elmer experienced the agony of finding their first African home vandalized. Windows were smashed, doors broken in, and contents stolen or ransacked. Sadly, he wrote Mary, who had been evacuated, and reported that many of her cherished possessions were gone. She didn’t even cry. Several times more, when they had to be evacuated to safety, looters took most, if not all their possessions. They learned that contentment comes from being in the center of God’s will, not from being in the center of material things.
The principle of divinely appointed authority
Romans 13:1-7 says, “… the powers that be are ordained of God … Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake … Render therefore to all their dues …” Elmer believed they must function within the framework of the government and laws of the country. In instance after instance, he and Mary submitted to army, police, judges, magistrates, bureaucrats, and officials. They did it to evict an illegal tenant from an apartment they rented. They did it to get in and out of the country. They did it dealing with rebel soldiers. They did it to settle property disputes. They did it to obtain government recognition of their mission. They did it, though it required extreme patience. It was what the Bible said to do.
The principle of indigenous leadership
As a young Christian, Elmer Deal learned from Bob Geisinger, the director of the John 3:16 Mission, that to minister, you must trust those you have won to Christ (2 Timothy 2:2). Elmer lived by this principle in the Congo, entrusting African leaders like Gregoire, Musa, Bulaya Jean, Delphin, Matembo, Mukendi, Twite, Celestin, and others with money, responsibility, and authority. From time to time he was disappointed, but often he was rewarded for empowering indigenous leadership. These are the leaders who spread the Gospel beyond their area and helped Elmer Deal plant 175 churches in the Congo. Elmer believed the success of future ministry depends on godly, trained, and empowered indigenous leadership.
The legacy of a principled life
In six decades of ministry, Elmer Deal survived four civil wars, numerous personal perils, losses, triumphs, tragedies, and achievements. His spiritual leadership, godly influence, and wisdom brought thousands of Africans to Christ, planted 175 churches in four provinces, established many schools, one Bible institute, two medical clinics, and a Fellowship of Congo churches who continue his work.
Elmer’s life revealed God’s direction, provision, protection, providence, and grace. When the Simba Rebels took control of the Deal’s area in 1964, they announced that any Americans were to be arrested and executed. For three harrowing weeks, Elmer and Mary were under house arrest with other missionaries. When British citizens were evacuated, so were the Deals, their identity undetected when Simba Chief Soumialot personally gave them permission to leave. During their whole confinement, not one African would tell the Simbas that the Deals were American. Such is the legacy of Elmer Deal’s principled life.
Paul could have written 2 Timothy 4:17 about Elmer, “Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.”
We have lost and heaven has gained a great hero and missionary giant.