Missionary Spotlight

Jeff and Mary Baldwin, Greece

Jeff Baldwin was born in 1965 in West Chicago, Illinois. One year later, his parents arrived in Athens Greece as Greater Europe Mission’s first missionaries to that country, with the intent of founding a Bible Institute, a goal that came to fruition in 1980.

As a missionary kid, Jeff was sent to Greek public schools all his life, so he grew up fully immersed in the Greek culture and language. Although he found the Lord at an early age, there were many times when he was not pleased with the decision of his parents to be missionaries, and often resented the fact that he had to grow up in another country. But at age 15, at a youth conference, he was moved to dedicate the rest of his life to Christian service. With this in mind, he enrolled at Moody Bible Institute, and then later, Dallas Theological Seminary.

In his first year of study at Moody, it became clear to him that the vision of his parents was to be his own, that throughout the years God had been preparing him for this position. So, for the next 11 years, Jeff prepared through education, as well as through two years in the pastorate, to become a teacher at the Greek Bible Institute. He and his wife Mary have been serving there since 1995.

While there Jeff has taught many different subjects in Old Testament, New Testament, and theology. He also preaches almost every Sunday at the Greek Evangelical Church of the Northern Suburbs of Athens, and is invited to speak at youth conferences and Bible conferences throughout Greece. Jeff was appointed director of the Greek Bible Institute in 2004.

Currently, in addition to the challenges of leading the Bible School, Jeff is working on his doctorate at the Evangelical Theological Faculty, in Leuven, Belgium. Jeff and Mary have two boys and a girl: William (16), Paul (13), and Danae (11).

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Ligon In His Own Words

At the very fine blog site, Cal.vini.st, Nathan Bingham and Andrew Courtis conducted an interview with our own senior minister. It is definitely worth a read.

Insightful. Edifying. God Glorifying.

Check out the first installment of the interview here.


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Missionary Spotlight

David and Stacy Bergmark, Sweden


David grew up in Skelleftea, Sweden. He came to the United States for a semester of high school. The dry spiritual climate in Sweden led him to return to the States to grow in grace. He majored in Christian Philosophy at Belhaven College in Jackson, MS.

David was actively involved in RUF at Belhaven and the youth ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson. David went on to receive his seminary education at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson.

While in the U.S., David and several Swedish students began praying consistently for Sweden. It was during this time that David began to sense God’s will for him to be a missionary. His heart is drawn to his home country, where less than 4% of the population attend church.

Stacy was raised in Atlanta, Georgia. After being saved at a young age, she has continually grown in the Lord. Stacy has always been actively involved in the church and started contemplating world missions as a result of numerous short missions trips, as well as a year mission trip to Russia.

David and Stacy were married in May of 1998. They have now returned to Sweden and are involved in leading a church plant there as part of their greater vision to see a new Reformed church movement develop. Their team’s vision includes campus ministry, sports ministry, and a classical Christian school.

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Missionary Spotlight

Bill and Marion Baldwin, Greece

Bill was born in St. Louis, Missouri and moved to Houston, Texas when he was 15. In college his roommate invited him to church and there he made a public confession of his faith.

After college, with a BS in Religion he attended Moody Bible Institute for one year and then Dallas Seminary where he received his MTh. While at seminary he met Bob Evans, founder of Greater Europe Mission and felt that GEM's thrust of starting Bible Colleges all over Europe was a wise idea. For some reason God placed Greece on Bill’s heart. GEM expected all candidates to attend Missionary Internship, a 7-month training program for would-be missionaries, in Detroit, which is where Bill & Marion met.

Marion was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She graduated from Toronto Bible College and then became a registered nurse before going to Missionary Internship.

Bill served as youth pastor at West Chicago Bible church for one year after their marriage and then a year later, having raised their support, Bill & Marion left for Greece with a very simple job description: start a Bible Institute. So....that's what they did....and therein lies a LONG story of learning a language, gaining the trust of the Greek evangelicals, finding a 'home' for the Greek Bible Institute, finding teachers and students and the money to pay for it all....GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL. Bill has taught all the Theology courses at the Bible college, Marion used to teach a course to young women, but now does the book-keeping for the college for Greater Europe Mission.

Today the director of the college is their son Jeff. The graduates are pastors of the majority of the Greek Evangelical churches in Greece. They head up most para-church organizations in Greece, and are also serving as missionaries.

Bill and Marion’s four children have all married Greeks and 2 of them are also missionaries with GEM in Greece. Thank God they are all committed Christians, married to people from committed Christian homes. They also have 11 grandchildren.

Bill & Marion first heard of First Presbyterian church in Jackson, Mississippi when their then pastor, Don Patterson, asked Bill to lead a tour group he was bringing to Greece. Bill and Marion got a burden for Greece and even sent Van and Alice Rusling to Greece to work with the GEM team for a few years. Van actually taught Marion her job!

Please pray for Bill and Marion as they serve in Greece.

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Missionary Spotlight

Tom and Ann Austin, South Africa

Tom was born and reared in Kingsport, TN. He grew up within the Presbyterian Church (PCUS) and after high school volunteered for a year’s service to the Presbyterian mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was there that God used Tom’s experiences on the field and his relationships with the missionaries to call him to salvation. It was also in Congo that God began to develop within Tom a heart for missions, especially for Africa.

After the year in Congo, he entered King College in Bristol, TN where he graduated in 1970 with a degree in economics. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he greatly benefited from the Navigator ministry. For the next 8 years, he was involved with the Navigators at Ft. Bragg, Ft. Benning, and Vanderbilt University. During these years, involvement with missionaries and ministering to foreign nationals increased his heart for missions, which developed into a sense of call. In 1980 he entered seminary at Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions at CIU. Tom and Ann met while they were both studying there. In July 1983, they were married after Tom graduated with an M. Div. in cross-cultural studies. Later that year they were accepted as career missionaries by Mission to the World, and Tom was ordained by Palmetto Presbytery.
The Austins arived in Nairobi, Kenya in April, 1985. From 1987 to 1995, Tom was on loan to the Nairobi International School of Theology. There he taught missions, leadership development, church growth, management courses, and other practical theology courses and was heavily involved in the school administration. During this period, he earned a D. Min. in urban missions from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. In late 1995, MTW asked Tom to help develop a new model of theological education for Africa. This challenge involves developing a multifaceted ministry in theological education on the continent. In addition in mid 1999 Tom was asked to take the position of principal of the Bible Institute of South Africa, an MTW partner institution located near Cape Town, South Africa. He held this position until the end of 2004, taking the college through a period of transition and development in which the 83 year old Bible college became African in its vision and focus as well as in its staff and its student body. Tom is now serving MTW throughout sub-Saharan Africa concentrating on coordinating, facilitating and guiding MTW ministries in theological education.

Ann

Ann was born and reared in rural Chester County, S.C. and grew up within the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church there. It was while she was in college that she came to know Christ as her Lord and Savior. She received a degree in speech pathology in 1972 from Columbia College in Columbia, SC and was a public school speech pathologist in Berkley, Chester, and York counties of South Carolina. While living in Athens, Greece, she worked with a TEFL program for the U.S. Navy. With a view toward missions, she and her first husband entered seminary at Columbia Graduate School (CIU). After her husband died in 1981, she and daughter Anna (then 4 years old) remained at CIU, and Ann entered the M. Div. program. There she met Tom and in July 1983, they were married.
While living in Nairobi, Kenya Ann taught Bible courses to the wives of the M. Div. and M.A. students at the Nairobi International School of Theology. She taught such courses as Exodus, a survey of the New Testament from Acts to Revelation, and the Life of Christ every year in the Women’s Program at NIST. She also led a women’s Bible study and helped with teacher training at their church, Community Presbyterian Church, Madaraka. Since their moved to South Africa she has been involved in a variety of ministries. When they were ministering with the Bible Institute of South Africa, she led the faculty wives in developing a ministry to the women at the Bible college. She also began a ministry of speaking to women’s groups in the area, which is ongoing.
Tom and Ann are the parents of two daughters: Anna, who is married to David Von and Rebecca, a student at Covenant College.

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Missionary Spotlight

Stan and Donna Armes, South Africa

In the past year, the Armes have had a desire to take a year of reflection and ask God what he would want them to do for the next few years. Currently, the Armes are on HMA (Home Ministry Assignment) from Jan –July 2009 and will be living in Springfield, ILL.

Stan had been involved with teaching several classes in the past year: Missions, Introduction to Ethics, Advanced Ethics, O.T. Historical Books, and the Doctrines of Christ and Salvation. He also was responsible for the Practical Placement Programme which places students in churches under the leadership of a local pastor. These students are able to get training and experience in preaching and counseling, and in preparing for and leading worship services.

One of the highlights for Stan and Donna is teaching marriage seminars. A shocking statistic in Port Elizabeth, the city where they lived, was that it has been called the “Divorce Capital of the World” where up to 70% of the marriages end up in divorce.

When they return to South Africa, Donna and Stan desire to teach part-time at the Bible College and then spend their other time putting together a basic course on the Biblical view of marriage. They want this course to have a particular African flavor so it can be used in other parts of Africa, as well as South Africa. The Armes believe that if people in Africa get marriage and the family working on biblical principles, it will positively influence the rampant crime and HIV issues in South Africa.

Specific prayer requests
1. Pray for a comfortable and reliable car during their time on HMA. Stan is putting together a Power Point presentation that will adequately describe what they have been doing in South Africa.
2. Finishing up the work in South Africa and with the college. Please pray for the students and their continued sustenance in biblical teaching.
3. Pray for preparation for the marriage training when they return to Africa.

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Market Day of the Soul

Disciplined Duty vs. the Lie of Legalism

Wise words from John Piper.

". . . the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline?

You can call it that.

It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.

It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.

It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.

It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.

It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.

It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.

It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.

It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.

It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.
I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there spiritual are means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had."

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A Servant on Service

Marcus Wilson, our new Chaiman of the Board of Deacons, has been inviting fellow deacons to give devotions at the start of their meetings.

Tim Threadgill gave such an excellent one at the first meeting of this year that I wanted to share it with you. It is based upon Jim Boice's book, Christ's Call To Discipleship.

Diaconate Meeting
January 12, 2009

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
John 13:12-17

· “It is the duty of the deacons to minister: (i) to those who are in need, (ii) to the sick, (iii) to the friendless, and (iv) to any who may be in distress. BCO, 9-1.

· HOW can we serve others?

1. Listen to others.

· Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “It is God’s love for us that he not only gives us his word but also lends us his ear. So it is his work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him. Christians often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking.”

· James 3:6 => “The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.”

2. Respond to what we hear by helping one another.

· When we listen, we often learn that people are hurting, thus triggering our duties as deacons.

· James Boice said: “The problem is that helping people is seldom convenient. We have our own schedules and our own hours, and days are full. This is perhaps truer of our time than earlier times due to the frantic pace of modern life, but our situation is not fundamentally different from what people of earlier days experienced. It is always inconvenient to help others. It was inconvenient for the Samaritan in Jesus’ parable who helped the poor man who had fallen prey to thieves. He had his own journey. He too was on the way to Jericho. He too had business or family obligations. But he interrupted these. He stopped his journey, attended to the wounded man, deviated from his itinerary in order to take the victim to an inn, spent the night, paid for his care, and then planned to return the same way after his own business was settled. This is what service means. It means putting others’ well-being ahead of our own." [JMB, p. 64]

· Bonhoeffer said: “It is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.”

3. Bear one another’s burdens.

· Paul tells the Galatians in 6:2 to “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

· To do that effectively, we have to create a relationship/atmosphere of trust and acceptance.

· Boice issues this warning: “To bear another’s burdens, particularly those of an extremely disoriented and needy person, means involvement with him/her at our own cost and inconvenience, which means we will only be able to bear it by a genuine crucifixion of ourselves.”

4. Speak God’s truth to the other person.

· Although we must be good listeners (#1), when it is time for us to speak, “Christians are different from others at this point because we have something genuinely helpful to say – because we can speak God’s words as we have heard them in Scripture.

· Even though we are imperfect and confused ourselves, “fear of our own proneness to failure should not keep us from saying what is necessary at the proper time.” In Romans 15:14, Paul writes: I myself am satisfied about you, brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.” In other words, Paul is saying the church already knew the truths he was writing. As Christians, we are called to give one another practical, real-life wisdom and counsel. This is especially true of us as church officers.

· Of course, on occasion (as we minister to those in distress and those in need) we must tell our brothers of a sin in their lives. When we do so, we should be quick to note God’s words in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

5. Restore one another.

· In doing so, we should approach our brother in meekness, gentleness and great love, recognizing that we are capable of the same sin ourselves.

· Speaking of “gentleness,” Harry Ironside: “If you are going to wash someone else’s feet, we must be careful of the temperature of the water.” Neither too hot nor too cold.

John 13:17=> “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”


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Missions Conference Update (2)

This Sunday will conclude the annual Missions Conference.We will have the opportunity to sit under the ministry of the Word through Mike Campbell, the Senior Minister of our sister congregation, Redeemer Church. We will also have the joy of indicating our financial commitment to the support of missions through Faith Promise. And following the evening service, the leaders for the Short Term Summer Missions Trips will gather in Hutton Chapel with information about the trips planned for this summer. Come hungry and expectantly!


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