Telltale Tidings 1: "High 5:00"

Tabernacle Baptist Church of Hickory, NC

"Telltale Tabernacle Tidings" (part 1)

Jesse's texts came in more frequently and with more urgency … “We need to meet before you leave.”  “You must come at 5 pm.”

Just before we pulled out with truck and trailer to head to nearby Statesville, I stopped by Jesse's office to confirm with him about a meeting with church leadership that was to take place after we returned from conducting two creation conferences in 2017. He confirmed with me that the meeting would be fine after we returned home.

However, something happened behind the scenes…yet unknown to us…that quickly changed things! Mr. Treasurer began sending me more urgent texts letting me know I had to meet at 5 pm, a time after work when the deacons said they could meet. They failed to consider our present schedule and the needs we had at that time as for months we’d been planning two conferences. The first one was that week at Eastside Baptist in Statesville, and the second one was the following week at Tabernacle in Virginia Beach.

Though the first conference was only 30 minutes away from our home / home church, the desired meeting with church officials would of necessity have taken 30 minutes or less in order for me to get back to the conference and make sure of our setup, have supper with the guest, and make sure of other plans, etc. The fact remains that the impatience of the treasurer and anyone else behind the scenes demonstrated a complete lack of consideration for our ministry, for what we were doing that week, and for the purposes of that conference to promote foundational truth in NC and around the country! This was a HUGE physical and emotional distraction during an extremely busy time for us! As I was on the phone seeking counsel from my father-in-law, I vividly recall him saying,

“You do not need to meet with them.”

I was stunned. This was a new thought that was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment! I had been under a “cloud” of a burden to help others see truth who were not able to see, whose eyes have been blinded by many years of man-made church tradition.

For me, I hadn’t been able to see the proverbial “forest for the trees” as for 8 years I tried to “build bridges” with Scott Hooks the new pastor, and with others who I didn’t realize had been bent on not receiving us, our work, or creation truth. For some time, I had the mistaken idea that since I’d known many of the church families for 20+ years, and some since my days in high school there more than 35 years ago, that they would be true friends. However, it was as John described of Diotrophes…

"I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church" (3 Jo vs. 9-10).

By nature, I am more of a people pleaser and don’t like to make waves. There are few who actually relish conflict, especially with other believers. But truth must trump relationship.

The "you don't need to meet" assertion from my father-in-law, who has had many years of ministry experience combined with occasions in dealing with cantankerous folk, was the key to me putting things into perspective mentally for the conference. To a great degree, I was relieved to go forth “with power, with love, and with a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7) for the purpose of speaking forth truth during the conference.

For the time being, the meeting would have to wait until after the second conference in VA and from there I would submit my responses in writing. With the help of my father-in-law, I produced a 7-page letter I sent to the head deacon that had absolutely no response from anyone at the church!

In the beginning of Creation Family Ministries at Tabernacle (NC), the pastor who married us there in 1993, Phil Vos, had gone to be with the LORD in 2008. He was a true friend and a friend to anyone whether he agreed with them or not. He truly was servant-hearted, loving people and most of all the LORD. He loved to preach God’s Word, and he was a “fix-it” man whom you might see somewhere around the school fixing a broken vacuum cleaner!

As over a few years we began to learn the importance of creation truth, Pastor Vos graciously allowed us to bring in our first creation speaker on a Sunday, Jim Gardner of Canopy Ministries in Mountain City, TN. However, a short video illustrating evil that Brother Gardner used in his presentation caused a bit of consternation among some church families with young children. That reaction was instrumental in Brother Gardner reconsidering that video and later removing it from his presentation. But the damage had been done and Brother Vos was hesitant to have in any more creation speakers for awhile.

Over time, Pastor Vos allowed us to conduct a monthly “creation fellowship,” and we eventually we were blessed to sponsor our first conference, Secrets of the Sea, which took place the night of his funeral after a months-long battle with leukemia. At that time, the leadership of Dr. Joel Spencer was truly helpful to the church, and we were encouraged as he excitedly promoted our first big event!

Within a year, Tabernacle chose Scott Hooks as pastor, a man who’d earned a business degree from the University of TN and who, after obtaining his Bible degree became assistant to Clarence Sexton at Temple Baptist / Crown College in Powell, TN. Being that the change to new leadership took place during the summer, we didn’t officially get to meet him until after we returned from our western trip that year (2009).

However, a bad situation happened in UT that year resulted in a bad situation at home!

See part 2, "Payson Popery" (Coming Soon!)