Elder Ward's Home-Going

I've always liked this picture of Megan and Elder. Not only can you see their genuine kindness and affection toward each other, but Spurgeon's looking over their shoulder. This picture was taken in Elder Ward's study during the 2006 Sovereign Grace Conference. This is how I will remember him -- full of life and warmth.


My dear friend, beloved brother, trusted confidant -- the man who most taught me what it means to be a pastor -- went to his reward on Friday, April 25, 2008. He succumbed to lung cancer after fighting valiantly and went out doing what he loved to do -- preaching.


As many of you know, Elder Ward and David Morris officiated my ordination in May of 2000. Elder was a pastor's pastor, which is why so many of us called by the affectionate and respectful name "Elder." Those who were closest to him just called him "Pop."


Elder Ward was a bold preacher who was committed to extolling the virtues of grace. He had a profound influence on everyone who knew him. He was loved dearly because he loved fiercely. This picture was taken at the Chattanooga conference in March, where Elder preached for three days, teaching a room full of pastors and elders. On Friday we all gathered, prayed over him, laid hands on him, and wept collectively. Afterward, I said to Marlon, "I hope someday to be loved that way." Without missing a beat, Marlon replied, "He has always loved that way." Lesson learned.



His influence was far-reaching and he will be sorely missed. This August will be the 25th anniversary of the Sovereign Grace Bible Conference. This will be the first conference without him. But, every man who stands in that pulpit knows that he is standing in the shadow of a giant. (Info here)



Elder will lie in state this Thursday, 5/1/2008 from noon to 5:00pm. His wake (where the family will receive and greet guests) will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm Thursday. A memorial service will begin at 7:00pm Thursday evening. His home-going service will be Friday at 1:00pm.



I look forward to the next time I can look into his eyes, hug his neck, kiss his cheek, and thank him for his many years of leadership and friendship. In the meantime, I will continue doing the one thing he always adjured me to do -- "Preach the word."



Good-bye, my beloved friend. I'll see you soon.

this, that, and some other things ...

Hello there! How've ya' been? I've been just dandy ... albeit a little busier than normal. No wait ... come to think of it, busy IS normal for me.

I just wanted to bring everyone up to date on several things that fall into the category of "odds and ends."

First off, after several requests, we've added an "events calendar" to the GCA website. While the site serves people around the globe quite effectively, we have been remiss in using it to its full potential for the our local congregation. Lately, between conferences, viruses, holidays, and schedule conflicts, we've had to cancel the occasional mid-week meeting. But not everyone got the news and some folk showed up to an empty building. I hate it when that happens. So, we're going to attempt to keep the calendar up to date and post announcements there whenever something interrupts our regular schedule, as well as let people know about upcoming meetings and times of fellowship.

You can view the calendar via the link on our website, or just click here:

http://www.gcaarchive.com/calendar.shtml

Secondly, I want to thank the folk at Reformed Voices for continuing to produce videos from clips of our preaching and posting them on their site (as well as on YouTube). You can check out the large-and-still-growing library of videos via their site --

http://www.reformedvoices.blogspot.com/

Or via their YouTube page --

http://www.youtube.com/user/diligentile

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=diligentile

There's plenty of material on both of the those pages that you can all benefit from. While you're there, take the time to leave Philip (the man behind Reformed Voices) an encouraging comment. His dedication to sound doctrine is obvious and undeniable. And his approach to spreading the gospel of grace via the Internet and the latest forms of media is both encouraging and inspiring.

Lastly for now, after years of waiting, we have finally procured the URL's that contain our actual name. You can now reach our website via any of the following:

www.salvationbygrace.org
www.salvationbygrace.com
www.gracechristianassembly.org
www.gracechristianassembly.com

However, my email address remains the same:

Jim@SalvationByGrace.org

And, as always, I look forward to hearing from you.

The weather here in Middle Tennessee has taken a turn toward Spring. Cold and Flu Season is finally subsiding. The dogwoods are blooming, the pollen count is rising, the school year is starting to wrap up, God is on His throne and it's all good.

This is the day that the Lord has made, so remember to be glad and rejoice in it.

And that pretty much covers this, that, and the other things ...