165th ANNIVERSARY OF PRUDE'S CREEK BAPTIST

165th ANNIVERSARY OF PRUDE'S CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH In October, 1989 I submitted my resignation as Pastor Of Second Baptist in Bessemer to be effective Jan 1, 1990. We had served there 9 years and were sure it was time for us to move on even though we had no idea what the Lord had in store. In His timing, we were able to acquire The Master's Shop ( a Christian book store) from Bill Phares in Februaary of 1990. The store was established in 1967. We would continue in that ministry for 15 years until we closed the store in May of 95 due to health reason. During this same period we continue serving churches bi-vocationally. In May of 1992 I preached as a supply at Prudes's Creek Baptist Church and, on May 31 became the pastor. We had 3 services weekly. We remained as pastor a little over 3 years, until 1995. We were so looking forward to being with you today but, once again my health would not allow it. Here a few of my Memories: * There was no easy way to get here. You don't JUST GO BY THERE UNLESS YOU ARE LOST. * The MudCreek International Airport. * Finding THE CREEK. * The beauty of the Church and the Cemetery. * The love and warmth of God's Family at PCBC. * Wendall and Nola Hyche. Wendall was the only deacon and most energetic Sr. Adult I have ever known. Nola was indeed his helpmeet and I loved her CANDIED sweet potatoes, among many other sweet memories. I WILL FORGET SOME IF I TRY TO REMEMBER ANY MORE NAMES. * The Annual Mother's Day Celebrations with dinner on the ground. * In early 1993 we sold her house, Carolyn retired from teaching and we moved into the Church's pastorium. This was our first time to live in the COUNTRY and it was a delight. We loved the quiet, the wildlife (except the pesky armadillos). Our home being burglarized was not too pleasant. Overall this was a great experience. * Saturday, March 1993 we woke up to THE BLIZZARD OF 93. Also called THE STORM OF THE CENTURY and THE 93 SUPERSTORM. I think we may have been the very last to have power restored. * The many WATER MEETINGS at the Church. * In 1995 we moved to LAKE VIEW and later that year we left Prude's Creek. But Prude's Creek has never left us. With Paul I would say "I THANK MY GOD UPON EVERY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU" * I was thrilled to hear of Lord's increase at PCBC and that Bro Nolan Stinnett is your pastor Perhaps the Lord will allow us to meet together here once again. If not I will see you all in HEAVEN. ..............BE SURE YOU HAVE A RESERVATION. JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY, THE ONLY TRUTH AND THE ONLY LIFE.

CREATIVE MINDS BY JOE MCKEEVER

Joe McKeever

"Your words have stood men on their feet." Job 4:4

March 28, 2009

Creative Minds, Great Quotes

"Tragically, in most churches the pain of change is greater than the pain of ineffectiveness." -- Thom Rainer in "Simple Church."

My longtime friend, Max Youngblood of Bessemer, Alabama, sent us a delightful thing from the Birmingham area. The Jefferson County Commission is proposing a "non-user fee" for residents who do not use the county sewer system. Well, sir, that gave restaurant owner Tasos Touloupis an idea. The owner of Ted's Restaurants -- one at 328 12th St. South and the other at 1801 4th Avenue South -- has proposed a "non-diner's fee."

The way it works is this: Ted's will maintain a record of customers. At the end of each month, his bookkeeper will send a $12 NDF invoice to all residents of Jefferson County who did not eat at Ted's during the month.

Sounds like a deal, doesn't it.

In these times of economic uncertainty, our churches will need to become more creative in generating income. How does a "non-member's tithing" system sound?

Up in Alexandria, Louisiana, my friend Devona Able was at her computer the other evening. Her wonderful eight-year-old Grace Anne, looking over her shoulder, noticed an e-mail from "Dr. Joe McKeever." She asked, "Is he a doctor?" Mom answered, "Yes, but not like Dr. Marzullo (her pediatrician)."

Grace Anne said, "Oh, so he must be a doctor like Dr. Brooks (Calvary, Alexandria). They're like doctors of love because they teach people what love really means and that it comes from Jesus."

"Yeah, baby," mom said. "Something like that."

Out of the mouths of babes. (So, just call me "Doctor Love." Wait, on second thought, that sounds like a rap artist.)

Plundering the office closet, I ran across my scribbled notes from the one time I attended the annual pastors conference at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (that would be May 30-June 1, 1978). I had already "latched onto" (preacher talk for "I really, really liked this guy!") Warren Wiersbe who was soon to transition from pastoring Chicago's Moody Memorial Church to becoming the on-air teacher for the Back-to-the-Bible broadcast.

Wiersbe's message, based on Psalm 78, was titled "What a Difference the Right Man Makes!" It's great stuff, and wears well three decades later.

Introduction: When God wanted to

--start a Jewish nation, He called a shepherd (Abraham).

--Build the Jewish nation, He called a shepherd (Jacob).

--Protect the Jewish nation, He called a shepherd (Joseph).

--Straighten out the Jewish nation, He called a shepherd (David).

That's still God's answer to the basic needs in the ministry today. Psalm 78:72 goes: "So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands."

I. God's people have a need: feeding and leading.

That's why shepherds exist for the flock. David's predecessor, Saul, was not a shepherd, but a hireling. (See John 10:12-13) The opposite of feeding is exploiting. 
If you don't feed the sheep, they start eating things they should not.

II. God has a need: a man to be the shepherd for His people.

But not just any man. David was "a man after God's own heart." God is a shepherd, Jesus a shepherd, Paul and Peter were shepherds.

--A shepherd is a servant. No one has the right to lead who hasn't learned how to serve. Novice's profession is louder than his possession.

--a shepherd is compassionate. Psalm 78:71 "following ewes with their young"

--a shepherd is skillful. "the skillfulness of his hands" (vs. 72).

III. God's man has a need: "integrity" -- 78:72

"Integrity" means united, wholeness, oneness. It is the opposite of a divided life. (James 1)

--Jesus spoke of this in the Sermon on the Mount. "Seek first the Kingdom of God." A united heart. "If the eye is single." A united mind. "No one can serve two masters." A united will.

--Put to death the alternatives. Make the decision once and for all.

--The result is the integrity of person, purpose, preaching.

Jerry Jenkins spoke at that conference. This was years before he and Tim LaHaye made history in Christian publishing with their "Left Behind" series. Two quotes from Jerry:

"Most people do not want to write; they want to have written."

"Writing a book is like giving birth to a bale of barbed wire." (And that's what I'm trying to do this year! Triplets even!)

And the inimitable Vance Havner spoke. (This veteran evangelist, in a class by himself in every category imaginable, always made me think of something Alice Longworth Roosevelt said of Calvin Coolidge: "He looks like he was weaned on a pickle." He was a prophet in many ways.)

Dr. Havner gave us four tests for preachers: truth, temptation, trouble, time. He said, "These don't get much attention from pulpit committees, but the Lord puts a lot of value on them."

Truth: Most of our preachers think of truth as a body of doctrine, but it's actually the Lord Jesus Christ.

Temptation: There's no sin in being tempted. Jesus was tempted.

Trouble: The storm tests the house. "If your faith is no good in the dark, it's not worth much in the daylight."

In Hebrews 11, in the summary toward the end of the chapter, there are two groups: those who won great victories and those who died for the Lord. Be ready for either.

"God did not die to make us happy, but to make us holy."

Problems will either make you better or bitter.

Time: Steadfastness. Can you see a job through? (Dr. Havner spoke of wanting to die before he lost control of his faculties. Asked us to pray for him to that end. He died in 1986, but I do not know the details.) He said, "The Lord preserves the saints, not pickles them."

The lineup of other speakers that week included Howard Hendricks, John MacArthur, David Howard, Erwin Lutzer, S. M. Lockridge, and Ross Rhoads (seven years later, Ross and I became neighboring pastors in Charlotte). I heard as many as I could.

What was I doing traveling all the way from Columbus, Mississippi, to Chicago for that conference? Frankly, I had become bored with all the SBC conferences I had been attending. The same speakers were on all the programs. So, I decided to go somewhere different. It was a grand week and its memory is fresh today. As I recall, the fee for the conference was around $60, and on the last day, they gave us that amount in books from their publishing house. These folks do know how to bless a preacher!

MARY JEAN REEVES

The other day we learned we had lost another friend.  Mary Jean Reeves lost her battle with liver disease.  When we came  to Second Baptist Church of Bessemer to pastor in 1982 we soon became friends with Charles and Mary Jean.  As I think about that I became aware that there are for too few folks we can count as 'close friends' in all the places we have served.  Who are they?  People who go out of their way to make you feel welcome, invite you into  their homes, and are not pretentious.  What you see is what you get.  They are real.

If you really want to know somebody, go camping together.  I remember so well how we enjoyed each other's company around a campfire on a cool fall evening.  Someone cooked a big pot of beans, another prepared mac and cheese, another cornbread, another slaw, etc, etc.

There are many others, like the Reeves, that we remain close friends; and many of them we never camped with.  Camping is not necessary; being real is.

I know there are some in the ministry who vow to never become close friends with the people in their Church.  To me that is sad.  Some in the Church may read something else into that kind of friendship and feel threatened, like maybe we are a part of some conspiracy.  I'll always be willing to take that chance.  Please join me in prayer for Charles, her daughter, Jennifer (Kyle)  and those three precious grandchildren, as well as the rest of her family.

Tomorrow I will participate in Mary Jean's Funeral Service.  It is my privilege to call her Friend.  The following is her obituary as it appeared in the paper:

Mary Jean Whisenant Reeves
REEVES, MARY JEAN WHISENANT, age 67, of Alabaster, passed away March 6, 2009. She was a school teacher for over 30 years in Bessemer City Schools. Mrs. Reeves played piano and organ at Second Baptist Church for 33 years. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at Bessemer Brown Service Funeral Home with burial at Highland Memorial Gardens. Rev. J.D. Davis and Rev. Max Youngblood officiating. Visitation will be held at the funeral home prior to the service from 1:00 pm until 2:00 pm. She is survived by her: husband, Charles W. Reeves; daughter, Jennifer Williams (Kyle); son adopted in love, Scott Pylant (Amy); grandchildren, Kelsey Reeves Williams, Kylie Christian Williams, Kole Barner Williams, Rebekah Eleanor Pylant and Scott Reeves Pylant. She is also survived by her family: Tommy and Susan Reeves, Glenda Parsons, Jesse and Sue Reeves, Christy and Alan Miller, Jacglen and Terry Poole, Jason and Jill Bowman, Glynn and Bum Reeves, Jonathan and Jordan Reeves, Terry Grimes and numerous great-nieces and nephews. The family would like to express special thanks to the staff at Meadowood Nursing Home for the wonderful love and care given to Mrs. Reeves. Bessemer Brown Service Funeral Home is honored to serve the Reeves family.

Editorial about Leroy Yarbrough

Yarbrough's life revolved around ministry of music

By Sara Inés Calderón - Express-News

Harold Leroy Yarbrough lived a life of music.

As a child he played the organ at his future father-in-law's church in Rome, Ga., before he began dating Edwyna, his wife of 52 years, at 15. Later in his life his daughter Melody Macaulay recalled that he would sit down at a piano and play any song his granddaughters would ask him for.

And yet Macaulay said music will not be the saddest reminder of Yarbrough's passing on Christmas: the kind words he always had for loved ones will be missed the most.

“Even to the very end, he barely could talk, but would say ‘I love you,'” she said.

Yarbrough, who preferred to be called “Leroy,” died on Christmas after a yearlong battle with lymphoma, Macaulay said. Her father first manifested symptoms last Christmas and was diagnosed in February, she said.

Yarbrough rose from organ player to directing organ players after he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Baylor University and became the director of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir.

He later did his doctoral studies in choral conducting at the University of Texas at Austin before he earned his doctorate in music education from Louisiana State University. He also served 21 years as chairman of the division of church music and professor of choral conducting and music theory at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Yarbrough worked in San Antonio at the Trinity Baptist Church as minister of music for a total of 13 years — though not consecutively — and in 2008 Yarbrough retired from First Presbyterian Church after working as the music minister for 11 years.

While working, Yarbrough's wife said he performed in 29 states, 30 countries and made more than 50 recordings and often traveled with his family.

“He took us all over the world, we've had a wonderful life together,” she said.

Edwyna said she would remember her husband as a positive, funny, fair, good-natured and caring person who was her best friend.

“My biggest problem was being without my other half, which is who he is,” she said.

Macaulay, Yarbrough's daughter, said she would remember her father for his love of history, traveling, reading and Mexican food, especially enchiladas, and his great affection, not only for his family, but also for his two sons-in-law, who loved him like a father. Her father was the type of person who was interested in everyone and never met a stranger, she said.

“He always made people feel they were important and special,” Macaulay said.

Leroy Yarbrough Obituary

Yarbrough, Leroy
YARBROUGH HAROLD LEROY YARBROUGH (1934-2008) DR. LEROY YARBROUGH, after a valiantly fought battle with lymphoma, passed away on Christmas Day, 2008. Born in Rome, Georgia, August 23, 1934, to his late parents, J.D. and Charlcie Yarbrough, from whom he inherited a robust energy and determination that was exhibited in every dimension of his life. It was obvious to family and friends early on that he possessed the musical talent and passion for detail that would be accompanied by success. What few could imagine was what the scope of his influence around the world would become. He received his bachelors and masters degrees at Baylor University. While at Baylor he became the director of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir. He went on to do doctoral studies in Choral Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin, and later earned his Ph.D. in Music Education from Louisiana State University. After serving as Minister of Music for 13 years at San Antonio's Trinity Baptist Church, Dr. Yarbrough served 21 years as Chairman of the Division of Church Music and Professor of Choral Conducting and Music Theory at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Following his retirement from teaching, he began his ministry at First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio as Minister of Music, the position from which he retired April of 2008, completing 11 years of ministry there. Dr. Leroy Yarbrough gained respect and recognition around the world for his exceptional conducting skills performed in some 29 states and 30 foreign countries. He was a highly respected choral clinician, organist, composer and arranger for seven publishing companies and made more than 50 recordings. He was as much at ease advising young seminary musicians as directing massive choirs accompanied by renowned symphony orchestras. He knew how to get the absolute most out of musicians while introducing them to the depth and spiritual message of great works of master composers. If you asked him what he considered the most important investment of his life, it would be unquestionably in his love for his family. How could such an intense, persistent, perfectionist disciplinarian be so loving, caring, and gracious? Such was no mystery to his children and grandchildren. A warm, caring and supportive husband, father and grandfather, he possessed a sense of humor and disdain for hypocrisy. He was a role model for family members, for students and congregants. Leroy Yarbrough's life was one of consistency, discipline, integrity, and courage-from his humble beginnings until his death on Christmas Day. Dr. Yarbrough is survived by his teenage sweetheart and wife of 52 years, Edwyna Yarbrough; daughters and sons-in-law, Melody and David Macaulay of Houston, Gina and Danny Howell of Dallas; grandchildren, Ciara and Lindsay Macaulay, Arden, Jake and Grant Howell; and brother, Dale Yarbrough. MEMORIAL SERVICE SATURDAY JANUARY 3, 2009 2:00 P.M. FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 404 NORTH ALAMO There will be a reception following the service in Westminster Hall. The family has requested that in place of flowers, those who wish to offer a tribute to Dr. Yarbrough do so as a living memorial to one of the following: First Presbyterian Church Music Enrichment Fund, in Memory of Dr. Leroy Yarbrough, 404 North Alamo, San Antonio, Texas 78205-1985, or Baylor University Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational Leadership, Baylor University, One Bear Place, #97050, Waco, Texas 76798-7050. Gift must indicate "Designated to Baylor University Center for Ministry Effectiveness & Educational Leadership in Memory of Dr. Leroy Yarbrough." You are invited to sign the Guestbook atwww.porterloring.com

Leroy Yarbrough

Our friend Leroy Yarbrough went home to be with the Lord on Christmas Day (2008).  Pray for his wife Edwyna and all of the family.

Leroy and Edwyna

The photo that follows this entry is of Leroy and Edwyna Yarbrough of San Antonio, Texas.

Leroy and I started first  grade  together in Rome, Georgia.  Edwyna was our preacher's daughter and Carolyn's best friend; they were in nursing school at Georgia Baptist Hospital. 

They came back to Rome for our wedding.  Leroy went on to earn his Doctorate in Music and later was Proffesor of Muic at New Orleans Seminary.  We visited them on the campus there.

We received a 50th Anniversary Card from them and learned then that he had cancer.

His  two daughters have been posting updates on his condition.  I t is worsening each day.

Join us in prayer for them.

Click on their names for updates, etc. about them.

Leroy and Edwyna Yarbrough