June 4, 2024 Show with Derrick Brite n “A Pastor’s Heart: Essays in Memory of Harry L. Reeder III”

Iron Sharpens Iron

2 views

June 5, 2024

00:03: Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father
00:08: James Wilson, 19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister
00:13: George Norcross, and sports legend Jim Thorpe. It's Iron Sharpens Iron.
00:20: This is a radio platform in which pastors, Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning issues facing the church and the world today.
00:31: Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
00:38: Matthew Henry said that in this passage we are cautioned to take heed with who we converse and directed to have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.
00:50: It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours and we hope to hear from you the listener with your own questions.
00:57: And now here's your host Chris Arnson. Good afternoon
01:09: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity living on the planet
01:15: Earth. We're listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.
01:20: This is Chris Arnson, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Tuesday on this fourth day of June 2024.
01:34: Before I introduce my guest and topic for the day, I want to remind all men in ministry leadership that my next free biannual
01:46: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio pastors luncheon featuring for the first time our keynote speaker
01:53: Dr. Joel Beeky, founder and chancellor of Puritan Reform Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan and author of over a hundred books and very highly sought -after conference speaker.
02:09: Well that's being held this Thursday June 6th 11 a .m. to 2 p .m. at Church of the
02:14: Living Christ in Loisville, Pennsylvania. And the deadline to register was supposed to be yesterday but I thought
02:23: I'd give it one more day. It's definitely going to be the largest crowd we've ever had. In fact the registrations keep coming in even though they're late.
02:34: And if you are a man in ministry leadership and you'd like to attend this free event send me an email to ChrisArnson at gmail .com.
02:43: ChrisArnson at gmail .com and the pastor's luncheon in the subject line not only is the admission free and your lunch free but every man attending will receive one and perhaps maybe even two very heavy sacks of free brand new books personally selected by me and donated by Christian publishers all over the
03:05: United States and United Kingdom all absolutely free of charge. So if you want to register send me an email to ChrisArnson at gmail .com
03:14: and put pastor's luncheon in the subject line. Well today I am delighted to have a first -time guest.
03:22: I remember very vividly on May 18th of last year hearing the tragic news that Pastor Harry L.
03:36: Reader III, senior pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham Alabama and also a professor at Birmingham Theological Seminary, he died suddenly in a car crash and I remember when
03:53: I made the announcement to my listeners I knew right away that I had to conduct a special broadcast in memory of him and God has provided the ideal guest today to do that a little over one year later and I'm thankful to George Grant the pastor of Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin Tennessee for publicizing the book we are addressing in social media the book which
04:35: I'm holding in my hand which just arrived in my doorstep actually five minutes before the show started a pastor's heart essays in memory of Harry L.
04:46: Reader III edited by my guest today Derek E. Bright and Derek is pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Aliceville Alabama which is a congregation in the
05:00: Presbyterian Church in America and it's my honor and privilege to welcome you for the very first time ever to Iron Trip and Zion Radio pastor
05:09: Derek Bright well thank you Chris I guess you could say a longtime listener first time caller well
05:17: I I'm glad that you are a longtime listener I was unaware of that until just now and yeah yeah
05:23: I've known about you for quite a long time actually in fact I believe the first time
05:30: I ever became acquainted with you and with your with your program was actually when you a long time ago for a
05:40: James Watt debate I was watching on YouTube and I thought this guy's cracking me up it may have even been the
05:48: Bill Shishko pedo -baptism debate oh yeah you made some you made some hilarious comments about all the
05:56: Presbyterians are wonder what that big tub is in the back ever since then
06:02: I've been listening so I'm honored to be on your program well I am glad that even though you and I are on opposite sides of the infant baptism issue that you still found my routine humorous yeah yeah well
06:16: I have a good you know when you're Presbyterian especially growing up where I did where Baptist dominate you kind of have to have thick skin and a good sense of humor so yeah and more folks in our theological camp should learn that lesson too many too many reformed people seem to never crack a smile but I'm glad that there are remnant like you and I who do that's right well first of all tell our listeners more about First Presbyterian Church of Aliceville Alabama yeah thank you
06:51: I've been here almost five years and it was my first call out of seminary and it's really a wonderful community it's a small town population floating around 2 ,000 people in West Alabama almost dead center of the state all the way west close to Mississippi and we're about 45 minutes outside of Tuscaloosa Alabama and so for any
07:15: Alabama fans we're right down the road if you will and it's a small town it's a historic church the church was founded in 1837 and it was one of the first churches to be a part of the
07:30: PCA when the PCA started so it's got a lot of historical background to it and heritage and they called me here about five years ago and the
07:40: Lord has really blessed our time it's a wonderful group of people and and we could see ourselves being here for a very long time if the
07:48: Lord if the Lord and the people allow it if the Lord allows it and the people can put up with with me we my wife and I would be certainly happy to be here for a long time it's a it's a really a sweet town a sweet spirit very generous and they just love love
08:03: Christ and love the gospel amen well if anybody lives in or near Allistown or if you are traveling through that city perhaps on vacation in Alabama or you have family friends and loved ones who live in or near Allistown Alabama the website to find out more details is firstpresallisville .org
08:37: firstpresallisville .org and first is spelled out the full word F -I -R -S -T well we have a tradition here on Iron Sherpins Iron Radio whenever we have a first -time guest before we go to the major theme that we have scheduled to address we have that guest give a summary of their salvation testimony which would include the religious atmosphere if any in which they were raised and the kinds of providential circumstances our
09:10: Sovereign Lord raised up in their lives that drew them to himself and save them and I would love to hear a summary of your story yeah thank you
09:18: I'd be honored to do so I it really starts with I need to mention that my my parents divorced when
09:27: I was about six months old and so from that time I really was split between two different households primarily living with my mother and we for the first I don't know probably 13 or 14 years of my life went to church very rarely we were
09:44: Easter and Christmas Christians at a minimum and even then it was very short and it was an independent fundamental
09:55: Baptist Church and we went primarily because my grandparents were very devoted to that church and once they passed away my family really sought no or they felt no need
10:08: I guess to go to church any further but I always had an interest in religious things
10:13: I always had questions about church and the Bible and the gospel well about eighth grade
10:21: I moved in with my father and stepmother and they are very active faithful Christians and they were going to a church and so I started attending church with them and a
10:36: Southern Baptist Church unfortunately that church went through a nasty church split we went to a really a mega church that was in a small town but it was in North Georgia and it was somewhat modeled after Rick Warren but you'll get a kick out of this
10:53: Chris the pastor though he really modeled his church after a purpose -driven life the youth pastor is a very serious godly 1689
11:05: Reformed Baptist and he believed it was his job to without you know without creating division but to teach the next generation the truth so the faith and so that's exactly what happened and I can specifically remember on a
11:23: Wednesday not a Wednesday night youth service there was about 200 kids and him teaching about propitiation from first John and thinking why have
11:33: I never heard this and we went on a youth trip a few months later it was
11:39: New Year's and we went to a hamburger restaurant in a local town and I remember just sitting there and I was thinking about propitiation and all of a sudden it dawned on me
11:49: I need propitiation I need this and there
11:57: I prayed to the Lord for him to save me right there in the middle of that restaurant and and about six months later that that same youth pastor who's still a dear friend of mine and ironically his son is my youth pastor now funny enough but he he handed me some very sound solid theological resources and began discipling me into the
12:24: Reformed faith and he does somewhat regret that I went into the PCA he'll he'll often tell students now listen you can follow
12:34: Derek but don't follow him all the way so but yeah I was
12:40: I was really a recipient of a faithful a faithful youth pastor who just taught the
12:46: Bible verse by verse taught us theological truths and taught us really the greatness and holiness of God and that's really what what what drew me in if you will that's what the
12:58: Lord sought fit to use in my life well praise
13:03: God for that and we are as I've already announced today paying tribute to the late
13:13: Harry L reader who I have had the privilege of interviewing twice on this program and he wrote a glowing endorsement for iron sharpens iron radio
13:27: I was so honored with the privilege of receiving that from him he was such for a man of his stature his prominence in Reformed circles he was an extremely humble and accessible man there was no air of celebrity about him when
13:52: I met him he immediately remembered who I was on the several occasions where I met him in person the last one being at Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Quakertown Pennsylvania when he was on the speaking roster at a
14:12: Reformed conference there and in fact if you've seen the promotional post on Facebook for our interview today the photograph is not of me and my guest today
14:30: Derek bright it's me and Harry L reader at the
14:35: Grace Bible Fellowship Church in Quakertown the last time I saw him and if anybody would like to hear my interviews with Harry reader on August 22nd 2022 was the last interview
14:53: I conducted with him and the one prior to that was November 7th 2018 but if you just type in reader r -e -e -d -e -r in the search engine at iron trip and Zion radio .com
15:06: you will get those two audio links immediately pop up but tell us how you first became familiar with dr.
15:20: Harry L reader yeah so like many when I came into the
15:26: PCA Harry cast something of a long shadow he was seen immediately
15:33: I mean everybody knows he was a leader in our denomination he pastored for a very long time the flagship
15:39: Church of the PCA where the first PCA General Assembly was held and so I've always known of him in that way when
15:49: I came to Aliceville we support financially the work that's being done at Birmingham Theological Seminary which is housed at Briarwood Presbyterian Church and specifically the prison ministry is something we're involved in and so the president of Birmingham Theological Seminary which is
16:12: I greater Harry's son when I first came here he took me out to lunch and wanted to meet me and we became fast friends and he's become one of my dearest and closest friends brother in the
16:25: Lord and that propelled that relationship with the reader family and that ended up leading to time spent with Harry whether it was one -on -one or via conference and various other avenues and just being connected to the family and so I first came to be associated with him through just PCA work and then through his son
16:54: I greater I became closer to him and closer to that family and he was also Harry was also a board member or rather an executive council member of the
17:05: Gospel Reformation Network which is a great organization of PCA minded people trying to further healthy reformed confessional church plants and churches in our denomination and he served on that executive council and being affiliated with them that also allowed me to to get to know him a little better as well so tell us about at least some of them the contributors to this memorial that you have edited a pastor's heart essays in memory of Harry L Rita the third tell us about some of the contributors and why specifically you were you selected them are you there brother for some reason
18:04: I do not have my guest with me I have no idea why and oh yes now
18:13: I do have no idea what happened there okay I apologize about that maybe
18:18: I hit a button or something but we do really do have a great number of contributors for the book and they were chosen for different reasons you know for example we have
18:30: Kevin young pastor of cross -covenant church in Charlotte North Carolina Kevin is obviously a leader in our denomination in the broader reformed evangelical world however he pastors a church that Harry himself planted in accordance with that Presbytery so we also have
18:49: David strain who pastors first Presbyterian Jackson another leader in our denomination but pastors a major church who's a faithful godly man committed to expository preaching very humble man we have
19:05: John Payne who's the he's actually the convener of the
19:11: Gospel Reformation Network that I mentioned earlier and someone who is known as a very sound conservative and confessional voice and we just have we actually also have one of Harry's daughters
19:24: Jennifer tumor hey she pastored or I'm sure she pastored oh you're really gonna cause trouble but she authored a chapter at the end and so we picked people who were not only close to Harry personally and who were a lot of them were discipled by him such as Brian Cosby pastor of Wayside PCA and Signal Mountain a lot of these men were discipled by him others are were close to him ministerially whether it's his assistant pastor or perhaps there were family members it was people who had been impacted one way or another by his ministry and who knew him well enough to be able to say here's a topic like George Grant obviously you've mentioned him before but George obviously knew
20:16: Harry but George was qualified to write on that particular topic as well and be able to bring in not only his own insights but bring in what he learned from Harry and kind of marry the two and and put it in there so so it was really it was interesting editing the book that all of these contributors one of them actually told me recently when he got his copy and he said there seems to be a unified voice in all of these chapters and I said well that's exactly right because the unified voice ultimately is
20:51: Harry's we were all discipled by him one way or another and we're just applying what we learned in these chapters so so yeah it was it was a mixture of reasons but primarily people who were impacted by him and closest to him well
21:08: I just want to read a couple of the a few of the endorsements written for this book and all of these men whose endorsements
21:21: I'm going to read have been guests on iron sharpens iron radio in the past Chris Larson who's the president and CEO of Ligonier ministries in Orlando Florida the ministry founded by the late
21:34: Dr. RC Sproul Dr. readers zeal for the gospel of the
21:39: Lord Jesus Christ is beautifully honored in a pastor's heart celebrating
21:45: God's kindness and calling and raising up this courageous shepherd and leader of God's people also
21:53: Jonathan master president of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylor South Carolina one of the few biblically sound seminaries left in the
22:04: United States Jonathan says yes Jonathan says the chapters contained in this book encompass so many of the things that Harry readers stood for a love for people an ability to teach a love of ideas all of it in service to Christ and to his church and last but not least
22:28: Peter a little back of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and also author of an enormous biography of George Washington he says of this book our brother
22:44: Harry reader is missed but his legacy is cherished and will yield fruit for generations to come so some powerful endorsements by some powerful leaders in Christ Church well we are going to our first commercial break right now and if any of you have a question for my guest today
23:07: Derek bright about Harry L reader our email address is Chris Arnzen at gmail .com
23:14: CH or is a RN ZEN at gmail .com
23:22: give us your first name at least your city and state of residence in your country of residence if you live outside the
23:27: USA don't go away we're gonna be right back after these messages from our sponsor I'm pastor
23:40: Bill Shishko of the Haven an Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Comac Long Island I hold the iron sharpens iron radio program hosted by my longtime friend and brother
23:52: Chris Arnzen in the highest esteem and I'm thrilled that you're listening today
23:57: I'm also delighted that Iron Sharpens Iron is partnering with one of my favorite resources for reformed
24:03: Christian literature for decades now Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service well with the economic nightmare that we're all currently enduring
24:13: CVBBS .com I want to enable you to build a wonderful personal library of the best literature that the reformers the
24:25: Puritans and the great Christian minds of today have to offer and at affordable prices not only does
24:32: CVBBS .com offer up to 50 % off retail prices but you'll get an added 5 % off orders of $50 or more by using promo code iron
24:47: I R O N an added 5 % off all of your orders of $50 or more from Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service that's
25:00: CVBBS .com making the joy of reading the finest in Christian literature more affordable oh and make sure that you tell them you heard about them on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio I'm Dr.
25:25: Joseph Piper president emeritus and professor of systematic and applied theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary every
25:34: Christian who's serious about the deformed faith and the Westminster standards should have and use the eight volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the
25:43: Westminster larger catechism titled authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Morecraft it is much more than an exposition of the larger catechism it is a thoroughly researched work utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and systematic theology
26:01: Dr. Morecraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming Georgia and I urge everyone looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation for details on the eight volume commentary go to Westminster commentary dot -com
26:18: Westminster commentary dot -com for details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming Georgia visit
26:25: Heritage Presbyterian Church dot -com Heritage Presbyterian Church dot -com please tell
26:32: Dr. Morecraft and the Saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming Georgia that Dr. Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sent you.
26:42: Hello I'm Phil Johnson executive director of Grace to You with John MacArthur I've been a frequent guest on iron sharpens iron radio and I highly recommend this show but today
26:53: I want to tell you about one of its advertisers rare document traders far and away my favorite source for quality
27:00: Charles Spurgeon memorabilia are you looking for that special unique gift for your pastor or missionary friend or a loved one why not purchase a piece of church history that any believer would cherish rare document traders is your one -step source for Spurgeon's handwritten manuscripts and letters as well as other rare books and collectible items from church history in 15 years that they've been in business they've earned a stellar reputation in the
27:26: Reformed community with thousands of satisfied customers all around the world including me visit rare doc traders dot -com today that's rare doc traders dot -com don't forget to mention you heard about them on iron sharpens iron radio that's rare doc traders dot -com greetings this is
28:00: Brian McLaughlin president of the secure calm group and supporter of Chris Arnson's iron sharpens iron radio program secure calm provides the highest level of security systems for residential buildings municipalities churches commercial properties and much more we can be reached at secure calm group dot -com that's secure calm group dot -com but today
28:31: I want to introduce you to my senior pastor Doug McMasters of New Hyde Park Baptist Church on Long Island Doug McMasters here former director of pastoral correspondence at grace to you the radio ministry of John MacArthur in the film chariots of fire
28:52: Olympic gold medalist runner Eric Liddell remarked that he felt God's pleasure when he ran he knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God I sensed that same
29:03: God -given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God that love starts with the wonderful news that the
29:12: Lord Jesus Christ is a savior who died for sinners and that God forgives all who come to him in repentance trusting solely in Christ to deliver them
29:21: I would be delighted to have the honor and privilege of ministering to you if you live in the Long Island area or Queens or Brooklyn or the
29:29: Bronx in New York City for details on New Hyde Park Baptist Church visit
29:35: NHPBC .com that's NHPBC .com
29:41: you can also call us at 516 -352 -9672 that's 516 -352 -9672 that's
29:53: New Hyde Park Baptist Church a congregation in love with each other passionate for Christ committed to learning and being shaped by God's Word and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace
30:06: God bless you we here at iron sharpens iron radio praise
30:25: God for the generous monthly financial support of royal diadem jewelers educated by and affiliated with the
30:33: American Gem Society jewelers of America and the gemological Institute of America for the perfect custom -designed engagement ring or any one -of -a -kind piece of jewelry created exactly according to your imagination and specifications royal diadem jewelers has you covered no matter where you live in the world royal diadem will walk you step by step through every stage of the process and even hold a high -tech internet virtual visit using state -of -the -art jewelry design technology to serve you they start by listening carefully to determine your needs they're interested in making what you want not what they want to sell you from rough design to digital model to photo realistic image to wax prototype model to the finished product they're continually listening to your input likes and dislikes making any changes necessary along the way this will ensure that your custom jewelry will turn out exactly as you dreamed and well beyond your expectations visit royal diadem dot -com that's royal diadem dot -com today
31:44: Sterling Vandewerker owner of royal diadem jewelers his wife Bronnie his business partner and manager
31:51: Brian Wilson and the entire family thank you all for listening to praying for and supporting the work of iron sharpens iron radio and please don't forget folks royal diadem .com
32:09: is still offering iron sharpens iron radio this mind -blowing opportunity they are giving us 100 % of the profits from any sale of jewelry to an iron sharpens iron radio listener simply by that listener mentioning iron sharpens iron radio when they make their purchase so if you are purchasing a piece of jewelry that they already have in stock at royal diadem .com
32:35: and keep in mind that Father's Day is right around the corner or if you're having a custom -designed one -of -a -kind piece of jewelry created like an engagement ring or like taking your church logo your parachurch logo your perhaps it's your business logo your seminary logo your denomination logo and you want to turn it into a pendant for a necklace or perhaps a ring or whatever your imagination and creativity can conjure up in your brain they will take what's in your brain and turn it into a mind -blowing breathtaking stunning piece of physical jewelry and I've seen firsthand the absolute mastery that royal diadem .com
33:20: has over customizing jewelry so whether it's a piece of jewelry they have in stock or a customized piece whatever the case may be if you're buying jewelry for someone else that you love or for yourself please go to royal diadem .com
33:33: today to at least get the ball rolling on your purchase the reason for the urgency is that we have no idea when royal diadem .com
33:43: will pull the plug on this offer to us where we get 100 % of the profits from any sale of jewelry to one of our listeners so please go to royal diadem .com
33:52: today and mention Iron Trip and Zion Radio we are now back with my guest today
33:59: Derek Bright who is the editor of a new book that should be in the hands especially of every pastor but much more than that a pastor's heart essays in memory of Harry L reader the third and if you have a question send it to chrisarnson at gmail .com
34:17: chrisarnson at gmail .com give us your first name at least city and state and country of residence well
34:24: I'd like you to continue laying our listeners know what is it about Harry L reader that the
34:35: Lord basically instilled in his mind heart and ministry that makes him someone that many pastors looked up to as their mentor yeah there's there's quite a bit
34:53: I could say to that but I would say that Harry had a unique ability to preach and teach those things that were confessionally
35:06: Orthodox and sound doctrine but also do it in such a way that it affected people in the pews so he wasn't an egghead preacher if you will
35:16: I hate to use a term but a lot of us geek out over sound doctrine
35:21: I do as well but he was one who could say now let's take it to your heart and let's apply it to your hands and feet and get out and apply this how does the reformed faith and how does the
35:36: Bible teach us to live as Christians and so we had a unique way of speaking to both the person who would be a pastor but also the person in the pew and applying both of those things and there's an off oft repeated mantra of Harry's which is on mission and on message and in ministry and that was really his how everything applied everything was you know you you wanted to be a person who was on mission who had the message right but also was active in ministry and so he was very he was very good at that and conveying that and conveying how the
36:20: Bible applies to our daily lives he was a natural disciple maker and that's something that I've learned personally from him and have been challenged on by him is how to make disciples and do it in a way that is has the long -term health of the church and the person in mind and he was uniquely gifted in that I share a story in the editor's note of the book that several people have commented on including his his wife
36:56: Cindy reader when I first met Harry now
37:01: I'd actually met him before and we talked but the first time I actually got to sit down one -on -one with him and pick his brain
37:09: I was a new pastor and I emailed him and and I wanted to sit down with him and say listen
37:18: I pastor a small church in a small town help me I've got here's some things
37:25: I'm dealing with help me and he took the time and here's a guy who speaks at Ligonier conferences and all these other things and he didn't hesitate and he said yes please come by and we scheduled a date and time
37:38: I drove an hour and a half to Birmingham I walked in and I said dr. reader it's such a pleasure to meet with you and he said please don't call me doctor
37:46: I'm not even good enough to be a nurse and yeah it was so funny
37:53: I laughed right then and he he was being you know somewhat serious about that and he said please just call me
37:58: Harry and and we went into his office and it was really almost like a waiting room and it we're surrounded by these pictures of of godly men of the past and and he says so tell me brother about your ministry and I begin to tell him what
38:13: I'm dealing with and and what I what I'm what I feel if the Lord is doing here and I also all these things and he began to just pour wisdom into me and it was this faithful here's how you stick to what the
38:28: Bible says and not fall into any kind of traps that progressive
38:34: Christianity or some kind of neo -evangelical would have you to do don't don't follow what the church growth gurus tell you here's how you follow the
38:44: Bible and here's how you put it basically in the pew and it was such good advice and I think he's done that for everybody he had pastored for so long and so faithfully that no matter where you were in ministry you were able to come to him and say here's what
39:01: I'm dealing with whether you were at the beginning of your ministry or nearing the end he had some kind of wisdom for you that was sound and biblical and and that's something that I think is somewhat lost in in many today he did not capitulate to the spirit of the age and he stayed steadfast to the
39:24: Word of God and poured out everything he had like a Paul says poured out like a drink offering that was
39:31: Harry's really his mentality and he did that for a lot of people and he made time for people and so there's a lot of things again
39:41: I could say he was but he was very contagious and his approach well we've had you already provide a summary of your salvation testimony what can you tell us about Harry's upbringing and how he came to know his
39:58: Lord God Savior and King Jesus Christ and anything that you may know about when he believed that he had the call from God to enter into pastoral ministry yeah it's interesting because Harry was somebody who if you knew anything about here he loved baseball and his whole life he went to college and played baseball and wanted to play probe and he was he was in a true athlete and when he met
40:28: Cindy and they started going together and it got serious you know she was a very serious
40:35: Christian and wanted to bring him I wanted to make sure that she was with somebody who believed that same thing and he was somebody who
40:43: I think I remember him saying something about well we can't we needed a church to go to I think they had gotten married and he said you know we can't go to the church that I that I had grown up in because they all knew who
40:57: I really was and so they picked a church happened to be a Presbyterian church and where nobody knew them and the pastor that day basically keyed in on him and really forced him into a discipleship situation and and so Harry really came to cross and came to a an understanding of a biblical
41:23: Christianity and ministry under the the faithful work of a you know a regular pastor and who wanted to disciple him and that really changed his life really forever that changed the whole trajectory of everything he cared about and everything he wanted to do so he he you know he mentions he lived he lived a very worldly life for a long time and and of course
41:52: Cindy his his dear wife helped him out with with getting on the right track but a faithful a faithful regular pastor really discipled him and and brought him into the faith well we have
42:06: Gerard from Hoboken New Jersey which I believe is the birthplace of Frank Sinatra just a
42:15: Gerard asks what was dr. readers reaction when the revoice controversy raised its ugly head in the
42:25: Presbyterian Church in America that's a very good question and why don't you explain to our listeners who may be completely ignorant of what that even is why don't you tell them about what revoice was or is yeah absolutely so revoice was a or is
42:42: I think it's still in existence as a ministry that is geared towards those in the
42:49: LGBTQ plus you know rainbow coalition if you will and originally when they started out their mission statement was to help people continue in a biblical view of marriage and same -sex relationships unfortunately what happened what we saw was really some bad fruit from that and we saw what it became known as is something that promoted side
43:22: B quote -unquote gay Christianity yeah in fact I don't know if you're aware I just fairly recently arranged a debate over that heresy between dr.
43:35: James are white of Alpha Omega ministries that's right very long time dear friend of mine who debated dr.
43:43: Gregory Coles who identifies himself as a gay
43:48: Christian and a side B Christian which is basically among the the folks that are in that realm of activity or mindset people who believe they have a proclivity or an inclination towards same -sex attraction but they do believe that to bring that to a physical consummation is sinful and even to lust towards anyone whether it's your same sex or somebody else from an opposite sex that is sinful but there's nothing wrong with the innate state as if there were such a thing and there's nothing that needs repenting from if you're not involved physically in homosexuality or lusting there's nothing to repent from and yeah so that's what that's so so anyway dr.
44:59: yeah that's right and he made it clear that was a identity yeah
45:04: I was just gonna say dr. white made it clear in that debate that dr. Coles had no legitimate biblical support for that but I'm sorry
45:11: I interrupted you no I interrupted you I apologize I this is you're absolutely right and you're right
45:18: James I did a great job of that it became an issue of identity and there's really it became really a
45:24: Roman Catholic view of concupiscence and sin and they some of the speakers in that conference and that ministry tried to equate being physically disabled with having homosexual attraction which there's no correlation of course and it really rocked our denomination and rocked other denominations
45:47: Harry was actually vocal opponent of side B he administered to many people who struggle with same -sex attraction had discipled them but revoice and you called it a heresy earlier and I would agree with that Harry was vocal even on the floor of General Assembly I believe this 2019 the
46:08: PCA had before it to affirm the Nashville statement on human sexuality as biblically faithful or not and he employed that same statement at his church they also wrote their own statement but he spoke on the floor basically in favor of the
46:29: Nashville statement and saying this is a discipleship issue which was dear to Harry's heart this is an errant view of sexuality and of Anthropology and we need to get to what the
46:43: Bible says and disciple people and you and ultimately can't identify as a gay
46:49: Christian I want to put it that way for our listeners here but Harry was a vocal opponent of revoice and side
46:57: B and I would say that without his voice and without his leadership we would be in much worse position in the
47:06: PCA than we are now well guess what Gerard you have won a free copy of a pastor's heart essays in memory of Harry L reader the third edited by my guest today
47:21: Derek bright and we thank Donnie Morrison my friend for many years over at Christian focused publications for being so generous as to donate to us a limited number of copies of this book that we're giving away today and we also want to thank
47:40: Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service CV bbs .com who will actually be shipping this book out to you
47:48: Gerard so we need your full mailing address in Hoboken New Jersey and by the way if you are a first -time questioner
47:55: Gerard you have also won a free New American Standard Bible and we want to thank the publishers of the
48:01: NASB NAS Bible comm for providing us with free
48:08: Bibles for first -time questioners the
48:13: I know that dr. reader was a strong voice for biblical authenticity and integrity one might nickname that conservative but it's far more than that did he have any opponents that you are aware of either within the
48:41: PCA or outside yeah he did have some in the sense that there were people perhaps who on the outside maybe saw photos or looked at at Harry and you know for example he was somebody who was anti woke anti revoiced things like that and so there were people on the outside of course who criticized him people even in the
49:08: PCA who might want to criticize that I think of one particular example from several years ago Harry had the mentality of wanting to preach the gospel wherever he had an opportunity so if you know if the
49:22: Mormon Church were to invite him for some reason to speak at some event he would go but he would explicitly teach the gospel he explicitly teaches the
49:31: Trinity he just took all those opportunities so a few years ago I remember a photo floating around the internet of him preaching at a at an event it was almost like a rally a rally for southern confederates and there was a lot of rebel flags and it was an all white you know group and what and people criticized him said oh he's a neo confederate well if you actually go and hear what he had to say he called people to to repent of racism and to follow the gospel and to follow biblical truth but people only saw the photo so it's mainly people who really didn't know
50:18: Harry that were the biggest critics they might see a photo or they might see something he says it was the people who knew him who said oh gosh he's nothing like what you're what you think he is not of the crowd out of the crowd at that confederate group react you know
50:35: I think from what I understand I think they actually responded fairly positively and he was somebody who was something of a civil war and just war in general buff and often his illustrations and when he would talk to men about leadership which was very dear to his heart he would use illustrations from war and civil war and things like that and so it was almost like he had he had the knowledge to be able to relate to him but then he would call them to repent of any racism they had and I think people really bought into what he was saying because he wasn't someone who did it from a woke perspective if you will he was somebody came in and said
51:27: I'm faithful to the scriptures I'm faithful to the reform tradition but I'm also we need to address what's happening here and this is inconsistent with biblical
51:38: Christianity and and that actually won a ton of people's respect that way because of his approach in that so he was somebody who never who never compromised but somebody who was willing to go and I think even if it meant a bad photo op he was willing to do that for the sake of telling the truth and for the sake of the gospel and discipleship and I think that's something we could all learn from perhaps amen well we have to go to our midway break right now and if you could please be patient with us because the midway break is always a little longer than the other breaks because grace life radio 90 .1
52:16: FM in Lake City Florida requires of us a longer break in the middle of the show because they are required by the
52:23: FCC to localize iron sharpens iron radio and all of their programs geographically to Lake City Florida where the radio stations located they do so by airing their own public service announcements and other local things while we on the other hand simultaneously air our globally heard commercials
52:43: I'm asking you to please use this time wisely write down as much of the contact information as you possibly can for as many of our advertisers as you can so that you can more frequently and successfully contact our advertisers keep in mind that we cannot exist without the financial support of our advertisers so please try to respond to their commercials as often as you can and also of course send in your questions to my guest
53:12: Derek bright on his book a pastor's heart essays in memory of Harry L Rita the third and the email address again is
53:20: Chris Arnzen at gmail .com give us a first name at least city and state and country of residence we'll be right back don't go away
53:34: Chris Arnzen of iron sharpens iron radio has had a longtime partnership with our friends at CVBBS which stands for Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service they specialize in supplying reformed and Puritan books and Bibles at discount prices that make them affordable for everyone
53:52: CVBBS has been a family -owned book service since 1987 operating out of Carlisle Pennsylvania they seek to bring you the best available
54:02: Christian books and Bibles at the best possible prices and now they're also shipping worldwide browse the pages at ease shop at your leisure and purchase with confidence at Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service order online worldwide at CVBBS .com
54:21: that's CVBBS .com or you can order by phone at 717 -249 -0231 that's 717 -249 -0231 for orders of $50 or more use promo code iron for an extra 5 % off our already discounted prices and please let our friends at CVBBS know that you heard about them on iron sharpens iron radio
54:56: Puritan Reformed is a Bible -believing kingdom -building devil -fighting church we are devoted to upholding the apostolic doctrine in practice preserved in Scripture alone
55:07: Puritan Reformed teaches men to rule and lead as image bearing prophets priests and kings we teach families to worship together as families
55:19: Puritan is committed to teaching the whole counsel of God so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of God is the waters cover the sea we sing the
55:29: Psalms teach the law proclaim the gospel make disciples maintain discipline and exalt
55:34: Christ this is pastor David Reese of Puritan Reformed in Phoenix Arizona join us in the glorious cause of advancing
55:43: Christ's crown and covenant over the kings of the earth Puritan Reformed Church believe build fight
55:52: Puritan phx .com Chris Arnzen here host of iron sharpens iron radio
56:22: I strongly recommend a church I've been recommending as far back as the 1980s
56:27: Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington New Jersey pastored by Alan Dunn Grace Covenant Baptist Church believes it's
56:36: God's prerogative to determine how he shall be worshiped and how he shall be represented in the world they believe churches need to turn to the
56:45: Bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship God in spirit and truth they endeavor to maintain a
56:53: God -centered focus and to protect worship from the intrusion of carnal entertainments and distractions reading preaching and hearing the
57:02: Word of God singing psalms hymns and spiritual songs baptism and communion are the scriptural elements of their corporate worship performed with faith joy and sobriety discover more about Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington New Jersey at gcbc -nj .org.
57:24: That's gcbc -nj .org or call them at 908 -996 -7654.
57:33: That's 908 -996 -7654. Tell Pastor Dunn you heard about Grace Covenant Baptist Church on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
57:57: It's such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listeners from all over the world.
58:03: Here's Joe Reilly, a listener in Ireland who wants you to know about a guest on the show he really loves hearing interviewed
58:11: Dr. Joe Moorcraft. I'm Joe Reilly, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listener here in Atai in County Kildare, Ireland.
58:19: Going back to 2005, one of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is
58:25: Dr. Joe Moorcraft. If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, Dr. Moorcraft and Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia are largely to thank since they are one of the program's largest financial supporters.
58:38: Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming is in Forsyth County, a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
58:44: Heritage is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards. And Dr.
58:49: Joe Moorcraft is the author of an eight volume commentary on the larger catechism. Heritage is a member of the
58:55: Hanover Presbytery, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great
59:05: Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. Heritage maintains and follows the biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the reformers.
59:13: Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and God's glory alone. Their primary goal is the worship of the
59:20: Triune God that continues in eternity. For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch .com.
59:28: That's heritagepresbyterianchurch .com. Or call 678 -954 -7831.
59:35: That's 678 -954 -7831. If you visit, tell them
59:40: Joe Reilly, Iron Sharpens Iron Radio listener from a tie in County Kildare, Ireland, sent you.
59:57: When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the
01:00:03: New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors. It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the
01:00:11: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the
01:00:16: NASB. I'm Dr. Joseph Piper, President and Professor of Systematic and Homiletical Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Taylors, South Carolina, and the
01:00:28: NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Chuck White of the
01:00:33: First Trinity Lutheran Church in Tonawanda, New York, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.
01:00:39: I'm Pastor Anthony Methenia of Christ Church in Radford, Virginia, and the NASB is my
01:00:44: Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jesse Miller of Damascus Road Christian Church in Gardnerville, Nevada, and the
01:00:51: NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Bruce Bennett of Word of Truth Church in Farmerville, Long Island, New York, and the
01:01:00: NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Rodney Brown of Metro Bible Church in Southlake, Texas, and the
01:01:09: NASB is my Bible of choice. I'm Pastor Jim Harrison of Red Mills Baptist Church in Mayapac Falls, New York, and the
01:01:16: NASB is my Bible of choice. Here's a great way for your church to help keep
01:01:22: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air. Pastors, are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?
01:01:28: Consider restocking your pews with the NASB and tell the publishers you heard about them from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
01:01:37: Go to nasbible .com. That's nasbible .com to place your order.
01:01:47: Hello, my name is Anthony Uvino, and I'm one of the pastors at Hope Reform Baptist Church in Quorum, New York, and also the host of the reformrookie .com
01:01:56: website. I want you to know that if you enjoy listening to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show like I do, you can now find it on the
01:02:03: Apple's iTunes app by typing Iron Sharpens Iron Radio in the search bar. You no longer have to worry about missing a show or a special guest because you're in your car or still at work.
01:02:13: Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show at any time day or night.
01:02:19: Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many solidly reformed guests that Chris Arnzen has on the show.
01:02:29: Truth is so hard to come by these days, so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news. Subscribe to the
01:02:35: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio podcast right now. And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the reformrookie .com
01:02:41: podcast and visit our website and the YouTube page. We are dedicated to teaching Christian theology from a
01:02:47: Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith as well as seasoned believers. From Keech's Catechism and the
01:02:54: Doctrines of Grace to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus, the Reform Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking biblical truth.
01:03:04: And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, please join us at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Corham, New York.
01:03:14: Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Avino and thanks for listening. If you love
01:03:25: Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.
01:03:32: One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Arnton is doing is
01:03:38: Daniel P. Patafuoco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.
01:03:44: Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society. Their mission?
01:03:50: To foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written word of God. They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare collection of biblical texts along with a fascinating presentation by Mr.
01:04:05: Patafuoco demonstrating the reliability of scripture. To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a first edition 1611
01:04:22: King James Bible. This 17th century hand -engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ going back to Adam and Eve.
01:04:33: This book is complete with gorgeous full -size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the
01:04:39: Tower of Babel and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims to the throne of the universe.
01:04:48: Originals of this work are in museums and nobody's ever made it accessible to the public in a large book form before.
01:04:56: You can have your own copy of this 44 page genealogy book for a donation of $35 or more.
01:05:04: Visit historicalbiblesociety .org That's historicalbiblesociety .org
01:05:11: Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio on the air. Thank you.
01:05:21: Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read.
01:05:29: He who never quotes will never be quoted. He will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.
01:05:37: You need to read. Solid Ground Christian Books is a publisher and book distributor who takes these words of the
01:05:43: Prince of Preachers to heart. The mission of Solid Ground Christian Books is to bring back treasures of the past to minister to Christians in the present and future and to publish new titles that address burning issues in the church and the world.
01:05:56: Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God -centered, Christ -exalting books for all ages.
01:06:04: We invite you to go treasure hunting at Solid -Ground -Books .com That's Solid -Ground -Books .com
01:06:12: and see what priceless literary gems from the past or present you can unearth from Solid Ground.
01:06:18: Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. And please go to Solid -Ground -Books .com,
01:06:28: frequently purchased generously. Always mention that you heard about them from Chris Arnzen of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.
01:06:35: Before I return to Derek Bright in our conversation on the late Harry L. Reader III, I have some important announcements to make.
01:06:44: If you love Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, folks, please, I'm urging you, go to IronSharpensIronRadio .com,
01:06:53: click support, then click click to donate now. You could donate instantly with a debit or credit card in that fashion.
01:07:02: If you prefer a snail mail, sending a physical check to a physical address from your post office the old -fashioned way, there will also be a physical address that appears on your screen when you click support at IronSharpensIronRadio .com
01:07:15: where you can mail your checks, made payable to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio. If you want to advertise with us, whether it's your church, parachurch ministry, your business, your private professional practice like a law firm or medical firm, or maybe it's just a special event that you want to promote, whatever it is, if it's compatible with what
01:07:35: I believe, I would love to help you launch an ad campaign as quickly as possible because we are just as much in urgent need of your advertising dollars as we are in your donations.
01:07:46: So, we ask of you to send in your advertising request to ChrisArnzen at gmail .com.
01:07:53: And put advertising in the subject line. Please remember folks, I never want my listeners to give less money than you normally give to your own church where you're a member on the
01:08:04: Lord's Day. Never give the church less money than you normally give them in order to bless us with a financial gift.
01:08:13: Also, if you are really struggling to survive and make ends meet, wait until you're back on your feet more financially stable before you bless us with a gift.
01:08:24: The Bible is very clear that we are primarily to use the money with which he has blessed us, which is still
01:08:30: God's money, or primarily to use it to provide for church and family. Providing for Iron Trip and Zion Radio is obviously not a command of God, but if you love the show and you are blessed above and beyond your ability to provide for church and family and you have extra money for recreational, trivial, and benevolent purposes, please use some of that money with us, share some of that money with us, in order to keep us on the air if you really love the show.
01:09:03: IronTripandZionRadio .com Click support, then click click to donate now. Also, if you are not a member of a biblically faithful, theologically sound,
01:09:20: Christ -honoring church, like the First Presbyterian Church of Aliceville, we urge you to send us an email to chrisorrenson at gmail .com.
01:09:34: No matter where in the world you live, send us an email to chrisorrenson at gmail .com and put
01:09:39: I need a church in the subject line. I've helped many people in our listening audience find churches, sometimes even within just a couple of minutes from where they live, all over the planet earth.
01:09:51: That may be you too. Send us an email to chrisorrenson at gmail .com and put
01:09:57: I need a church in the subject line. That's also where you could send in a question to my guest Derek Bright, chrisorrenson at gmail .com
01:10:07: And we have a question from Charlie in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Did Dr.
01:10:15: Reeder publish any writings or leave any as a legacy? Oh, yes, he is a published author.
01:10:21: I've interviewed him on a couple of his books, but if you could follow up with an answer of your own.
01:10:28: Absolutely, that's a great question. So he does have some published works. He has
01:10:34: Embers to a Flame, which is his church revitalization work. He also has 3D Leadership, a book on biblical leadership, which is very, very helpful.
01:10:43: But he actually left a ton for a legacy and in fact
01:10:48: Birmingham Theological Seminary has started the Reeder Center for Pastoral Ministry and what the
01:10:55: Reeder Center does is we're seeking to endow the program and part of what the job of the
01:11:05: Reeder Center will do is taking Harry's material, whether it be his sermons and teachings and conference messages, but also things that he maybe wrote and never published or didn't finish and putting out books basically authored by him and sometimes co -authored by other people who might want who might be chosen to jump in and but putting out his material and we already have over 40 books just from Dr.
01:11:36: Reeder's materials lined up to come out of the Reeder Center for Pastoral Ministry. And so yes, he's published and yes, there's more coming.
01:11:47: There are a lot of books coming. In fact, I can't give all the details, but there's even a work being done for a church in Pakistan on the
01:11:57: Apostles' Creed right now. And so yes, Dr.
01:12:02: Reeder was published and we're going to publish a whole lot more and major publishers RHB, Christian Focus, and others have expressed interest in getting those resources out.
01:12:13: So we're really looking forward to what the Reeder Center is going to do with those. Well, thank you,
01:12:19: Charlie. And by the way, I know Charlie and Charlie is the founder of a ministry that everybody should know about.
01:12:28: Charlie's full name is actually Charlie Liebert and he is the founder of sixdaycreation .com
01:12:37: and it's spelled the the number six is spelled out S -I -X, sixdaycreation .com
01:12:45: and I urge everybody to make use of that wonderful resource. Thank you,
01:12:51: Charlie. And by the way, you have won a free copy of A Pastor's Heart. And if you come into the pastor's luncheon this
01:12:58: Thursday, I will give that to you. We have somebody with an unusual name.
01:13:08: I like the name, Harber in Cave Spring, Virginia. And Harber asks one of the problems with churches today, perhaps even especially if they are larger numerically, is the lack of church discipline.
01:13:28: I was wondering what Dr. Reeder's not only thoughts were on the subject, but if the church where he pastored was known for actively participating in that unfortunately necessary activity.
01:13:43: Yeah, another great question. So Harry and some of us by virtue of being in the
01:13:49: PCA, we try to take church discipline very seriously. Harry did as well, and I know that they've had some situations in the past, thankfully not very often.
01:14:01: He did pastor a large church, but they did take church discipline very seriously.
01:14:07: And the way that we view church discipline in general in the PCA is that everybody, whether you're in trouble or not for that matter, is under church discipline in the sense that we're all called to repent.
01:14:19: We're all called to be under the authority of the session to examine ourselves before the Lord's Supper, things like that.
01:14:26: And so when the need arose for things to be taken a step further,
01:14:34: Harry was able and willing to do that. He was very long -suffering in that wanting to work with sinners, wanting to work with people and call them to repentance and disciple them back to the truth.
01:14:50: But if there was a situation where church discipline arose, they would do that.
01:14:56: And the thing about being in a big church like Briarwood, for that example, they have a ton of elders.
01:15:02: In fact, they have so many ruling elders at their church that a session meeting for their church would be bigger than even my
01:15:10: Presbytery meetings here in West Alabama. One of the virtues or one of the benefits of that perhaps is that because they have so many pastors and because they have so many elders, they're able to keep track with a lot of people.
01:15:30: People don't fall through the cracks as much as you might think they would and they're so discipleship oriented.
01:15:38: That was really his mentality. Everything was about discipleship and because that's the case, they were able to help a lot of people and when necessary, discipline a lot of people.
01:15:51: The audience member or the questioner is correct. Discipline is much needed, but it's often neglected.
01:15:59: But I think that Harry, I know for sure Harry was serious about it when the need arose and I know that he was a very long -suffering and wanting sinners to repent and come back to the truth.
01:16:14: Amen, and that is it's a really sad commentary on the modern church that so many churches just completely ignore the biblical warrant, the biblical command to conduct church discipline.
01:16:35: And they think that they're being more loving and kind by doing that perhaps or maybe they just are so fearful of losing popularity and people perhaps especially even those that are putting money in the plate every
01:16:54: Sunday that they refrain from this, but that that is not a loving act.
01:17:02: By the way, Derek, I don't know if you know this about me, but I tragically after 18 years of sobriety fell off the wagon and became immersed in drunkenness, habitual unrepentant drunkenness, and I believe that being placed under church discipline in my own congregation years ago saved my life.
01:17:25: Not only more importantly restored me to the church and a right relationship with the
01:17:32: Lord, but I believe physically it saved my life. I don't even believe I'd be sitting here talking to you if they didn't do that.
01:17:39: So that was an act, that was an act of love. Yep. Absolutely.
01:17:44: I'm glad you shared. I did not know that about you. I'm glad you shared that. I was actually speaking to somebody recently and this wasn't about Harry or Briarwood, but I was explaining a story about the church that I was previously a member at and interned at in the
01:17:58: PCA and there was a family, the man had had an affair. He left his wife and children, moved a couple states away, was living in sin and had attempted to join another church in our denomination, but keep his life secret.
01:18:14: And our pastor caught wind of that. He and some elders actually drove a couple states away to confront the man.
01:18:22: It was on a Sunday morning. That church that the man was going to had no idea what was going on and what they did was they, when my pastor walked in, they surrounded the guy, wanted to defend him, which was godly of them.
01:18:35: But when my pastor explained and said, no, you don't understand. He's abandoned his wife and family and he's underdisciplined from us.
01:18:41: He's been suspended from the sacraments. He's on his way to excommunication. We're here to call him in repentance.
01:18:47: That session of that church broke down and wept. And long story short, that man ended up repenting, returning to his family.
01:18:58: And when I was being told the story, they said, we won't tell you what family it is. If we did though, you would never suspect it because that man is a model husband and father that all of our church looks up to, but you'd never know it was them.
01:19:14: But it took church discipline and people being serious about it for that to happen.
01:19:20: And Harry was the kind of man who would show up on your doorstep and knock on the door and want to deal with it and want to call you back.
01:19:29: And so I'm glad you shared that. That's such a blessing. Church discipline really is a gift from the
01:19:35: Lord that is not, yes, it's a hard thing, but it is a loving thing that the end goal in our book of church order states, and I know
01:19:44: Baptists feel the same way, that the end goal of church discipline is not excommunication.
01:19:50: The end goal of church discipline is for a sinner to be restored to the fellowship. Yes, amen.
01:19:57: And we were serious about that. Amen. And by the way, as I try to do as often as I can,
01:20:04: I love to sing the praises about a addiction recovery ministry in Boone, North Carolina, where I went and admitted myself after being put under church discipline, hebroncolony .org
01:20:24: hebroncolony .org. I know some people pronounce it hebron, h -e -b -r -o -n colony .org.
01:20:30: I I admitted myself into that wonderful ministry well over a decade ago and left there never desiring a drop of alcohol again.
01:20:44: Now, I know that some of my Reformed listeners may be wondering, where do
01:20:50: I stand on the liberty to drink? Well, I believe that Christians do have the liberty to drink. I don't.
01:20:57: And thank God I don't even have the desire to—not that everybody who goes through a recovery program has the same reaction as I did, or response, or change of desires in that realm.
01:21:16: But thank God I did, and I know that I have to take— he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
01:21:23: I always have to remind myself of that, but I I just want to praise God for Hebron Colony for the amazing work
01:21:29: God did through them in my life. Let's see, we have
01:21:38: Roderick in Southampton, Long Island, New York, and Roderick says, what can you say about Dr.
01:21:47: Reeder that maybe stands out in his successful approach and accomplishment of things in the pastoral ministry that may be lacking in far too many churches in our day and age?
01:22:03: Oh goodness, where do I begin? I would say that there's a couple things that I'd want to point out.
01:22:12: First is one of the things that I think is lacking, especially in a man of his stature and position, is humility and a willingness to be present for people.
01:22:26: He was not someone, though he pastored a very large church, he was not someone who saw himself as this major conference speaker who was detached from the life of his congregation.
01:22:41: He believed that shepherds ought to smell like sheep and even though he had four or five thousand sheep, he, to the best of his ability, was involved in their lives and did a lot of things for people that others didn't see, including marrying people.
01:23:01: Maybe it was they were widows, it was their second marriage, in his office with his robe on and everything, with nobody there but one witness.
01:23:13: But doing things in such a way that nobody would ever see what he was doing, but it was the true work of the shepherd.
01:23:23: The second thing I would say is that Harry was gifted in leadership and discipleship, and he wasn't just a preacher, he wasn't just a teacher, he wasn't just a seminary professor, but he actually sought to invest in the life of his elders and also other pastors and show them how to lead their congregations, show them how to disciple others, and I think that there's a missing piece for many in our circles today in that discipleship often gets, that discussion often gets dominated by the broad evangelical church that's focused more on, you know, pragmatic things and practical approaches, and Harry did not see any kind of you know, disagreement or disjunction between solid reformed biblical teaching and preaching and leadership and discipleship.
01:24:35: He wanted to marry the two, and I think that we would do well to not only model his love for biblical and reformed truth, but also to lead and disciple others, whomever
01:24:50: God gives us in our path. I think he had a unique ability to do that. So that's why I recommend his book on 3D leadership.
01:24:59: Not many reformed authors put out a book on leadership, but he did, because it was something that he was passionate about and something he was successful about.
01:25:08: So I would say those two things. Excellent question, and please give me your full mailing address in Southampton, New York, so that we can have
01:25:18: Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service ship to you a free copy of A Pastor's Heart, Essays in Memory of Harry L.
01:25:26: Reader III, edited by my guest today, Derek Bright, and once again, we thank
01:25:31: Christian Focus Publications for their generosity in providing these giveaway copies, and we thank
01:25:38: Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service, cvbbs .com for shipping these books out.
01:25:45: Let's see here. We have
01:25:52: William, and William lives in Cooperstown, New York, home of the
01:26:00: Baseball Hall of Fame, and William asks, is there anything that made
01:26:08: Dr. Reader different as far as a position he held in regard to the
01:26:15: Reformed faith that may not be all that common? Yeah, that's a good question.
01:26:22: I don't think there was really anything as far as a doctrinal position goes that he held that was different.
01:26:29: I mean, he was pretty vanilla Reformed theology. You know, he was,
01:26:35: I would say, he was more willing perhaps to implement, now it's a still fairly traditional worship service, but he was probably more willing to implement at times different instruments and things, and he was,
01:26:51: I think he was willing, in fact, I know he was willing not on the Lord's Day, but during the week to implement different ideas of outreach.
01:27:01: He was, you know, whether it was, because they have the school there, whether it was some kind of ballet or whatever the case is, during the week outreach, there was a lot of opportunities and different avenues for that, but that was different, separate from the
01:27:16: Lord's Day worship, of course, but yeah, he was a pretty vanilla Westminsterian, you know,
01:27:23: Reformed guy. He didn't hold any views that you'd go, huh, I'm surprised he holds that. No, he was pretty straight down the middle on things.
01:27:34: That's great to know. Perhaps he broke the mold, however, with uh, you know, we who are
01:27:45: Reformed have some negative stereotypes. Sometimes they're completely slanderous.
01:27:53: Sometimes they're fairly accurate, unfortunately, all too often. I, from what
01:27:59: I have gathered from meeting Dr. Reader and interviewing him, he was no dry, dusty, professorial individual behind the pulpit.
01:28:14: No, not at all. He was a very passionate man. He spoke with passion, spoke with authority.
01:28:23: And yeah, if he loved something or felt strongly about something, you knew it, and he was a man of opinions.
01:28:30: He had some, they were strong, but also the flip side of that, and it's funny, you mentioned
01:28:37: Puritan Reformed and Joel Beakey and The Luncheon, and I'm a student, a post -grad student at Puritan.
01:28:44: It makes me think some of Joel Beakey and they were friends that there is a certain piety in the right sense, a certain love and affection they have for Christ and the church.
01:28:57: And Harry was that way. Yes, he was strong opinion about doctrine, but he was strong in his love and affection for the
01:29:06: Lord and for his church. You're right. He was not dry. He was very passionate about the things that he loved, and you know,
01:29:14: I think you're right. We often get characterized with being dry, you know, the frozen chosen that often comes up, but that was not true of him.
01:29:26: Amen, and thank God for that. We need more men like Harry Reader, for certain, a very dynamic preacher.
01:29:36: And I know that some of my Presbyterian listeners may be insulted by this, but the kind of preaching that would make a
01:29:43: Reformed Baptist happy. That's right. That's right. Well, hey, there's a reason that people of different denominations would have
01:29:52: Harry come and speak. It's not because he was a dry academic, that's for sure. Amen.
01:29:58: Well, we're going to our final break, and if you do have a question for my guest today,
01:30:04: Derek Bright, on Harry L. Reader III, I strongly urge you to send in that question immediately, because we are rapidly running out of time.
01:30:13: Our email address is chrisarnson at gmail .com. Don't go away. We're going to be right back after these messages. James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here.
01:30:25: If you've watched my Dividing Line webcast often enough, you know I have a great love for getting Bibles and other documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.
01:30:36: And besides that, they feel so good. I'm so delighted I discovered Post Tenebrous Lux Bible Rebinding.
01:30:43: No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot. Jeffrey Rice of Post Tenebrous Lux is a remarkably gifted craftsman and artisan.
01:30:53: All his work is done by hand, from the cutting to the pleating of corners to the perimeter stitching.
01:30:58: Jeffrey uses the finest in buttery soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors, like the turquoise goat skin tanned in Italy used for my
01:31:08: Nestle All in 28th edition, with a navy blue goat skin inside liner and the electric blue goat skin from a
01:31:14: French tannery used to rebind a Reformation study Bible I used as a gift. The silver gilding he added on the page edges has a stunning mirror finish resembling highly polished chrome.
01:31:25: Jeffrey will customize your rebinding to your specifications and even emboss your logo into the leather, making whatever he rebinds a one -of -a -kind work of art.
01:31:36: For more details on Post Tenebrous Lux Bible Rebinding, go to ptlbiblerebinding .com
01:31:43: That's ptlbiblerebinding .com Greetings, this is
01:32:09: Brian McLaughlin, President of the SecureComm Group and supporter of Chris Arnzen's Iron Shopping Zion Radio Program.
01:32:18: SecureComm provides the highest level of security systems for residential buildings, municipalities, churches, commercial properties, and much more.
01:32:29: We can be reached at securecommgroup .com That's securecommgroup .com
01:32:38: But today I want to introduce you to my senior pastor Doug McMasters of New High Park Baptist Church on Long Island.
01:32:52: Doug McMasters here, former Director of Pastoral Correspondence at Grace to You, the
01:32:57: Radio Ministry of John MacArthur. In the film Chariots of Fire, the Olympic gold medalist runner
01:33:02: Eric Liddell remarked that he felt God's pleasure when he ran. He knew his efforts sprang from the gifts and calling of God.
01:33:11: I sensed that same God -given pleasure when ministering the word and helping others gain a deeper knowledge and love for God.
01:33:18: That love starts with the wonderful news that the Lord Jesus Christ is a savior who died for sinners and that God forgives all who come to him in repentance, trusting solely in Christ to deliver them.
01:33:30: I would be delighted to have the honor and privilege of ministering to you if you live in the Long Island area or Queens or Brooklyn or the
01:33:38: Bronx in New York City. For details on New High Park Baptist Church visit nhpbc .com
01:33:47: That's nhpbc .com You can also call us at 516 -352 -9672
01:33:56: That's 516 -352 -9672 That's New High Park Baptist Church a congregation in love with each other passionate for Christ Committed to learning and being shaped by God's word and delighting in the gospel of God's sovereign grace.
01:34:15: God bless you Armored Republic exists to equip free men with tools of liberty to defend
01:34:21: God -given rights against the twin threats of tyranny and chaos If you own a rifle to resist tyrants and criminals, then you should own body armor and a med kit for the same reasons
01:34:31: A rifle stops evil, body armor and a med kit keep you in the fight and preserve your life
01:34:37: Armored Republic is a body of free craftsmen united to create tools of liberty. We are honored to be your armorsmith of choice
01:34:45: Civilian ownership of body armor is about increasing decentralized power and by comparison reducing the advantages of centralized power
01:34:54: The danger of centralized power is often represented by the word king As americans, we hate the word king applied to any mere man
01:35:03: We are armored republic and in a republic There is no king but christ
01:35:09: Arm yourself with tools of liberty at armoredrepublic .com I Am pastor keith allen of linbrook baptist church a christ -centered gospel driven church looking to spread the gospel in the southwest portion of Long island new york and play our role in fulfilling the great commission
01:35:41: Supporting and sending for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth We're delighted to be a part of chris arnzen's iron sharpens iron radio advertising family
01:35:52: At linbrook baptist church, we believe the scriptures of the old and new testaments to be the inspired word of god inerrant in the original writings
01:36:00: Complete as the revelation of god's will for salvation and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak
01:36:09: We believe in salvation by grace through faith in jesus christ This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of god was purchased by christ on the cross and is received through faith alone apart from any human merit works or ritual
01:36:25: Salvation in christ also results in righteous living good works and appropriate respect and concern for all who bear god's image
01:36:35: If you live near linbrook long island, or if you're just passing through on the lord's day We'd love to have you come and join us in worship
01:36:43: For details visit linbrookbaptist .org. That's l -y -n -brook Baptist .org
01:36:49: This is pastor keith. Allen of linbrook baptist church reminding you that by grace
01:36:54: You have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of god
01:36:59: Not a result of words so that no one may boast The lord blessing in the knowledge of himself
01:37:18: When iron sharpens iron radio first launched in 2005 The publishers of the new american standard bible were among my very first sponsors
01:37:27: It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the iron sharpens iron radio audience have been sticking with or switching to the nasb
01:37:38: This is daryl bernard harrison co -host of the just thinking podcast and the nasb is my bible of choice
01:37:46: I'm pastor tom buck at first baptist church in lindale, texas and the nasb is my bible of choice
01:37:54: I'm pastor kent keller of faith bible church in sharpsburg, georgia and the nasb is my bible of choice
01:38:01: I'm andrew rapport the founder and executive director at striving for eternity ministries and the nasb
01:38:08: Is my bible of choice I'm mark rimaldi pastor of sovereign grace church of greenbrier, tennessee
01:38:16: And the nasb is my bible of choice I'm christopher cookston pastor of primeville community church in primeville, oregon
01:38:27: And the nasb is my bible of choice I'm matt tarr pastor of highpoint baptist church in larksville, pennsylvania, and the nasb is my bible of choice
01:38:38: Here's a great way for your church to help keep iron sharpens iron radio on the air Pastors are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?
01:38:47: Consider restocking your pews with the nasb And tell the publishers you heard about them from chris arnzen on iron sharpens iron radio
01:38:56: Go to nasbible .com That's nasbible .com to place your order
01:39:07: Oh This is pastor bill sasa grace church at franklin here in the beautiful state of tennessee
01:39:17: Our congregation is one of a growing number of churches who love and support iron sharpens iron radio
01:39:25: Financially grace church at franklin is an independent Autonomous body of believers which strives to clearly declare the whole council of god as revealed
01:39:36: In scripture through the person and work of our lord. Jesus christ And of course the end of which we strive
01:39:44: Is the glory of god If you live near franklin, tennessee and franklin is just south of nashville, maybe 10 minutes
01:39:52: Or you are visiting this area or you have friends and loved ones nearby We hope you will join us some lord's day in worshiping our god and savior
01:40:03: Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions about grace church Our website is gracechurchatfranklin .org
01:40:12: That's gracechurchatfranklin .org This is pastor bill sasa wishing you all the richest blessings of our sovereign lord god savior and king jesus christ today and always
01:40:39: I'm, dr. Tony costa professor of apologetics and islam at toronto baptist seminary
01:40:44: I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where i've been invited to speak and have grown to love
01:40:50: Hope reform baptist church in quorum, long island, new york pastored by rich jensen and christopher mcdowell
01:40:58: It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of god like the dear saints at hope reform baptist church in quorum
01:41:05: Who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into the unfathomable riches of christ in his holy word
01:41:13: And to enthusiastically proclaim christ jesus the king And his doctrines of sovereign grace in suffolk county long island and beyond I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation
01:41:27: And receive the blessing of being showered by their love as I have for more information on hope reform baptist church
01:41:34: Go to hope reform li .net That's hope reformed li .net
01:41:41: or call 631 -696 -5711 That's 631 -696 -5711
01:41:52: Tell the folks at hope reform baptist church of quorum, long island, new york that you heard about them from tony costa on iron sharpens iron
01:42:08: Foreign Chris arnson here
01:42:16: I am forever grateful to cumberland valley bible book service for their generous financial support of iron sharpens iron radio
01:42:23: But that's not the only reason I love them cv bbs .com carries the finest and theologically reformed literature from 16th century classics like calvin's institutes 17th and 18th century puritan treasures like the works of jonathan edwards 19th century volumes by the prince of preachers charles spurgeon all the way up to the 21st century with the best of r .c
01:42:48: Sproul steve lawson vody baucom and more on top of their stellar book selection cvbbs .com
01:42:55: Offers up to 50 off retail prices with an added five percent off for orders of fifty dollars or more
01:43:03: When using the promo code iron Visit cvbbs .com
01:43:08: today and use promo code iron. That's cvbbs .com
01:43:14: Enriching minds and maintaining the theologically reformed influence of iron sharpens iron radio through their financial support now shipping worldwide
01:43:27: Welcome back I want to remind you folks That iron sharpens iron radio is paid for in part by my dear longtime friend
01:43:38: Daniel p buttafuoco attorney at law Of the law firm of buttafuoco and associates if you are the victim of a very serious personal injury
01:43:46: Or medical malpractice anywhere in the united states, please. Call dan at 1 -800 -NOW -HURT 1 -800 -NOW -HURT or visit his website 1 -800 -NOW -HURT .COM
01:43:59: 1 -800 -NOW -HURT .COM Please remember if you contact dan to mention that you heard about his law firm from iron sharpens iron radio
01:44:08: Also, I want to let our listeners know That I just got the word from pete hegseth of fox news
01:44:17: That he will be our guest on friday To discuss his new book the war on warriors behind the betrayal of the men who keep us free
01:44:28: That's this friday at june 7th right here on iron sharpens iron radio, please make sure you tell your friends family and loved ones, especially if They are in the military or perhaps
01:44:41: Contemplating enlisting in the military. I'm sure that they will find this Interview to be eye -opening and very beneficial to their life
01:44:50: Well, we are back with my guest today. Derek bright and we are going to be continuing to discuss
01:44:57: Until the end of the program a pastor's heart essays in memory of harry l reader the third
01:45:04: And if you have a question, please submit it to chris arnzen at gmail .com
01:45:11: chris arnzen at gmail .com Give us your first name at least Your city and state of residence and your country of Residence if you live outside the usa
01:45:22: Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal private matter
01:45:30: Uh, let's see we have Cj and lyndon hearst long island new york and cj wants to know
01:45:39: Was dr reader always reformed in his theology? Please forgive me if I missed this earlier on I just tuned in That's a good question.
01:45:52: So In one sense. Yes in that when he was discipled early on Um, you know, he was discipled by a reformed pastor, but he actually started out a lot of people don't know this at tennessee temple
01:46:05: In chattanooga, tennessee and before he went to westminster and of course tennessee temples and Independent fundamental baptist school or was rather they're no longer in existence and he ended up leaving there
01:46:18: Over differences he had on the reformed faith. Um so, uh, he was a longtime reformed man, um,
01:46:26: I think that he uh, depending on your definition of reform perhaps wasn't as reformed as um when he entered the ministry early on but uh um, you know,
01:46:38: I think um Yeah, once he once he left temple and went to westminster, that's where it really took off Well cj, please make sure you give us your full mailing address
01:46:48: In lyndon hearst because you've just won a pastor's heart Do you know any area of?
01:46:54: ministry where dr reader Perhaps had a change of heart and changed
01:47:01: The manner in which he conducted a certain area of his ministry or belief uh, and uh
01:47:08: You know, perhaps even raised eyebrows surprised people that he did so Yeah, that's a good question, uh, the only one that I can maybe think of Is that uh early on from my understanding in his ministry and this is a little bit more of secondhand information
01:47:25: But it's my understanding that perhaps he was a little more broad in his views on worship and um, and even on Certain confessional matters and it was in his later years um, really or maybe even the second half of his ministry that he began to tighten up more and began to become more
01:47:48: Uh, dare I say conservative in his views on that. Um, I think early on he was a little bit more broad
01:47:54: Um from what I understand, um, then the way he then the way he ended Okay, uh, we have benny in louisville, kentucky
01:48:08: And benny says are you aware of any close friendships that dr reader had?
01:48:13: With those in ministry outside of his own denomination and perhaps even theological perspectives
01:48:22: Yes, uh, he did have uh friendships with um a number of baptist pastors, especially, um
01:48:32: There's a lot of uh african -american pastors in birmingham that he had close friendships with that are in predominantly historically
01:48:42: Um, you know african -american denominations and churches and he had a close relationship with them
01:48:48: And did a lot in the community with them and uh, and and often even uh, in fact recently spoke at one of their events and uh part of that too is has been passed on to birmingham theological seminary, which is um houses students from various different denominations including including those so He did have friendships that were outside just the pca reformed
01:49:16: Um, and a lot of them were with minority pastors who uh ministered in his city
01:49:22: Why don't you uh spend a little bit more time even though we've mentioned it A couple of times.
01:49:29: In fact, you just mentioned the birmingham theological seminary Why don't you take a little bit more time to explain that in more detail?
01:49:37: Yeah, so birmingham theological seminary is housed at briarwood though we offer online
01:49:43: Second -classes that actually stretch across the world. We have people in different countries taking classes as well as in bibb county correctional facility at federal prison here in alabama and It was started by frank barker who pastored and planted
01:49:59: Briarwood presbyterian church and then was succeeded by harry reader and now
01:50:05: In addition to having thousands of students worldwide offering solid reformed and accessible and financially accessible classes
01:50:16: They are housing the reader center the reader center for pastoral ministry
01:50:22: Is not just a department within bts, but it's ultimately Part of a larger ministry and legacy of dr.
01:50:30: Reader which will house his publishing Putting out future books and materials based on his teaching.
01:50:38: It'll also provide scholar an annual run of scholarships for 10 students with a focus on Taking Taking people who are primary, you know, primarily those who want to be pastors and really teaching and discipling them
01:51:00: With a particular focus to go out to revitalize and plant churches That was something that harry was known for with the lampstand used to be embers to a flame but the lampstand conference on revitalization and so we're seeking to endow that that department and Which will again give 10 scholarships to each student or to i'm sorry 10 scholarships
01:51:26: For 10 students on an annual basis full ride to get their degree as well as house his publishing
01:51:34: From here on out and it's so far. It just started but it's been a great blessing to see that and bts um serves at an accessible rate
01:51:46: You know students from really all stripes of the evangelical landscape and We unashamedly hold to the westminster confession in fact if you take
01:51:59: A class on the westminster confession, for example, I would probably be your professor and I take no exceptions
01:52:05: Uh to the confession i'm very conservative in that way and so Uh, I would teach you as if uh, you know,
01:52:12: I would teach you with no exceptions. Um Same thing with the doctrine of god. I would um, but uh, we have a very sound group of faculty and um
01:52:23: One of the things that bts has been able to do because it's financially accessible is we keep our overhead low um
01:52:31: And so we don't have people who are full -time faculty Uh as far as uh teachers go we don't have full -time professors
01:52:39: Um, and so we keep the cost of tuition low um Which helps service people who especially can't go through a traditional route in seminary, you know
01:52:49: The traditional route is you would quit your job Move away go live on campus or go live in that town and go to school full -time well
01:52:59: That works for a lot of people and that's a great model, but not everybody can do that Um, some people need to go part -time keep their job, whatever the case is, but you don't want to go to you know
01:53:10: A diploma mill or somewhere that doesn't have high quality professors. No, we have the same professors other schools have
01:53:18: Sometimes they teach for both schools um, but we do it at an accessible rate keeping our overhead low and um
01:53:25: It was something that harry was passionate about and uh, we we seek to model ourselves
01:53:30: After him and frank barker in that we want to hold a high view of doctrine high view of the bible
01:53:36: The sufficiency and errancy of scripture the truth of the reformed faith and we also want to help you
01:53:43: Get the practical element. How does this work itself out in the life of the church and how can we?
01:53:48: um teach you even to revitalize a church plan a church um, if you take a healthy church, how can we further that growth and health and see it at the next step and it's um, you know, and I already mentioned this but Some of the students that I have
01:54:05: I teach at the often at the prison in bibb county and ligonier actually is a partner with us
01:54:11: For those who love ligonier ministries, they provide the library. They're also a big supporter Chris larson was down just last year to tour the prison and sit in on some of the classes
01:54:23: And uh people would be shocked to see what's going on at bibb county correctional facility
01:54:29: I have masters and doctoral students there Um who are doing great work and the papers they turn in praise god
01:54:36: I mean, it's just unbelievable what we've been it's the closest thing to a revival a historic revival that i've ever seen
01:54:44: And chris larson when he came We were all sitting in a room and at one point he said
01:54:49: Is this real? Are y 'all just putting on an act for us? I've been to we're involved in so many prison ministries
01:54:56: I've never seen one like this and we said no this is really how it is I mean he he sat in on a class and here are some inmates
01:55:03: Some of them serving life sentences for murder and all other manner of things and the question one of the questions was well explain to me the hypostatic union and the guy who's a
01:55:15: Who probably never got out of prison says it's the doctrine of the two natures of christ and and he began to explain
01:55:22: How the two natures are important in the one person and how it's important for our redemption and and you're thinking where am
01:55:30: I? Am I really in a prison? Huh? Um And in fact when I went to preach there one time, um
01:55:37: You'll love this chris. I I went to preach there before I began to teach seminary classes. I've taught covenant theology um, i'm going to be teaching, um covenant theology again and uh there but uh and doctrine of god, but I um
01:55:50: I went to preach there for the first time and there's about 100 140 or so Uh men who will come to the chapel and I was told by the chaplain
01:56:01: Um, who's a great pca man. He said listen brother. Um, i'm glad you're coming to preach Um, if you don't preach sound doctrine, they'll run you out of here
01:56:11: And I said really he goes i'm serious you bring the word or don't come at all Wow, that's in a prison that's known as bloody bib one of the most violent prisons in america
01:56:22: Wow, and the program has grown so much That one entire side of the prison one entire bay
01:56:31: Um and dorm has been taken over. They've actually had to relocate Some to the other side they've called the the bts jumpstart, which is another ministry we're involved with Side the garden of eden they've called one side of the prison, uh, the hunger games
01:56:48: Well, the ministry has grown so much They've seen so many converts that they've actually sent others over to the hunger games and they've gone as missionaries
01:56:57: They've had their lives threatened Uh, one, uh person has been violently beat and they're going in there and they're saying we're going to give the gospel
01:57:06: And these are prisoners Um, but bts is is involved in that and ligonier now is too
01:57:12: So what bts is doing right now is just really remarkable and in many respects unheard of Well, uh, we are out of time
01:57:23: Perhaps if you could just take a minute to summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners today
01:57:29: Well, I would be remiss if I I didn't say that, uh, you know harry as much as he was a man to be followed
01:57:35: He was a man who followed the lord jesus christ. Amen And and he would tell all of our listeners pastor and lay person alike follow after the lord jesus christ with everything you have go all in for christ and um,
01:57:51: You will see much fruit and much blessing and it will not be a lot a life that is wasted
01:57:58: Hallelujah. Well, I want to make sure our listeners are reminded of your website uh
01:58:04: The website for the church Where my guest today?
01:58:11: Uh, derek bright serves as the pastor uh is first prez aliceville .org
01:58:22: First prez aliceville .org and that's aliceville, alabama First prez aliceville .org.
01:58:29: I want to thank you so much for being such a superb guest today Derek I look forward to your return to the show
01:58:36: For more interviews in the future And I want to thank everybody who listened today And don't forget folks if you uh did not win a copy of a pastor's heart today
01:58:47: Essays in memory of harry l reader the third go to cv bbs .com cumberland valley bible book service cvbbs .com
01:58:55: they carry all christian focused titles and of course numerous other publishers titles
01:59:02: And ask for a pastor's heart by Derek bright b -r -i -t -e
01:59:09: Well, I want Everybody listening to always remember for the rest of your lives that jesus christ