Michigan Association of Regular Baptist Churches
From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
63rd Annual MARBC
Conference Highlights
“The Courage to Stand!”
Berean Baptist Church, Portage, Pastor Mike Eleveld, staff and people were our very gracious hosts for this year’s 63rd Annual MARBC Conference. October 24-25 were the dates and Berean more than put out the red carpet making us feel right at home and meeting all of our needs with happy smiles on their faces. Thank you for being such a blessing.
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From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
2005 Annual Report
“…I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.” Ephesians 3:7
Paul’s testimony became mine as I claimed the above verse on the day of my ordination into the gospel ministry. I have never ceased to marvel that God would choose me to be one of his servants. In February, Ann and I will observe our 40th year in full time pastoral ministry and I can not adequately express how honored we are to have had such a call in our lives. It seems like only yesterday that we packed our few belongings in a U-haul and headed North to our first pastorate which numbered about 40 people, an old parsonage and $45 a week in salary. We couldn’t have been happier! [Read more...]
From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
“The Courage to Stand!”
“Do not be dismayed before their faces…”
Jeremiah 1:17
Well, dear friends, once again we are just around the corner from our 63rd Annual MARBC Conference which will be hosted this year, October 24-25, by Pastor Mike Eleveld and the dear folks at the Berean Baptist Church in Portage. You will enjoy their beautiful facilities and certainly will enjoy their gracious hospitality. The very first MARBC state meeting took place in 1942, exactly 10 years after the initiation of the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1932. Since our inception this Fellowship of churches has stood strong for the “fundamentals of the faith.” I am very pleased to be part of an association that has had courage to stand against the onslaughts of these great Scriptural truths. I thank the Lord that through the years our pastors and churches have been faithful to the cause of Christ. Being fully aware that the devil is still about his business we must also be about ours, being good keepers of the faith, until our Lord comes again. [Read more...]
From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
A Treatise For Local Churches On Pastoral Sabbaticals
I have been contemplating this subject for sometime and decided that I needed to give attention to writing about it. When statisticians tell us that fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches, fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce and seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression, something certainly needs to be addressed. Have you ever considered that your pastor might need a time away from ministry in order to be refreshed and possibly even extend his years of service to the Lord and His people? In my study I am finding that Baptists are far behind some denominations in caring for their pastor’s physical and spiritual welfare, many even having a “sabbatical policy” in their constitutions. There is not space to say all that I have written about this subject but I would be glad to send “A Treatise for Local Churches on Pastoral Sabbaticals” to any church leaders who are interested. Simply drop me a note or an e-mail. Hopefully I can entice you to do so by sharing with you a brief summary. [Read more...]
“He….encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should
continue with the Lord.” Acts 11:23
There’s No Testimony Without The Test!
I had never seen it before. It was a piece of wood about 36 inches long, 4 inches high and one half inch thick. It was sitting on a shelf in a Christian Book Store on the eastern side of our state where we had gone for a brief getaway after the Christmas holidays. Ann and I enjoy visiting unique shops and this one contained several quaint items, most of which we had seen before. But there sat this one piece of wood, really not so unique in itself, but the saying inscribed on it was what caught my attention – “There Can Be No Testimony Without The Test!” [Read more...]
From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
THE NATIONAL GARBC CONFERENCE was held this year in hot and sunny Lakeland, FL, June 28-July 1, at the Lakeland Convention Center. Hundreds of Regular Baptists gathered to hear good sound Bible teaching and preaching around the theme, “His Vision – My Vision.” Eleven new churches were added to the Fellowship and two resolutions were approved by the messengers: Preterism and the Future, Physical Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecies and Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul, both of which will be printed in the September issue of the Baptist Bulletin along with all of the other conference highlights. Dr. Jim Vogel, pastor of South Baptist Church in Flint, was re-elected to the Council of Eighteen. [Read more...]
“He…..encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should
continue with the Lord.”Acts 11:23
Things!
“Morrison of Wellington,” George H. Morrison (1866-1928), during his era was no doubt the most popular preacher in Scotland. A Presbyterian pastor, for twenty-six years he faithfully shepherded the flock at Wellington Church, Glasgow. Surrendered totally to ministry, he chose not to serve on committees, preferring rather to spend his time on what he considered were his greatest responsibilities to the church – mornings in study and afternoons in visiting his congregation, making an average of one thousand calls a year! Primarily an expository preacher, his Sunday evening sermons targeted the specific needs of his sheep and standing room only crowds gathered to hear him. Many of these sermons are in print and worthy of your reading. I like what Warren Wiersbe said of Morrison in his volume, “Living with the Giants,” a statement we preachers should take to heart: “Morrison’s preaching strength lay in his knowledge of the Bible, his knowledge of his people and their needs, and his ability to put both together in an imaginative way that reached the heart.” [Read more...]
From Where I Stand
Maynard H. Belt
MARBC State Representative
“Real Men Love God’s Word” a Reality at Annual MARBC Men’s Retreats!
Some 560 men attended the two weekends of the MARBC Men’s Retreats May 5-7 & 12-14 at beautiful Lake Ann Baptist Camp near Traverse City. Even though this year’s weather was less than desirable it did not keep the men from enjoying some very special time away from their daily routines of life. A little rain didn’t dampen their parade at all! This year we had a variety of speakers including Pastor Bob McNeil, Shelby Rd. Baptist Church in Shelby, State Representative Maynard Belt, and nationally known evangelist Rev. Jason Nightingale, all speaking on the theme of the power of God’s Word. Brother McNeil spoke on “God’s Transforming Power” from John Chapter five; Brother Belt spoke on “My Bible and I” from Psalm 19:7-14; and Brother Nightingale on Friday night gave his personal testimony and a dramatic recitation of the first epistle of John and Saturday morning quoted and expounded several chapters of the Gospel of John. We rejoice that during both weekends many men committed to making the Word of God their Friend. [Read more...]
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