20th anniversary of baptism (and conversion to Christ) . . . Independent Bible Church, Port Angeles, WA . . . Lake Crescent Lodge, Olympic National Park, WA

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

It was on Sunday, November 1, 1992, that Pastor Mike Chinn baptized me by water immersion during an evening service at Independent Bible Church (IBC, est. 1888) in Port Angeles, WA. A glorious and life-changing event it was!

Along with one of my heroes--the "uncommon Christian" James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829)--so I also exclaim with utter amazement, wonder and joy,

Surely I am a miracle of grace—a sinner saved by grace, free grace, sovereign grace, almighty grace.

I am indeed a wonder to myself when I think what I once was, and contrast my former with my present situation and prospects.

Francis Kyle, the baptized. 1992.
Seasonal waiter. 1992-97, 1999-2001.
Lake Crescent Lodge, Olympic National Park, WA.

Pastor Mike Chinn, the baptizer.
With wife Carolyn.

Independent Bible Church. Est. 1888.
Port Angeles, Clallam County, WA.

A simple yet treasured and framed document.
Certificate of Baptism. November 1, 1992.
Independent Bible Church. Port Angeles, WA.

One church's Statement of Faith summarizes baptism like this:

We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord by which those who have repented and come to faith express their union with Christ in His death and resurrection, by being immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of belonging to the new people of God, the true Israel, and an emblem of burial and cleansing, signifying death to the old life of unbelief, and purification from the pollution of sin.

Thus, and among other spiritual truths as just mentioned, the baptism 20 years ago today symbolized my being "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus," and no longer being an "instrument for unrighteousness" but an "instrument for righteousness," per Romans 6:1-14 in the New Testament:

[1] What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2] By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6] We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7] For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8] Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9] We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10] For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11] So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

[12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. [13] Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. [14] For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

It was a long and spiritually dark 21.5 years that led up to the baptism and surrender/conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ just 1-2 weeks prior in mid-October 1992.

An employee dorm room at historic Lake Crescent Lodge in Washington State's Olympic National Park was the location the Sovereign God chose whereby I would be "born again"/spiritually regenerated (John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:3, 23), repent of my sins and place my faith/trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

At the time, I was a seasonal waiter nearing completion of the first of what would be 9 seasons (1992-97, 1999-2001). Only those bosses, co-workers and returning guests who knew me that first season of employment could truly contrast the "before and after" Francis.

I had grown up in a nominal Roman Catholic home in West Hartford, Connecticut, and was thus some 3,000 miles away from familiar territory at the time of my conversion to biblical Christianity (Evangelical Protestantism) and subsequent baptism.

From leaving Roman Catholicism in October 1989, to reading the Bible cover-to-cover in Connecticut and while traveling/working in 3 western U.S. national park hotel-restaurants (Glacier in Montana, Big Bend in Texas, Olympic in Washington State), to losing a Jewish girlfriend due to a break-up, to attending a "college-and-career" young adult Bible study in the home of an Independent Bible Church elder and his wife (Todd and Noni Huber in Port Angeles), to meeting one-on-one with Pastor Mike Chinn who explained the Gospel to me--the Lord used various Christians and circumstances to bring me to a saving knowledge of Himself.

It has been a marvelous last 19 years of "living by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7).

I am looking forward with eager anticipation and expectation to what my 5th decade of living (began last year/2011)--and now 3rd decade of Christian living--will consist of.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.  Psalm 139:16

NONE but Christ; ALL for Christ.  James Brainerd Taylor

Location of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ in mid-October 1992.

Employee dorm room (southwest corner).
Lake Crescent Lodge, Olympic National Park, WA.
Room faces U.S. Highway 101, located only a few hundred feet away.

"You must be born again" (John 3:3, 7, New Testament).

Lastly, an instructive sermon on believers baptism is this message from a California pastor who was instrumental in my early spiritual growth as a believer. Be blessed!

Peter J. Brashler (1912-1995), missionary with Africa Inland Mission -- honoring the 100th anniversary of his birth . . . Yoane Akudri (1898-1997), beloved African pastor . . . First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA

Peter and Edythe Brashler.

© John McMillan of McMillan Design, Inc. 
Gig Harbor, WA.
www.SeaCatch.com/md.htm

The 100th anniversary of the birth of Peter James Brashler took place October 4, 2012.

A tribute in his honor took place on October 21, 2012, at First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA.

I gave a 30-minute biographical presentation and various longtime members of FBC reminisced about Peter, his parents, siblings and Edythe, his wife of 55 years.

FBC was one of Dr. Brashler's supporting churches.

After 36 years (1940-76) serving with Africa Inland Mission in the Belgian Congo--later named Zaire (1971-97), today called the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)--Peter served as an Associate Pastor at FBC for 13 years (1978-91).

He died on February 2, 1995 (age 82). A plaque in his honor hangs in the foyer of FBC.

It was a wonderful night of inspirational missionary biography combined with African missions history, regional history (Snohomish County, WA) and local church history.

A.I.M. Est. 1895.

With his widowed wife Edythe (1915-2003) and adopted son Stephen (1953-1997) both deceased, and with no grandchildren, the lone public tribute to Peter was obscure and somber.

Yet to those present, it was a boost of encouragement to remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ to the very end, knowing that the all-seeing God rewards faithful servants. "God will give to each person according to what he has done" (Romans 2:6). "Because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free" (Ephesians 6:8).

BIOGRAPHICAL TIMELINE

Peter James Brashler (1912-1995)
&
Edythe L. (McKee) Brashler (1915-2003)
~ obituary and photo of Peter/Edythe's gravestone found here ~
&
Adopted son Stephen H. Brashler (1953-1997)
~ photo of Stephen's gravestone found here ~

Marysville Cemetery.
Marysville, Snohomish County, WA.

Marysville Cemetery.
Marysville, Snohomish County, WA.

October 4, 1912 - Peter born in Dexter, N.M., to South Holland, Cook County, IL, natives--and 640-acre N.M. homesteaders--William (1887-1968) and Gerrigje/Carrie (1887-1979) Brashler. Siblings eventually include brothers Clarence and Bill, and sisters Pauline and Jean.

November 29, 1915 - Edythe born in Park Rapids, Hubbard County, MN. Raised in Seattle and Everett, WA.

1916 - Brashler family (Peter age 4) moves to and operates a dairy farm in Arlington, WA. Joins maternal relatives who migrated to WA from IL.

Spring 1921 - Peter's parents convert to Christianity (Evangelical Protestant) through the efforts of an Irish evangelist holding meetings at the Gospel Hall in Arlington, WA (Plymouth Brethren church). (Peter's Dutch parents had grown up in the Calvinistic-based Christian Reformed Church.)

January 1922 - Peter (age 9) converts to Christianity (Evangelical Protestant) while attending the Gospel Hall in Arlington, WA (Plymouth Brethren church). Over time and through biblical studies, Peter inherits and accepts his parents' Calvinistic beliefs and its emphasis on the sovereignty of God.

1930's - During the Great Depression, Brashler family sells farm and moves to Everett, WA. Peter drops out of high school to help with family finances. Works his way up to manager of a grocery store. Meets his future wife Edythe at First Baptist Church of Everett where Edythe's Irish-American father (Dr. H. R. McKee) is pastor. Quits smoking.

1933 - Edythe graduates from Everett High School (WA).

1934(?) - Peter joins future wife Edythe as a student at Biola University in CA.

1937(?) - Peter and future wife Edythe sense a call to missionary service in Africa upon hearing Ralph Davis, the home director of the Africa Inland Mission, speak at Biola University's missionary conference. 

1937 - Edythe graduates from Biola University.

1938 - Peter graduates from Biola University. Ordained to the Gospel ministry.

Summer 1938 - With 6 others, Peter studies under Dr. Elbert McCreery at the Wycliffe Summer Institute of Linguistics at McCreery's rance in Estes Park, CO.

September 15, 1939 - Peter and Edythe marry at First Baptist Church of Everett, WA.

1939-40 - As W.W. II begins, Peter and Edythe's plans to go to Africa are delayed. Peter serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of Lake Stevens, WA.

1940-76 - Peter (ages 28-64) and Edythe (ages 25-61) serve as missionaries with Africa Inland Mission, in Belgian Congo. Make at least 6 furlough trips (every 5-7 years) to USA, giving missionary reports to supporting churches, furthering their linguistic and other studies (Everett Community College, University of Washington), and Peter ministering as interim pastor and sometimes employed outside the church (yellow pages salesman, etc.).

February 15, 1953 - Adopted son Stephen is born in Everett, WA. Peter and Edythe take 1-year-old Stephen back to Africa with them.

1971(?) - Stephen graduates from Rift Valley Academy in Kenya.

1973 - In Bunia (city in northeast Zaire/DRC), Peter receives the prestigious National Order of the Leopard medal from Zaire's President/King Mobutu and General Victor Lundula. An honor accorded few white men, the medal is Zaire's highest military and civilian award (created May 24, 1966).

1978-91 - Peter serves as Associate Pastor at First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA.

Autobiography by Peter Brashler. 1979.

1979 - Peter writes autobiography Change: My Thirty-Five Years in Africa. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 215 pages.)

--> "This volume will delight your heart, inform your mind, and challenge your will to become involved with God in world evangelization."  From the Foreword by Peter Stam, Africa Inland Mission.

Spring 1981 - Peter serves as Zaire's Pastor Yoane Akudri (1898-1997) western U.S. interpreter during Akudri's 3rd and last speaking tour in the U.S. (Other tours were in 1970 and 1975, the 65th and 70th anniversaries of the Africa Inland Mission.) A friend and former student of Peter's, the 82-year-old Akudri ends his final U.S. tour by preaching on Mother's Day at First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA.

Biography of a beloved African pastor. 1990.

1990 - After a trip to Zaire for research purposes (first and only trip to his former mission field), Peter writes the biography Akudri: The True Story of Yoane Akudri (1898-1997). (Marysville, WA: Cascade Publishing, 239 pages.)

--> "Yoane Akudri's life is not unlike that of David Livingstone [1813-1873], or of Hudson Taylor [1832-1905]. There are humorous situations that will keep the reader awake, and also challenging situations that will attract younger and older people to commit their lives to Christ."  From book's back cover.

--> "Most so-called 'missionary' books see life in a developing country through the eyes of the foreigner. It is refreshing to read a biography, which includes much missionary endeavor, seen through the eyes of an African--an African of giant spiritual stature, yet so humble that he is glad to acknowledge his personal, and his national church's, debt to the foreign missionary, despite all the mistakes we have made."
From the Foreword by Dr. Helen Roseveare, WEC International.

1991 - Peter suffers a massive stroke.

February 2, 1995 - Peter dies (age 82) in Everett, WA. Buried in Marysville Cemetery (Section B, North) in Marysville, WA. After 55 years of marriage, wife Edythe becomes a widow.

December 1, 1997 - Adopted son Stephen dies (age 44). Buried in Marysville Cemetery (Section B, North) in Marysville, WA.

March 1, 2003 - Edythe dies (age 87) in Everett, WA. Buried alongside Peter in Marysville Cemetery (Section B, North) in Marysville, WA. "Edythe continued her witness for Christ to her very last day." (Edythe's obituary and picture of Peter/Edythe's gravestone found here.)

Congo church service. 1960.

"Rev. Peter Brashler and family return home after spending 19 years in Belgian Congo."
Marysville Globe (Marysville, WA). Thursday. June 11, 1959.

First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA. Est. 1903.

"Unworthy of the regard of my Christian friends" . . . James Brainerd Taylor's self-astonishment and wonderment

In his diary on November 18, 1820, the 19-year-old Lawrenceville Academy (N.J.) student and striving uncommon Christian James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829) wrote,

I feel myself, as heretofore, unworthy of the regard of my Christian friends; and at times I am astonished that any should love such a one as I am. Surely if they could see me as I sometimes see myself, they would wonder too. Alas! in all things I come short, and in many I offend.

Yet I bless the Lord for what he has done for me, and I rely on his grace to make me more like himself. My soul daily pants for more holiness, more devotedness to the cause of my Redeemer; and through him I do hope to be made useful.

*John Holt Rice and Benjamin Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, 2nd Ed. (NY: American Tract Society, 1833), 52-53.

When it comes to Christian friends and being a friend of God (James 2:23), may such J. B. Taylor-like humility and self-amazement characterize all present-day uncommon Christians.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:12-15 (words of Jesus Christ)

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
                              1 Peter 5:5b-7




Appropriately, here is the song "Friends" (1983) by the contemporary Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith:

Prayer of Agur, Proverbs 30:7-9 . . . "Two things I ask of you"

The latest sermon from UCM.

From Proverbs 30:7-9--the only prayer recorded in the Book of Proverbs--a closer look at a very appropriate prayer in light of today's economic "new normal." May it add a boost to your prayer life as you commune with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The message was preached to the striving "uncommon" Christians at Grace Church in my native West Hartford, Connecticut. See "Sermons - By Speaker" (Dr. Francis Kyle), August 26, 2012. A gem of a church in the midst of spiritually hardened New England.

--> FYI: Grace Church's pastor, Dr. Ted Bigelow, authored a fine book, one that should be read by every church member and elder: The Titus Mandate: Rescue, Protect, Restore (2011). 

Proverbs 30:7-9.
Old Testament (Tanakh).

Changing human pastor vs. Unchanging divine pastor, Hebrews 13:7-8 . . . Audio sermons, First Baptist Church, Marysville, WA . . . CBAmerica, CB Northwest

First Baptist Church. Marysville, WA.
July 22, 2012.

As UCM moves 90 miles east from Port Angeles to Marysville, Washington, here are its first two sermons, based on Hebrews 13:7-8, to the congregation at First Baptist Church of Marysville. See July 22 and 29, 2012.

If not available any more online, simply contact UCM.

Founded in 1903, FBC is in major transition. The flock numbers about 100 people.

Since 1959, FBC has been a member of the Conservative Baptist Association of America. Prior to 1959, FBC was a member of the American Baptist Churches USA.

Formed in 1947 in Atlantic City, N.J., CBAmerica has over 1,200 churches in the U.S. and over 200,000 church members. CB Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington) consists of some 240 churches.

Among its four seminaries, Denver Seminary (Colorado) and Western Seminary (campuses in Portland, Oregon, and Sacramento and San Jose, California) are members of CBAmerica.

Please join Uncommon Christian Ministries in PRAYING for
First Baptist Church of Marysville, WA.

Times of major transition can be very exciting when a congregation submits

to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and seeks their next pastor from Him.

Ephesians 4:7-13

First Baptist Church. Marysville, WA.
Est. 1903.
Current (2nd) church built 1957-61.

Marysville, Snohomish County, WA.

Conservative Baptist Association of America-Northwest.

CBAmerica. Est. 1947.

Western Seminary. Est. 1927.

Independence Day 1820 with James Brainerd Taylor, uncommon American Christian . . . "The contrast will be fully seen only above"

Here is how one 19-year-old student--the "uncommon" American Christian, James Brainerd Taylor--spent his American Independence Day holiday near Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 1820.

On Tuesday I called at ten houses. At most of them I presented one or more [Gospel] Tracts such as I thought likely to be useful. This was the fourth of July.

In the evening I had many reflections on the manner which I had spent the day, so totally different from that in which I had heretofore spent that anniversary. O how much greater cause of triumph to be instrumental in delivering one soul from the power of sin and Satan than to be the conqueror of nations! The contrast will be fully seen only above.

*Benjamin Holt Rice and John Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, 2nd Edition (NY: American Tract Society, 1833), page 48.

May today's Christian--American or otherwise--not take holidays off in our efforts at telling others about the sin-bearing Savior Jesus Christ who "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

WANTED: "Uncommon Christian" evangelists, church planters and pastors in New England

"The Puritan." 1882. Restored 1995.
Springfield, Massachusetts.
Image of Samuel Chapin (1595-1675),
one of the founders of Springfield.
(I.F. Kyle III photo. Sept. 1, 2011.)

Recent research has shown that the 6 New England states--Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont--have now surpassed the Pacific Northwest as America's least churched region.

Please join me in praying for more Gospel-centered "uncommon Christian" evangelists, church planters and pastors in New England. And that the Lord would be pleased to spare New England's children and youth of the dark, Gospel-less upbringing I had in Connecticut (1976-91).

The New England region was once home to such godly American Puritans like Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) and to such evangelists like James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829). It experienced the First and Second Great Awakenings and saw the establishment of America's earliest seminaries.

The region is in dire need today of spiritual revival, a fresh and mighty outpouring of Holy Spirit fire.

Historically, revival often happens in the context of the local church. Because this is so--and for the local New Englander or visitor--here are listings of some Gospel-centered churches in New England:

+ The Gospel Coalition's Church Directory;

+ Church Search by 9Marks Ministry: Building Healthy Churches; and

+ Members of Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals (F.I.R.E.).

Also, here are some informative and insightful articles from two pastors presently ministering in Vermont. Both men--Wes Pastor and Jared Wilson--relocated to New England and thus write from an outsider-turned-insider's perspective. May the articles be used of God to stir your heart to pray for New England, especially for the spiritually lost and for more Gospel laborers.

+ "Why New England is the New Missional Frontier" by Jared Wilson, 8/12/10


+ "New England Ministry Resources" compiled by Jared Wilson, 2/28/10

+ "Has the Gospel Lost Its Power in New England?" by Wes Pastor, 2/23/11

+ "New England Then, As Now--And Now, As Then" by Jared Wilson, 2/23/11

+ "10 Reasons New England Suffers For Mission" by Jared Wilson, 3/9/11

+ "10 Reasons You Should Move to New England" by Jared Wilson, 7/12/11

+ "Planting vs. Replanting in New England" by Jared Wilson" by Jared Wilson, 7/26/11

+ "What Are New Englanders Like?" by Jared Wilson, 12/21/11

+ "The Challenges in Church Replanting in New England" by Jared Wilson, 4/16/12

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Luke 10:2