Mary, My Queen

My wife Mary and I had a great time hiking in the woods behind the seminary several days ago when we got hit with more than a foot of snow. Every twig was covered in pure white. One of the African seminary student wives told us that she never understood the text about our sins being washed away so that we become as white as snow until she came here and saw snow for herself. Praise God for how Christ’s righteousness covers every sin of our lives with unspeakably white purity.

I was able to make it—though barely—the following morning through two snowy flights to serve the Heritage Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa. On the way out, I had a wonderful opportunity to evangelize a man on the plane, whose wife left him last week. He wanted to know everything about the gospel—it seemed almost too good to be true. I sent him some books and he has already responded asking for more advice.

It was a bit nostalgic preaching in Hull again, as many of these people were part of my first congregation, back in the 1970s. How we have all aged! But, much more importantly, many of these dear friends have come to know the Lord savingly in those intervening years. Soli Deo Gloria!

On the previous evening, I gave a power point presentation on the seminary to a few dozen interested friends. After my time in Hull, I spoke at a ministers’ conference on what Puritan pastors would say to modern pastors today. The message included matters both challenging and comforting, I trust.

Fleeing single digit temps to balmy lower 40’s, we arrived at the G3 (Gospel, Grace, Glory) Conference at Pray’s Mill Church of Douglasville, Georgia as it was winding down for Thursday evening. We chatted with Jonathon Beeke who was manning the RHB and PRTS tables. The theme of this first-time conference was “The Gospel: Message and Mission.” Speakers were David Miller, Steve Lawson, Tim Challies, Chip Thornton, Jon Payne, Voddie Baucham, Paul Washer, Donald Whitney, and my husband, Joel Beeke.

Friday was a packed 14-hour day. Resounding themes repeated in convincing words were: We are wretched sinners and God is perfectly holy; Jesus Christ is at the center of the gospel; God’s grace is seen in His people in biblical and church history, and God receives all the glory. The 750 attendees came from far and near: California, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Brunswick, and more.

Dr. Steve and Anne Lawson

We had lunch with our dear friends, Steve and Anne Lawson. He is very energetic in his preaching of the gospel, in his pursuit of biblical knowledge, and in his appreciation for friends. She is a beautiful, gracious mixture of Christ- focused love and Southern hospitality.

The panel discussion seems to be a highlight of any conference, with nuggets of wisdom coming from David Miller on scripture memorization and inerrancy, Paul Washer on evangelizing unbelievers, Tim Challies on controlling technology, Voddie Baucham on choosing a spouse, Steve Lawson on expository preaching, and my husband on family worship. Pastor Josh Buice and his helpful motivated members organized a conference in which the searching addresses edified many, especially the many pastors in attendance. The conference concluded at noon Saturday.

We then went to the home of long-time friends Dr. David and Ann Hall. He has been the pastor of Midway Presbyterian Church for about 10 years. Their three children all got married in the space of 13 months in 2011–12, and now they are anxiously anticipating the arrival of their first grandchild any day. Sunday morning, my husband attended their men’s prayer meeting and breakfast and spoke to the men on “Following God Fully.”

Midway Presbyterian’s Sanctuary

At the morning service, he preached in Midway’s beautiful new sanctuary from Luke 22:24–38, “Who Can Meet All Your Needs? Jesus Christ’s Precious Office-bearing.” As he followed David around after church and I followed Ann, it was obvious to see their love for their people by how they interacted with them and pastored them.

With Dr. Jon Payne

Our final stop was Grace Presbyterian Church, pastored by another good friend, Dr. Jon Payne. He and his dear wife Marla have two children, Mary Hannah (age 9) and Hans (age 7). These young promising musicians played their violin and cello beautifully for us. My husband preached from Hebrews 12:1–2 on “Endurance: Running the Best Race.” It is a blessing to return to churches where you have ministered before, and to hear of past blessings and how lives have been impacted. Observing my husband, I see that these are the real wages of the ministry.

Victoria (on right)

On Saturday morning, I spent two hours speaking with two godly young men who had been at the address the previous evening at Zion Free Reformed Church, Fenwick, Ontario. One of them wanted to speak with me about his sense of calling to the ministry. This was time well spent. In the afternoon, I spent some time visiting with relatives who came for my older brother John’s 66^th birthday. John and his wife Miekie had an open house all day long for their family. By late evening most of their thirteen children and forty-three grandchildren had stopped by. What a wonderful family God has blessed them with! I got to see Victoria again as well. She is doing quite a bit better. After I prayed with her, she wanted to show me her injured legs. I then had a great talk with her. She said to me, “I am so glad that all these owies happened to me and not to my baby sister.” That was a tear-jerker.

On Saturday evening, we drove back to the Keunings. I preached in their church, the Hamilton Free Reformed Church, on Sunday morning and evening, and for the St. George Free Reformed Church in the afternoon. Both congregations, which each number about 400 people, listen attentively. I felt particularly helped during the evening service, preaching on how believers wrestle for inward holiness.

St. George Free Reformed Church Building

We arrived home on Monday morning, in time to attend the funeral of Henry Roelofs, a former elder in our church who died at the age of 64 from cancer, leaving behind a large family. He had been orphaned at the age of 18, and had to shoulder the responsibility of caring for all his younger brothers and sisters. At that age, he got a trucking job, and later said, “The cab of that truck became my prayer closet.” He will be sorely missed by many. After the funeral, I rushed to our biannual Board of Trustees seminary meeting, which again went very well under the able chairmanship of our president, Kevin Ash. The following day (yesterday) our seminary semester started. This semester we have several new students, including one from Egypt and one from England. This semester I am teaching Puritan Theology and co-teaching Homiletics I with Dr. David Murray. My Puritan Theology class has 44 students—the largest I’ve ever had—from thirteen countries. Yesterday I left with my wife Mary to speak at a conference in Georgia, and to preach in two churches there on Sunday, D.V. Your prayers are coveted.

Most of My Puritan Theology Students

On Thursday, January 17, my daughter Esther (who works in our bookstore), her boyfriend James Engelsma, and I headed for Ontario for a weekend of ministry, with 30 boxes of books on board, weighing down the back end of the van. Included among the books was a brand new title, Encouragement for Today’s Pastors: Help from the Puritans, which I coauthored with Terry Slachter. We got off to a late start due to van problems, but made it on time that evening to the Covenant Christian Church of Wyoming, Ontario, where I gave an address on “The Biblical Model of Marriage and Child-rearing.” About 200 people attended from several URC churches in the area. Esther and James helped me sell about seven boxes of books after the meeting.

Early Attenders, Wyoming, Canada

We then drove on to Hamilton, Ontario, late that night, but ran into a white-out blizzard near Brantford. For twenty minutes I could not see the highway, nor the traffic in front of us or behind us. I crawled along at 15 miles per hour, relying primarily on signs on either side of the highway. It was very scary; earnest prayer went up from our vehicle during those minutes, as well as much thanksgiving after we made it through the worst part of the blizzard. We finally arrived at the home of our friends Connor and Susan Keuning at 1:00 a.m.

That morning we left an hour early for a conference commemorating the 450^th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, being put on by the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary. Somehow all three of us missed a turn-off on the highway, and we ended up getting lost. By the time we arrived at the conference venue (9:25 a.m.), we had not only lost the half hour we thought we would have to set up the book table, but I was also ten minutes late for the opening session of the conference. When we arrived, the 300 attendees were singing, waiting for me, so I went straight to the pulpit. Despite feeling frazzled by the embarrassingly late arrival, I felt helped in delivering my lecture on “Catechism Preaching.”  Other major addresses included “The Doctrine of the Covenant in the Heidelberg Catechism” (Dr. Lyle Bierma), “The Heidelberg Catechism: The Secret of its Success” (Dr. Herman Selderhuis), and “The Comforted I in the Catechism” (Dr. Jason VanVliet). Workshops included studies of the catechism in relation to evangelism, the pulpit, future generations, and the church-home-school.

Late Friday afternoon, James, Esther, and I packed up most of the remaining books (the rest stayed behind with Michael Dewalt, a PRTS alumni, who looked after the book table for the remainder of the conference), and drove on to Zion Free Reformed Church, Fenwick, Ontario, where I spoke that evening to 250 young people on following God fully. The young people were great; seldom have I spoken to such an attentive audience. There seemed to be an unusual amount of conviction; I pray that divine benediction will follow this talk and bear eternal fruit. Afterward, the young people surrounded the book table, buying up all thirty of the remaining copies of A Puritan Theology, and scores of additional books. We didn’t even have time to write up invoices, as the crowd around the table was just too intense. Between the three venues, we sold close to $7,000 worth of books, and returned home with only three boxes of the thirty boxes of books we had brought with us. Pray that these books will be read, and that God will bless them richly to many.

Young People at Fenwick

This weekend I preached in the Free Reformed Church of Monarch, Alberta on advent themes related to the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. I also spoke on the seminary on Saturday evening and had great fellowship with thirty people on Sunday evening, following the service. The congregation is growing and thriving under the preaching of Rev. Eric Moerdyk, a PRTS graduate whom I’ve known since he was a child. It was great to meet old friends and make new ones.

Last weekend, I spoke at the 2012 Springfield, Illinois Bible Conference, organized by my friend Dr. Curt Daniel, pastor of Springfield’s Faith Bible Church. Dr. Daniel spoke on the identity of the Spirit, sins against the Spirit, and the filling of the Spirit. Pastor Charles Leiter, co-pastor of Lake Road Chapel, Kirksville, Missouri, spoke on conviction by the Spirit, regeneration by the Spirit, and prayer and the Spirit. I spoke on the illumination of the Spirit, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the inner witness of the Spirit. The conference was attended by 250 people from the Midwest.  A good spirit was present, and book-buying was brisk.

Attached please find a letter from my wife Mary about our recent conferences and itinerary in Brazil, together with a number of pictures. You’ll enjoy reading about how God is growing His church there. One conference alone had 2400 attendees.

Please pray for me as I get ready to fly to Asheville, North Carolina on Thursday to speak twice on evangelism at the NCFIC Conference. I hope to speak on Puritan evangelism and on evangelism in the home. Approximately 2100 people have pre-registered. Other speakers include Paul Washer, Scott Brown, and Doug Phillips.