The Ohio Independent Baptist. June 1973

II • Present With The Lord'' • • n 1\ 1 ril ..4 Re ,,. Rl1 l1, t1 'l'. t1 rd lt111(I ,, c11l t b' ,vitl1 tl1c I or d . He \\ n a gracio11 ( l1r1 t1c.1r1 gc11tlcn1,\n - a ...., 111a11 ,, ith an Unllcrsta11d1ng l1eart . He r~ "ei, , d h1 i, t a hi O\\ n pcr– ,0,1Jl a, tour at the age of 15 '" h ilc 1 10, ,ing <.1n 111 fatl1er· farm in Mon– tana. l..atcr. feeling cal led of G od to tilt: ( hri t1an 111ini try, he tudied at ioux. Fall C ollege, Siou F all , Iowa earning a B.A . degree. Following this, he graduated from Northern Baptist ...., ern1nary, hicago, Illinois in 1924 \\ ith a B.D . degree. A a tudent he held pastorates in Juda, Wi con in and wa , for a short time, pastor of the Foster Park Baptist Church 1n Chicago. In 1930 he took a pa tora te in Pella, Iowa, however, a he aw the modernistic trends in the orthern Baptist Convention, he left there to accept a call to the Ran– dolph Street Baptist Church, Charle.s– ton, West Virginia. He also served .1n Beckley, West Virginia and Fostoria, Ohio. He helped establish the West Virginia Mission. Brother Nordlund served as editor of THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST from May '57 to Decem– ber '61. He was most active in the work of our Ohio Association of Regular Baptist Churches. The Lord had given him the ability to write over 1000 poems. For months we ran his A Psalm and A Poem" in the pages of the 0.1.B. His first volume of poems of the first 50 Psalms, pub- tishccJ l'> Vantage Pre , i to be re lc~1scd th1 month. urvtving him are hi wife, Mrs. Muriel Nordlund ; a daughter, Marilyn Burk. o toria ; a on, Ralph Harold, l1 arle ton, S. . ; even grandchildren; and a brother Carl , Brookings, S. D. Pa tor Vernon Billington officiated at the funeral service. Brother Nordlund and his wife li, 1 ed in Fo toria for 23 years. . Let us be much in prayer for his wife during these days. He served his Lord well! In looking over back issues of THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST, we came across this poem written by our brother, Rev. Ralph T. Nordlund. He had written it as a "personal tri– bute' to Dr. H. K. Finley. Somehow it seemed most fitting as a "personal tribute' to Brother Nordlund himself. A tall man, and all man, A firm man, and sincere: He knew just when To stand, and then Just when to laugh and cheer. Well-read man, well-bred man, And wise in counsel true. He preached and taught, And wrote and wrought To teach us what to do. A caring man, a sharing man, Who lived for Christ and others: His memory Will ever be Dear to his Christian brothers. Poco-a-Poco by paul matthews The subtle influences of non-christian music today continually brings its pressures to bear on Christians. Most recently it is the staged rock musical– "Godspell ' ' . Perhaps the following thoughts can help and equip you as a Christian needing answers in this area. In this musical Jesus Christ , God's Son is presented as a flower-child-like clown. T hese are the terms used by Paul Ackerman, editor-in-chief for BILL– BOARD, the cr itique on communication of the day. Ackerman is a non-believer and I find h is comments most significant. What is really being stated is that Jesus is a " rustic; churl ; an ill bred person· a boor; a fool or buffoon; a selfish miser ; a freeman of lowest rank," ( check your Webster.) Nowhere in Scripture is my Lord ever presented in this manner. I resent and deplore even the thought. Christian, you should as well ! Granted we cannot force Christian standards on the unbelieveing world but we can certainly state our case upon the authority of the Word of God. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Why is it that so often we as Christians are intimidated by the pressures of the World's life-style? We have the TRUTH, for all TRUTH is of God. Therefore, before we can determine r ight or wrong we must realize the difference between Truth and Error. Music such as this and "Superstar" are totally error. Some of the airs are indeed beautiful - but as one so abl y stated - do not sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate. Don ' t be swept away by just the musical sounds - investigate the words, the meani ng of those words and the purpose behind it. What is motivating it? 4 JUNE, 1973 • New Work Begun At Montpelier Firs t Baptist hurch of Stryker, Ohio is sponsoring a new work in Montpelier, Ohio. After a series of Bible Study meetings, an organization– al meeting was held under the direc– tion of State Missionary, Rev. Earl Umbaugh. There ,vere thirty-eight in attendance at their first Sunday ser– vice, May 6th. These folk have extended a call to Rev. Larry Smith of Fort Wayne, In– diana to become their Pastor. He has accepted and is presently moving to the field. These dear folk have a need for much prayer support and financial assistance from sister churches. Much praise should be offered for what has already been accomplished in this new work. Individuals or churches who might be able to assist in getting this testi– mony established should write to Mr. Glenn Miller, (Sec. and Treas.), Box 123, Stryker, Ohio 43557. Now Pastoring Perry Church The Faith Baptist Church of Perry, Ohio has called Rev. Ronald C. Purkey to be their new pastor. Brother Purkey and his wife are now on the field. Our brother attended Purdue Uni– versity and the Moody Bible Institute. He holds degrees from Tennessee Temple College and the Temple Bap– tist Theological Seminary of Chatta– nooga. For a number of years he served as an Associate with Dr. Jack Hyles of Hammond, Indiana. He also held pastorates in New Mexico, Ten– nessee and Illinois. He and his wife Sarah have two adopted sons - Ronald Jr., 8 and Daniel, 4. THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST