A week ago today I went to a funeral for my pastor and friend: Steve Baxter.
Like many others who knew Steve, I’m still feeling a sense of grief and disbelief. It’s hard to believe he’s gone. On Labour Day Sunday, Steve was at church, greeting each person going out the door. Warm handshake. Wide smile. Personal touch. Vintage pastor Steve. On Labour Day Monday he went to the hospital with a crushing headache. He slipped into a coma and never recovered.
Linda and I so appreciated Steve as our pastor. When I taught a course at Heritage on the Pastoral Epistles, I had him come speak to the class. I wanted students to hear from a man who exemplified what it means to be a godly and good pastor. I was hoping he would rub off on them.
In that Pastoral Epistles class, I sketched a “portrait of an effective pastor”. The drawing is certainly no masterpiece, but it highlights pieces pastors should seek to master. The portrait I drew gives a picture of the kind of person and pastor Steve Baxter was.
Spiritual Vitality: Steve ministered out of the overflow of his own relationship with Christ Jesus.
Godly Character: The tributes at his memorial service repeatedly spoke of his consistent, Christ-like character.
Shepherd: Steve had an amazing shepherd’s heart for the people he served. I’ve rarely met a pastor who connected with so many people in a personal way.
Preacher/Teacher: Each Sunday we could count on hearing a solid message from God’s Word—true to the text and applied to our lives.
Leader: Steve was a wise leader who gently but relentlessly helped the congregation align with God’s agenda. He also took the lead in mentoring younger ministers.
Vision for the Mission: Steve never forgot that Christ wants His church to be on mission, bringing the gospel to those who are outside the church walls.
Tomorrow I head back to Heritage with a mixture of feelings. Sadness—we have lost a stellar pastoral leader. Joy—Steve will receive a “well done” commendation from the Lord. Urgency—there is a pressing need to train spiritual leaders to carry on the work.
Please join me in praying for Steve’s family (wife Pam, daughters Erin and Heather) and Steve’s congregation (Grandview Baptist in Kitchener). Also pray for me and the team at Heritage as we seek to prepare more godly and good pastoral leaders. We could use more pastors like Steve Baxter.
We are off to a great start this semester at Heritage. From what I am seeing in classrooms and on campus, I sense the Lord has given us a keen group of new students. We also have a stellar group of student leaders.
The people of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) are given much more land than most tribes (excepting Judah). However, they argue their allotment was “not enough” (17:16). They want more land. Actually, they want “easier” land. As Joshua points out, they have ample land—it just needs to be cleared of trees (on Mt. Ephraim) or Canaanites (on the plains). The real problem wasn’t lack of land, but lack of vision, faith and determination. That’s still the case today; without a robust faith in God, we see only obstacles where there are ample opportunities.
The people of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) weren’t happy with their assigned inheritance. They thought it too small and confining in light of their size (17:14). Joshua would have none of it. Instead of giving them more land, he challenges them to use more of the land they were given. They needed to follow the example of Caleb, who specifically requested a difficult area but believed that, with the Lord’s help, he could clear it. Those of us in leadership need to follow Joshua’s example and call those we lead to step into challenges with faith, not shrink from challenges in fear.
Last Sunday night many of our students joined with folks from two local churches to hold an outdoor prayer service in Forbes Park in the village of Hespeler. Heritage is part of an initiative called “Love Hespeler”. Our desire is to bring the love and light of Christ to the people living in Hespeler. This prayer gathering was a great way to start of our school year.
On Tuesday we had a wonderful Convocation service to dedicate the year to the Lord. Pastor Norm Millar challenged our students, staff, and faculty to remain “people of the Book” (2 Timothy 4:1-4). We a committed to being a school that builds all our education and training on God’s Word.
Caleb offers the hand of his daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who “attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher” (15:16). He essentially gives a test to weed out all but the best. The man who would be allowed to marry his daughter had to do two things: attack and capture a city near Hebron. Caleb wanted a man of action (one who goes on the attack) and accomplishment (one who successfully captures). Othniel passed the test and received Acsah as his wife. Later, Othniel would become one of the judges who delivered Israel from foreign powers (Judges 3:7-11). The lesson for us: wise leaders look for men and women of action and accomplishment to add to their team.
On Labour Day, new college students moved into the residence halls. We had wonderful day—beautiful weather, helpful student leaders (who unload cars) and a very meaningful dedication service for students and their families. (
If you are like many Christians, you are somewhat familiar with the front half of the book of Joshua. It’s the action-filled part. Where Joshua leads the nation of Israel to possess the Promised Land. The front half of Joshua is filled with well-known historical accounts: Rahab and the red chord, the crossing of the Jordan, the walls of Jericho coming down.
Summary of chapter 14: Before Joshua gets down to dividing the land west of the Jordan river among the remaining Israelite tribes, he has a fascinating conversation with Caleb. You might remember that Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of the twelve spies sent out by Moses who came back with a faith-filled report (see Numbers 13). Here in chapter 14, Joshua blesses Caleb for his faithfulness to God and grants his request for a section of the Promised Land. (If you take the time to read Joshua 14, you’ll get more out of the Leadership Lessons below!)