With the Lord
-Paul R. Bauman
-Elener Norris Grossman
Pastoral Staff/Church Changes
4:12 Commission Sites Readied
All Hams Invited
White Joins Encyclopedia Board
Smoke and Roses
Chaplain Honored as Instructor
BMH to Service Ministers
Hispanic Pastor Baptized
With the Lord
Dr. Paul R. Bauman went to be with the Lord February 8, 2005, in Amarillo, Texas, at the age of 97. Bauman was the son of Dr. Louis S. Bauman and his grandfather, W. J. H. Bauman, was one of the organizers of the Brethren Church.
He earned the B.A. and M.A. degrees in biology from USC and a theological degree from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio. He pastored the Second Brethren Church of Los Angeles and then joined the faculty of Biola.
In 1947 he became vice president of Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, IN, where he helped organize Grace College. He earned the M.Div. degree while associated with Grace Seminary, and the 1959 Grace yearbook was dedicated to him.
Dr. Bauman joined the LeTourneau College (now University) faculty in August of 1962 as Vice President for Special Ministries and Bible professor. He retired in 1978. In 1969 he, along with Dr. Raymond Gingrich and Vernard Holsinger and their wives, co-founded the Grace Brethren Church of Longview, TX.
Dr. Bauman was an expert in biblical prophecy and apologetics. Beginning in 1948, the year Israel became a state, he made more than 50 trips to the Holy Land. He also conducted tours to Europe and to the Mediterranean which followed Paul’s missionary journeys. He spoke at Bible conferences and churches and was known for his illustrated sermons.
Dr. Bauman was a charter board member of the Brethren Home Missions Council (now GBNAM) and was president for more than ten years. He was a member of the American Schools of Oriental Research, a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, and was one the original board members of Missionary Tech Team. In addition to his second wife, he is survived by three children: Mary Black of Brownsburg, IN; Carolyn Rutherford of Dana Point, CA; and Louis Paul of Plantation, FL.
Elener Norris Grossman, 68, who taught journalism and English and advised publications at Grace College from 1959 to 1963 died March 23. She was a 1958 graduate of Grace College and had earned a master’s degree in journalism from Indiana University and did theological studies at Grace Seminary. In recent years she and her husband, Gil, lived in Jonesborough, TN, from where they both traveled widely around the world doing volunteer mission work. Elener was particularly active in bookstore and literature ministry, often in Great Britain. The Grossmans have one son, Luke, who is in the military. One of her former Grace students, Roger Peugh, officiated at the graveside service in Mentone, Indiana.
Pastoral Staff/Church Changes
Don Smith, senior pastor of Cornerstone Grace Brethren Church in Ontario, Ohio, is pleased to announce that Charlie Barnhill is the new associate pastor with an emphasis on evangelism and outreach.
Mike Stern has left the staff of Gateway Grace Community Church in Parkesburg, Pa. to become the pastor of the Southern Hills Grace Brethren Church in Strongsville, Ohio.
K. Howard Immel has resigned as pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Lake Odessa, Mich.
Allen Robinson was installed on March 6 as assistant pastor of the Valley Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown, MD (Dan Pritchett, pastor). Robinson previously was involved in a camping ministry and the Waynesboro, PA, GBC.
John Patrick has concluded his ministry at the Grace Brethren Church of West Kittanning, PA.
Tim Sheaffer was ordained to the ministry at the New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church in Myerstown, Pa. (Keith Shearer, pastor) with a service on Sunday, April 3. Sheaffer serves as associate pastor for youth and music at the Myerstown church.
4:12 Commission Sites Readied
CE National has announced that Jeff Bogue, pastor at Grace Church North Campus in Akron, OH, will serve as the director of the 4:12 Commission, a year-long training program for high school graduates who desire special training in the Scriptures and in ministering to people. The 4:12 Commission steering committee includes Jason Haymaker, Ed Lewis, Steve Peters, Lee Seese, Randy Smith, and Cindy Thornley. Sites are anticipated to open this fall in Akron and Sebring, FL. For more information on the 4:12 Commission, go to www.FourTwelveCommission.org.
All Hams Invited
Grace Brethren amateur radio operators are invited to join other Christian hams on a daily 20 meter Fellowship net. The net is sponsored by the ARMS Christian Fellowship Group, formerly the Amateur Radio Missionary Service Fellowship. This world-wide net meets Monday-Saturday on 14.3075 MHz at 1500 Z (ST), 1400 Z (DT). Sectional nets on 40 and 80 meters meet weekly in all parts of the U.S. The ARMS group was organized in 1957 by several hams at the Philadelphia School of the Bible and continues to provide on-the-air and in-person fellowship opportunities. For more information, contact the ARMS Fellowship Group at 708 Hillcrest, Grandview, WA 98930 or the ARMS website at www.armsfellowship.org.
White Joins Encyclopedia Board
The Board of Directors of the Brethren Encyclopedia Project, representing six branches of Brethren groups tracing their heritage to Alexander Mack, met recently at Ashland (OH) Seminary and elected BMH publisher Terry White to replace the late Charles W. Turner on the board. Groups represented include Old German Baptist Brethren, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Church of the Brethren, The Brethren Church (Ashland), Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International, and Dunkard Brethren Church. Active since 1978, the group in 1983 published the first three volumes of The Brethren Encyclopedia. The fourth volume is scheduled to appear late in 2005. Further information is at www.brethrenencyclopedia.org.
Smoke and Roses
At the Vatican, good news is signaled by the color of the smoke. At the Grace Brethren Church of Ashland, OH, it’s by the color of the roses on the organ. The Sunday bulletin says, “Each white rose represents one of the family of Grace who shared the plan of salvation this week. Each red rose represents one who professed faith in Christ this week in response to one of us sharing Christ.”
Chaplain Honored as Instructor
Grace Brethren U.S. Army Chaplain Mark Penfold has received the “Officer Instructor of the Year” award for 2004 at the Headquarters US Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Penfold is stationed at Fort Eustis, VA, where he is a member of the Transportation School faculty. His teaching responsibilities include: Role of the Chaplain, Army Writing, Conducting Oral Briefings, Counseling, Suicide Awareness and Prevention, Stress Management, Army Values, Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making.
BMH to Service Ministers
Officers of the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers (AGBM), at a recent meeting in eastern Pennsylvania, approved a contractual agreement with Brethren Missionary Herald Co. to provide Winona Lake, IN, office space and communication services for the association. BMH will manage content on the AGBM’s forthcoming new website, and will publish a periodic newsletter for the group. Lee Dice and Jerry Young will continue to provide support and research/development services for AGBM, but the association’s new mailing address will be P.O. Box 694, Winona Lake, IN 46590.
Oscar Chavez is the pastor of Iglesia Biblica de Fe in Northridge, CA, which is seeking to join the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Chavez writes, “We started our Theological Training Center last January with about 30 students. Many of them have expressed their desire to work in full-time ministry. My prayer is that in the next four years God will send at least ten men whom I can impact with the vision, and that each of these men may impact at least five other men in the next five to ten years. This would give us a minimum of 50 men starting churches in the next ten years.”
