Wes Bredenhof (Yinkahdinay) posted this link to a short essay from the Banner
(the official publication of the Christian Reformed Church). Rev.
Bredenhof was saddened upon reading it, as was I. The provocative essay
is entitled "Relics of a Bygone Era" and recounts the difficult task of
a son and daughter packing up the earthly remains from their recently
deceased father, which included the father's Reformed books, personal
teaching notes, and favorite cassette sermon tapes (Relics of a Bygone Era). The author writes,
Dad had
been a staunch defender of a somewhat cramped version of Calvinism
formed by his upbringing in the Gereformeerde Kerk in the Netherlands.
Early on, his parents had put the kibosh on his aspirations to
ministry; unless he had a distinct call from the Lord, he had a duty to
help his father run the farm. But disappointment did not snuff out his
enthusiasm for the cause of John Calvin. He read commentaries and
wrote essays that he read at men’s society meetings. Dad eloquently
argued points of doctrine, articulating and defending each letter of
TULIP. He collected cassette tapes of sermons by Dutch dominees
and those Christian Reformed ministers who shared his passion. In
retirement he pored over black-bound tomes and cobbled together sermons,
reading them to the captive audience in a nearby retirement home. He
had become a preacher after all.
The essay concludes with the following lament: Continue at Kim Riddlebarger
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