See “Back to Basics” pg. 7

Volume 31, Issue 1Spring 2017

Contender

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye inhim: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as yehave been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

– Col. 2:6-7

s I study history, and look backover the past 31 years as pastor, Isee one thing consistent: churches

are changing! Churches that were oncepowered by preaching the Bible and walkingwith God have digressed to a self-centeredform of worship void of God’s Word andHis transforming power. At the heart of allof this is the gospel. Churches that oncepreached a pure gospel are now diluting itor eliminating it all together. This year, Grace Baptist Church’stheme is Back To Basics– getting back tothe simple things of God’s Word. For theChristian, there is nothing more basicthan the gospel, but unfortunately, mostbelievers do not know what the gospel is.Most cannot give a biblical definition ofthe term. It means, good news. The goodnews is that we do not have to standbefore God with all the sin that willcondemn us; rather, we can stand withpersonal faith in the death, burial and

resurrection of Jesus Christ, which results inforgiveness and eternal life. The salvation of oursoul and our eternity is based upon what we dowith the gospel! The gospel is important! TheApostle Paul put it this way: “Moreover, brethren, Ideclare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; Bywhich also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what Ipreached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For Idelivered unto you first of all that which I also received,how that Christ died for our sins according to thescriptures; And that he was buried, and that he roseagain the third day according to the scriptures:” (I Cor.15:1-4) Paul gives four basic truths about theGospel. First, the good news must beprovided. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, was theperfect provision for sinful mankind. Beforeman was ever created, the Lord knew that hewould sin and that he would need a Savior.Jesus is described in Revelation 13:8 as “theLamb slain from the foundation of the earth.” He isour Passover Lamb – our sinless substitute! Heis the “Just for the unjust,” (I Pet. 3:18). Thegospel was afforded to us by God’s grace (Eph.2:8-9), it was demonstrated to us by His love(Rom. 5:8), and it was paid for by Christ’s blood(Eph. 1:7, I John 2:2). Thank God for Hisprovision; for without it, we would be eternallylost. It must not be forgotten that provision is

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de The Blessings of Delegation page 2, 5

Why I Never Force MyKids To Go To Church page 4-5Events & Ministry News page 6Pastor’s Health page 7Back to Basics page 1, 7

The Earnest

Pastor Rick Bickelhaupt

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The Earnest ContenderGrace Baptist ChurchP.O. Box 69Oak Harbor, OH 43449

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The Earnest Contender is printed quarterly as aministry of Grace Baptist Church. All articles forThe Earnest Contender should be submitted no laterthan the 20th of every odd month. All articles aresubject to change and approval. All articles shouldbe submitted to graceoh@juno.com in MS Wordformat. Donations are accepted to minimizeprinting and publishing costs. Please submitdonations to Grace Baptist Church:

Editor ......................… Jeremy Bickelhaupt

Layout/Design .......... Jeremy Bickelhaupt

Assistant Editor ........ Shauna Bickelhaupt

Contributing articles: Richard Bickelhaupt, JeremyBickelhaupt, Ruth Meyer (permission)

ContenderThe Earnest

2 • The Earnest Contender ,Spring 2017 7 • The Earnest Contender, Spring 2017

profitless to us unless personalapplication is made! The second basic truth is that thegood news must be declared, (ICor. 15:1). In the opening verse, Pauluses two important words inconnection with the gospel– declaredand preached. The word declared means,“to make known” or “to giveunderstanding.” We need to teach thebasic truths of the gospel and helppeople to understand it. Preach means“herald, or proclaim.” It is the sameroot word from which we get thewords evangelize and gospel. Jesusdeclared the good news in Mark 1:14-15. “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching thegospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom ofGod is at hand: repent ye, and believe thegospel.” Jesus told the disciples to dothe same in Mark 16:15– “And he saidunto them, Go ye into all the world, andpreach the gospel to every creature.” Peterpreached the gospel in Acts 2 on theday of Pentecost and 3,000 peoplewere saved. Paul preached the gospel (ICor. 15:1-4) to help the church ofCorinth. The goal of the Christian lifeis to glorify God and to declare thegospel of Jesus Christ to the lost! Third, the good news must bepersonally received. It is not

enough just to know about the gospel;it must be personally applied to one’slife. While growing up, I “believed” inGod. I “believed” that Jesus was theSon of God. I “believed” that Hedied on the cross, was buried, androse the third day from the grave. I“believed” that He was the Savior ofthe world. With all that belief, I wasstill a lost sinner headed to hell. It wasnot until I received Jesus as mypersonal Savior. So, what is involved in“receiving” Jesus Christ as Savior?First, it involves repentance and faith.These– like two sides of one coin–are inseparable truths concerningsalvation. Faith is the positive aspect(heads) of salvation, while repentanceis the negative aspect (tails) ofsalvation. Just as a real coin has botha heads and a tails, so too doesbiblical salvation with faith andrepentance. Authenticity comes whenboth are present. A coin without aheads or a tails is not genuine.Salvation that lacks either faith orrepentance is likewise not genuine!The apostle Paul said in Acts 20:21,“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to theGreeks, toward God, and

toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” TheBible tells us that the gospel is foreveryone (Rom. 10:13), but it must be

personally received (John 1:12, Acts4:12, Acts 16:31). The final truth is that the goodnews must be stood upon. Thebeliever’s stand on the gospel shouldbe the main focus of every biblicalchurch. Unfortunately, the emphasis ofmany churches today is on their“worship service” where musicprograms, video productions and visualstimulants are the focal point. Otherchurches focus on programs andmethodology, forgetting that we are tostand upon the gospel. Again, Paulstates in his opening statement,“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you thegospel which I preached unto you, which alsoye have received, ”(I Cor. 15:1). The word stand means,“to hold up; to abide; to be staunch; tostand up for.” This definition speaksvolumes. It tells the believer that everything we do and every ministry of ourchurch should stand upon andemphasize the good news of JesusChrist. The good news of Jesus Christ isfundamental to our faith and it is stillsaving lost souls. This year, let uscommit to getting back to basics and,with every opportunity, let us share thegospel.□

from “Back to Basics”” pg. 1

Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

Youth Camp @ Camp COBEAC

Summer activities are currently being planned. Please see Joe or DanielleHenderson for more details and event times.

Many have been asking about my health, so I thought I would give an update. Several years ago I was diagnosed with pros-tate cancer. Last fall, on November 9, I had surgery to remove the prostrate. The proceeding months were difficult, butGod’s grace was abundant. The doctor’s report was good following the procedure, as they believe all the cancer was re-moved. In their opinion, I am now cancer free. My other health scare came on Valentine’s Day when I was admitted to thehospital for chest pain. My initial thought was a heart attack; but, as it turns out, I just was recovering from a bad case ofthe stomach flu. During my illness, I had lost most of my electrolytes causing my heart to go into atrial fibrillation. Afterthree days in the hospital, many tests and a heart catheter, everything is back to normal. They found minimal blockage, myheart is back in rhythm and I am doing well. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this diffi-cult time. Let’s pray that the rest of the year is better for us all.

Update: Pastor’s healthBy Pastor Bickelhaupt

ne of the hardest duties tohandle as a leader is thatof delegation; because- toooften- the passion he has

for seeing a task performedexceptionally well is not shared by thoseto whom he has delegated it. But a goodleader will recognize his limitations anddelegate anyway, always taking note ofwho can be trusted and who cannot. So,if one is called upon over and over againto assigned tasks... he should considerthat a compliment and a testament ofhis trustworthy character. Conversely, ifhe is never called upon for a delegatedtask, perhaps his trustworthiness hasbeen called into question." --Anonymous

Having worked in a leadershipposition of a ministry for thirteenyears, I haven't always had aneasy time giving overresponsibility to others. I get ithonestly. My dad, a pastor of 30years, had a difficult time withthis for the first half of his

service. His mindset -as was mine-was: "If you want something doneright, just do it yourself."

There is a two-fold problem withthat logic. First, you assume thatyour way is the only "right" way ofdoing something. It comes acrossas haughty and arrogant, andothers are less likely to want tohelp in fear of falling short of yourunattainable expectations. Second,with this mindset, you will have todo everything yourself. For thosein the ministry for any length oftime, you understand that thelatter point is the quickest way toburn yourself out. You willbecome weak and "weary in well-doing" in no time.

We can learn from the adage, "Domore by doing less yourself."There is much truth in thisparadox. It does not say "Do moreby doing less." That last wordyourself is ever-so important. It

implies that growth will happenonce we get others involved.Delegation if you will.

Once my dad relinquished some ofhis innumerable ministerial tasks toothers, the growth of our churchand its ministries commenced.

It is important to note that findingthe right people to trust is key. It isalso a learning process. One mustbe very diligent in observing peopleand recognizing their talents.Discovering who is reliable andwho is not is not as daunting a taskas it may seem. As my experienceshave dictated, there are those whoare not reliable. They want to help(with all good intentions), but neverfollow through on anything. They

The Blessings of DelegationBy Jeremy Bickelhaupt

“O

see “Delegation”” pg. 7

Ladies’ Fellowshipat Jamie Kozak’s

6:30 p.m.

Resurrection Sunday

Missions’ Emphasis SundayW/ Roger Green

&Second-Mile Youth Ministry’sSpaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

Annual Ladies’ Tea2-4 p.m.

Mother’s Day Service11 a.m.

Memorial Day Service11 a.m.

OCCA KindergartenGraduation & Year-End PTF

6 p.m.

Youth Camp@ Camp COBEAC

Father’s Day Servicew/The Seminole String Quartet

11 a.m.

Anniversary Sundayw/Mark & Liz Rogers

Ministry NewsMinistry News

Ladies’ FellowshipsJamie Kozak will host the next Ladies’Fellowship at her home on April 11 at6:30 p.m. Rachel Fruchey is scheduled tobring the evening’s devotion. All ladies’ ofGBC are invited to attend this specialtime of prayer and devotion. Please con-tact Mrs. Kozak for directions to her home.

Missions’ Emphasis DayRoger Green, director of IndependentBaptist Missions for Asians, will be hereon Sunday, April 23, in the morningservices for Missions’ Emphasis Day.Brother Green is also the former pastor ofSandusky Baptist Temple and GraceBaptist Church (Middletown, OH). Duringthe service, our Sunday school classesand junior church children will be puttingon a short mission’s program.Missionaries B.J. Schultz (Tanzania) andBerry Williams (Baptist EvangelisticMissionary Association) will also be hereto present their ministries. The goal ofthese services is to challenge us to domore for missions here in Oak Harborand around the world. Please be sure toattend!

Spaghetti DinnerThe Second-Mile Youth Ministry willconduct a Spaghetti Dinner following theservices on April 23. This dinner will beon a donation basis only and all proceedsbenefit campers who will be heading toCamp COBEAC June 12-16. Please seeJoe or Danielle Henderson for moredetails.

Ladies’s TeaThe ladies of GBC will conduct theirannual Ladies’ Tea on May 13 from 2-4p.m. Lynette Weirich of Harvest BaptistTemple (Clyde) will be the guest speaker.All those interested in attending shouldsign up at the Welcome Center in the

main lobby by April 16. Please see LeahBickelhaupt with any questions.

Academy NewsOttawa County Christian Academy willwrap up its 13th year on Sunday, May 28,by conducting its annual KindergartenGraduation and final Parent-Teacher-Fellowship at 6 p.m. We encourage allGBC member to attend as we recognizeour students for all of their achievementsthis year.

Anniversary SundayMark and Liz Rogers will join us onSunday, June 25 to help GBC celebrate31 years of ministry in Oak Harbor. TheRogers family will sing throughout the dayand Brother Mark will preach. There willalso be a carry-in dinner following themorning services.

Resurrection OfferingThis year’s Resurrection Offering will helpcover expenses associated with somemuch needed landscaping for behind thechurch building. A privacy fence needsbuilt around the furnaces andmechanicals, dirt needs to be brought inand leveled, and general landscaping willbe installed. A total of $2,000 shouldaccomplish these tasks. Please prayabout what you can give.

UPCOMINGEvents

6 • The Earnest Contender , Spring 2017

Activities &

May 10 – Trading Post is Open! - 7 p.m.

June 21 – Balloon Blast 2017 - Clubberswill receive 10 points for every balloon they bringin, up to 25!

Club is for all children between 3-12 years old. The purpose ofthe club is to encourage spiritual growth on a personal levelthrough Scripture Memorization and Character Building les-sons.

y parents forced me toeat three times a daygrowing up. No joke.Three times. Every.Single. Day. And it

wasn’t always stuff I liked, either.Matter of fact, I complained a lotabout what my mom made. “Ewww,gross! Sauteed zucchini? Seriously?Mom, you know we hate this stuff!”So as I approachedadulthood I made animportant decision. Sincemy parents forced me to eatwhile I was growing up, Idecided I was done withmeals. Oh, here and thereI’ll eat out of obligation. Imean, family traditions likeThanksgiving andChristmas, yeah, I’m there.But daily eating? No way.I’m done.

Set in any other context,excuses people make fornot going to church soundcompletely ridiculous. Butset in the context ofChristianity, people say these things inall seriousness while others nod sagelyin somber agreement.

My son told me a few weeks intoschool that he didn’t like the teacher.He wasn’t getting excited enoughabout learning, and he didn’t really feelconnected to the other kids in his class,so I told him he never had to go backto school again. Who wants to wastetheir time going somewhere where theyaren’t being fulfilled?

We’ve never forced our daughter to

stay off the road when playing. Wedon’t want to restrict her imagination.We allow her the freedom to make herown choices in life.

Okay, Ruth. Come on. That one wasjust ridiculous. No loving parent wouldever say that. That’s a safety issue- amatter of life and death. Exactly. Andthat’s just my point.

Church isn’t a place you go to getpumped up about life. It isn’tentertainment like a movie or concert. Itis literally a life and death matter.Eternal life. Just as a loving parent

wouldn’t allow their child towander in the road or to quitschool, a loving Christian parentalso does not give the option totheir children about going tochurch, learning Bible stories athome, and praying together. Doyour kids always jump for joywhen they hear you say, “Time toget up! Let’s get ready forchurch!” No. They won’t. Dothey get excited for school everymorning? Hardly. But you stillmake them go. Why? Becauseyou are the parent and you knowwhat’s best. Even when theycomplain, you serve themhealthful meals and limit theirjunk food intake. You set

boundaries for their own safety whenplaying outside. You insist they go toschool because you’re looking at the longterm picture. And you are right to do

those things. How much more so areyou responsible for doing all you can tosecure their eternal well being?

Yes, kids can be brought up in a lovingChristian home and still turn away later.That’s on them. But you, parents, havea task of the utmost importance. Godhas placed these precious children intoyour homes for such a brief while. Youhave them with you for perhaps 1/5 oftheir lives. Set a strong foundationwhile they are under your roof. Takethem to church. Make sure theyunderstand that they are sinners andthat Jesus is their Savior. They arenever too young to learn this. My one-and-a-half year old sees a cross andexcitedly shouts, “Jesus!” Don’t usethe excuse that “they wouldn’tunderstand this.” Try them. I don’tunderstand it all myself, but I stillbelieve. And you’d better believe thatthe Holy Spirit works in their heartseffectively. My children sometimeamaze me with the insights they pickup during devotions or Bible readings.The strength of their faith oftenhumbles me. Once when I was havinga terrible day, my oldest asked, “Can I

pray with you?” He was nine at the time.He knows there is power in prayer. Heperceives that sometimes there’s nothinghe can say that will make it better, sohe’ll just go straight to the One whodoes have that power. Do my own kidscomplain about church? Yes. Do theytell me it’s boring? Sometimes, yes.They say the same things about school.But church and school are differentenvironments for a reason. School iscentered around learning and thus has itsown schedule and structure. Church is ahospital for sinners. That would be allof us, mind you. You, me, the drugdealer a few streets away- all of us aresinners in need of a Savior. So what dowe do at church? We claim forgivenessof our sins. Why do we do this? To“wipe our feet” so to speak. We hearGod’s Word. We sing hymnsproclaiming what Christ has done for us.We hear sermons where our pastorspreach Christ. We don’t go to church tohear what we have to do to gain heaven.No, Christ did it all. 100%. We can’t doone thing to merit salvation forourselves. That’s why we hear sermonsabout Jesus and not about us. We enterthe sanctuary weak and in need ofstrength for our souls, and we depart

M

…a loving Christianparent also does notgive the option to

their children aboutgoing to church…

refreshed to serve God by serving ourfamilies, friends, and neighbors in Christianlove.

So parents, don’t give in to outsidepressures telling you not to force your kidsto go to church. Don’t give in to them,either, when they complain about it.Because at some point an amazing thinghappens- that kid who complains aboutchurch grows up and takes his or her ownkids to church every Sunday. Going backto my opening analogy, believe it or not,there came a point in my own life where Irealized I actually liked sauteed zucchini(although I never would have admitted thatto my mother). Keep at it, parents. Just aswe need three meals a day for physicalstrength and nourishment, so do we needregular worship to refresh and strengthenour souls. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I needto go make breakfast.

Grace Baptist Church will occasionally republish a work from anunaffiliated author. GBC does not endorse every doctrinal positionof Ruth Meyer. Meyer, who does not hold to the Baptist doctrines,simply offers general Bible wisdom to her online subscribers. Youcan find more of her blogs at truthnotes.net. This article wasrepublished with the permission of the author.

See “Forcing Church” pg. 5

From “Forcing Church” pg. 4

4 • The Earnest Contender, Spring 2017

By Ruth Meyer

Why I wouldNEVERforcemy kids to go toChurch!

take charge of a ministry only toquit it a few months in. Theytackle a task and months later, itstill has not been completed. Butthen there are those who, whenyou delegate a task to them, exceedyour expectations and youdiscover that the job was done farbetter than if you had done it tothe best of your own ability....going to prove that your way is notalways the "right" or "best" way.

As I continue to learn how todelegate and to whom I shoulddelegate tasks, I am reminded ofEcclesiastes 9:10. It is my lifeverse. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to

do, do it with thy might; for there is nowork, nor device, nor knowledge, norwisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest."My mindset is to always do my best.Never to quit. I also apply this todelegation. When I find that I cando more by doing less myself... Iwill find those who are trustworthyand dependable and who share thesame mindset found in Ecclesiastes9:10. It's how things get doneefficiently and effectively.

Republished with permission fromjmbickelhaupt.blogspot.com “Thoughts fromWithin” Jan. 16, 2017.

The Earnest Contender, Spring 2017 • 5

From “Delegation” pg. 2

Moses depicted here taking advice from Jethro, his father-in-law,in regards to delegating the responsibilities of leading the Israelitesthrough the wilderness.