In Appreciation
Dr. Mohler,
In the ridiculously frigid month of February way back in the year 2000, I went to a pastor’s conference in Minneapolis with my mentor, Mike Greiner. He was the pastor of the American Baptist Church I’d grown up in, and I was planning on starting classes at Columbia International University in South Carolina in the fall. My firstborn, Samuel, was just months old.
I’d been to youth events before, but never a pastor’s conference. There were books everywhere, and guys with beards in flannels and shirts with church logos on them were arguing about double predestination and lapsarianism and I had no idea what they were talking about. I’d listened to a few John Piper cassettes on my yellow Sony sports Walkman but had no clue what half the things he was talking about even meant. There was a spot in the church where you could put quarters in a can and take copies of sermons out of a row of file cabinets — it was the original Desiring God sermon archive, before the videos and the website.
The conference was intense. Joseph Tson spoke about being beaten by communists in Romania and how he took comfort in Jesus’ testimony that unless the Father had given them permission, they could do nothing to him. I’m pretty sure that was the moment I ‘became a Calvinist’ — aware of God’s sovereignty, the power of His word, and the security of resting in His plan. (That’s what it meant to me at the time. I was a kid… back off). Pastor John’s message was on John G. Paton’s tireless ministry — spending his whole ministry working for that first convert. The main speaker was the one I was most impressed with though. It was you — speaking on courage in ministry. You never looked at notes. You told the story of the conservative resurgence in SBC life and how you reformed the seminary. I was awestruck.
The conference was still in Bethlehem Church at the time, and lunch was on trays and paper plates and we sat at round tables all over the building. As Mike and I weaved through the crowd, he pushed me toward the last open seat at a table and said, “Your seat is right there,” walking away and leaving me looking around the table, and then at Dr. Mohler, asking, “Is this seat taken?”
After the initial pleasantries, older guys around the table talking about their pastorates and church sizes and which seminaries their kids were going to… I spoke up. “I’m going to a non-denominational seminary in the fall.” I didn’t really know how to say what I was feeling at that point. “I’ve grown up in a pretty liberal denomination from what I can tell. We’ve always had good pastors who believed the bible… I… I didn’t know anything like this even existed.” By ‘this’ I meant the SBC — a denomination that had slid toward becoming a ‘mainline’ organization and then had turned back… surging in its commitment to truth and missions.
I walked away from that lunch committed to ‘not wasting my time on stupid things in seminary’ but instead focusing on theology, original languages, bible, and church history — that was your advice — and it was good advice. I’ve been able to pick up all the leadership and church growth advice from seminars and conferences.
That wasn’t the only thing I walked away from that conversation with though. Mike and I had been talking about leaving the ABC and looking for a new denomination. As the kid who’d grown up in the church, I’d have something to say about where we went next, and I wanted to be part of the SBC. We’d transition our church into the SBC three years later after I became the first associate pastor the church ever hired.
I took a solo pastor role four years later at an SBC church and got involved in my local association and state convention. I took a tour of your library once while I was on campus and had a friend take a picture of me sitting in your chair somewhere on Facebook. My kids would groan and then settle in and listen as we listened to the Briefing every morning when I drove them to the bus stop. I’m currently serving as a pastor and the Director of the Eastern Baptist Association of Maryland. I wasn’t born into the SBC, but I’m a naturalized citizen and I consider myself a patriot.
I write all of this to say that I’ve been a fan from the moment I met you, and you were the best kind of Christian celebrity out there. You’ve consistently pointed me away from myself and toward the scriptures, toward the mission, and toward the gospel of Jesus. Apart from that, everything we say and do in Christian service is meaningless. I’m thankful for your ministry and so I hope that maybe you’ll read these words and take them to heart.
I thank the Lord for your influence in my life.
With sincere thanks,
Keith Myer
