Evangelist, preacher, pastor, church planter, teacher, author, poet, composer. He preached in every state of the Union and in multiple nations on every continent, but Antarctica. He delivered the word of God to large congregations and to small assemblies. He was equally at home preaching to thousands as he was in witnessing to one. He was motivated by his gratitude for the grace of salvation, his passion for the lost, and his fervor for the return of the LORD Jesus Christ. He established a record and faithfully, consistently remained anchored to his convictions, unmoved by the ebb and flow of popularity, not searching for the wave of applause. He was a man to whom the stewardship of the gospel ministry meant the solemn lifelong responsibility of the obligation of duty. He was a preacher who lived to preach and who preached even as he was dying. Jerald L. Manley Heritage Baptist Church Pensacola, Florida (Taken from his obituary) Birth: May 26, 1912 Death: Sep. 6, 2003 Dr. Art Wilson, Baptist Minister/Evangelist, 91, Springfield, died Sept. 6, 2003. Services are 10 a.m. Sept. 9 at West Division St. Baptist. Visitation, Greenlawn North from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 8. Services will also be conducted at Friendship Baptist Church in Wichita, KS, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. Internment in Wichita Park Cemetery. Dr. Wilson was born May 26, 1912, in Aurora, CO. Preceded in death by his former wife, Rowena Mae Totten, and a son, Donald Eugene. Minister, evangelist, author, and pastor, Dr. Wilson’s 70 years of ministry leaves a worldwide legacy. Survivors: wife of 58 years, Elaine, of Springfield; brother, Rev. Al Wilson, Sun City, AZ; sons and daughters-in-law, Rev. Ray and Bonnie Wilson, Leon, Mexico; Paul and Karen Wilson, Wichita, KS; Mark and Ruth Wilson, Springfield; daughter and son-in-law Rose and Dave Fields, Wichita, KS; daughter-in-law, Velda Wilson, Wichita, KS; 11 grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Almost Like Being There
I have often described events in the life of Paul, the Apostle in my sermons. His life was one of my favorite courses in Bible College. A careful search of the book of Acts and all of His epistles reveals intimate details of his character, his motivations and his personal traits. It would be a wonderful experience to walk with him for a while. But I cannot.
The next best thing is to spend some personal fellowship with a great preacher like Dr. Art Wilson. He will be 90 years old on the 26th of May this year of 2002. He has been blessed of the Lord in that he is able to recount his multivaried experiences with clarity and utilize them effectively in his preaching. I can remember the first time I saw him and heard him speak. He still is the same type preacher now some 40 years later. His character and his presentation of the Gospel have not diminished.
Yesterday, he gave one of the clearest messages that draws the lost to Christ, that I have ever heard and a harvest was reaped.
I have, in the last few years, had the unique privilege of having this man preach in my pulpit and eat at my table. His messages and his conversations are replete with personal illustrations and experiences, so it does not take one very long to begin to follow this man as he follows Christ. This explains why I began this article with the allusion to the great apostle Paul. Very few men have such a history.
I am not attempting to record that history here. I do know that he has been instrumental in the founding of several churches and the winning of countless souls.
I do know that he is tireless in his work for the cause of the Gospel.
I do know that he has evangelistic ferver and is able to counsel a distraught person or encourage a preacher to higher asperation.
I do know that he has a keen sense of what is really going on in a Church or in a persons heart and he has the ability to colour any situation with scriptural example and then give an actual experience from his own repertoire.
He is able to be conscious of his office in the presence of a dignitary or a child and give full attention to the individual with whom he converses. He has preached in the largest of large churches. He has preached in sawdust aisles of a tent. He has preached anywhere and anytime to a crowd of thousands or a single needy soul. He has preached fearlessly in jeopardy of life or limb and he has been an ambassador for Christ on new mission fields from Kansas to Japan.
There cannot be any more apostles….. but one has come close. By Pastor DSMetts
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GOD PRACTICE
by Dr. Art Wilson
No intention toward irreverency but to“illustrate” only. Generally the term “practice” is used to describe the activity of a person rehearsing their “game” in order to be at their best when they meet an arch rival in a “championship contest.”
In boxing, it is called “sparring.” In football, it is call “scrimmage.” In baseball, it is called “workout,” etc. Big crowds turn out to watch their heroes or stars in practice events. Golf is another. Just as all of these have their serious fans who declare, “I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” just so, I am a serious “fan“ of God and I don’t want to miss watching Him get ready for the greatest show on earth. But to the unbelieving world, a true “fan” (a saved person) is laughed at and scorned.
Sure enough, Christ said it would be a replay of Noah’s day in this 21st century. It was fun to laugh at Noah until the flood began. The
Bible Baptist Church, Yakima, WA was the host. Pastor Brown carries on the vision of his dad, Pastor Dennis J. Brown. The Yakima, church hosts the oldest and largest of the Home Missions Conferences held annually around the country. Many men have come to Yakima and caught the vision to do more for the cause of Christ in the area of Home
Missions. At this Home Missions Conference held at the school, hearts were challenged with each and every message. Not only did the pastors give in the offerings, but also many Heartland students gave and pledged money to the various needs.
Total offerings of $13,847.00 were received for 25 men to meet various needs they pre- sented, while approximately $60,000 more was promised to various pastors and their mission works. Some of the needs mentioned were: hymnals, a keyboard, a guitar, a Utah television ministry, insulation, medical bills, various remodeling projects, pews, a heating
…continued on page 6
Bro. Dave Brown (LFT.) Hosted an Impressive Home Missions Conference
ark was God’s design. He was getting ready for the “main event.”
In like manner, the ever increasing number of hurricanes, volcanoes, explosions, tornadoes, floods, viciously destructive hail storms, the increase of AIDS and other genital diseases, besides the breaking out of multiple pestilences on human beings, beasts and bugs, all illustrate God’s “practicing.” To shed light on God’s “practicing,” think of it this way—the records reveal pea-size to grapefruit-size hail have fallen; winds have exceeded 200 miles per hour; volcanoes have sent boiling lava so deep they literally buried towns and cities and earthquakes from 1.9 to 9.4 have been recorded on the Richter Scale. Compare these statistics to those of the coming “main event”—the Great Tribulation and they pale into almost nothingness. Just imagine hailstones mingled with fire, weighing up to 200 lbs. (Rev. 8:7). What a fireworks display!!
The Richter scale will be useless then. Who could guess the power of the “main event”— with tremors that will move every mountain and every island out of their places (Rev. 6:14 & 16:20). At that time, the world will know the day of God’s vengeance on an unbelieving, antiChrist population has come.
Now comes the big question for this hour: What does all this have to do with we who are God-called preachers and our people? I am
glad you asked. We are called to be preachers of righteousness—ambassadors for Christ. We are to be loyal to only one flag, else we be traitors. None will ever become a mighty Paul until first we’ve been an obedient and trust- worthy Timothy. The ministry and Christian life are a race and we are to run it —“looking unto Jesus” to the finish line. We are not to “play” to the grandstand but take a “Christ- stand.” We as preachers must weigh and measure both spectrums for ourselves and for our people. We must realize that just as cer- tain as the great tribulation and God’s judg- ment day for the unbelieving is, so also is the judgment seat of Christ for our people and us. When we fully understand the awesomeness of this event where we must give an answer to all things done in the body, it will cause us to expunge from our lives these things that shall cause us to “suffer loss” there.
Personally, we see disappointment in a trusted friend, jealousy, resentment, anger and revenge as the main culprits. Some of these may attack you but “looking unto Jesus,” with eyes single to His glory, they cannot defeat you. Remember Paul and Barnabus even broke fellowship but the record shows them both serving Christ nobly – not deriding each other. Dear pastor and all independent Baptist laymen: Since “God’s Practice” is a warning, should we not focus more dedicatedly on the coming “Main Event?” I think so.
Behind every great pastor, there is a great wife.
Mrs. Elaine Wilson Celebrates Her 98th Birthday – Dr. Greg J. Dixon
Elaine Wilson, the wife of the late Dr. Art Wilson, celebrated her ninety-eighth birthday with her son Paul and his wife along with a few close friends, at the Jordan Creek Care Center in Springfield, Missouri Sunday, August the fourth. Rev. and Mrs. Bill Hathaway and Rev. and Mrs. Bill Anderson also paid a visit to her during the week. Even though she is quite feeble she still recognizes everyone and is able to carry on a most intelligent conversation. I called her Sunday evening and she knew me and we had a blessed conversation. I love her like my own mother as she was my pastor’s wife and also had a very special part in my conversion to Christ and growth in the Lord. We have stayed in touch through the years. Dr. Wilson was the founder and pastor of the Wichita Baptist Tabernacle and President of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International three times. Their daughter Rose, of Wichita, Kansas passed away this past week at sixty years of age.