I had the privilege of preaching at the First Baptist Church in Brownstown, IL, this past Sunday morning. The church was celebrating 25 years having my uncle Olen Evans as their pastor. In case you’re keeping score at home, that’s about 22 years beyond the average tenure of pastors in one church these days.
My uncle has been a hero of the faith throughout my life. Right up there with the men and women of God in Hebrews 11. He has been through the fires and trials, the pains and the sorrows, and the persecutions and sufferings that often accompany the way of Christ. And he’s persevered faithfully through it all. Or maybe I should say that the Lord has been faithful to deliver him through it all.
You didn’t think that following Jesus was all candy and roses, did you?
Some seventeen years ago the doctors said there was nothing else they could do for Olen. Kidney failure. Bone marrow disease. You name it, he’s endured it. At one point his weight plummeted to 79 pounds. They gave him six months to live. But rather than destroy him, the disease led him to a deeper dependence upon the Lord. And God delivered him. The result was a greater longing for heaven, a bolder witness on earth and passionate pursuit of holiness.
In his book, Journeys of a Feeble Saint, Olen also chronicles a period of intense spiritual warfare in his life. His family would often receive threatening phone calls. Doors would slam shut when no one else was around. Their dog’s neck had been sliced open. A family portrait was discovered with all their faces blacked out and a slash mark across my uncle’s throat. They found countless signs of intruders in the house with no forced entry. His family often felt the presence of evil around them. They came home once to find the words “Satan Lives” spray painted in large black letters on their house and occult symbols on the inside.
You didn’t think pastors were immune to danger, did you?
It’s not for no reason that the Bible admonishes us to “put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). It’s not in vain that we’re warned that our “adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Jesus assured His disciples that just as the people of His day hated Him, they would hate His followers also. He told them plainly that the day would come when they would be put to death on account of His name. No wonder He says that anyone who wants to follow Him must deny himself, take up his cross and follow. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35).
You didn’t think the narrow road that leads to life would be a picnic, did you?
And yet God gives us the grace and the power for victory over the adversary. My uncle is a living testimony of faith in the Lord, and of God’s mercy, goodness, power and faithfulness to deliver him through it all.
I wish I had more room to tell you about how he has personally been an encouragement in my life. Maybe some other time.
I am excited to tell you that he will be bringing the message this Sunday afternoon, November 6, at 3:00 for the Pastor Installation Service at Petersburg First Baptist Church. I’m not real sure what an installation service is. I know what it means to install a microwave oven or a water heater, but how to install a pastor? Guess I’ll find out this Sunday. You can, too. Come and be our guest!
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