It has been a long day thus far. This morning I drove to Valparaiso to meet my brother Mickey Schneider for the Twin Cities Ministerial Fellowship. This is a meeting of evangelical pastors in the Niceville and Valparaiso area. Since I am from the Pensacola area, I am unable to become a full member. I may join, however, as an associate member. The fellowship is sweet, the food is sublime, and the work being done is noble.
The main reason I come this way is to meet Mickey for our monthly mentoring session. Mickey has become a dear brother and a hero in my eyes. His humility and years of ministry in the church make him not only a Presbyterian par excellence, but a man of God rare in these days of compromise.
Another advantage of these meetings is to hear Mickey’s stories about the “good ol’ days.” Today I heard of his meeting with Cornelius Van Til in the early days of the Pensacola Institute. In those days, seminarians were provided a cottage to stay. Professors who were speakers at the Institute also stayed in the same cottage. Mickey was a young man. On that day, Martin Luther King Jr. was to deliver his famous “I have a dream” speech. Mickey says that as he was sitting on the bed to watch that speech, Van Til walks in with a towel having come back from the beach. He asked if he could sit with Mickey and hear the speech. Mickey and Van Til sitting on the same bed watching a Martin Luther King speech. People have asked him what Van Til said. Mickey told me the only thing he said that day was: ” I hope nothing goes wrong.” Another day of learning, stories and more with Mickey Schneider. What else can a young pastor want?
Back to my sermon prep.
