Category: From Our President

I remember when the Lord called me to preach. I was a diesel mechanic in Tallahassee, Florida, and was so excited and fearful at the same time. There was no way in those days to see how things would turn out in the years to come. It was January 1972 when Darleen and I moved to Greenville, South Carolina with our five-month-old son to start studying at Bob Jones University. Every day was a new experience. We were receiving an education each day whether classes were going on or not.

Four years later the Lord directed us to Central Baptist Church in Greeneville, Tennessee. Again, there was excitement and fear at the same time. There were so many new things that I was responsible for, and I had virtually no experience in them. The education continued!

After nine years the Lord called me into missions. To let go of a wonderful church family was very difficult. We then had four children. We had no income, no home, and no car that could take the miles that deputation would require. Humanly speaking, there was simply no way for this to turn out right. But God! When we could not see the way before us, He made a way.

I preached my first sermon the third Sunday night of January 1971. There were times that we felt all hope was gone, but our Lord never failed us. We would not take all the world’s wealth for the experiences of these years, and the friends that time has brought our way.

I don’t know what the new year looks like to you as you attempt to look into the coming days, but I do know that our Lord will never forsake you. Make knowing and doing His will the greatest ambition of your life. Give Him, and those that He has called you to minister to, the very best that you have to give. Continue to invest your life in the lives of others and find satisfaction beyond belief.

Love what you do, and thank God everyday for the privilege to do it. So many are counting on you and your faithfulness to Christ. I pray that you too will remember the process that the Lord has brought you through so that you could fulfill His purpose in your life today. May you know the blessings of our Lord in 2017.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Christmas affords us a wonderful opportunity to highlight the message that we share all year long. Obviously, there are many stories, doctrines, and instructions to be dealt with from the Bible. But since Jesus Christ came to seek the lost, perhaps this is to be espoused all the time and emphasized this time of year.

Recently, I was in a service in which the preacher read from Luke chapter one concerning our Lord’s dealing with Mary, the mother of Jesus. These verses spoke to me as never before. Luke 1:28, “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” She was favored, the Lord was with her and she was blessed! Mary indeed was an amazing woman blessed of God. There are those who have distorted her life and purpose, but there are those who have also diminished her life as well.

The centerpiece of Christmas is certainly the first coming of our Savior; however, there are a number of individuals who were involved in that biblical and historical event. We can learn much from their lives. How did the Lord use them? Why did the Lord use them? It might offer us some insights that will not only bless us as we consider this special occasion, but it might also direct us in our own lives and usefulness in the Lord’s work.

Take some time this Christmas season to look into the lives of those who were front and center in the Christmas story. We all understand that Christ has been, is, and always will be the focal point, but why did He include those that were chosen to participate?

Now, why did He put you where you are presently serving. Why did He give you the family that you have? How can these lives in the Christmas story challenge us to do a better job in our own lives, families and ministries? I know that many of you will be far away from most of your loved ones and friends this Christmas. I pray that the manifested presence of the Lord will use those around you to fill your life with joy, contentment, and praise.

Merry Christmas to each of you.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

In a recent missions conference a young lady said, “I believe the Lord is leading me into something, and I think it is missions. I am afraid!” I attempted to assure her that this fear was coming from somewhere other than the Lord. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) A couple of days later she openly confessed that the Lord had indeed called her to missions work, and that she had surrendered to His calling.

It would be impossible for me to answer for everyone else, but I can speak for myself and I readily confess that there have been times when I made a step of faith with a bit of anxiety. Was this uneasiness created by the world, the devil, or my flesh? I cannot conclusively say, but probably from my own flesh. I can conclude that it did not originate with the Lord.

What does the Lord give us? Power to face whatever is in our path. Timothy undoubtedly had seen his share of persecution and perhaps had endured a measure of it himself. Paul is writing to him, and there is no question that he had known more than a normal share of persecution against him and his ministry. So now he encourages Timothy to lean on the Lord for power to overcome.

The Lord also gives us the spirit of love. The ability to put God and others before ourselves. This certainly is not natural for the flesh. Under most circumstances we will opt to satisfy our own fleshly desires before thinking of anyone else. However, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts has changed us. Through Him we are capable of loving the unlovely. Through Him we are enabled to love those who are against what we are doing in the service of the Lord.

Then Paul reminds Timothy that the Lord has also given him the spirit of a sound mind. His mind must be disciplined. He must focus on the power of God and not on his fear of the power of the persecutors. Any reasonable person is concerned about the hardships of life, but we cannot afford to be paralyzed by them. We must bring our thoughts into the captivity of Christ while pressing forward with what we know He wants us to accomplish.

Draw near to God where fears dissipate and power, love, and a sound mind originate. I pray that the Lord will give you a blessed and fruitful month in His service. We must continue to press forward until we are called up to meet our Lord in the air.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Summer is ended! In my part of the world the green leaves will turn to a variety of colors that will dazzle our eyes. As the days pass it will get cooler, and then colder. We know this because it has been our experience year after year.

The observations of older people have always interested me. I remember a farmer once telling me that if you dug a hole for a fence post in the wrong moon phase you could put the post in the hole and not have enough dirt to finish filling the hole. On the other hand if you dug the hole in the correct moon phase you would have sufficient dirt to pack down for a firm hold. Is it some kind of magic? No, it is simple observation over a long period of time.

It appears that we too often endure the long, cold winter without seeing fruit for our labor and grow so discouraged that we fail to reap the harvest when it is all around us. A vicious cycle follows until we complain about the lack of harvest while the seed is still in the barn.

The Lord permitted those that would follow Him to catch a great many fish after they had worked all night without taking anything. When they acknowledged their amazement at what He had done, He declared that He would make them fishers of men. Jesus came to seek those that would be saved. He has invited us to join Him in His great commission to see people saved by His grace. Is it possible that we could allow this most noble cause to be buried under the rubble of daily activities? Could it be that we would permit the misuse of this calling to seek converts to cause us to neglect this sacred duty? Might it be that we fear failure should we dedicate our lives to this task to seek the lost?

I would like to find some acceptable excuses for my lack of diligence in reaching out to a lost world, but there aren’t any. It is true that evangelism is only part of the Great Commission, but it is part. As a matter of fact, it is the first part. If it was important enough for our Lord to come to earth to seek the lost should it not be important enough for us to rise to the occasion in our generation to go into the highways and hedges looking for them? If we are just too busy to evangelize we are just too busy with something that should be left undone!

We know that the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation.” We must broadcast the seed believing that it will do its perfect work if given the opportunity. The Lord is counting on us, and the world is depending on us. If we fail let it not be caused by neglect.

God bless each of us as we strive to serve Him faithfully in the coming days. May each of us be more diligent in our witness for Christ than we have ever been before.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” 1 Timothy 3:1

There are no insignificant callings to serve the Lord. It was my privilege to serve the Lord as a pastor for more than ten years before following His leading into missions work. With that said, we understand that God has ordained that the work of the church would be led by men called to serve Him as pastors of the local church. It has been my experience that God-called pastors all have the work of the Lord at heart.

No matter what our position is in the service of our great God we all have opinions. Even pastors disagree on so many subjects. It should not surprise us that they might have various opinions concerning missions. It is pastors that direct their congregations to support our ministries around the world. We are given the opportunity to share our ministries in churches because pastors invite us to do so. We share our burdens both in our presentations and preaching. We espouse our positions on various things. Pastors will often consider the mission that we are serving with, our position on doctrinal matters, and our presentation of the work that God has led us to do.

It appears obvious to me that if we change our doctrinal position, or if the Lord leads us in a different direction than presented to the church, we should share that change with the pastor. We should not assume that the pastor or the church would want to continue to support the changes that we have settled on. Every calling of God is important, but when we are expecting the local church to support our ministries prayerfully and financially it makes us accountable to them. Furthermore, God has made us accountable to them.

The pastors that I am with week after week sincerely want to get the gospel to the world. They should not have to be concerned that they are supporting missionaries that are pulling the wool over their eyes because those missionaries feel that the church owes them something. It is the Lord that called us into the work, and it is the Lord that will sustain our ministries. If God is pleased with the changes that we decide to make, then God will raise up the support to carry that work out without us being crafty with the church and its pastors.

Pastors, evangelists, and missionaries are all accountable to the church in one way or another. It is an honor to work together with others to accomplish the great commission. Make it a practice to pray for your supporting pastors and churches. They are praying and pulling for you.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Paul dealt with many problems in the church at Corinth. One of those problems was so important that he dedicated an entire chapter to it. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul instructed the church on the truth concerning the resurrection of Christ. Not only did he deal with the fact of Christ’s resurrection, but also with how it will affect us directly between now and the resurrection of the saints.

We learn from this that we are already victorious simply because Christ got up out of the grave. Victory is not in question! There will undoubtedly be difficult days during our earthly journey, but in the end, victory has already been secured for us. There are probably days when it seems that absolutely everything goes wrong. Maybe there are even times when you feel that it just is not worth the effort. However, I remind you that we know the final score, and no matter what it looks like on a daily basis, we know that Christ lives to provide for us victory by His power.

Furthermore, because we have this promise, we should be motivated to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” It seems that we are living in a time when mediocrity is the flavor of the day. Treading water, getting by, and doing less than our best is the acceptable norm. Our world has never needed our fervent witness for Christ more than it does today. We certainly do not live in a day when there is any danger of anyone accusing us of being fanatical.

The unscriptural teaching concerning the resurrection was not only affecting the believers in Corinth, but it was also confusing to the lost. Paul challenged the church to wake up and realize that not everyone knew the truth, and charged that they should be ashamed for making things even worse by their arguments concerning the resurrection. It seems as though Corinth has spread to the entire world today. Arguments have superseded our burden for a lost world far too often.

This is the perfect time for us to be steadfast. This is the perfect time for us to be unmovable. This would be the perfect time for us to abound in the work of the Lord. May God so manifest Himself to us that we would realize that we cannot only have victory in the future, but we can have it today.

May the Lord bless your labor of love for His glory.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Words cannot express the blessing of the World Wide Family Fellowship Meeting last month. Pastor Chad Estep and the Valley Baptist Church of Edinburg, Virginia, rolled out the red carpet for the World Wide family. Brother O’Malley and the office team worked along with the church to make the week move smoothly from one blessing to another.

We are indeed laborers together in the Lord’s work. All of us depend on others to see our ministries go forward. For the mission itself we see the missionaries, office staff, board, sending churches, and supporting churches come together to make progress possible. When each of these are dedicated to serve the Lord there is no limit to what can be accomplished.

It was a special blessing to see Mrs. Arlie Wingard accompany Dr. Wingard to the meeting. It is difficult to talk to Mrs. Arlie without a smile, because her presence is so delightful. She doesn’t like leaving home much anymore, but I appreciate the effort she made to be with us.

It is easy to see that many of us have become gray heads, white heads, and bald heads over the years, but praise the Lord there is a generous supply of young missionaries coming behind us. It is a joy to see the young children and teens of missionary families around the church. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the Valley Baptist Church staff for making the week so enjoyable for the young folks.

Next year we plan to meet with Pastor Tim Daniel and the New Testament Baptist Church in Kinston, North Carolina. If you are planning to be in the States next summer please put that in your calendar for the third Monday through Thursday of June. We greatly desire your fellowship.

Thank you for your faithful service to our Lord. I pray that He will bless you continually with His divine presence and power. Whatever you are facing today, remember that the One Who has abides in you is greater that he that abides in the world. Your victory is secure in Christ.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Family Fellowship Week always begins on the third Monday in June. This year, we are meeting with Pastor Chad Estep and the Valley Baptist Church in Edinburg, Virginia. I always look forward to these days. Since 1976, I have missed only one of these meetings. There is no doubt that they have changed over the years. The length has been shortened by one day, and the days that we do meet have been made considerably easier to attend. Is it necessary to meet every year? No, but it is very helpful. My heart is always blessed by the messages and by the fellowship.

None of us see each other often. Though Brother O’Malley and I lived beside each other for many years, it was rare that we spent time with each other. I have worked full-time with Pastor Wingard since 1985, but we spend far too little time together. Family Fellowship Week gives us the opportunity to fellowship, and I can hardly wait!

Fellowship is so important. The early followers of Christ continued in some very important things like doctrine, breaking of bread, and prayer. Listed among those things was fellowship. Every family needs fellowship. Every church needs fellowship. Friends need fellowship. You might do without it long enough to begin thinking that it isn’t all that important, but it is very important.

We are strengthened by fellowship. If you go long periods of time without spending face-to-face time with other Christians, you might start to think you are all alone in the battle for this amazing faith. We are made stronger when we have the opportunity to bind our hearts together with others of like precious faith. Will you have the strength to stand alone? I hope so, but you don’t have to stand by yourself when there are so many others that would delight to stand with you.

We are encouraged by fellowship. We are living in a very complex and ever-changing world. Discouragement has a way of creeping into our lives a little at a time. When we realize that there are so many others fighting the same battles that we are fighting, we are encouraged by finding answers in fellowship together.

We are challenged by fellowship. I suppose that everyone feels like quitting a few times in life, or perhaps a few times every day! When we share in fellowship our victories and defeats, we can challenge each other to press on toward victory and success.

Don’t wait for fellowship to just happen. So often it gets pushed into the background because it does not clamor for our attention like so many other things in life. Schedule fellowship. Make it happen! You might have to go out of your way. You might have to rearrange your schedule. But when you do make room for fellowship with other believers, you will come away thinking you should do that more often.

If you can make it to Edinburg, Virginia, this month I will look forward to your fellowship. If you cannot make it this year, please make sure it is in your schedule when you are in the States.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

Paul challenged Timothy to “preach the Word.” At that time, Paul was not under house arrest, but was actually in prison awaiting execution. He knew that there would eventually be a turning from the truth. Obviously, not everyone turned to Christ when Paul preached. It seems that Paul’s warning involved religious people that appeared to be drawn to the truth, but would eventually seek teachers of their personal persuasion. They would gravitate to preachers that would tell them what they wanted to hear. So Paul admonished Timothy to stay with truth, regardless of the changing winds that would blow around him.

As proclaimers of the truth, we must not be sidetracked by the desires of others, but rather maintain a straight line with the truth. Paul did qualify his charge: Timothy was to preach the truth with “longsuffering.” Examining his ministry in Corinth would reveal Paul’s ability to deal with a disobedient people while exhibiting longsuffering among them. He also wanted Timothy to preach “doctrine.” The early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” If we are going to say that the Lord said a certain thing, we should know that He said it. I heard a preacher say, “I am going to preach Isaiah 6 in a way that you have never heard it before.” Well, there was a reason that we had never heard it preached that way before! He ignored the Bible completely to say what he wanted to say.

There are many good things to do, but for us, there is nothing more important that sharing divine truth. Many have fallen by the wayside, and unfortunately, many more will in the days to come. Let’s do all that we can to make a difference by consistently proclaiming the precious Word that has been faithfully handed down to us. We are called on to endure affliction, work as an evangelist, and make full proof of our ministries.

We know, as Paul did, that we are soon to be in the presence of our Lord. Can we be as confident as Paul when facing that reality? Yes, we can be, if we handle the truth as he did. We must establish and maintain the priorities in our life as Paul did so long ago. The world needs the truth today as much as any generation before us.

I pray that the Lord will bless your labor of love this month. Digest His wonderful truth and pass it on to those among whom God has called you to minister.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone

We are living in an ever-changing world today. Each missionary that is accepted with World Wide has been challenged with the responsibility to have the means to evacuate his family if it becomes necessary. This can be done by an escrow account, a credit card that is dedicated to this cause, or a sending church that is willing to accept the responsibility.

We recognize that God has not given us the spirit of fear. However, He has given us the spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. Please develop a plan ahead of time that would afford you alternate ways of evacuation by car, train, boat, and air. This is not only a consideration for those that are in traditionally dangerous areas; it is now important no matter where you are.

Should it ever become necessary for you to make a move, please get a message to the mission as quickly as possible. Your safety is very important to us, and though we cannot do everything, we certainly will do all that we can to guarantee your well-being.

It is very important that we take a balanced look at the changes that are being magnified every day. This is not the time to obsess over what could happen. When this happens, we are of no value to those the Lord has called us to serve. But neither should we simply pass it off as though we have no responsibility to keep our families safe. If they are living every day in an atmosphere of insecurity, your best work has not been done.

Please know that you are loved and prayed for by many around the world. If there is anything that we can do to help you make proper plans and preparations, we would be delighted to do so. We pray that the Lord will bless you with a lifetime of faithful service in that special place that He has called you to serve.

It is a pleasure to be associated with you and your ministry. Our Lord will bless your labor of love. We pray that His promise to never leave or forsake you will be a manifested reality to you with every passing day.

In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone