I just got my new SOTL in the mail. There is an ad for their big national meeting. Greg Baker was listed as one of the speakers.
Until I read this thread, I was not aware of who he was. If I had seen that ad an hour ago, I would not have recognized his name.
This is a sad report. I will pray for his family.
It's sad news for the Sword family, too. His wife, Melissa, speaks at our Ladies' Jubilees, too. Very sweet lady. Very sad events...
Thank you for your prayers!
__________________ "A Christian without trials would be like a mill without wind or water. What place should we have for patience, meekness, readiness to forgive, if we had nothing to try us?" ~John Newton~
I am shocked! I heard him preach at the first Sword of the Lord meeting I went to. Mike Norris was suppose to preach with Shelton Smith but his mother in law passed away so Baker filled in at the last minute. I got to talk to him and out of all the big named preachers I met, he was one of the nicest.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is somebody saying he committed suicide?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but is somebody saying he committed suicide?
All indications are that he did.
This is a heart-breaking situation in which a godly man seems to have failed of the grace of God for a brief time. We can only imagine the burdens he was bearing.
But I would hate for the means of his death to overshadow the testimony of his life. He was a man who impacted so many of us. I trust we will demonstrate the grace which God has shown to us in our response to this tragedy.
Dr Bob, I agree with you this is unspeakable.................our prayers need to be with the family that is left behind.....................God be with them.
........ I feel only sympathy for anyone who comes to that decision.
Amen. Praying for the family.
I remember when I pastored and had the weight of the ministry on my shoulders with no let up in what was expected from me, suffering from diabetes, was ill with the pain of fibromyalgia, no way to make ends meet financially, stabbed in the back by deacons, associate pastor, and church members, and eventually in deep deep depression......the thoughts of suicide ran through my mind and seemed like the only way out. By the grace and the help of God, I got help and fought my way back from depression. No one in a normal state of mind contemplates suicide. (The worse part was I felt trapped, and did not want anyone to know how I felt.) So I can only imagine what was going on in his mind and heart to carry this out.
My heart goes out to this pastor and his family. He had to have something going on health wise to have done this. I just looked at the web site and saw the family photos. What a horrible tragedy for them.
I remember when I pastored and had the weight of the ministry on my shoulders with no let up in what was expected from me, suffering from diabetes, was ill with the pain of fibromyalgia, no way to make ends meet financially, stabbed in the back by deacons, associate pastor, and church members, and eventually in deep deep depression......the thoughts of suicide ran through my mind and seemed like the only way out. By the grace and the help of God, I got help and fought my way back from depression. No one in a normal state of mind contemplates suicide. (The worse part was I felt trapped, and did not want anyone to know how I felt.) So I can only imagine what was going on in his mind and heart to carry this out.
My heart goes out to this pastor and his family. He had to have something going on health wise to have done this. I just looked at the web site and saw the family photos. What a horrible tragedy for them.
Bob, this is a huge problem in many churches. The people want to look up to the pastor as some kind of "giant" who is invincible and they don't understand that he is the same as they.
Pastor Baker had a staff of men who worked with him, he was constantly preaching across the country in churches where I'm sure he could share his burden's with other pastors. However, when you are in the situation where you are one of the people that pastor's come to for advice, what do you do then? I think we need to stop elevating people to the place where they cannot be human.
I don't know the situation with this particular pastor, but I do know what happens in churches and in different church fellowships. It's sad to see the pressure we put on some people and how it adversely effects them. We are all the body of Christ and we all have strengths and weaknesses. We cannot bear one another's burdens if we are not walking alongside each other.
I can't imagine the difficulty of this man's family right now. I'm sure they covet everyone's prayers.
__________________ The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, which is why often people look bright until they start talking.
All things presented in the above message are MHO. Thus, even though they probably are right, you have the right to respectfully disagree with me.
The views and opinions expressed on this web site are not necessarily those of the Fighting Fundamental Forums management. This is an open and unmoderated forum. The content of each post is the sole responsibility of the poster. Participants are expected to follow the simple rules of the forum. Within these wide parameters various views are welcome to be expressed freely.
The college names used on the FundamentalForums.com web site are trademarks of their respective schools. The forums are not officially sanctioned by any of the institutions represented.
The speed of light is faster than the speed of sound, which is why often people look bright until they start talking.
Linear Mode
