Whereas 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible, which has been a great source of blessing to the Christian Church in the English-speaking world since the Reformation, and has been used of God to spark thousands of revivals and has had a major impact on our beloved fellowship; and

Whereas this version of the Bible has been used of God to bless the hearts and lives of millions for 400 years;

Therefore, be it resolved that, while understanding that divine inspiration lies only in the original autographs, given to us by holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21), and understanding that the hand of divine preservation has been demonstrated by the vast array of extant manuscripts in the original languages, we, the members of the Bible Presbyterian Church General Synod go on record believing and acknowledging that the King James Version of the Bible is a faithful translation, profoundly accurate, spiritually blessed, majestically common, and graciously given to the English speaking world; and

Be it further resolved, that we the members of the Bible Presbyterian Church General Synod, meeting August 11-16, 2011, at the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church, are deeply grateful and thank our most gracious and sovereign God for giving to us this translation of the Bible for the propagation of the Gospel of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Whereas the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church has been used of God as an instrument of grace for 75 years, to the saving of souls and the edification of saints; and

Whereas God has been pleased to equip this church for these 75 years with men of a spiritual vision and passion to preach Christ to this community and around the world; and Whereas the pastor, session, and congregation have graciously opened their arms to extend in every way possible, Christian hospitality to the members and guests of this synod;

Be it resolved that we, the members of the 75th General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church, do wish and pray God’s richest blessings on this church, and that their warmth and kindness will be rewarded here on earth with the fruits of the saving of the lost, the building up of the saints, and the glory of the Kingdom of our God.

Link to PDF file: Res75-05-Mem-Mullen

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.(Psalm 16:8-9)

Elder Robert C. Mullen was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1917. The Savior made him His own sometime during his teenage years.

He took his faith with him into World War II and served the country for over twenty years, ending his time of duty as a Lt. Col. in the United States Air Force.

Elder Mullen married Evelyn Grace Romaine in June of 1943, and they lived joyfully together as husband and wife for 67 years, raising two children.

Upon retiring from the Air Force, Bob began teaching in the Tacoma area, eventually becoming a principal and educational leader in the Pierce County School system, bringing the needs of retired teachers to the state legislature. Upon retiring from public education he went on to be one of the founders of Heritage Christian School and later served as its second principal.

His first experience at 5 South G Street had nothing to do with the church. He was a Golden Gloves Boxer, and fought bouts in what is not the main auditorium of the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church as a young man.

His relationship with the Tacoma Bible Presbyterian Church in all its various forms began around 1935 and during his years there he served in almost every capacity imaginable: Sunday School teacher, church basketball coach, seminary board member, Heritage Christian School board member, endless committees, and was the only man to serve as an elder under all five of the church’s pastors.

Elder Mullen was a respected and wise counselor to young and old, and loved and served the Lord with his whole heart. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a true love for people.

When it became clear that the Lord was calling him home, his prayer was that he would not “mess it up” somehow at the end – he did not. He lived and died a man of faith, resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary.

His presence is missed by all who knew and loved him, but his memory is a blessed testimony to the grace of God in the life of a man.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me: Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. Revelation 14:13

Elder Russell S. Foulke entered the presence of His Lord Jesus Christ April 7th 2011 at the age of 73. He served as a ruling elder of the Columbia Bible Presbyterian Church in Scappoose, Oregon from April 1996 until his death. Elder Foulke was known for his extensive knowledge of the Bible. He stood amazed at the grace unto salvation that God granted to him, and revelled in the all-encompassing truth of God’s sovereignty. He would frequently and humbly express what he was saved from, and what he was saved for. Elder Foulke had an inquisitive mind. He was a constant student in the School of Jesus Christ and was possessed by an insatiable hunger for sound doctrine and sound preaching, as well as history, science, literature, and God’s beautiful creation.

Mr. Foulke will also be remembered for his love for children. And children loved him for his gentle and supportive affection and encouragement. Though he was slowed down by a crippling stroke at the age of 55, Elder Foulke continued serving the body of Christ and the local community along with his wife of 44 years, Margaret Foulke. He served in the United States Air Force, in local committees and community service groups, and he was employed by Freightliner Truck Company as a machinist for 30 years. For several years Mr. and Mrs. Foulke baked delicious and hearty home-made bread for customers and friends in the community.

Russell and Margaret left their home in Oregon and moved to Tennessee to host the Bent Pine Lodge as a place of rest and recuperation for our pastors and missionaries. The Foulkes were faithful supporters at the Knoxville Bible Presbyterian Church and Russell worked with the Session while attending that fellowship.

Elder Foulke loved to worship God. The Lord’s Day was the high point of Mr. Foulke’s week. He loved the sacraments and was often brought to tears by the beauty of the Church as it worshipped its Lord. Unless he was absent due to illness, he never missed a service, prayer meeting, or Presbytery gathering of God’s people. To his final earthly day, Elder Foulke’s passion was captured in Matthew 16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Like his spiritual brother Abraham in the account of Hebrews 11, Elder Russell Foulke sojourned in a strange land with fellow heirs of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Psalm 116:15

Link to PDF File: Res75-03-Mem-Steele

Our Lord above, according to His good and wise providence took Arthur Steele from his earthly sojourn into the glories of heaven on March 2, 2011, at the age of 90.

Following years of study at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Tech, earning a degree in chemical engineering, Arthur Steele served with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Following his military service he worked as a business man in Allentown, PA.

In 1956, Arthur Steele believed God was calling him into the ministry. He enrolled for studies in Faith Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. His first duty as a minister was to serve in the ministry of Faith Seminary, then later became president of Shelton College, located then in Ringwood, NJ. Circumstances led him and a group of faculty to begin a new college in Florida, which took the name Clearwater Christian College. Art and his wife, Dolores, who preceded him in death, moved to Florida in 1966, the year classes began for the new liberal arts Christian college.

Arthur Steele was a minister in the Florida Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church and was active in the ministry of Suncoast Bible Presbyterian Church in Palm Harbor, FL. Dr. Steele never missed an opportunity to speak to someone about the Lord Jesus Christ. When out to lunch with friends, he would often be the first to produce a gospel tract to leave on the table. James Montgomery who gave us the most perfect advent hymn, “Angels From the Realms of Glory,” penned these lines, giving us a glimpse of triumph in death:

So when my latest breath
Shall rend death’s veil in twain
By death I shall escape from death,
And life eternal gain.
That resurrection-word,
That shout of victory;
Once more, “Forever with the Lord!”
Amen, so let it be!

Res75-02-Mem-Mauzey

Eugene F. Mauzey was born September 14, 1922, at Woods Bay in Bigfork, Montana.

In 1944, he was drafted into the Marine Corps and served in the Pacific on the islands of Guam, Okinawa, and Guadalcanal. He ended his military service in China where he participated in the surrender of the Japanese forces to the Chinese.

On June 19, 1949, he married Helen Burnell. The Mauzeys had three children. The Mauzeys hosted many missionaries, ministers, elders, and fellow church members through the years at their home on Flathead Lake.

In 1958, Gene was saved by the grace of God. He was a charter member of First Bible Presbyterian Church of Kalispell. He made the motion in 1959 to form the church during the discussions to organize. Through the years, Gene served the church in many ways. He was an active elder for over forty-five years, serving as Clerk of Session for many of those years. He also helped with Sunday School, visitation, and church maintenance. He certainly had a servant’s heart—helping many families and doing work for widows, especially. His life was a faithful witness for the glory of God.

Gene Mauzey passed away May 10, 2011.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours;
and their works do follow them. Revelation 14:13.

The Reformed Faith rightly expresses and summarizes the grand truths of Scripture in a consistent and biblical manner. But truth left unattached to the heart and soul of man damages his whole person and jeopardizes the very nature of a personal, vital, living relationship with his holy God. We strive to passionately proclaim from our pulpits, in our
activities, and in our homes, the application of God’s Word to all of life.

We, as the Bible Presbyterian Church, unite to bring the rich biblical nature of the Reformed Faith to our ministries:

• edifying the saints by the faithful preaching of the Word,
• bringing confidence to our evangelism and missions,
• establishing faith in our children, and
• bowing humbly before the Throne of Grace in satisfying submission to the Triune God.

The chief passion of the Bible Presbyterian Church is to behold God, proclaim Christ to the entire world, and pursue godliness.

1. To “Behold God” means that we rely on His Spirit as we consider and think about how God has revealed Himself in His Word. It means that we meditate upon, and are captivated by, His beautiful nature and wonderful works. God expects us to rightly know Jesus Christ, the full revelation of Himself, in all of His glory. God expects us to appreciate His greatness and supremacy. God expects us to be pleasure-filled when we meet with Him in public and private worship.

2. To “Proclaim Christ to the entire world” means that we continue in the footsteps of the Apostles by proclaiming the Kingdom of God to all men. There is no other name under heaven by which a man can be saved but through the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are called to make Him known through our actions and our words. We accomplish this by serving others in Christ’s name and by telling them of the hope that is within us. The Gospel is not intended to remain in the sanctuaryof the local church but it is to be expressed in our lives, in our city, in our country, and in the entire world. We look to the Church for encouragement, leadership, and greater opportunity as we stand as a witness to Jesus Christ.

3. To “Pursue Godliness” means that we engage in the personal quest for holiness, pleasing God. It also means that we earnestly contend for the faith in our congregation, denomination, and in the larger context of Church as a whole in the midst of a fallen society. We want to live what we know to be true about God and what He requires of us! To reflect His glory is a joy, not the burden of law. No matter if it is in the quiet thinking of our minds or the active words of our mouths, we want to daily strive toward pleasing God. In essence, we want to joyfully live the two greatest commandments (loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves).

The Bible Presbyterian Church strives to exhibit and rejoice in a living, warm-hearted Calvinism. We are Presbyterian and confessional by conviction and in our practice. We affirm the Westminster Standards to be a good summary of Scripture teaching and we act accordingly in matters of ordination and polity. Ultimately, then, the Scriptures provide our only “rule of faith and practice.” Therefore, we love the exegetical preaching of “the whole counsel of God” from the unity of the Old and New Testaments. We affirm and declare the power of the finished work of Jesus’ vicarious blood sacrifice on the cross, rejecting the social gospel, seeker-driven messages, and “political correctness.” We are not content to possess the gospel solely for ourselves; rather, having received mercy and experienced the love of Christ in our own hearts, we are compelled by the love of Christ to be zealous for doing the work of biblical evangelism in every land and to every people. Biblical discipline in love and humility is an outworking of our desire to faithfully apply God’s authoritative Word to the heart needs of fallen people, with the purpose of restoring them to communion and fellowship with the body. Our worship is marked by a vibrancy that comes from each communicant bringing his or her own offerings before the Lord with a full heart, within the bounds of the Word of God. Finally, we are committed to the principle of Sola Scriptura in every aspect of life in the church, home, and society, submitting ourselves to its absolute authority as the very Word of God. Because this is so, we oppose and speak out against wickedness in government and society, apostasy in churches and men, and rebellion against God wherever it appears. We seek a biblical ecumenicity with all faithful branches of the Christian Church (especially those in the Reformed tradition) without compromising truth and purity.

Pastor Kane was an active Presbyter in the South West Presbytery and ministered at several Bible Presbyterian and Bible believing churches. Those in California included Brea, Fullerton, San Bernardino and Long Beach. His theme was always to “Preach Christ Crucified, Risen and Coming Again!” He did much of his ministry while working full time as an engineer at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company and later at Northrop Grumman, which enabled him to devote himself to ministering to congregations which were not able to support him full time.

Pastor Kane had a heart for missions and served as a council member for Presbyterian Missionary Union until the time of his death. He also supported missionaries from the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions. For several years he filled the office of treasurer of the Bible Presbyterian Synod.

Right before Reverend Kane passed from this life into the presence of His Lord on September 3, 2008, he whispered these last words to his wife, “Find Jesus. That’s where I’ll be.” Pastor Kane “fought a good fight, he finished his course, he kept the faith… There is laid up for (him) the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to (him) on that Day, and not to (him) only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

We the members of the Bible Presbyterian Church General Synod, meeting at Grace Bible Presbyterian Church in Sharonville, Ohio, August 5-10, 2010, are grieved in spirit that the only authority of our faith and practice, the Holy Scriptures, continues not only to fall on deaf ears among so many in the PCUSA, but is held in outright disdain even among its leadership. We find no delight in decrying this continuing blatant act of apostasy (Acts 20:29-30; I Timothy 4:1-2; II Timothy 3:1-9) that unrelentingly eats away at this once faithful denomination. But with all humility of heart, we call upon those in the PCUSA who believe this to be a matter of fundamental righteousness, those who are born-again and love the Truth, to plead for God’s mercy and to leave that denomination in obedience to the Scriptures (II Corinthians 6:14-18).

Our forefathers stated that part of their purpose in coming to this continent was the propagation of that Gospel.

To ensure this liberty, while protecting the rights of others, they included in the very fabric of our founding documents both freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They did this because they had no need to silence others, believing that the truth, unlike deception, has nothing to fear from the free market of ideas.

The first official visitor received, without prejudice, at Independence Hall (called the Pennsylvania House at the time), was a Muslim sheik, a demonstration of the spirit of freedom our forefathers believed in though they were predominantly men of a Christian world view.

Recently, a disturbing trend has been developing across North America in general and in the United States in particular. Random, but continual examples of the restriction of Christians in the exercise of their rights to free speech and the freedom of religion keep making their way into the news. Whether it is the seemingly unwarranted arrest of Christians at a recent Muslim festival in Dearborn, Michigan, or the prohibition of quiet, private prayer in schools, or the public areas of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., or attempts in New Hampshire to force students into the public school system because parental instruction too strongly imposes the Christian faith of the parents on the children, there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates a hostility toward Christianity on the part of government authorities in a way that is not evident in regards to other religious bodies.

We, the 74th General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church, meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, August 5-10, 2010, call on Christians everywhere to boldly exercise their liberty in matters of speech and faith; fulfilling Christ’s command in the spirit of the Apostle Paul: requiring government officials to honor the freedom guaranteed to them by the law of the land (Acts 16:37), while rendering honor to whom honor is due, and submitting themselves to every legitimate ordinance for Christ’s sake.

We also call on our government officials to protect the rights of all citizens—favoring none and respecting all equally.