Unexpected Encounters: Memoirs of a Marine Mission Minister

By J. Berkley Reynolds

It was a marked contrast from serving as a padre in the Canadian Army to being posted to Change Islands in the North Atlantic. My new mode of transportation couldn’t be more different from an army jeep—a thirty-eight-foot sea-faring vessel. The M.V. Messenger was to be my ocean home, but it would have been my coffin were it not for my faithful Samoyed dog, Sabre.
Taking the “Good News” to the remote communities of Northern Newfoundland wasn’t without risks. Navigating through the ice floe, walking over the frozen bay, or flying with the bush pilots had its challenges. But one did not count the cost when on a divine mission. My calling was to minister to the families of fishermen and loggers nestled in the coves and bays. It was far different from my ministry in a suburban church in Metro Toronto, where the storms were of a different nature.
Victor Frankel, a psychiatrist and survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, affirmed that a person’s greatest search is for meaning. I have shown that life’s greatest and most difficult experiences can be overcome by trust in God’s faithful promises found in scripture. Is that a place where you might begin your search?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Word Alive Press
• Release date: Jun 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781486618408

Book preview

UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTERS

Copyright © 2019 by J. Berkley Reynolds

All rights reserved. Neither this publication nor any part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. • Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. • Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, which is in the public domain.

The content of this publication is based on actual events. Names may have been changed to protect individual privacy.

Print ISBN: 978-1-4866-1839-2

eBook ISBN: 978-1-4866-1840-8

Word Alive Press

119 De Baets Street Winnipeg, MB R2J 3R9

www.wordalivepress.ca

Cataloguing in Publication information can be obtained from Library and Archives Canada.

Dedicated to the memory of my Methodist parents, Jabez and Marion Hudson Reynolds, whose Christian faith, love, and discipline set the course for my life.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

One

Two: Grace Sufficient—The Beginning of My Ministry

Three: Bloom Where You Are Planted

Four: The Train—A Moving Experience

Five: Back to the Rock

Six: Hitchhiking by Aircraft

Seven: Changes Where Coming

Eight: From Toronto to Berlin

Nine: Setting the Laity Free

Ten: The Church in the World

Eleven: Theological Challenges

Twelve: Church Growth and Cultural Changes

Thirteen: The Mission Continues

Fourteen: From the Rock to the Kenya Mountains

Fifteen: Theology and Faith—Historical Review

Works Cited

About the Author

Acknowledgements

I am grateful for the encouragement of Bishop Donald F. Harvey to write this book, and for Randy Murphy, who came to my assistance many times with his computer skills. Thanks also to my wife, Velma, whose experience as a school teacher and whose unlimited patience kept me on the right track. This book would not exist were it not for the wonderful people who shared my life’s journey. Appreciation as well to the superb staff of Word Alive Press, who made this publication possible.

Newfoundland Map

Introduction

An old Arabic proverb contains much wisdom: When life throws a dagger at you, there are two ways to catch it: one is by the blade and let it injure you, the other by the handle and use it as an instrument for defense. Unexpected encounters are experiences. Some can make us stronger to face life positively, and some can leave us with negative attitudes.

Throughout this book, you’ll read about different events that called for more than just human strength. It’s in events such as these that the faithfulness of a sovereign God can make a difference. At times I faced the possibility of certain death. It was there that I was aware of the presence of a heavenly Father. Jesus said: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Unexpected Encounters is about real people and real places. Looking back, I’ve no doubt that I experienced something of the miraculous. Being jammed in an ice floe after hitting an iceberg, with water pouring in on the cabin floor, caused immediate concern.  We didn’t have ship-to-shore radio, and the lighthouse was closed for the season. Reaching shore was a possibility, but where does one find help under those circumstances? After running the boat ashore, the only way to get help was to walk. The stars provided my only light as I walked over the partially frozen bogs, which sometimes gave way to my weight. Through the eight hours of trudging slowly under gruelling circumstances, I was saved by a divine companion from becoming lost or succumbing to exhaustion.

This may seem like two books as you read; however, a thread, or underlying theme, runs through the entire work: The Bible presents an authoritative message from God. This truth is apparent in the different situations I encountered. I reference Billy Graham several times, whose common theme while preaching was the Bible says. Not only was he a famous evangelist, but I had the privilege of spending personal time with him.  He wrote in my Bible that he considered me to be a longtime friend. I reject the criticism of taking the Bible too literally.  The scriptures indicate where they should be taken literally.

When I was a child, my Methodist parents taught me that the Bible could be trusted. Throughout this book, I subscribe to the children’s ditty I learned in Sunday school: The B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E. That was Luther’s conviction as he led the Reformation, it was the message of the Wesleyan Revivals, and it served as the theme of Paul’s teachings: "All scripture is God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16a).

A note Billy Graham wrote to me in the front of my Bible.

One

The sky was clear and blue, and the sun heated up the soft sand on Vero Beach in Florida. To help me avoid getting burnt as I lay on the hot sand, the man in the dark glasses and baseball cap gave me his shirt. His lovely wife fed us some cold, fresh orange juice as we chatted. It was a real contrast for me, having grown up in a small village in rural Newfoundland, to be in serious conversation with the most famous evangelist in the world.

Dr. Billy Graham was in Toronto for one of his crusades when he called my office to invite me to lunch. My secretary thought it was a hoax when the caller identified himself as Billy Graham. He was staying at the Park Plaza Hotel not far from West Ellesmere United Church where I was the pastor. Upon calling him back, I was invited to join him for lunch. Since he couldn’t eat in the dining room without people constantly asking for his autograph, he decided that we’d have lunch in his room. Our lunch was what he called the great American lunch, consisting of a hamburger and fries.

Billy wanted to meet with me to get a spiritual picture of the church in Toronto, which would help him in the preparation of his sermons. He also wanted to invite me to become a director on the Canadian board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I would be the only minister on the twelve-member board, where I served for fifteen years. The other members were businessmen and two doctors. We were responsible for administering the affairs of the BGEA in Canada, adhering to Revenue Canada’s guidelines for foreign organizations in Canada, and consulting about where crusades might be held in Canada.

While in Vero Beach, where Dr. Graham was recuperating from surgery, he asked me to consider joining the BGEA. He needed a front man to go ahead of him in countries where he was invited to conduct crusades to gather information about the area politically, economically, historically, and spiritually, so that his preaching would be relevant. At the time, the unpopular war in Vietnam was in progress. Billy told me that he thought Nixon would withdraw the troops from Vietnam tomorrow if the Pentagon would agree. Nixon’ s background was Quaker, which had pacifist leanings. (Many would categorize Nixon as a hawk rather than a dove.)

Dr. Graham’s offer was tempting to accept. I told him that I would discuss it with my family and some members of my congregation and seek God’s advice through prayer. After we prayed together, we joined with Ruth, his wife, and went to a nearby family restaurant for dinner. As we drove in his Buick, I noticed a phone hooked up under the dashboard. He told me that it was a direct line to the police, as there were threats on his life. He received police protection at some of the crusades. I understood why Billy seldom ate in restaurants. As we ate, people lined up near our table to get an autograph, or just to say a word of encouragement. No matter who came to the table, Billy always stood to speak to them. He was always most gracious.

The decision to join the BGEA was a difficult one to make. I was cautioned by a member of Leighton Ford’s team not to be misled into thinking that the position on the BGEA would bring me into close proximity to Dr. Graham or the inner workings of the organization. (Leighton was married to Billy’s sister Jean.) It was a good piece of advice. I sought advice from members of our prayer group, discussed the opportunity with my family, and spent time in prayer. I had no peace about leaving the congregation, which was showing some positive signs of growth. I phoned Billy and told him of my decision and that I did not feel that God was calling me to that type of ministry at that time.

Berkley, he said, I believe that God has given you the answer, and it is the right one.

We continued to stay in touch, meeting at board meetings and crusades.

The Beginnings

James Reynolds was a young boot apprentice from Devon, England. He braved the stormy Atlantic and landed at Mulley’ s Cove on the north side of Conception Bay in Newfoundland in 1769. He came to follow his trade of making boots for fishermen. My family roots go back to James. He was a staunch Methodist and promoted its growth in the new colony. He was responsible for having the first Methodist church built in North America. The erection of that church building is well documented. In winter, fishermen went into the woods with their horses and sleds, cut the logs, and pulled them to the church site in Blackhead. The logs were sawed using pit saws. A hole was dug, and one man went below to pull the saw down while the man above drew it back up. It was very labour intensive, but in twenty-one days, so the records indicate, a building was erected that could seat two hundred people.

Even though Methodism was born out of the Wesleyan revivals in England, the spin-off was more than spiritual. The Oxford graduate who was sent to the United States by the Church of England to evangelize the territory returned home rather discouraged. He had a conversion experience at a small chapel on Aldersgate Street in London, where he heard someone read from Luther’ s preface to the book of Romans and felt his heart strangely warmed. There, the seed of Methodism sprung forth.

The converts at Wesley’s revivals in England went to the newly discovered lands like Newfoundland, but his preaching had a far-reaching effect. Wesley preached the conversion of the whole person. The John Howard Society, the Elizabeth Fry Society for Women’s Rights, and even the SPCA, among others, can trace their beginnings to the Wesleyan movement. Wherever Methodism spread, so did the quest for education and better medical services. A case in point is the conversion of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, a young man studying naval architecture who went into medicine and came to Newfoundland and Labrador. His lifelong work as a missionary is well known. He was a spiritual leader, and wherever he went he fostered the work of education in building schools as well as hospitals and nursing stations.

The Blackhead Circuit (named after preacher circuit horseback riders) was a strong centre of Methodism in Newfoundland. It was my home church and produced many professionals in the areas of medicine, education, law, and theology. In one year, three ministers from the pastoral charge were elected to the positions of president, secretary, and treasurer of the Newfoundland Conference. All three were honoured with Doctor of Divinity degrees.

One of John Wesley’s strategies to advance Methodism was to enroll new members of the congregation into class meetings conducted in homes. Each class leader was to be a person of mature faith and well respected in the community and the church. He was appointed by the minister but was issued a certificate by the district superintendent for one year. After the year of probation, a permanent certificate could be issued. Both of my grandfathers were class leaders. Classes consisted of Bible study, prayer, testimony, and reports on the sick and the needy.

The Methodists in Newfoundland were known for their revivals after Wesley’ s pattern in England, which had such social effects that one claimed that England was spared from the ill effects of the French Revolution. Hymnology is synonymous with the two brothers, John and Charles Wesley, born in