Pastoral Leadership Of Delphi Falls
Pastoral Shepherd
Rev. Gary Baker
Interim Pastor's
Martha Ryan
Pastor Jim Kane
Past Leadership
H.R. Shoemaker 1915-1916
Fenelon B. Whitaker 1916-1917
N.L. Campbell 1917-1921
Clayton Jennings 1921-1923
Orson M, Case 1923-1824
Robert A. Petit 1924-1925
John Woodman 1925-1927
Carl C. Swift 1927-1932
John Gardner 1932-1934
Lester E. Simon 1934—?
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B.F. Hurlbert 1938-1941
James W. McConnell 1943-1946
Bertrum Brett 1947-1952
Ellis Cowling 1952-1957
Bailey Hathaway 1957-1964
James Wiggins– 1964-1966
Joseph DeGroot 1966-1967
E, Robert Hughes 1967-1970
Eugene Dawson 1970-1971
James Peterson 1971-1975
Fred Bisso 1975-1977
Elbert M. Beamer 1977 –1991
Pastor James Austin 1991 - 2015
Martha Ryan Interim Pastor 2015
Brian Pidkaminy 2016 - 2019
Pastor Barry Kerner 2020 - 2021
God is the God of the Hills and Valleys
Pastor Barry Kerner
Polytheism (many gods) allows for a group of people that worship a multitude of gods. Each of the minor gods of these religions are usually relegated to having influence over specific domain or area of expertise. After taking down their father Chronus, the king of the Greek Olympian gods, the three brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon bickered over who would become the next king. Rather than fight amongst themselves they agreed to settle it by drawing lots. Because of the draw, Zeus whose domain was the sky became the new king of the Olympian gods while of his brothers Hades ruled the underworld and Poseidon ruled the seas. The gods and goddesses of pagan Rome likewise ruled a specific domain. Jupiter was the equivalent of Zeus ruling the sky as king while Neptune (Poseidon) ruled the fresh waters and seas and Pluto (Hades) ruled the domain of the dead.
It was also common in other ancient pagan nations to perceive each god and goddess as ruling a particular domain or sphere of power on the earth. Dagon, for example, was the Philistines god of fertility and crops. (judges 16:23) Later Dagon's son Baal served as the Caaninite's god of fertility and Lord of rain and dew. Additional gods exercised power over the forests, the crops, the mountains, the seas, and the rivers. A host of other local and household deities were also confined to a certain geographical areas or spheres of influence. In this cultural framework, monotheism (one god) was unique, and the idea that any god was supreme in all areas was unheard of.
The expression God is the God of the hills and valleys is drawn from the narrative of two battles in the book of 1 Kings. Basically, saying that God is the God of the hills and valleys means that God’s sovereign power is not limited or confined to any one location or sphere of influence. The Lord Almighty rules and reigns supreme over every place on earth—every hill, every valley.
The story in First Kings 20 begins with King Ben-Hadad, ruler of Aram, attacking the city of Samaria in Israel. Ben-Hadad demands that King Ahab surrender his wealth, wives, and children to him. Initially, Ahab agrees, but when Ben-Hadad adds the condition that he be given anything that his servants lay their hands on, Ahab refuses. His refusal infuriates Ben-Hadad to the extent that he threatens to destroy the city so that not even enough dust would remain for each of his soldiers to take a handful.
An anonymous prophet informs Ahab that God will grant Israel victory so that “you will know that I am the LORD” (1 Kings 20:13). King Ahab obeys God by initiating the conflict. True to God’s Word, the Arameans are driven back, and defeated.
Because Samaria is in the hill country of Israel, the Arameans sages mistakenly believe that the God of Israel is only the god of the hills and not of the valleys or anywhere else. Thinking Israel’s ability to triumph was limited to higher terrain, they convince King Ben-Hadad to regroup and begin to strengthen their forces for an attack on the lower plains.
The unnamed prophet warns King Ahab that Ben-Hadad’s army will strike again in the spring: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD’” (1 Kings 20:28).
Once again being soundly routed by the Israelites, the Arameans discover that Israel’s sovereign God knows no limitations. King Ahab and all of Israel begin to grasp this concept as well. The one true God has proven that He rules everywhere. Ben-Hadad’s forces were defeated so thoroughly in the second battle at Aphek that the king surrendered to Ahab while he plead for his life to be spared.
God gave Israel victory both at Samaria in the hills and at Aphek in the valleys to show that, unlike the ineffective and finite gods of Canaan, Israel's God is sovereign over all territories and regions.
Many Christians spiritually liken mountains to our good times, and valleys, our bad times. It is a mistake for anyone to think of God as only a “hill god” or a “valley god.” Our faith is seen to falter when we have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but that He is not there when we are going through bad times. Many think that God has blessed them when they are "King of the Hill" but feel that He has left them alone and helpless when they are struggling in the darkness of the valleys.
The fact is that our God is the God of both the hills and the valleys. In fact, He is the all-powerful, infinite Ruler of the whole earth. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).
No matter the situation or place in which we find ourselves, men and women of faith need to move forward in boldness and courage knowing that while our God is the God of the mountains, He is also the God of the valleys! "Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Our God walks hand in hand with us as we climb every mountain and traverse every valley..
God the Son laid aside His crown of glory, His royal majesty and came down for us, stepping into a world of darkness to light our way. He came down to where we were for the sole purpose of dying on the cross for our sins, so that He could bring us up to what God the Father has for us at His right hand. Jesus came down to crown us with glory and honor, to clothe us with robes of righteousness and make us His bride, sharing everything that He has with us. That is the grace of God. He left His mountaintop and came down to our valley.
So whatever you are going through right now, know that God is right there with you. Whether you are triumphantly raising hands with Him high on a mountaintop or He is holding you in His arms and carrying you through the valley. Victory is already yours. Just as the Israelites were also victorious , so will you be because the God of the hills and valleys is right there with you!
The pastoral letter to the “old country church”
If there is a pastoral letter written that could be labeled The Delphi Falls church, the letter to the Philippians is that letter. The church at Philippi was probably the smallest and most insignificant church of all the pastoral letters Paul wrote. But Paul uses the little church at Philippi as an example to the bigger and more prosperous churches. The people addressed are feeble, poor, and persecuted. Yet their beautiful character immortalizes them. There is no Church that we could point to with more satisfaction as the model of primitive Christianity. Thus an obscure and humble community of Christians may be an example to the great Churches of Paul’s day and today.
Many of Paul’s letters are rooted in controversy, but this letter is rooted in a deep love that Paul has for this community of faith. We see a different side of Paul in this letter. We find a tender and compassionate teacher who fills this letter with every emotion you can think of, including joy and all this while he waits on death row in a jail in Rome.
(1) We find the normal fiery Paul transformed into this tender-hearted Apostle for Jesus;
(2) He challenges the Philippians and us to allow the Holy Spirit to infuse into us an all-absorbing devotion to Christ.
(3) He lifts us members of the Philippian church to others in that church and to other churches as examples of powerful brotherly love between Christians,
(4) He provides a living witness that in sustaining the soul under the heaviest troubles can raise up our faith to joyous confidence.
Paying attention to the little things
In Luke 12:26 and Luke 16:10 Jesus insists that “the little things” are very important to God. In Luke 12 Jesus is explaining how God takes care of the ravens and the lilies. Luke 12:26 says: 2”If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” The question we all need to ask is, “Why do we spend our time worrying about so many things when God wants to be involved in ALL aspects of our life?”
Then in Luke 16:10 Jesus says: “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
I have always found the above passage very confusing because it makes it seems that cheating and lying are sometimes proper actions. But when you follow this Jesus teaching down to verse 13, ” No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” We discover that the little things that we do in our “worldly” lives can have a direct impact in our relationship with God.
Doctor Luke’s gospel is known for paying attention to the “details.” I guess being a doctor that kind of goes along with the job. It also means that our great physician, The Lord, wants us to pay closer attention to the details in our lives because the world around us is watching. In my years of ministry I can think of at least a dozen main line performers and preachers that were caught breaking the rules and it not only ended their previous powerful witness but took many believers faith down with them. Some cheated on their spouses, some cheated on their taxes, some were put in jail and some came “out of the closet.” The second issue with these high profile Christians is that they made excuses and used their Christian faith as a shield to justify their actions rather than ask for forgiveness and seek repentance.
What does this have to do with us? Well what about our faith walk, are we faithful in the little things and are we just as Christian in our “worldly endeavors” as we are in our Christian ones? As many of you know when summer comes I have always enjoyed playing golf. As I struggled with these passages I realized part of that struggle is that when I ask myself if people see a Godly man when I play golf, my answer often comes back with a resounding “NO!” I now need to make a change. It may mean taking a break from something I enjoy until I can make sure that when I play I also glorify God. The Philippians letter finishes with chapter 4 that focuses often on the little things and stating that when a church can focus on the little things then God can do big things in the life of the church. Let us take time in this last half of the summer, looking at our lives and making sure the little things aren’t blocking that greatest thing, God from being seen by others in us.
Welcome to the Delphi Falls United Church
The Delphi Falls United Church has continuously served the Delphi Falls Community for over 200 years. I have been blessed to serve this church and community for over 23 of those years. It is a very cold and snowy day as I pray over this letter and what I would like to share with someone who is not familiar with our church or has possibly attended some services or events in this church but never truly become actively involved in our church family. There is a rich history and a fine historical building that have stood the test of time for this church but I believe what makes our church special isn’t something you can necessarily document in records or paint when it peels but the Spirit that is a part of the members who cherish both the church body and the Lord whom we worship and serve.
The greatest strength of our church is the heart of those who have become the church body. I can speak first hand to the way, when someone in the body is hurting, that those in the church step up and minister with the hands, feet and heart of Christ. Since I came to this church 23 years ago I have seen both of my parents and my wife go to their heavenly homes. My parents were lifelong members of another church. It was the Delphi Falls church who was first to call on the family when my parents died and were right there with support, food and service during the times we needed them most. When my wife passed, the church, ministered to both myself and my sons for many months. I had enough food to fill refrigerator and freezer and constant company every week for at least six months. I have seen our church body step up to the plate time and again when a family is in need. Our church will take the lead or work with others in the community with benefits, visitation and various others ministry services. We are now working on looking for ways to ministry and reach out before grief, disaster, or special needs occur. We are seeking the heart of Christ for direction and paths of service in this community and the communities around us.
Another strength, which I believe, is critical to our ministry and service to the Lord is our strong Biblical foundation of teaching, preaching and worshiping. We may not be able to compete with the media shows and praise bands of some of the bigger churches, but our little church has a heart for worship and praise and a strong musical ministry that shows how much can be accomplished with only a few. We have had continuous Bible studies for 20 plus years and church choir and music ministry that spans many decades.
Lastly and certainly one of the favorite ministries for those who have tasted our Fish Dinners and Chicken BBQs is our churches ministry in food. Remember the first miracle recorded about Jesus was at a marriage feast and many of His parables are set in the framework of meals and feasts. I believe our church is gifted with a food ministry and cooks who love to share their gifts with others. This is a ministry that has been cherished part of our community for years but I believe could be a catalyst for service and ministries in ways we still have not seen.
So come join our church family. Allow us to lift you up when you or your family are in need of comfort and be a part of our ministry that lifts up others in need as well. Find out that studying God’s word is like uncovering the keys to the best mystery every written. Discover a “peace that passes understanding” as you enter into a Christ centered worship. Come join us for a meal and make sure you save room for dessert.
Yours in Christ’s Service,
Pastor Jim Austin
