Well, it’s been another exciting quarter! In March my wife Tania and I had the opportunity to go down to Sarasota, Florida. We stayed in the Pinecraft community and I preached at the third annual Anabaptist Identity Conference. This conference was sponsored by the wife and children of the late John Overholt, publishers of the Christian Hymnary. A very diverse group of speakers were in attendance from a variety of perspectives. All the messages were very challenging. They asked me to speak on sports, marriage, and contemporary Christian music.
It’s hard to explain Pinecraft...I don’t think I have ever seen any place quite like it! Try to imagine a little mini-city with every representation of conservative Anabaptist milling about or driving around on little three-wheeled bikes—all in the backdrop of a tropical paradise—complete with orange and grapefruit trees, palm trees of every variety, beautiful flowers, and lots of sunshine! The meetings at the Tourist Mennonite Church were well attended by a large variety of conservative Anabaptists from all over the country. Our hearts welled in us as we shared sweet fellowship and of course, if you know the folks out there, lots of good hymn-singing! But I have to say one of the highlights was when Bro. Levi Stoltzfus and his family showed up unexpectedly and surprised us! Another great blessing was having Bro. Manny Troyer and Bro. Charles (C.C.) Matthews from North Carolina there. It was good to be challenged from so many different perspectives.
In this issue there are some really challenging articles pertaining to a variety of concerns. Sis. Rachel Weaver submitted a very encouraging article on letting God pick up the broken pieces of our lives. And Bro. Mike Atnip submitted an article on the life example of Jehu. Bro. Mike uses the life of Jehu to demonstrate a graphic example of zeal without knowledge. Bro. Roger Hertzler submitted a thought-provoking article warning us of the dangers of getting caught up in this world’s politics. Bro. Paul Lamicela submitted an excellent article written by the late Francis A. Schaeffer that presents one of the best messages on the balance between patience and separation in a local fellowship that I have ever heard. Also, a special treat in this Remnant is our Blessing Corner testimony from Bro. Llewellyn van der Merwe from Namibia, Africa. I submitted “Will the Real Pagan Please Stand Up?” out of a serious burden over the growing trend of books aimed at gathering up the house church and radical Christian movement into its folds. The poor scholarship and fanciful Bible interpretations coming from these circles has troubled me for years. It is my prayer that the Lord will guide us safely through all the pitfalls that Satan throws our way.
Who are we? The Heartbeat of the Remnant is a quarterly magazine of Charity Ministries of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Starting out as an outreach newsletter, The Heartbeat of the Remnant has now grown to reach thousands of readers all across the globe. Springing from the rich Anabaptist heritage of Lancaster County, Charity Christian Fellowship has endeavored to maintain a strong biblical orthodoxy with a genuine heart-cry for revival and radical Christian living. While maintaining an Anabaptist direction overall, the magazine does not desire to lift up any specific denomination, church or man. We desire only to glorify the name of Jesus.
The magazine features articles from a wide variety of Christian sources, ranging from ancient to modern-day testimonies. We frequently reprint articles from revival preachers and histories, missionary stories, early Christian trials and martyrs, challenging Puritan writers and Methodist circuit riders, as well as modern-day preachers. We hope you will be blessed and inspired by this edition of The Heartbeat of the Remnant!
Blessings to each one of you as you read!
~Bro. Dean Taylor
