Bill Bauerle
I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Donny. Janelle noted on her facebook that you were taking
comments about Donny. I send out devotionals to all my students Monday through Friday and I thought maybe
you would enjoy the one for tomorrow.
Thursday morning Pastor Don Bayne of Albany Oregon succumbed, after a long battle, to cancer.
I know none of you knew Pastor Bayne, but he was our pastor for five years shortly after I had come to Christ.
Don was a dairy farmer before God called him into the pastorate and often referred to himself as former farmer
Bayne. He was the pastor that dedicated my children (my pre-Presbyterian days) and faithfully taught God's word
to the same flock for over 30 years. The fact that my family and I ended up at Don's church was nothing less than
pure providence and I will be ever grateful to our God for it. I cannot say how many people who sat under Don's
teaching went into Christian service, but there were many, and that was a testimony to his desire to teach the
pure word of God. The church Don pastored once known as Peroia Community Church, later after moving to Albany,
became Grace Bible Fellowship. One could not call it, by current standards, a large church, but I will say Grace is a
healthy church.
As God has taken us to different places since leaving that part of Oregon, we have been in quite a number
of churches and with great sadness there have been far too few that paid as much attention th the Word of God as Don.
Though I have not seen Don in many years his influence is still with me and his teaching comments still adorn the pages
of my Bible. I want to encourage all of you who are seeking to serve God in pulpit or teaching ministries to focus on
teaching God's word first and foremost. We live in a time of increased fragmentation in our
culture and this is greatly affecting the church as well. Our unifying principle has to center around God's word
and on nothing else. Our motivation has to be for one reason, and one reason only, and that is to hear our Lord say
Well done good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord. I am sure Don heard these words
Thursday as he entered into the presence of Christ.
May His tribe increase,
Bill Bauerle
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