Arnold Minix: My Hero!

October is Pastor Appreciation month.  In honor of this month, I want to say thank you to a man who has helped me and encouraged me in my Christian life and ministry.  

The First Meeting

It was a Saturday evening in August of 2000 when my phone rang.  I answered it.  With an accent that was either Northern Indiana mixed with Eastern Kentucky or Eastern Kentucky mixed with Northern Indiana (6 of one is half a dozen of another), he asked, “Is Justin home?”

“This is he,” I replied.

“My name is Arnold Minix.  I’m Faye Salyers’s brother,” he said.  Faye was a member at Lakeville so that information gave me a point of reference.

He continued, “I pastor a church in Knox, Indiana.  I was wondering if you’d be willing to preach in our church on September 3^rd.  On Sunday morning, we would have our regular worship service, but on Sunday night, different churches gather together for a fellowship meeting.  Would you be interested?”

I gladly accepted his invitation. 

If you never get a second chance to make a first impression, then Arnold left an indelible impression on me.  My first impression of Arnold – just talking with him over the telephone – was that he was a man of conviction and compassion; of gentleness and grace; of vision and virtue.  His voice was gentle, yet authoritative; kind, yet firm.  He spoke with a love for the church he pastored, unsaved people, and the churches in his area.  There was something unique about him.

If talking to Arnold on the telephone was good, then meeting him for the first time was great.  He was a tall man with a lean frame.  I immediately saw the resemblance he had with his brothers and sisters from Salyersville.  He was as kind, gentle and gracious in person. 

A Growing Relationship

I preached that Sunday morning and Sunday night.  And Arnold assured me that he would be in touch with me to return to Knox and preach a revival.  And he did just that. 

I returned on October 1^st to preach a revival.  And, oh, what a revival it was. The services were truly heaven-sent.  People gathered at 5:30 to get a seat by 7.  By mid-week, congregational singing began at 6 p.m.  Accommodations were made for overflow seating in the Fellowship Hall.  People were saved before church, during church, after church, at home, etc.  It was a genuine move of God.  Something I can’t truly say I’ve experienced since.

I still treasure that week in my heart, not just because I feel we truly experienced a real revival, but because I know I gained a family.  I stayed with Pat and Ron (Arnold’s daughter and son-in-law), who lived next door to Arnold and Alberta, his lovely wife.  During the day, Ron slept (because he worked weird hours at night) and Pat worked at school, so I stayed at Arnold and Alberta’s house.  I can’t tell you how much I still treasure each hour I spent with them.  The conversations we had, the laughs we shared, the prayers we prayed, and the fellowship we experienced were used by God to mold a relationship that was more than a local pastor and an out-of-town-evangelist; it was used by God to mold a relationship between a spiritual father and son.

To borrow a phrase from Forrest Gump, from that time on “me and Arnold was like peas and carrots”.  It didn’t matter where I preached, he was there.  We talked on the telephone regularly, especially on special occasions (birthdays, Christmas, etc.).  While he was pastoring, he made sure I preached in his church at least once a quarter. 

Proverbs 17:17

Scripture says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

2006 was a year of adversity for me for a couple reasons.  First, because of doctrinal differences, our church withdrew from the National Association of Free Will Baptists (those who know me now are shocked, I know), and changed its name from Lakeville Free Will Baptist Church to Lakeville Baptist Church.  Our church voted for the change.  However, many who disagreed with the change left.  To say that 2006 was trying year would be an understatement.

Second, this year become some challenging years for me personally, especially with pastors and preachers I had been close with (or at least thought I was close with).  I understand and respect the fact that because of doctrinal differences I might not be invited to preach in their pulpit, that’s not what bothered me.  What bothered me was how so many acted as if I was an apostate, acted as if I was a heathen because I believed differently than them. 

Thankfully, there were a few preaching brothers who were different.  One fellow preacher (Todd Masters) called to talk to me, to get facts from me (something I wish many of the others would have done).  There were others not named in this post who were supportive, gracious, and Christ-like in their treatment of me.  They may not agree with me on finer points of doctrine, but they proved their friendship and love in their actions.  They were an Onesiphorus to me during a very difficult season in my life and ministry. 

Then there was Arnold.  What would he say?  How would he respond?  Would he think less of me?  Deep in my heart, I knew he would love me the same, but would he be disappointed?  I dreaded telling him about the changes, not because I was afraid of him knowing what had occurred, but I dreaded telling him for the same reason a son dreads telling his father that he has picked a different career path than his father would want.  I didn't want to disappoint him. 

When I talked to Arnold about things, what I found was this: He listened intently, and then offered me his support and love.  He followed up our conversation with these words: “If I was still pastoring a church, I’d have you preaching for me regularly.”  Those weren’t just words he spoke to be speaking them; he meant them.

I knew beforehand that Arnold was a true friend, one I could lean on no matter the situation; but now I knew from experience. 

“Oh Arnold”

When you have a true relationship with people, when you spend quality time with them in their home and share life with them, you watch them closely.  It is easy to put on a façade for 2 hours while in church; it is more difficult to put on a façade week in and week out.

Having spent more hours in the Minix house than I can count, there is one thing I learned from Arnold that I hope to emulate in my life (other than his love for the Lord Jesus Christ): his love for his wife, Alberta. 

I watched closely as Arnold demonstrated his love for Alberta.  You couldn’t be around Arnold and Alberta without seeing the love he had for her.  When he mentioned Alberta his eyes would light up, he would grin, and he would chuckle as he spoke.  He lived out Paul’s command to husbands: “Love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).

I watched painfully as Arnold mourned the death of Alberta.  She was sick for some time, but Arnold fulfilled the vow he made to her years ago: “in sickness and in health…until death do us part.”  I had the privilege of preaching Alberta’s funeral.  I took my text from Proverbs 31.  While the Proverb describes a virtuous woman, one verse seems to best describe Arnold’s heart for his wife: “The heart of her husband trusts in her…” (Proverbs 31:11).  I spoke to Arnold several times after Alberta’s funeral.  His voice – the voice that was once strong, authoritative, and confidence – sounded tired, weak, fatigued, vulnerable, and still in mourning.  He often told me, “It hurts so bad.  I’ve lost my parents, close friends, and loved ones, but I’ve never experienced anything like losing Alberta.”

What I Learned From Arnold

There is no way I can accurate describe in a blog what Arnold Minix means to me.  There is no way I can accurate list everything I’ve learned from him.  But it is Pastor Appreciation Month, so to accurate thank Arnold for all he means to me, it would be fitting if I list several lessons I’ve learned from him.  He taught me…

(1) To Have A Love For Jesus.  He loves his Master.  Every time I talk to him about the Lord, tears well up in his eyes as he talks of the Lord’s goodness to him.  Make no mistake, Arnold loves His Savior.

(2)To Have A Love For God’s Word.  Many days Arnold and I have sat in their living room and watched old preaching tapes for hours upon hours.  We have sat and listened to preachers from years ago preach the Gospel.  When Arnold hears the Word of God preached, he doesn’t like, HE LOVES IT!  He genuinely enjoys hearing God’s word preached.  I pray I will be as much of a student and lover of preaching that he is.

(3)To Have A Great Burden For The Lost.  Arnold has a burden for unsaved people, a desire to see sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

(4)To Put Others Before Yourself.  Whether it is preferring a young preacher above himself or putting his children’s needs before his own or loving his wife sacrificially, Arnold Minix epitomizes sacrificial love.  He has the mind of Christ, the mind Paul encourages all believers to “put on” (Philippians 2).

(5)To Be Humble.  It seems odd to have Arnold Minix’s name and pride in the same sentence.  He is a great example of humble servant-leadership.

(6)To Love My Wife Like Christ.  I’ve described it above, but it should be repeated: He love Alberta; he still loves Alberta.  I pray that my love for Shelley is as evident to all around me as Arnold’s love for Alberta was/is.

(7) To Be A True Friend. 

Hebrews 11 is often called “The Hall of Fame of Faith”.  It lists great heroes of faith and the feats God performed through them.  Yet, at the end of the chapter, there’s an unnamed group of people.  All we know of them is they were “destitute, afflicted, mistreated” (Hebrews 11:37). Then the writer bestows this honor on them: “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38).  He tells us that the world was not worthy for them to live in it.

If you were to ask me to describe Arnold Minix with a passage of scripture, I wouldn’t hesitate; I wouldn’t think twice; I wouldn’t have to think about it.  I know what verse I would use to describe him: Hebrews 11:38, “of whom the world was not worthy”. 

I count it a privilege to call him my friend, by brother, my family; and during this month of Pastor Appreciation, I want to thank him for being a pastor to me.

Justin