I just learned minutes ago that a very dear friend of mine, Pastor Al Stein of the Neighborhood Assembly of God in Bellmore, Long Island, was tragically killed last night when his car went out of control & overturned on the ice in Eastern Suffolk County. He was in his early-to-mid-60s. He was alone in the car & no one else was injured. Please lift up his wife Linda & their 3 sons in prayer, & of course the congregation in Bellmore also, for their loss of a truly irreplaceable, one-of-a-kind undershepherd. Al Stein was a precious brother who possessed a great passion for seeing theological & doctrinal reform come to modern Evangelicalism, in prayerful hopes that many would be radically transformed by Truth & return to the Biblical roots of the Protestant Reformation, which have sadly been abandoned by hosts of so-called Evangelical churches, ministries & leaders. Als very favorite authors who most powerfully influenced & transformed his own thinking & approach to ministry included James R. White, Sinclair Ferguson, R. C. Sproul, John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, & a number of the great Puritans, not necessarily names you would automatically expect to find on the covers & spines of well-worn books in a Pentecostal pastors study (another reminder to us all to look beyond labels before drawing conclusions about others). John MacArthurs Strange Fire conference & book that severely upset many in Als denominational circles did not sway him from his love, admiration & appreciation of Dr. MacArthurs tremendous contribution to the preservation of Scriptural orthodoxy in our day & age (& he never ceased to highly recommend Dr. MacArthurs Grace To You radio & TV programs as the best & most reliable in Christian media). Als preaching & teaching talents & Biblical integrity caught the attention of more than one Reformed pastor who subsequently invited Al to minister to their own congregations from behind their own well-guarded pulpits. Al was one of my personal favorite guests & cohosts on my Iron Sharpens Iron radio program, & I always knew I could count on him to contribute deep, Scripturally sound insights & thoughtful & relevant questions to each broadcast on which he participated. I smile when I think of how he quickly escalated from terrified microphone-shy, introverted guest to enthusiastically vociferous radio pro, always more than willing to immediately jump into the conversation whenever he sensed the hint of an approaching pause in the dialogue. His great humility was always present to buffer his zealous opposition to theological & doctrinal impurity, which appears to be a very rare combination of attributes in the church these days. And of course, I will always miss his humor, which could always tap the brakes when a conversation was getting overly intense. Knowing how much I will miss him makes my heart truly break for those who were far closer to him & more intimately involved in his life than I was. I hope you are richly blessed & edified by listening to this edition of my Iron Sharpens Iron radio program conducted on May 14, 2009, during which Al & another brother who is now in Glory with Christ for eternity, Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries (who the Lord took Home to Himself not long ago through cancer), revealed the grievous & disturbing errors of the very popular book, The Shack: https://dropbox/sh/3blinu83fuiinzw/AAAZ0kxm1ynfBTwECVeTORF_a/20090514ISI.mp3?dl=0
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 20:53:48 +0000
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