With the Lord

The rescue mission staff received word today that friend and former employee, Rev. Larry Sheppard, went to be with the Lord early this morning.  Those of us who knew him have many fond and varied memories of Pastor Sheppard. Since Larry was semi-retired by the time I began working at the mission, I didn't get to see him on a daily basis, but we soon discovered that we had a common bond in our love of theology.  Pastor Sheppard always had a book with him, and although he was reformed in his theology, he read books with a broad range of theological leanings. He said he was "reading out of the box."  I always appreciated our many good discussions about the doctrines of grace, eschatology, and various Bible teachers/authors.  I remember several years ago when I happened on the terms infralapsarianism and supralapsarianism, I was just sure I would be able to stump Pastor Sheppard by asking him to define the terms.  Needless to say, I was mildly shocked when he didn't even have to stop and think before answering.  Pastor Sheppard was truly one-of-a-kind, and I'm so thankful I had the pleasure of knowing him.