Re: R.B. Thieme Jr.
Date: January 15, 2008 01:40AM
I am astounded to discover a website on which members spend their time
trying to undermine a bible teacher with the stature of Bob Thieme.
What strikes me as incongrous is that mental processes can exist which
are in such total conflict as yours and mine. I began studying the bible
in Berachah Church in 1972, and I continue to listen to Thieme on tape to
this day, yet I have never been adversly affected by his teaching. In
fact, the messages he has taught me have yielded fantastic blessing and a
vibrant relationship with God.
I am not given to abberations, such as God speaking to me, or any such
nonsense, but I do experience what one Christian writer referred to as
"God winking at us" frequently. He was alluding to circumstances and
situations which culminate in a heightened awareness of God's presence
in our lives, circumstances which are clearly engineered by The Almighty
to accomplish this end.
For lack of any other explanation, I have concluded that some members
of the Berachah congregation came away spitefull and filled with hate
for Pastor Thieme, while the vast majority came to love and honor him
because of their different attitudes, and for no other reason.
The negative crowd were seething with resentment during the entire time
they sat in a service, and therefore they completely ignored what Bob
was saying. They were so intent to resent him, and hate the man, that
the message he taught went in one ear and out the other. They now
cite just miniscule snippets from the thousands of hours he has taught,
such as the "long hair" admonitions, and "right man, right woman", and
fail to evaluate even one substantial aspect of his teaching with an
intelligent and insightful point of view, much less offer alternatives to
any alleged oversights on his part.
On the other hand, the positive crowd put aside their misgivings and
concentrated on the content of Bob's teaching.
I didn't start out as a hard core "Theimite". In fact, I was very leery
of the man, and suspected that he was involved in the business of generting
an empire, like other noted "ministers" that I will not name. As time passed
I learned the facts, and my attitude underwent a complete transformation.
Consider these facts that came to light....
Bob Thieme is a close friend of Billy Graham, and once accompanied him on
some of his revivals, to speak from the podium before Graham spoke. The famous
evangelist offered Bob a permanent position in his "troupe", but Thieme
declined.
The Republican Party of Texas once encouraged Thieme to run for Governor
of that state, but Thieme declined.
NBC once offered Thieme his own television show, but he declined.
A group of pastors that were ordained in Berachah Church once got together
and proposed to form an alliance, with Thieme as the "bishop" of their
demonination, but Thieme declined. He also cancelled the yearly pastor
conferences at Berachah Church.
But even more telling about this man; When Bob informed his father that he
was resigning his commission in the U.S. Air Force to become a minister the
old man threatened to disinherit him. The Thieme family is very wealthy (They
are the principal stock holders in a large brewery). Robert Thieme carried out
his threat, and Bob was cut out of the will, which was a loss of millions. His only
sibling, a sister, got all the money.
Colonel Bob Thieme was the youngest Colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps (25
years old), the personal aide to General Yount. When Bob announced that he
was resigning to go into the ministry the general encouraged him to remain
in service, assuring him that he would surely become a general himself. Bob
declined.
I have read here that Thieme touted himself as being a Christian "giant",
and yet I heard him, many, many times, declare that the Holy Spirit has
a profound sense of humor, to select such men as himself to bestow the
gift of teaching on them.
As I stated earlier, I had my own misgivings at first. Thieme is a crusty
old war horse, and somethimes offensive at first blush. He is what is known
in theological circles as an "exhortationist", in the tradition of such
luminaries as Isaiah, men who are raised up in a time of apostacy by God
to challenge the arrogance of Christianity. Naturally, they offend many
hearers, presumably those who are the target of their firey rhetoric.
Unfortunately, those who become disaffected do not benefit from the
process of catharsis, which is the thrust of such teaching.
You can imagine my shock when I first met Thieme face to face, during a
Wednesday night prayer meeting before class. He was the complete opposite
of his countenance in the pulpit; quiet and unassuming, with a permanent
smile on his face, and an air of humility that put me at ease immediately.
He was also an impeccable dresser, with razor sharp creases in his suit
trousers, and shoes shined to a mirror finish. His white shirt was starched
to perfection, and his tie knotted with the dimple dead center and the
knot a perfect triangle. I came away from that meeting very surprised, and
that began my reappraisal of a man I had always thought of as brash and
insensative, to some degree. In person he was gracious and kind, soft spoken
and the quintescence of coutesy becoming a gentleman.
I was amazed, and pleasantly so. His stormy personna while he was teaching
was obviously the posture he assumed as he addressed his congregation, and
I can imagine the reason was the nature of his gift. He was also looking
into the eyes of such members of the audience as Mr. Truthtesty, who were
exuding hatred as he taught.
When I came to know him I was also very taken by his profound respect and
adoration of women. Many times he had some tough things to say about the
ladies, such as the insistence that they "remain silent in church", and remain
under the authority of their husbands, but these, and many other seemingly
insensative things he taught, were words from the Scriptures, and placed there
by the inspiration of The Holy Spirit for the benefit of The Royal Family of God.
Bob Thieme taught the Bible, the truth recorded there, knowing full well that
thers, like many of you here, would revile him for it and indulge in malicious
slanders at his expense.
Never once, in the over 20 years I attended class in Berachah, did Pastor
Thieme miss a service, or come late. I have seen him so ill that he had
to keep a firm hold on the pulpit to avoid falling, and his voice so
weak he spoke in a barely audible whisper. He loved his congregation
enough to spend countless hours parsing the word in the original languages
and never staying home, or attending some function, merely to accomodate
his own comfort or personal wishes.
I close with this warning to well intentioned posters on this site; Bob
Thieme underwent a period of preparation for the ministry that defies
probability. He studied 6 years of Greek, 4 years of Hebrew, with a
minor in history, then 4 years of metriculation at Dallas Theological
Seminary under the stewardship of Lewis Sperry Chafer, 12 years all
together. He graduated Magna Cum Laude.
He taught in one pulpit for over 54 years, and declined many offers to
promote him, remaining true to his understanding of Scripture, which
establishes the local church as the organ from which the Beloved are to
be enlightened.
He is a man, and as such, he is less than perfect, but not one objective
person can deny his unerring faithfulness to God, and his congregation.
His messages were not merely rhetoric, or derived from tracts that were the
thoughts and teachings of others. He studied the original manuscrpits
to distill his messages, which he taught with passion and dedication.
Every word he taught was documented on the spot, with lengthy and
sometimes tedious exegesis, citing the Greek and Hewrew texts, and
accurate historical background. He was so meticulous in his study and
teaching that I have heard him teach A SINGLE WORD for weeks.
This attention to detail, and citing copious verses which pertained to a
subject, explains why so many hundreds of pastors were ordained there,
and went on to be distinguished ministers to their own churches. Some
of those men have risen to a prominent station in Christian circles,
such as Dr. Charles Swindol, who is now the President of Dallas Seminary,
and Hal Lindsey, the author of The Late Great Planet Earth, among others.
My warning is this....lest you lend an ear to the naysayers who are
no more than human themselves, and motivated not by a lofty principle,
but spite and loathing. God raised up Robert Thieme, and the man
served him well, driven by his clear vision of the responsibility that
God laid on him. He may have offended you, or taught things you did
not agree with, but for every one of you who despise him there are
thousands who admire and respect him. He did not get rich in the
ministry, nor did he seek national prominence. He remained married to
one woman for over half a century, and lives in the same house that
he bought 60 years ago.
Were I you, I would not be so willing to stand in judgement of such a
man, a priviledge that God has denied human beings, and particulary where
a man in His service is concerned. If, as you claim, Bob Thieme is an
arrogant miscreant, then God will deal rightly with him.
As for y'all, I suggest that you go on living your daily lives with
devotion to God, and refuse to participate in the the relentless
slanders that you have lent yourselves to, although arrogance being
what it is, I doubt you will heed my advice.