Wednesday, October 10, 2007
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Minister
Husband
Patriarch
Lynn, Laura, Anna, Rebekah, Bob, Jim, Vivan, David
Leader of Leaders
Stan, Hoyt, Rob, Rick
Disciple Maker
Author
Point Man
Fisherman
50th Anniversary,
2007
About Me
- Robert Frederick
- Huntsville, AL, United States
- Dr. Robert Frederick is a Professor of Mechanical and Aeropace Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He and his wife Lynn (Tozer) have three children, Laura, Rebekah, and Anna.
5 comments:
I've got two memories to share. We first met Dr. T in 1981 when we moved to W. Laf. Covenent was in the process of building out the sanctuary, and there was this huge plywood wall that segregated the sanctuary from the expansion area. Dr. T was preaching from a temporary lectern and the seating started about 5 feet from him. We were sitting to his right, about 2 rows deep. He just seemed so 'larger than life' to me. Little did I know at that time how close I'd get to his family.
That leads to my second memory. That would be David and Dr. T. wrestling in their home. Now, it wasn't a simple little match of who could sit on whom. I can remember the two of them swinging each other around in huge circles, the couch goes flying, and the floor reverberating from the thuds of these two guys hitting the floor...and in the background were the ladies of the family trying to get them to stop. Wow...it seems just like yesterday!!
Dr. Tozer's faithful service has impacted many lives over the years. I know it has mine. I attended Covenant Presbyterian Church during my wonderful college years at Purdue. Dr. Tozer's model of memorizing scripture has been a great motivation for me over the years. I have fond memories of sitting through his sermons and listening to him quote the passages he would preach on from memory. It modeled for me the importance of memorizing Scripture, which I have continued on to this day. Thanks Dr. Tozer for your faithfulness and godly example.
Chuck Feltner (college buddy of Dave, Lynn, and Bob)
I had the honor of growing up at Covenant. My parents joined when I was a baby, and there are so many memories I hold dear.
He gave my my 1st Bible when I was in the 3rd grade.
He knew my parents well, and greeted my sister and I by name every Sunday.
He taught the Communicant's class when I was in the 7th grade, and led the members of our unruly class (ha ha) to becoming official members.
In high school, he was a welcome figure at Youth Group, and laughed, skied, mentored, and listened to us.
I went faced a personal challenge in my teen years; he was always there with an encouraging word and prayers.
He married my husband and I.
He baptized my oldest child.
He was well loved, and he will be missed. But we will see him again, and when he meets my father-in-law, he will get a fantasic meal!
Molly McIntire Helpingstine
Thoughts of Doctor Tozer bring great memories! Every Easter Sunday he would wear his white pastor's robe. He always seemed to shine on Easter morning! When our family moved to China, we would call Dr. Tozer on Easter morning. When he answered the phone he would say, "Christ is Risen!" His enthusiasm and joy for Christ will certainly live on!
As you many of you may remember, we [Mike and Thera Anderson, working as Wycliffe Bible Translators with the Sudest people of Papua New Guinea]met Dr Tozer way back in the early 1970s. Thera had become a Christian, but I hadn't. We'd been going to Covenant for a while. We went through the Way of Life class (for people wanting to join the church) and at the end of it, they asked us all to stand and take some kind of oath or make some kind of statement about being Christian. For some reason I couldn't say I was a Christian when I wasn't one. I know several were there in the group who did so, but I couldn't. Well, the word about that got back to Dr Tozer, and we were invited to visit him. When we went to see him, we had an interesting conversation. He basically asked why I hadn't made the declaration, and I told him I couldn't say I was if I wasn't, even to join a church. So he asked me why I wasn't a Christian, and my response was something like "I believe in evolution." He told me that he had his own personal theory about that (and about several other controversial concepts as well), and that if I would first consider two questions honestly and seriously, then he would share with me his ideas about these other things. He then told me the questions. They were something on the order of: Who is Jesus Christ? and What does Jesus Christ have to do with me? or What do I have to do with Jesus Christ? He told me to seriously look at these questions and answer them. Then we would talk again and I could ask him anything I wanted, and he would give a fair go at answering.
That time was probably in November or early December. I can still remember going back to Idaho for Christmas with my parents. We went on to Disneyland with them. While in a railroad car restaurant one night, I told them that Thera had something important to tell them. I was really trying to put her on the spot or embarass her, but she simply said she had become a Christian. When we returned from the holidays, we got into a Navigators beginning Bible study. We studied John chapters 1, 3, 19, and 20 in four weeks. Basically the study provided the answers to the questions Dr Tozer told me to seriously consider. In the fifth week, I prayed and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, answering Dr.Tozer's prayers for me (and the prayers of many, many others as well).
Several times over the years I was able to tell Dr Tozer how he had had a part in my coming to the Lord. And I've told a few others as well. But you may wish to send this on to his family at this time, as just one of the many tributes I am sure they are receiving now on his behalf
Oh, by the way, after accepting the Lord, I never did go back to Dr Tozer and ask him about his theories of evolution, etc. That was no longer relevent at all after answering those questions honestly!
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