Step Up in Honor of Frank Price.
My friend Frank passed away at 83 years old on Tuesday, December 14.
I had just seen him two weeks ago. I was the speaker at his church Christmas banquet and took the picture you see above.
Frank Price and I go back to 1982. He helped support me by becoming one of our first booster club members during the launch of the PowerHouse youth ministry. After I had left my assignment at Trinity in Baltimore, Maryland he continued his support to that great cause at the church for over twenty years.
Later he would become part of the Friends Forever 51 Club. Frank never traveled with me across the USA, Jamaica or Guyana, but he believed in reaching people. He was part of the montly giving team!
He had sent his final donation the first of this month. He also sent an additional $6.00 for "one more house" to sponsor for our Albert Town TV project. Frank believed in reaching and winning people for Jesus Christ.
I have a few questions on my mind this week.
Who will step up in faithfulness to their church like Frank ?
Who will step up at his Carney Assembly of God to be a prayer partner for young people like 'Mr. Frank'?
Is there anyone out there who will share kind words because they are thrilled that "Christ the Savior" was born in their hearts, and like Frank they would want it for everyone - all the time?
Who will discipline themselves, like this US Navy Veteran who would take some dollars and send support to motor evangelism through the Friends Forever outreaches ?
Frank Price was worth more to me than any amount of money. It was because his Christian principles were non negotiable, and that came at great price. He indeed was named well at his birth.
I will carry with me great memories of a man who cared more than most. This short story is a small essay from the big chapters of his important life.
My heart is sad, but my hope is secure. Frank's Christmas is in Heaven. He was 83 on earth, but now ageless forevermore.
This year we also lost two other dear Friends Forever partners. The wife of John Zoller, Anatta Elizabeth Zoller in Troup, Texas; plus longtime partner Milburn Elmendorf of Springfield, Missiouri. I thank God for all three.
Today, I must say, I will always love my friend Frank Price.
It's on my mind, who will step up?
Mark Muirhead
For those in the greater Baltimore area, please note:Family and friends may call at THE JOHNSON FUNERAL HOME, P.A., 8521 Loch Raven Blvd. (beltway exit 29-B), on Friday from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 PM, where all are invited to attend Funeral Services on Saturday at 11 AM. Interment Moreland Memorial Park.
posted by The Friends Forever Ministries at 4:58 PM
1 Comments:
Frank was a great man because:
1. He was a servant.
In his 80's after having served in many ways at Trinity Assembly of God over many decades, Frank once again stepped up to serve as a Deacon. According to his daughter Sharon Vespa, when Frank told her that he had been nominated for deacon at Carney Assembly, he only briefly hesitated saying that perhaps he had already served his time. But then said, "But I'll serve again if I'm elected and it's what God wants."
2. He never lost his zeal for life or for God.
Frank had a zeal for life. He recently came to a Deacon Board meeting to proudly report that he and his Wii bowling team at Oak Crest Village retirement community had won the tournament that included a number of other teams from other retirement communities.
At the same time, Frank had a zeal for God. In the over 35 years I knew him, I never knew that deeply sincere spirituality to wane. I didn't have much contact with Frank for about 12 years before he transferred to our church. But the fervency of his spirituality was as strong as ever. I remember growing up as a kid at Trinity that booming, authoritative voice that was the closest thing to God's voice as I could imagine. Frank encouraged the Body of Christ for decades with a gift of spiritual utterance. More than a few times over the last two years, often as I concluded my Sunday sermon, the Spirit would move on Frank to call people to heed the Word that had just been preached and invariably there was a response. What was the secret of Frank's undiminished zeal for God? I think it's found in one of the scripture passages he requested be read at his funeral--Isaiah 40:28-31. It reads in part, "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
3. The longer he lived, the more he loved.
To me, Frank was always a sincere and loving man. But I think I noticed something different about him when we were brought back into contact after more than a decade. I think Frank had become an even more loving and openly affectionate person than I remembered. His love grew over time. It now seemed to almost overflow out of him. 1 John 3:18 says, "Dear friends, let us not love with words or tongue, but with action and truth." I want to grow into a more loving person with age like my friend Frank.
4. Frank also was a man of faith. He believed that God was to be taken at his word. If God said it then we should take hold of it and not waver. There was to be no entertaining of doubt-- only faith. This was especially clear when Frank prayed for those who needed physical healing. With confidence he would pray and people would be healed.
As a man of faith, Frank was also a visionary. In recent deacon meetings Frank challenged us to believe God for greater things. In his eighties, when most are looking back, Frank was looking forward with faith and vision anticipating new a greater things for the church. Not unlike another octogenarian, Caleb in the Bible, Frank was ready to go claim some new territory for the kingdom of God. I loved him, I will miss him, but Frank's legacy inspires me to serve more, to love more, to keep growing more in zeal for God, and to have the kind of faith that always looks foward in expectation of greater and greater things.
Below are the scriptures Frank requested read at his funeral. They tell you something about the man: Romans 8:1, Philppians 1:6, Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 40:28-31, Psalm 92
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