Gary & Anita with IDF guy (secret) at one of the outposts in Israel. We spent time with soldiers, took them Pizza, Coke and our prayers of Blessings for help in keeping Israel safe! PRAY for the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).
Gary L. Burney has been a Baptist Pastor for over 45 years, in Arkansas and Oklahoma. He was saved at age 14 and was called to Preach at 16. He attended Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Mo and Oklahoma Baptist University at Shawnee, Oklahoma, finishing up his business degree from University of Phoenix and obtained two Masters there. He taught Bible and was high school Chaplin at Shiloh Christian School in Springdale for 5 years. His first pastorate was at at Dutch Mills So. Baptist Church in Dutch Mills, AR. He also pastored at First Baptist Church, Leach, Oklahoma and Trinity Baptist Church in Maud, Oklahoma. Gary and Anita moved back to Arkansas and Gary pastored at First Baptist Church in West Fork for ten years, then took a breather and returned to pastoring many years later at Immanuel Baptist Church in Springdale.
Currently he is a business professor and head of the business department at Ecclesia College in Springdale where he has been in the faculty for 15 years.
He currently teaches Adult Sunday School at Bella Vista Baptist Church, and also a Community Bible Class on Thursday nights at our church. Bella Vista, Arkansas.
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Anita still dabbles in whimsical art; watercolors, oils, acrylics, but also does tour planning to Israel for church groups.
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Gary & Anita have been married 54 years and have one son, David L Burney who is the COSF Director for John Brown University. He is married to Emily and has two children, Avery & Avonelle Kate. Also the Burney's have a coon-hound named Annie who is 5 years old.
Currently he is a business professor and head of the business department at Ecclesia College in Springdale where he has been in the faculty for 15 years.
He currently teaches Adult Sunday School at Bella Vista Baptist Church, and also a Community Bible Class on Thursday nights at our church. Bella Vista, Arkansas.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Anita still dabbles in whimsical art; watercolors, oils, acrylics, but also does tour planning to Israel for church groups.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gary & Anita have been married 54 years and have one son, David L Burney who is the COSF Director for John Brown University. He is married to Emily and has two children, Avery & Avonelle Kate. Also the Burney's have a coon-hound named Annie who is 5 years old.
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH
Bio
I pastored for almost 45 years, Anita at my side. During that time I taught the scripture using all of the resources that I could find. I studied under the great teachers of our day using a new media called cassette tapes provided by an organization call Bible Believers Cassette Tape Ministry located in Springdale, AR. BBC was started by Dr. Ed Wheat, our family doctor.
Through this ministry you could order cassettes of sermons and bible studies from the greatest preachers of that day, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur, Mike Cocorus, J. Vernon McGee, Cliff Palmer and numerous others. These great teachers helped me to develop the basis for my belief system and bible teaching ministry. The model of teaching that these men followed is how I patterned my own teaching. I believe I received a great foundation upon which the Lord allowed me to develop a greater understanding of His word. That foundation includes the following beliefs:
This doctrinal statement reflects the broad, mainstream, conservative evangelical tradition which is consistent with the teachings of the Bible and which has stood the test of history and experience.
Anita & I specifically affirm the following doctrinal truths:
The Scriptures
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. The Bible is therefore without error (inerrant) in its original manuscripts. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible, and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life, providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and instruction for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Godhead (Trinity)
We believe in one true God eternally existing in three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God; possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of our worship and service (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 1:14, John 10:30; 2 Cor. 13:14). God the Father We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is the eternal, unchanging all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, completely just and perfectly holy, sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the universe. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Father of all true believers (Gen. 1:1; Eph. 4:6; John 1:12-13, John 5:19-21, John 17:1-5; Isa. 40:21-28, Isa. 43:10-13, Isa. 46:8-11; Rom. 8:14-16).
God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is the only begotten eternal Son of God Who became flesh to reveal God to man, to fulfill prophecy, was and is the Jewish Messiah, and to become the Savior of the lost world. In becoming man Jesus did not cease in any way to be God so that He is fully God and fully man inseparably united in one person forever. Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; lived a sinless life; died on the cross as the substitutionary, all-sufficient atoning sacrifice for all of the sins of all men of all time; was buried; bodily rose from the dead; physically ascended into heaven in His glorified, resurrected body; is seated at the right hand of the Father performing His ministry of intercession; will return in the air to claim His bride the church; and will come again to earth in bodily form, personally and visibly, to conclude human history and consummate God’s eternal plan by executing judgment and ushering in His Millennial Kingdom reign to be followed by the eternal state (John 1:1,14, John 1:18; John 3:16; Luke 1:30-35; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:3,9; Mark 10:45; Acts 2:22-24; John 1:29; Rom. 3:25-26; Heb. 10:5-14; 1 Pet. 2:24, 1 Pet. 3:18; John 20:20; Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Acts 1:11; Heb. 9:28; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 2 Thes. 2:7; Matt. 24:44; Rev. 19:11- 21; Rev. 21-22).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity Who specially came into the world on the day of Pentecost to glorify Christ and to enable men to appropriate the salvation wrought by Christ. He is the primary agent for the conviction of sin and for regeneration. Simultaneously with salvation, the Holy Spirit imparts new life, baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (His church), permanently indwells the believer, and securely seals the believer unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit fills (directs and controls) those believers who are yielded to Him, enables believers to bear fruit, and empowers believers to live a life free from sin’s dominion. We also believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of edifying the church in accordance with the teachings of scripture (1 Cor. 13:8, 1 Cor. 14:22; John 16:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:19, 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14, Eph. 4:30; Gal. 5:16-17, Gal. 22-23; Rom. 8:5-13; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rom. 12:3-8).
Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God by direct act of God and did not come into being as the result of evolution. Man was created to glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. Man fell through sin by disobeying God, thus incurring both physical and spiritual death, which alienated him from God. Man’s nature was thus corrupted and he is utterly lost, “dead in trespasses and sins,” and totally incapable of saving himself and coming back into right relationship with God by his own merit or effort (Gen. 1:26, Gen. 2:6,17, Gen. 3:17-24; Isa. 59:1-2; Rom. 3:9-19,23, Rom. 5:8; Luke 18:26-27; Eph. 2:13).
Satan
We believe that Satan is the instigator of evil and a real spirit being, not simply the personification of evil. He is a fallen angel who, under the sovereign permission of God, has been given temporary rulership of the earth. He was utterly defeated at the cross, but the execution of his judgment has been postponed by God until after the Millennial Kingdom when he will be cast into the eternal lake of fire. In the meantime, he deceives the world and seeks to establish his counterfeit kingdom on earth to discredit and blaspheme God and to tempt, accuse, attack and destroy believers. He can be resisted by the believer through faith and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit (Gen. 3:1-5; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Job 1- 2; 1 John 5:19; 2 Cor. 11:14; 1 Tim. 3:6; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; James 4:7; Rev. 12:9, Rev. 20:1-3, Rev. 7- 10).
Salvation
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for forgiveness of sins and salvation, which is the free gift of God’s grace. Salvation is effected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be secured by man’s works or personal merit. Salvation is only appropriated by a person placing his faith in the finished work of Christ. Repentance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is a part of but not separate from believing faith. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” and those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are a new creation in Christ, and “are sealed by the Holy spirit unto the day of redemption” being kept by the power of God (Eph. 1:7:13-14; John 1:12-13, John 3:1-7, John 14-16; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 1:16, Rom. 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 8:14-17, Rom. 31- 39; John 10:27-29, Rom. 14:6; Acts 26:20; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
The Christian Life
We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself and should, by the 2 power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to manifest His life through him to God’s glory. By ever increasing obedience to the Word of God, each believer should mature and progressively become more like Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a holy life; not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in making disciples to fulfill the great commission; perform good works and bear fruit to the glory of God (Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:15- 16, 1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 6:11-13; Eph. 2:10, Eph. 4:11-12, Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:18-20; Col. 1:10; John 15:8,16).
The Church
We believe that the church is the body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head and whose members are those who have truly received Christ by faith. The local church is a tangible expression of the body of Christ in a particular location. Since all members of the body of Christ are united in Christ by the same Spirit, they should live in love, harmony and unity, being intent on the same purpose and accepting those sectarian or denominational practices which are based on a sincere interpretation of the Bible, which do not relate to substantive doctrinal matters, and which do not in practice cause disunity or hinder the ministry. The purpose of the church is to make Christ known to lost men and to make disciples, and glorify God on earth (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23, Eph. 4:1-6, Eph. 4:12-16; Matt. 28:18- 20; John 17; Col. 1:24-29).
-Copied from Baptist Faith and Message Tract
__________________________
Throughout the years we continued to build upon this foundation. Often trying to repattern my thinking into the mindset of the original recipients of God’s written word. It wasn’t until our first trip to Israel that this reset occurred.
Anita and I are not Jewish, we are Gentile believers in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. We understand that Jesus was, and is Jewish. He came to His own – the Jews. So to understand His message, His Ministry and His purpose we must understand Him and the culture into which He was born. His disciples were Jewish, and He taught in a Jewish Nation, Israel. The people who heard Him were predominately Jewish. Thus the reason for learning more and more about Judaism.
This reset did not change our basic belief system or our statement of faith. On the contrary it has deepened our understanding and solidified why we believe what we do. It is upon this premise that we are building this new ministry venture. Our desire is for this to be a stimulus for all believers.
I pastored for almost 45 years, Anita at my side. During that time I taught the scripture using all of the resources that I could find. I studied under the great teachers of our day using a new media called cassette tapes provided by an organization call Bible Believers Cassette Tape Ministry located in Springdale, AR. BBC was started by Dr. Ed Wheat, our family doctor.
Through this ministry you could order cassettes of sermons and bible studies from the greatest preachers of that day, Adrian Rogers, John MacArthur, Mike Cocorus, J. Vernon McGee, Cliff Palmer and numerous others. These great teachers helped me to develop the basis for my belief system and bible teaching ministry. The model of teaching that these men followed is how I patterned my own teaching. I believe I received a great foundation upon which the Lord allowed me to develop a greater understanding of His word. That foundation includes the following beliefs:
This doctrinal statement reflects the broad, mainstream, conservative evangelical tradition which is consistent with the teachings of the Bible and which has stood the test of history and experience.
Anita & I specifically affirm the following doctrinal truths:
The Scriptures
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. The Bible is therefore without error (inerrant) in its original manuscripts. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible, and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life, providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and instruction for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Godhead (Trinity)
We believe in one true God eternally existing in three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God; possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of our worship and service (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 1:14, John 10:30; 2 Cor. 13:14). God the Father We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is the eternal, unchanging all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, completely just and perfectly holy, sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the universe. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Father of all true believers (Gen. 1:1; Eph. 4:6; John 1:12-13, John 5:19-21, John 17:1-5; Isa. 40:21-28, Isa. 43:10-13, Isa. 46:8-11; Rom. 8:14-16).
God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is the only begotten eternal Son of God Who became flesh to reveal God to man, to fulfill prophecy, was and is the Jewish Messiah, and to become the Savior of the lost world. In becoming man Jesus did not cease in any way to be God so that He is fully God and fully man inseparably united in one person forever. Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; lived a sinless life; died on the cross as the substitutionary, all-sufficient atoning sacrifice for all of the sins of all men of all time; was buried; bodily rose from the dead; physically ascended into heaven in His glorified, resurrected body; is seated at the right hand of the Father performing His ministry of intercession; will return in the air to claim His bride the church; and will come again to earth in bodily form, personally and visibly, to conclude human history and consummate God’s eternal plan by executing judgment and ushering in His Millennial Kingdom reign to be followed by the eternal state (John 1:1,14, John 1:18; John 3:16; Luke 1:30-35; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:3,9; Mark 10:45; Acts 2:22-24; John 1:29; Rom. 3:25-26; Heb. 10:5-14; 1 Pet. 2:24, 1 Pet. 3:18; John 20:20; Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 1:3; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Acts 1:11; Heb. 9:28; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 2 Thes. 2:7; Matt. 24:44; Rev. 19:11- 21; Rev. 21-22).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity Who specially came into the world on the day of Pentecost to glorify Christ and to enable men to appropriate the salvation wrought by Christ. He is the primary agent for the conviction of sin and for regeneration. Simultaneously with salvation, the Holy Spirit imparts new life, baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (His church), permanently indwells the believer, and securely seals the believer unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit fills (directs and controls) those believers who are yielded to Him, enables believers to bear fruit, and empowers believers to live a life free from sin’s dominion. We also believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of edifying the church in accordance with the teachings of scripture (1 Cor. 13:8, 1 Cor. 14:22; John 16:7-8; 1 Cor. 6:19, 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14, Eph. 4:30; Gal. 5:16-17, Gal. 22-23; Rom. 8:5-13; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rom. 12:3-8).
Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God by direct act of God and did not come into being as the result of evolution. Man was created to glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. Man fell through sin by disobeying God, thus incurring both physical and spiritual death, which alienated him from God. Man’s nature was thus corrupted and he is utterly lost, “dead in trespasses and sins,” and totally incapable of saving himself and coming back into right relationship with God by his own merit or effort (Gen. 1:26, Gen. 2:6,17, Gen. 3:17-24; Isa. 59:1-2; Rom. 3:9-19,23, Rom. 5:8; Luke 18:26-27; Eph. 2:13).
Satan
We believe that Satan is the instigator of evil and a real spirit being, not simply the personification of evil. He is a fallen angel who, under the sovereign permission of God, has been given temporary rulership of the earth. He was utterly defeated at the cross, but the execution of his judgment has been postponed by God until after the Millennial Kingdom when he will be cast into the eternal lake of fire. In the meantime, he deceives the world and seeks to establish his counterfeit kingdom on earth to discredit and blaspheme God and to tempt, accuse, attack and destroy believers. He can be resisted by the believer through faith and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit (Gen. 3:1-5; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Job 1- 2; 1 John 5:19; 2 Cor. 11:14; 1 Tim. 3:6; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; James 4:7; Rev. 12:9, Rev. 20:1-3, Rev. 7- 10).
Salvation
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for forgiveness of sins and salvation, which is the free gift of God’s grace. Salvation is effected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be secured by man’s works or personal merit. Salvation is only appropriated by a person placing his faith in the finished work of Christ. Repentance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is a part of but not separate from believing faith. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” and those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are a new creation in Christ, and “are sealed by the Holy spirit unto the day of redemption” being kept by the power of God (Eph. 1:7:13-14; John 1:12-13, John 3:1-7, John 14-16; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 1:16, Rom. 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-10; Rom. 8:14-17, Rom. 31- 39; John 10:27-29, Rom. 14:6; Acts 26:20; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
The Christian Life
We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself and should, by the 2 power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to manifest His life through him to God’s glory. By ever increasing obedience to the Word of God, each believer should mature and progressively become more like Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a holy life; not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in making disciples to fulfill the great commission; perform good works and bear fruit to the glory of God (Gal. 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:15- 16, 1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Rom. 6:11-13; Eph. 2:10, Eph. 4:11-12, Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:18-20; Col. 1:10; John 15:8,16).
The Church
We believe that the church is the body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head and whose members are those who have truly received Christ by faith. The local church is a tangible expression of the body of Christ in a particular location. Since all members of the body of Christ are united in Christ by the same Spirit, they should live in love, harmony and unity, being intent on the same purpose and accepting those sectarian or denominational practices which are based on a sincere interpretation of the Bible, which do not relate to substantive doctrinal matters, and which do not in practice cause disunity or hinder the ministry. The purpose of the church is to make Christ known to lost men and to make disciples, and glorify God on earth (Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:20-23, Eph. 4:1-6, Eph. 4:12-16; Matt. 28:18- 20; John 17; Col. 1:24-29).
-Copied from Baptist Faith and Message Tract
__________________________
Throughout the years we continued to build upon this foundation. Often trying to repattern my thinking into the mindset of the original recipients of God’s written word. It wasn’t until our first trip to Israel that this reset occurred.
Anita and I are not Jewish, we are Gentile believers in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah. We understand that Jesus was, and is Jewish. He came to His own – the Jews. So to understand His message, His Ministry and His purpose we must understand Him and the culture into which He was born. His disciples were Jewish, and He taught in a Jewish Nation, Israel. The people who heard Him were predominately Jewish. Thus the reason for learning more and more about Judaism.
This reset did not change our basic belief system or our statement of faith. On the contrary it has deepened our understanding and solidified why we believe what we do. It is upon this premise that we are building this new ministry venture. Our desire is for this to be a stimulus for all believers.