A retired missionary's concern about the direction of his church.   Read More

I created a twitter account, @jg_machen, to share quotes from J. Gresham Machen. I’d love for you to follow along!

The strongest Christianity, I think, is consistent Christianity; and consistent Christianity is found in the Reformed Faith.

— J. Gresham Machen (@jg_machen) March 1, 2017

An earnest young Korean deacon from the country came to me one day with a problem. “We have a 500 pound bomb; can you tell us how to cut it in two to make church bells?”

I replied, “Where is the bomb, and how did you get it?”

“Five years ago the Americans dropped it on a bridge outside our village, but it didn’t explode. We have brought it to Chonju.”

“How did you bring it to the city?” I asked.

“On the bus, of course. It was so big and heavy we had to pay two fairs for it, and even so it smashed the bus steps when we took it off!”

“Was the bomb unloaded?”

“No, we screwed the thing off one end, but we couldn’t get the inside stuff out.”

This was the kind of “hot potato” to pass on in a hurry, so I told him to take it to Korean Army Headquarters, have it unloaded, and then cut it into with a hacksaw. When I saw him the next day, I asked if the army had unloaded the bomb.

“Oh no! We didn’t want to bother them. We found a man who knew how to cut the bomb in two. We kept pouring water on it and sawed it right in two. It was full of little white pellets, and they say we can sell them to fishermen to explode under water to stun fish, and that will pay for having our church bells made!”

Brief biography of the first 2/3 years of Dot Hopper's life.   Read More

Dorothy “Dot” Longenecker Hopper, age 95, went to be with her Savior on Friday, December 4, 2015 in Hillsborough, NC, surrounded by her children and loved ones.

She was born March 26, 1920 in the Belgian Congo to Jay Hershey and Minnie Hauhart Longenecker. Dot grew up as a missionary kid in the Belgian Congo. She earned her B.A. in English at Queens College and received her Master’s in Christian Education at the Presbyterian School for Christian Education in Richmond (formerly The Assembly’s Training School) with a thesis entitled “The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Second Generation Foreign Missionaries of the Presbyterian Church U.S.” She married Joseph Barron Hopper, whom she met at Collegiate Home in Montreat, NC. She and Joe served as Presbyterian missionaries under the Board of World Missions, Presbyterian Church in the U.S., in South Korea for 38 years before retiring to Montreat.

Dot was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother; a prayer warrior; a painter; and a dear friend to many people around the world. She was known as an excellent storyteller of her childhood adventures in the Congo and her adult years in Korea.

She is survived by her four children, Alice Hopper Dokter of Stone Mountain, GA, J. Barron Hopper of Kingsport, TN, David Hershey Hopper of Greensboro, NC, and Margaret Hopper Faircloth of Hillsborough, NC; her nine grandchildren, Joseph Hopper, Justin Dokter, Betsy Herman, Jacqueline James, Lydia Hopper, Rachel Caughran, Martha Theilacker, Tim Hopper, and Laura Faircloth; and her 11 great-grandchildren.

Dot was predeceased by her husband, Joe; her parents; her stepmother, Ruth Engler Longenecker; her sisters, Alice Longenecker Vail and Roberta Longenecker; and her brother, Hershey James “Jim” Longenecker.

Her family is grateful to the staff at her home, Brookshire Senior Living in Hillsborough, for their excellent care of her in recent years.

A memorial service will be held at Gaither/Graham Chapel in Montreat, NC on Saturday, December 12, at 4 pm, with a reception following. A private burial will precede the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Dot Hopper Africa Memorial Fund, c/o Preston Hills Presbyterian Church, 4701 Orebank Rd., Kingsport, TN, USA.

My grandfather describes worship service in post-Korean war mission churches in rural South Korea.   Read More

To encourage Christians to read the Westminster Standards, Dr. Joey Pipa Jr. has prepared a calendar of readings from these three documents. By following his calendar, you will read through the Standards every year. With this site, you can find the daily readings at reformedconfessions.com/westminster-daily, on Facebook, on Twitter, and in your email.

Commentary and notes on the Book of Isaiah.   Read More

This is a talk Joe gave at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, N.C. which had supported them for many years. He summarizes the life of Joe and Dot in rural evangelist missionary work for their first 25 years in South Korea.   Read More