A MAN YOU'LL WANT TO MEET

It’s very hard for me to believe that January 2007 will mark twenty years that I’ve lived and pastored in Framingham.  Back in 1987, our church was located at Hartford and C Streets. Although it LOOKED like a church- actually it looked like a CHAPEL- our facility seated only 55 people, sat on a tiny lot, and had no parking lot.  It was in that little building, however, that I first met one of the greatest Bible teachers alive today.

I hadn’t been in Framingham much more than a few weeks before Claire, our volunteer part-time Secretary began speaking of Dr. Ivor Nicklin.  She raved about him being an outstanding speaker and teacher.  She explained that he was British and an ordained Anglican priest who traveled to the U.S.A. once a year to do a circuit of speaking at churches and Bible Study groups, mainly in the Northeast.  Under my predecessor, the Rev. Tom Gurney, Ivor Nicklin had spoken at the Framingham church several times.

Over the years, I’d heard people rave about various teachers and speakers.  I’d eventually hear many of them in person.  Usually, such speakers were “O.K.” but did not live up to their billing.  Nevertheless, at Claire’s urging, I booked Ivor Nicklin for a special Sunday night service when his U.S. booking agent phoned the church.

That night proved to be difficult at first.  6:30 (service time) arrived and there was no Dr. Ivor Nicklin to be seen.  We sang choruses, I led congregational prayer, and announcements.  Ultimately, I was nervously starting in on jokes when Nicklin arrived almost one hour late.  I’m very punctual, and I especially don’t like when guest speakers arrive late, so that was not a good beginning.   Dr. Ivor Nicklin was not the typical Assemblies of God church speaker, if there is such a thing.  He wore dark clothes and a clerical collar, and large rimless glasses.  He looked like he came out of “Central Casting” to be cast as either an Episcopalian priest, or even more likely, a Professor of Theology.  I slipped Nicklin a card asking him to limit his talk to 35 minutes.  When he opened his sermon he pleasantly (but bluntly) in a VERY British accent dramatically announced, “I’ve been told I have THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES!”  Wow.  This was going to be uncomfortable.

It wasn’t.

When I’m right, I’m right, and when I’m wrong, I’m wrong.  That time I was wrong.  Ivor Nicklin turned out to be one of the finest, most interesting, and most entertaining speakers I’d ever heard!  His Biblical and theological knowledge was “way up there”...definitely Ph.D. level stuff- but he was funny, and interesting, and yet VERY practical.  I could have listened to him all night.  In reality, I think he spoke about forty-five minutes that evening.  After the service, I noticed he’d arrived in a Pontiac Grand Prix coupe with Rhode Island plates, and had “planted it” right on the church front lawn!  What a character!  My wife and I went out with him to Friendly’s in Saxonville (when there was a Friendly’s in Saxonville) and had a delightful time.  I had to apologize to him about my reservations about him.

Since then, I’ve had Nicklin in at least a dozen times in the various locations were our church has met through the years, and I’ve loved every time Dr. Nicklin has been with us.

If you’re anywhere in the Framingham area on Sunday, October 29, you’ll want to come to our 10:30 a.m. service at 32 South Street (off Route 135) to hear Dr. Ivor Nicklin.  It doesn’t matter who you are.  As Billy Graham would say, “You may be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or no religion”- but you’ll enjoy Ivor Nicklin.  If you’d like more information you can e-mail me at either RevRBaril@aol.com  or  AGframingham@aol.com

“Study to shew (“show”) thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”  (2 Timothy 2:15)