Dear Editor,
I was saddened to learn in your May issue of the passing of Pastor A.N. Martin.
I first heard Al at the Leicester Ministers’ Conference in the late 1960s. His close exegesis of the Biblical text and penetrating application were marks of his preaching.
My gratitude to him grew as I listened on cassette tapes to his sermons on marriage and the bringing up of children. As a new husband and then father, they were invaluable, being both Biblical and practical.
In his sermon “Be given to hospitality” (Rom.12v13), Al urged us to open our homes to other believers in order to get to know and encourage them in the Lord. His catchphrase was: “The open door, not the table spread.” One did not have to offer a banquet; it was more important to invite them in.
When I last saw Al in 2007 I reminded him of this, and how my wife and I had tried to follow his exhortation by inviting many, especially international students, into our home. “I am so humbled” he said, as tears ran down his cheeks. In an age when so many in our churches feel lonely or neglected, perhaps now is the time to listen to Al Martin again.
Yours sincerely
Richard Iley
Birmingham
