While Scripture forbids us to venerate mortal beings (Rev. 19:10), Paul in Romans 13:7 declares, “Pay to all what is owed to them…respect to whom respect is owed, honour to whom honour is owed.” There are many reasons that warrant a tribute to the Rev. Dr. Stephen Dancer for his fruitful life. These reasons include his godly character and his faithful service to the church. Here we honour Stephen Dancer in the spirit of Hebrews 13:7, “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” Paul writes “Be imitators of me as I am Christ”, and Stephen will always be an example to all at SPC to follow his example — what it is to be of Christ; in good times, and in bad times, in times of good health and in time of sickness, and especially in his last year, when he suffered in silence, serving Christ.
Stephen felt a calling to the ministry while he was working at Rolls Royce in Derby. He was received into membership at SPC with Susan on 2nd July 2006, and came under care of Presbytery on 30th September 2006. After finishing his theological training, he was licensed in the ECPEW on 3rd March 2007. He was called to be the minister of Solihull Presbyterian Church, following on from the church’s founding minister, Dr Albert Lutz. Stephen was ordained as the minister of SPC on 17th March 2007.
It has been hard work, but, despite these challenges Stephen focused on doing the next thing, which is preaching the Word. He was often heard saying: We just keep plodding on! Sometimes there were only one or two families present in a worship service, but despite these discouragements, Stephen kept going, first supported by assessor elders (Rev David Cross, Stephen Johnston and Rev Richard Holst) and then the Lord in his grace and mercy added two elders: Falko Drijfhout in 2012 and Jonny Umpleby in 2021.
Stephen was a strong believer in expository preaching, and in preaching the whole counsel of God. His pattern of preaching at SPC was to preach through a book of Scripture as a whole, or in parts, but verse by verse. He made sure that the congregation he faithfully served was being fed by the Word of God, both from the Old Testament and New Testament, and therefore he always preached from an OT and a NT book each Sunday. In addition, due to his heart for the unbeliever to know the gospel and for the young Christian to have a full grasp of the gospel, he made sure that, every 5 years or so, he preached from Romans and the gospels.
His first sermon series was from the book of Ruth. His last sermon was on Sunday 17th November from Haggai 2:1-9. The title he gave that sermon was “Hope in Disappointment” and as a congregation we saw this as God preparing the congregation for what was to come. Such a fitting sermon for the congregation, who needed to be urged to “Be strong”!
Stephen preached the whole counsel of God faithfully. In his ministry Stephen showed a zeal for reaching the unconverted in Solihull, and for strengthening the faith of church members. This was evident in three different ways:
Faithfully using the (ordinary) means of Grace: Stephen was very conscious of the need for the flock of Christ to be fed by God’s word. He often encouraged the congregation to attend the means of grace as much as possible. So strong was his love and concern for the flock that he wrestled a lot with how to encourage the congregation to sit under the ministry of God’s Word.
For many years, this seemed fruitless in his and later the session’s eyes, which was a real struggle for Stephen. He became convinced that a caring pastoral approach is needed, to lead the flock to God's word, bringing them to the Fountain of Life. It was clear that this would take time, and it was one of Stephen’s struggles in the ministry that he wasn’t able to do as many pastoral visits as he felt was needed. And yet the Lord blessed Stephen’s endeavours. Since the beginning of 2023, Stephen and the elders saw fruit from Stephen’s labours. More members attended the midweek meetings and our evening attendance almost doubled!
Stephen’s heart in preaching the word faithfully was also evident during the Covid pandemic. The lack of a building (the previous one being declared unfit to be used right at the start of the pandemic) didn’t stop Stephen from finding a way to preach the gospel on Sundays. The park behind the building that we used until then was a perfect location to continue his ministry to the people of Solihull – even at times with Susan holding an umbrella over him!
Stephen will leave a lasting legacy to many men at SPC in how to study Gods word. Stephen wanted the men in the congregation to be able to study God’s word and teach others. Stephen believed that this was an important character that men should have. Stephen thus spent time to lead the men in how to study God’s word, teaching us methods for studying the Bible ourselves - not just jumping to commentaries but learning to examine the text ourselves, its flow of thought, main driving points and learning to dwell and medicate on portions of it. This led to some precious times of Bible study and discussion together. Such was Stephen’s heart for the proclamation of the gospel that he was always trying to see if some men would discover in themselves a gift to lead a Bible study, or even a calling for the ministry. Stephen’s workload and health meant he couldn’t attend all the men’s meetings, but his example will be with us forever.
Zeal for receiving visitors: Reaching out to the unconverted was always on his heart, and it saddened him that he wasn’t able to do more evangelism in Solihull. The time Chris Stater worked with him was such a great encouragement to him, and seeing God raising a man in our midst (Lucian Dumitrescu) for the ministry was an answer to his frequent prayers. Those who know Stephen well would know his love for numbers and creating pretty graphs. Yet, growing the church in receiving members from other churches wasn’t Stephen’s aim in growing God’s Kingdom. He often lamented that the growth he saw at SPC wasn’t due to conversions.
Hospitality and (picnic) lunches. A significant element in Stephen’s (and Susan’s) ministry (they always worked as a team), was to provide hospitality to those visiting, whether they were new to the faith, or just visiting. This resulted in many fellowship lunches at their home after the morning service on a Sunday. This continued even when Stephen was struggling with his health. Many members at SPC look fondly back to those lunches, or evening dinners before our prayer meeting. Key to all these lunches was to give a picture of what it means to be part of God’s family. Singing the doxology after the meal, followed by a hearty and loud AMEN, whether inside or outside, was clear for every neighbour to hear.
It pleased the Lord to grow His church in Solihull under Stephen’s ministry, and we are so glad that the last two years have seen many visitors coming, and the church growing. In 2020, while worshipping in the park, Stephen prayed for the church to have 100 members, 6 elders and 6 deacons. On the last few years, we have grown from about 45 to about 65 in attendance, and although Stephen didn’t see his prayer answered in his time on earth, the Lord has shown him that He is pleased with his ministry and has blessed it.
Prayer: Stephen was an example to all of us, leading us in prayer. He loved leading the midweek meetings and wanted the congregation to grow in their prayer life. Not just to come with a shopping list of needs, but to fervently pray to God that his Kingdom will come, that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. His conviction was that it was only by the Holy Spirit being at work would there be spiritual growth. Recently he encouraged members of the congregation to gather 20 minutes before the service to pray together. His heart was in praying to our Father that He will work in each of us by His Sprit through his Word during every service, for the sanctification of the saints.
Stephen will be remembered with deep affection by all in the church, as we thank the Lord for his zeal in preaching the Word and his love for the flock. We look forward to the day when, reunited at last, we will worship the Lord together face-to-face.
