*Letter from Central*


August 11, 2008


Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the campus!

With sad hearts, we inform you that our dear teacher, pastor and friend,
Pastor Rodolfo "Rudy" Palmerola Acosta died last Friday early morning
(August 8, 2008).

Pastor Acosta was born on December 11, 1930 in Fabrica, Negros Occidental.
He finished his Secondary Education in 1957, Associate in Arts in 1959, and
Bachelor of Theology (summa cum laude) in 1963 all at CPU. He had the
opportunity to study at Andover Newton Theological School, Massachusetts,
U.S.A., and finished his Master of Arts (Church History) in 1971. He also
went to Jerusalem, Israel, in 1977 to study at the Institute of Holy Land
Studies.

He served CPU as faculty of the College of Theology since 1971 up to the
time of his demise. He served for a long time as Chairman, Department of
Religion and Ethics from 1975–1992, and became Acting Dean of the College of
Theology in 1986–1987. He was also a member of the CPU Corporation for 25
years as Representative of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches.

As a teacher in homiletics, we were reminded by Pastor Acosta to "conceived
the sermon starting Monday, carry it to term for 4 days, struggle in the
pains of labor on Saturday, and give birth to it on Sunday." This analogy is
in the minds of his many students. He also taught about contextualizing the
Word of God. He said, "if you start in Jerusalem (scripture text) be sure to
end it in Iloilo (context). In the same manner, if you start in Iloilo, be
sure to end it in Jerusalem."

As a historian, he wrote a Brief History of the Convention of Philippine
Baptist Churches in 1985 during the Golden Year of Christian Ministry of
CPBC. This writing became the foundational work of later historians.

As a musician, he composed songs. Here are two of his songs:

*Asin*
*(Tune: Lumabaylabay nga daw aso)*

Daw ano kasubo kon ang asin madula
Ang tanan wala sing sabor sini nga duta
Linugaw, batchoy malas-ay
Kon wala asin, ahaay!
Tanan malas-ay, ahaay!
Kon sa bagay.

Ay, Ikaw kag Ako
Subong sang asin, huo
Iglesia nagasadya kon yarang presensya ta.
Ka hu-ol nagapalagyo
Kon ikaw man kag ako
Nagaalagad sa aton nga Ginoo.

*The Cripple*
*(Tune: Top of the World)*

Listen while I share my history,
Mine's a life that's plagued with endless tragedy,
I don't know where to start,
Just begin, says my heart,
With the time when you were born in misery.

Cripple was I when my life unfurled
That I felt I'd been forsaken by the Lord,
So I wept and I cursed
Till my heart almost burst,
Cursed the God who made me suffer in this world.

Then one day while begging for my food,
John and Peter with concern before me stood,
"Give me alms," so I said,
"and I'll buy me some bread."
They said, "Sorry man, that isn't what you need."

Chorus
And they said, "Silver or gold we have none,
But in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
Rise up and walk!"
Miracle of miracles, unbelievable but true,
Now I walk! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

In the year 2000, in honor of his 70th birthday, a book entitled "A Moving
Faith Life and Ministry of Pastor Rodolfo Palmero Acosta" was launched. The
content of this book are the sermons of Pastor Acosta, his outline in
teaching homiletics, his written work in the history of Baptist churches,
his compositions as a musician, and testimonies of students of Pastor
Acosta. This book was given to more than 1,000 pastors in the Convention of
Philippine Baptist Churches. This book was sold-out in the Philippine
Chrisitan Book Store in Bacolod and Iloilo. This was edited by Dr. Nestor D.
Bunda, and Rea Angelica Faulan.

Here is a poem written by Dr. Bunda in 2000 for Pastor Acosta:

A Man of Faith and Quality

Along the road of faith there is a man
A humble and approachable man
A church historian
A friend, pastor and theologian.

A devoted teacher
A creative composer and singer
A thought-provoking preacher
A man of prayer.

A seventy-year old man with a vision
Still on the road of faith with a mission
Joyfully struggling for a global transformation
Towards a quality of life in thought, in word and in action.
This man is Pastor Rudy P. Acosta.

Here is the Schedule of Vigil Services for Pastor Rudy P. Acosta

August 9 – body will be brought to JEC – first service to be held at JEC
(memories of Pastor Acosta, his favorite songs, testimonies from family
members, etc.). This will be at 7 in the evening.
August 10 – a special service in honor of Pastor will be held during the
vesper service at JEC – 5:30 pm
August 11 – 7 pm vigil will be sponsored by CPBC
August 12 – 7 pm vigil sponsored by CPU College of Theology
August 13 – 7 pm vigil sponsored by CBMA to be followed by 8pm service
sponsored by Baptist Student Center
August 14 – 7 pm vigil sponsored by CPU/UC
August 15 – 7 pm vigil sponsored by Bapt. Center Church
August 16 – 7 pm vigil sponsored by the Kabayao's
August 17 – Afternoon necrological service at JEC – funeral/committal will
follow at Forest Lake

If there are groups who would like to sponsor/host a vigil
service/worship/fellowship, they can schedule them during mornings or
afternoons.  Arrangements should be coordinated with JEC c/o Ng Shar or
Ma'am Martha. Just contact tel. number 329-32-42 or 509-21-93

At one time, Pastor Acosta boldly declared, "Give me the right word and
right accent, and I will move the world." Yes, sir! You surely moved our
worlds.

We will surely missed Pastor Acosta. We pray that we will be worthy to
continue the legacy that you started.

Sincerely,

Rinand Caipang Escuban
Director

Francis Neil Gico Jalando-on
PR Officer