Servant of the King: Memoir of Modern Apostle Kemper Crabb

All of this started happening when a coach retired.

But who is Kemper Crabb? Why is he so competent at this? What makes him tick? Why do people feel so drawn to him? Why do they do more for him than they would without him?

Kemper is an East Texas son of a tough and fun German mother and a reserved Coushatta Indian father. He took the contradictory qualities of their two nationalities and became a unique spirit. Like others born in the 1930s, he grew up poor and didn’t know he was. He hunted in the piney woods for the family’s dinner table, fished among water moccasins, raced with his friends through the forests, hurtling fences with poles for the sheer joy of it.

What’s he like?

Kemper loves to laugh and wants others to be entertained. He remembers all the jokes he heard in junior high and never hesitates to review them for everyone, no matter how many complaints. Groans only fuel the humor engine.

He likes being close. When his children were young, a trip to buy bread was a great opportunity to throw both kids in the car to go with him. He says the concept of spending quality time is rubbish. Spend ordinary time, all the time.

He keeps up with friends and students. All his friends know he might show up on their doorstep at any given time. All his students know he will remember their name and the nickname he bestowed should they cross paths in the grocery aisle or at a commencement address he is giving.

Things work for Kemper. He speaks to things and to people. A broken down motorcycle will start after he has spoken to it. When something temporarily doesn’t work around him, he is momentarily surprised. He expects things to work. And they do. It often seems he is doing nothing overt, but things are magically happening wherever he is.

Kemper is hard on minor errors but supportive on big mistakes. He delights in weaving tales of the Snap Dragon that lurks in the attic for his grandchildren, or suddenly baring his teeth like a growling lion and scattering a gaggle of African children who shriek with laughter and come back for more.

He is courageous. No matter how many times he is put in prison for altering karma by introducing children and lepers to Christianity, he returns. His body bears up under the brutality but reminds him daily with the pain in his shoulders and his heart.

He loves passionately. He loves his Lord and is reading His Word in every silent moment. From cover to cover, his Bible has been studied many times every year for many years. He doesn’t endlessly quote the chapter and the verse, though it’s certain they are stored in his faultless memory. He reads to learn and love again each word.

He loves continuously. He prays for people who don’t pray—and who will never know he prays for them.

He loves stray animals and carries a can of dog food in his truck, just in case.

He loves easygoing, positive times but will join a fight—and will win. He’s entrepreneurial and loves things that move. When he was thirteen, he was licensed to drive an eighteen-wheeler. While he was coaching, he ran a canoe rental business on the Guadalupe River. Many people could have lived on the profits he made on the fifty-plus motorcycles he bought, rode hard, and sold over the years. He seems tireless and always sees in his mind the next 100 places to go and things to do. Amazingly, he acts on these visions, while others dream on.

But he hates squash.

By Martha White, Servants of the King Board Member & Historian 1995-2005

Figure 1Martha White (R) & Ugandan Home Base Director, Prossy Isabirye

The man drew no attention to himself in the crowd filing toward the waiting airplane. Clothed in blue jeans and collared shirt, no one would think he had been imprisoned multiple times, held hundreds of dying children in his arms or worked side-by-side with Mother Teresa. He was simply an aging man with a kind smile and alert expression. He was overlooked by all—except the one who stood at the door of the terminal, another who was ignored by the crowd—because no one else could see him.

The messenger’s words were concise:

Heavenly servant, it is time to tell your story

Chapter One

THE SERVANT

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressedfree and break every yoke?

(Isaiah 58:6)

Angry, armed soldiers poured into the courtyard where a group of young children, several orphanage workers and one white-skinned American missionary gathered.

You must pay for the children you stole! the leader of the armed men demanded.

No, the missionary replied. You know we cannot do this. If I pay you for these children we rescued, you will report that we are buying human flesh. If I pay you, you will always come back for more.

You will pay me, the soldier’s voice rose, or I will kill them. No, the missionary replied again, I cannot.

The soldier nodded toward the nearest child. His second-in-command grabbed the child by the arm.

No! A young voice broke the tense moment as a sickly child stumbled toward the missionary. This was one of the children the missionary and his helpers had found during the night, tied to a post in a back alley, waiting alone to die in order to improve his Karma in the next reincarnation.

Let them kill me, the child insisted, plucking at the missionary’s sleeve. I’m going to die anyway. Tell them to kill me instead.

The soldier who held the other child looked to his commander for direction. The leader gave a curt nod. With one swing of his sword, the soldier lopped off the sickly child’s head.

A stunned silence followed as all stared at the horror of the small, decapitated body.

You will pay me! the commander demanded again.

The missionary lifted his tear-filled eyes. He saw what the others in that courtyard could not see. Angels. A battalion of heavenly hosts closed in around the soldiers.

No, he answered again.

The commander yanked his head toward his second-in-command once more, indicating another kill, but the second soldier’s eyes were wide, filled with fear. I cannot, he replied.

Without a word, the commander pulled his gun and shot the fearful soldier.

In that moment, the heavenly forces moved in, still invisible to all but the missionary. The soldiers looked ‘round for a panic-filled split second, then fled, leaving only the leader behind. With a look of fear toward the missionary, the commander also hurried away.

The missionary, though overawed by the presence of heavenly hosts, wept as he, the children, and orphanage workers tended to the corpses at their feet, praying over the child and the soldier and burying them with dignity.

Though the victory was hard-won and the missionary still recounts the story with tears, the soldiers never returned.

Who is this man?

He is known by many names on his mission ventures. In Africa he is called Simba, meaning lion or the longer version, Empologoma Mwana wa Katonda, which is Swahili for Lion of God. In India, he is called Talh Singh, which has the same meaning as his African moniker. He has embraced these nicknames in order to accomplish God’s directives without calling attention to himself. He wants all glory given where it belongs—to the One he serves.

To family and friends he is Kemper Crabb, a servant of God who operates with bold spiritual authority, accomplishing tasks that seem more suited to the fictional Indiana Jones than to a native Texan who simply purposed to fulfill Christ’s great commission to go into all the world, teach the good news of salvation, and alleviate suffering.

Kemper delves into the dark depths of spiritual depravity, overcoming forces of evil through simple obedience to God. Through his ministry, whole families, villages and even local cultures are transformed and freed from spiritual slavery.

Some mindboggling facts:

1. The number of those who have professed faith in Christ in Kemper’s 30-plus years of mission excursions—at last count, more than 11 million.

2. The number of schools built under his direction—400 and counting.

3. The number of churches built and inaugurated to serve the local communities in India, Africa and China—more than 1800.

Those he serves, and those who have accompanied him into some of the most dangerous areas of the world, where local authorities are most hostile to the message of Christ, have reported miraculous healings, demoniacs released, and even several people raised from the dead. ¹

If true, why have we not heard of this modern Apostle Paul? What circumstances would fashion such a bold leader?

How is he able to accomplish the seemingly impossible?

What motivates Kemper to continue his work without notoriety, with constant danger, and at great personal expense?

As with all good stories, the best place to start is at the beginning.

¹(At the time of this writing, Kemper recalls ¹⁷ resurrections.)

Chapter Two

HEAVENLY MUSIC

It costs nothing to come to Jesus.

It costs a lot to follow Him.

It costs everything to serve Him.

~Kemper Crabb

1938

The child tossed and turned on the bed as his temperature soared higher.

102, 103, 104. When the thermometer read 105 degrees, the doctor tried to prepare the family. If he survives, he will have permanent brain damage. He will probably never walk or talk. He will be in a vegetative state.

But still the Scarlet Fever burned, raising the temperature ever higher.

106, 107.

The boy’s skin blistered and began to slough off as he writhed on the bed. Then it happened.

As the doctor’s mournful words droned on and the pain became even more unbearable, the boy who waited to die heard music. It was more beautiful than anything he had heard in his six short years of life. Then, in the music, he heard a voice. In his simple, child’s mind he never questioned. This was the voice of God.

Child, you could go on and exit this life and everything would be fine. Or, you could fight and live and I will always be with you.

Through his pain, the child chose the path of more pain. He chose to live. The next day, the fever had receded and the boy began to recover at record speed.

It was a hard road. He had to learn to speak again. Everyday tasks were difficult or assisted, but he continued to improve and, to the astonishment of doctors and family alike, he surpassed former plateaus. He was smarter, his speech was back to normal and, when his parents could afford the surgery, his clubbed feet were corrected, further opening this former sickly child’s world.

Not only could he run, he could run faster than most. Not only could he talk and reason, he became a leader in his school—student body president, in fact.

And every time something good happened, a new honor, award or touchdown, the boy heard the beautiful, heavenly music once more. But he kept this fact to himself.

So young Kemper Crabb—born club-footed and almost deaf, a German/ Jew/Coushata Indian in East Texas where his lineage made him an outcast, who barely survived a fierce bout of Scarlet Fever—grew strong as he ran and played. His hearing improved too. In fact, he could still hear what no one else could; the heavenly music that played with celebration for each of his victories. Kemper, the child who had been at death’s door, began to live, really live; fearless, joyful, a natural leader. And he sought to learn more about this God who had saved him from the brink of death.

How does a child live who realizes he’s alive and healthy due to a miracle?

With joy.

Kemper began to play sports with reckless abandon, excelling at all he tried. He ran faster, played harder and enjoyed the relative stardom of small town Texas athletics. He exhibited fearlessness in business pursuits by acquiring his license to drive an eighteen-wheeler at the ripe old age of thirteen. His fearlessness even turned to thrill seeking when he began to ride bulls at local rodeos. Riding bulls was an exciting outlet. Kemper was good at it, he won a lot, and he enjoyed the attention from young ladies who gathered to admire his feats. When the time came for higher learning, he received athletic scholarships from Sam Houston State University where he continued his notoriety as a star football player

Figure 2Kemper excelled in high school sports

Kemper received his Bachelor of Science degree in physical education in1954 and his Master of Science degree in education three years later, both from Sam Houston State.

Was he perfect? Not according to college faculty members who advised his future wife not to marry