CRC Native American Leader Dies

Rev. Raymond Slim, a long-time Native American leader for the Christian Reformed Church, died earlier this week after being hit by a truck as he left a store in Farmington, N.M.

Eyewitnesses said the 2013 Dodge Ram truck was traveling at a high rate of speed through a Best Buy parking lot when it hit Slim, 70, who lived in Sanostee, N.M. Slim was transported to San Juan Regional Medical Center, where he died. The accident remains under investigation, police said.

Since learning of the death, says Stanley Jim, Native American Ethnic Ministry Leader for the CRC, he keeps thinking about a sermon Slim preached last Saturday.

In the sermon Slim gave at a camp meeting at Maranatha Fellowship Christian Reformed Church in Farmington, he could have been speaking about himself and his own walk with Jesus, said Jim.

"He referred to a verse in Philippians that talks about how he who starts a good work will bring it to completion 'until the day of Christ Jesus'," said Jim.

"He talked about how you must be born-again with Jesus and then your whole life will be a manifestation of that relationship."

In many ways, that sermon helped described the life and ministry of Slim, who was a good friend and mentor, says Jim.

"Ray Slim was a simple, humble man and a wise friend who did many good works among the churches and people in this area," said Jim.

"When he preached last Saturday, he talked about how those who walk with Jesus can receive help as they carry their baggage in life. He encouraged us to remember that Christ will be with us and bring things to a completion."

Slim, who was Navajo, served for more than 20 years as pastor of the Sanostee CRC. Since retiring a few years ago, he had been preaching at churches throughout Classis Red Mesa, which serves CRC congregations in the Four Corners area where New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona meet.

From the pulpit, he always preached simple messages with a practical theological focus, says Jim.

"He had a soft demeanor and yet you always knew that he was a man with strong convictions and a believer in Jesus Christ," said Jim.

Besides preaching, Slim was also involved in leadership development, acted as a counselor to fellow pastors and people in the pews, and sat on many church boards and committees.

Slim was a graduate of Reformed Bible College and Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Mich. He attended synod several times. He was also active in community affairs in Crownpoint, N.M., especially in the area of housing, said Jim.

In Flourishing in the Land, a book describing the work of Christian Reformed Home Missions, Slim said that he first heard the gospel in the 1950s from a CRC missionary in Red Mesa.

"I was about ten years old at the time. But then I drifted away from the gospel for a long time," he said.

He eventually came back, however, accepted the power and grace of Jesus working his life, and went on to study in Grand Rapids, he said.

As one of the early leaders among the Navajo in Classis Red Mesa, Slim found it difficult at times. But he persisted in bringing the Christian faith to his people, he said,

"He will be greatly missed by all of us," said Jim. "I will especially miss the many trips we made driving across the reservation and talking theology."

Carol Bremer-Bennett, director of World Renew in the U.S., met Slim when her father was teaching at Reformed Bible College and Slim was attending there as a student.

She got to know him better when she moved to New Mexico, where she worked for many years, most recently as superintendent of the Rehoboth Christian School.

"My heart aches to hear what happened," she said. "He was such a kind man. He never needed to be the longest or the loudest voice in a room, but everyone listened to him. He spoke with such wisdom."

Bremer-Bennett, who is Navajo, says she took advantage of his wisdom in helping her to sort out the connections between traditional Navajo practice and the Reformed faith.

"He would answer my questions why things were a certain way," she said.

She also knew Slim as a man of deep prayer. After the first CRC Prayer Summit, held in Los Angeles in 2012, she and Stanley Jim and Ray Slim returned home. They were deeply moved by the power of prayer they saw evident at the summit.

"We gathered many times to pray together and I was struck by how Ray Slim was such a powerful prayer warrior," she said.

They eventually coordinated a prayer summit for churches in Red Mesa — due in large part to Ray Slim's fervent commitment to prayer.

"I grieve for his family," she said. "I know how much they meant to him."

Stanley Jim says Ray Slim leaves behind his wife, Carol, and numerous children and other family members. The family is planning to have the funeral on Saturday, Aug. 29. The time and location are yet to be determined.