Pastor’s Pen: Vinton Newpapers
By PASTOR PETE BUSCHMANN Dec 2, 2025
REMEMBER
On Sunday, December 7th, we will remember the attack on Pearl Harbor. Last month we honored our veterans on what used to be known as Armistice Day. According to Wikipedia, “Major hostilities of WW1 were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.”
My dad and my father-in-law both saw action in World War 2. I had friends who did tours in Viet Nam, one of whom died there. I did not serve in the military so I can only imagine the hardships and the horrors of war. Those who served, most of whom were very young, faced injury and even death. Think about the wives, the children, the moms and dads who remained stateside. Some suffered the ultimate loss when their loved ones did not return. We should never forget our service men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy.
Even though I did not experience the military firsthand, I can relate to their sacrifice in one small way. That was in anticipation of losing whatever was going on in civilian life when it was time to leave home. Please allow me to illustrate this by recounting a few events from my own life back in the Viet Nam era.
It was the fall of 1969. I quit college in the spring after my freshman year and consequently my military deferment for the draft went away. That summer, I reported to Fort Des Moines for my draft physical. After passing my physical, I fell in love with the girl who would later become my wife. Due to my impending deployment, time spent with my new girlfriend became very precious. We often bemoaned the fact that I would soon be shipping out, and although she assured me that she would “wait” for me, I had my doubts. I remember listening to the radio when “our song” would come on. It was a ballad written by John Denver and sung by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary called “Leaving on a Jet Plane”.
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breaking, it’s early morn
The taxi’s waiting, he’s blowing his horn
Already I’m so lonesome I could die
So, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
O babe, I hate to go
There’s so many times I’ve let you down
So many times, I’ve played around
I tell you now, they don’t mean a thing
Every place I go, I’ll think of you
Every song I sing, I’ll sing for you
When I come back, I’ll bring your wedding ring
Now the time has come to leave you
One more time, let me kiss you
Close your eyes, I’ll be on my way
Dream about the days to come
When I won’t have to leave alone
About the times I won’t have to say
Kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you’ll wait for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go
“Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane
Don’t know when I’ll be back again
O babe, I hate to go…
It’s been 56 years, and the lyrics still make me tear up. The thing is, I wasn’t alone. Every person that went into the military for Viet Nam or any other time in our history went through some form of that. Not only them, but the ones that they had to leave behind. I remember when our son was “Leaving on a Jet Plane” for his tour of duty and how hard it was on us as his parents.
Lest we forget, there was someone else who left home for us. It was a wonderful home, and He left it willingly, knowing that he would pay the ultimate price. Of course, I’m referring to Jesus. Philippians 2: 6-8 tells us: “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
He died so that we might live! Come to think of it, we all have a lot to be thankful for and are indebted to all those who have sacrificed for us. I don’t want to ever take my blessings for granted!
By PASTOR PETE BUSCHMANN FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Oct 7, 2025
Homecoming
I got a flyer the other day from the University of Dubuque reminding me of our upcoming homecoming celebration. It’s that time of the year, and although I haven’t attended my high school homecoming in decades, I do try to attend the ones at the University because it’s fun to re-connect with old (and I do mean old) friends and relive old memories. A few years ago, my class enjoyed a special 50-year reunion dinner as a part of the homecoming celebration. A lot has happened since 1972. The campus has changed and we have too. In fact, our granddaughter surprised me by announcing that she would be attending the U of D. My, how time flies! She graduated from their nursing program last spring! She was a much better student than I was, and it troubles me when I think of the opportunity that I wasted as a college student. My mom warned me many times that I should study hard in school and prepare for my adult life, but I was too busy having fun to bother with my studies. How different my life would have been if I had listened to her!
There is an often-overlooked passage of scripture that may refer to this very thing. Most of us are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13. It’s called the “Love Chapter” and the first 7 verses are often quoted at weddings. Ironically, I often use verses 8 through 12 for funerals. In these verses, the Apostle Paul is speaking of the permanence of love. The other gifts will pass away, but love will last forever. While illustrating this, Paul gives us a glimpse into what it will be like when we die and contrasts it with our lives now. For example: “9Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 12Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (NLT, emphasis mine)
Then there is verse 11, a seemingly unrelated thought inserted into the middle of this discussion of the then and the now. “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” For years, I wondered why this verse was here and what it had to do with our lives here on earth and meeting God face to face in eternity. Then I began to consider my life as a student and how I had frittered many opportunities away because I was too busy playing to pay attention to the future. Why was I like that? Because I was a child, and children normally don’t think about the future.
Perhaps Paul is playing the role of our mom here. Maybe he’s telling us, “Hey, don’t be like a kid! You need to think about the future. You know that this life is short! Don’t get so wrapped up in your life down here that you neglect eternity! One of these days you will be standing before God! Learn about Jesus, find out who He is, what He did for you and what He expects from you before it’s too late!”
Every journey begins with a decision, and I decided to follow Jesus about 10 years after I was failing in college. It was the best decision that I ever made! When I graduate from this life, even though I may see heaven as “puzzling reflections in a mirror”, I know that my eternity is secure. It’s not secure because I have been a good student or have been successful in my life, but because of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross! Perhaps the third verse of a grand old hymn says it best:
“And when I think that God, His Son not sparing.
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.
That on that cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou Art!
Because Jesus paid the price for me, my sins have been forgiven, and I will be spending eternity with Him. You can too! What a homecoming that will be!
Just a reminder that we will be having our Fall Festival on Saturday, October 11th, at 7:00PM. Our special guests will be The Anderegg Family specializing in Blue Grass and Gospel. Everyone is welcome!
By PASTOR PETE BUSCHMANN FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF VINTON Aug 12, 2025
Now that my bride and I are about 60% retired and are moving back to the Vinton area, money matters have been on my mind a lot. Will our retirement income support the lifestyle that we’ve become accustomed to? Will I be able to continue to work for as long as I hope to?
Chuck Swindoll says; “When it comes to money and material possessions, too many of us, if we are honest, are owned by the things that we own. Like slaves serving an unrelenting master, we spend our lifetimes making money so that we can buy stuff that grows old or breaks down and needs repair. Then we must make more money to replace or repair all that stuff.” Chuck suggests four simple, single syllable words that will give us real financial freedom: “God owns it all!”
There are numerous Bible verses that talk about this. For example: Deuteronomy 10:14 “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the LORD your God.” Or Job 41:11 where God asks, “Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine.”
Without God we are totally bankrupt. All that we have is His. We are born into this world with empty hands and we will leave this world wearing clothes without pockets. God owns it all! God is the owner, and we are the managers. It’s called stewardship.
As the famous TV Private Eye, Thomas Magnum used to say; “I know what you’re thinking.” You’re thinking; “Wait a minute! I own my stuff! I worked hard for my stuff!”
We had a wonderful dog for 16 years. She was a rescue dog and her name was Maggie. She was a smart dog and learned early on how to get a “treat” by going outside to go potty. She loved little bone shaped dog biscuits that served as her treats. After she did her business outside, she came to the door and waited to get back in. I assure you she expected her treat! After all, she had earned it! Do you see where I’m going with this?
Someone had to provide the treats, and the house for her to go in and out of. Yes, she earned her treats, but her environment came from someone else. You and I have worked hard for our stuff. We have earned it! But could we earn anything without the body or the mind that God has given us? Could we work without the education that was provided for us? Could we earn all our stuff without the nation we live in or the economic system that we enjoy? What about our health, or the air that we breathe?
We begin life with our hands wide open and nothing in them. During our lives, God allows certain things to be placed into our possession, none of them under our ownership. We accept what He has entrusted to us only as stewards, never as owners. We hold everything loosely. We simply maintain the treasures God is entrusting to us knowing that anytime He wants to remove these things it is His sovereign right to do so.
Chuck says, “Stewardship is managing God’s treasures in God’s way, for God’s purposes and always for God’s glory.” You will never be in financial trouble if you remember that God owns it all. It will revolutionize your thinking on finances.
Theologian and author Richard Foster wrote, “When Jesus used the Aramaic term mammon to refer to wealth, he is giving it a personal and spiritual character. When he declares that you cannot serve both God and mammon in Matthew 6:24, he is personifying mammon as a rival god. Mammon is a power that seeks to dominate us.”
If money is a “rival god” just like sex or fame, is it any wonder that we find ourselves struggling with greed; gripping and hanging onto all our stuff?
Poet Martha Snell Nicholson puts it this way.
One by one he took them from me, All the things I valued most, Until I was empty handed.
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth’s highways, grieving, In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting, “Lift those empty hands to Me!”
So, I held my hands toward Heaven, And He filled them with a store of His own transcendent riches Till they could contain no more.
And at last, I comprehended With my stupid mind and dull,
That God could not pour His riches Into hands already full!
Trust Him, let it go. You’ve been given one main task: to be a good steward of what He has entrusted to you. Nothing less. Nothing more. God owns it all.
Former Drive-In Owner Returns to Vinton in a Pulpit
- By AMY STOURAC news@vintonnewspapers.com Aug 1, 2025 Updated Aug 5, 2025
VINTON — This Sunday, Pastor Pete Buschmann will preach his first sermon at the First Baptist Church of Vinton. This moment will mean more to this converted Christian than can truly be explained, and Pastor Pete said he is looking forward to serving First Baptist. All are welcome to join the 10:30 a.m. service at First Baptist, located at 601 First Ave in Vinton, to hear his first sermon on Sunday, Aug. 3. Folks are also welcome to come early for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m.
Vinton folks may remember Pastor Pete as the former owner of St. Peter’s Drive-In, which is now Tootsie’s. Buschmann said he and his “bride,” Jill, purchased the shop, which was closed at the time, soon after his dramatic lifestyle conversion.
“I came to the Lord in November of 1981 and quit drinking in June of 1982, and then I became a pretty outspoken Christian while I was living in Vinton,” Buschmann said. “We bought the drive-in and called it St. Peter’s Drive-In as a tool for witnessing. People would ask about the name and then we could talk about the Lord.”
Buschmann was raised north of Greeley in Delaware County but was drawn to Vinton by his college friend John Elwick. The Buschmann’s lived in the Vinton area from about 1975 to 1995, and raised their family here. For part of that time, he served as Editor for Hawkeye Racing News.
After their son graduated from high school about 30 years ago, the Bushmann’s returned to Delaware County, where Pastor Pete served two consecutive terms as Delaware County Supervisor, until 2024.
Although currently commuting from Monticello, the Buschmann’s will eventually relocate to the Vinton area. “I love Vinton. It’s exciting to come back and reconnect with old friends,” Buschmann said.
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