Michael A. Britton Sr.

My husband, Michael Alan Britton Sr., was born in Towson, Maryland to Edward and Hilda Britton on March 5, 1944. He had two older brothers, Ed (Edward Talbott III - 8 years older) and Nick (Nicholas Barry - 4 years older).

Edward Talbott Britton, Jr. (1906-1989), his father, was a successful medical book salesman for Harper and Row who was known for his determination to excel and for his spontaneous enthusiasm and interest in helping people. His father, Pop, also had a great sense of humor and loved people and loved the Lord. His Christian faith and love of his country were a crucial part of his life. He helped found the United Christian Citizens in Baltimore whose mission was to put a Christian voice into secular politics. Pop was very active in the Gideons and in the Christian Business Men’s Committee.

His mother, Hilda Faye (Shipley) Britton (1911-1970), taught High School Mathematics and Science before her marriage. Her Christian faith and her love for her country were obvious. She was active in Child Evangelism and worked with the Baltimore Rescue Mission as well as conservative politics with the John Birch Society, which was founded in 1959 by Robert Welch.

The society’s goal is to achieve less government, more responsibility, and — with God’s help — a better world. Robert Welch said, “Education is our total strategy, and truth our only weapon.”

These were principles that Mike’s mother passed on to her sons.

When Mike was born, his mother received a letter from her mother, Emma Geiman Shipley, which included the following words:

“I hope the baby when he becomes a man will train to become a Preacher. I always wished one of my girls would marry a Preacher, but not one did, so perhaps one of my grandsons will be a Preacher someday.”

Unfortunately, she did not live long enough to see that her words came true. Although she died in 1950, her dream lived on. With God’s blessing, her grandson Ed served the Lord with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Christian Business Men's Committee and two of her grandsons became Preachers! Nick and MIKE!

Mike attended Lida Lee Tall School from 1949-1956 (kindergarten thru 6th grade – ages 5-12) which was a private elementary school that helped train teachers at Towson State Teachers College – now Towson University.

Mike then attended a private boys school, Boys Latin School, from 1957-1960 (grades 7-10 – ages 13-16) where he played football, basketball, and lacrosse. While at Boys Latin, he decided that he wanted to become a Dentist. During this time, he followed in his brother’s footsteps by starting a small lawn business to help earn money to pay for his college tuition.

Though Mike grew up in a Christian home and attended Church, he realized in his teenage years that he was a sinner deserving God's wrath in need of a Savior, and that his salvation was not dependent on his upbringing or church attendance.

(“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Lord saved him, he surrendered his life to Christ, and was born again. (". . . that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9)

Mike was passionate about his faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and this passion affected every realm of his life – even sports and politics.

(“whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17).

He transferred from Boys Latin to Towson Senior High School for grades 11 – 12 (age 17-18), and graduated from Towson Senior High School in 1962. That year he also received a diploma from the National Guild of Piano Teachers for his achievements in piano and could have gone to the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He excelled in lacrosse and his lacrosse team that year was the undefeated county champions under Coach Bill Thomas. Mike was a star attack man. Coach Thomas was later inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and upon his retirement in 1995, Coach Thomas said he would like to acknowledge someone who meant a great deal to him in his coaching career. He said: “This person knew what was important in life and his Christian beliefs were shown in his daily living, both on and off the playing field – Michael Britton.”

Mike graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1967, receiving the Bachelor’s Degree of Psychology while completing a premedicine curriculum since he was planning to become a Dentist. He was active at the College Park Campus in setting up and leading dormitory Bible Studies and personal evangelistic efforts. During this time, he founded the Baltimore County Chapter of Young Americans for Freedom of which he was chairman.

Although Mike applied to and was accepted into Dental school, his life took another turn – God had another plan! His focus now became to study the Bible, and he started his theological library.

He considered going to Dallas Theological Seminary where his older brother Nick had studied, but his mom was fighting cancer, and Mike wanted to be near to home. A friend of his mother said that if she had a son she would want him to study at Faith Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, which was founded by Dr. Carl McIntire, who had a radio program called the 20th Century Reformation Hour, to which Mike and his parents listened. Faith Theological Seminary was dedicated to alerting the American people to the dangers of Communism, false religion in the churches, and compromise among Bible believers.

Mike applied and was accepted at Faith Theological Seminary. During his first semester, he took both Greek and Hebrew language classes.

One day, another student, from Japan, saw Mike lying on his bed and asked - “We have a test tomorrow on the Hebrew Alphabet, why aren’t you studying?” Mike replied by pointing up to the ceiling. He had painted the Hebrew alphabet on the ceiling of his dorm room! They had a good laugh then and shared a laugh again when they remembered this at their graduation.

Some of Mike’s classmates asked a professor at the Seminary who knew both of Mike’s parents, if Mike was like his father or his mother. The professor replied – “when I preach at the church they attend, his father will come and talk and tell a joke or funny story and his mother will come to me with a pen and paper in her hand and ask me a theological question. Mike is a good mixture of both.”

Mike would come home on the weekends to be with his parents and to cut his lawn customer’s grass, and in April 1970, his mother went home to be with the Lord.

Mike completed his graduate studies in Theology, and the degree of Master of Divinity was conferred upon him by Faith Theological Seminary in 1971. While at Seminary, Mike alternated between two pulpits: at Gamber, Maryland in Carroll County and Mardella Springs on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After his graduation, he was pastor at Gamber until 1974.

In 1972, while preaching at the Church of the Upper Room in Gamber, Maryland, he started a weekly radio broadcast called the Christian Issues Broadcast on WTOW which was aired for nearly four years – 1972-1976. It looked at the things happening in America, culturally and politically through Biblical lenses. It was intended to help Christians stand for their faith in all areas of life and be salt and light in the world around us.

(“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16)

Mike and I, Roberta Irene (Mueller), met in late November of 1972. The Lord greatly blessed me by bringing Mike into my life. I had just graduated from Towson State College with a degree in Elementary Education and was teaching third grade at Arlington Baptist Christian School. One of my students needed tutoring, and his parents invited me to dinner and to their church around Thanksgiving. The church was in Gamber, Maryland – the Church of the Upper Room. It was on the second floor above a carpenter’s shop and had two bare light bulbs in the ceiling and two wood stoves for heat and two outhouses. Mike was the preacher and also the youth pastor. He lent me a book from his library to use for my Bible curriculum. In late December, he asked me to go roller skating with the church youth group. The rest is history. We got engaged in February, and married on June 30, 1973, and I only taught school that one year.

The Lord blessed us with three children – Elizabeth Jean (born June 1975), Paul Robert (born June 1977), and Michael Alan, Jr. (born December 1978).

To provide for our family after leaving the Church of the Upper Room in 1974, Mike continued to cut grass. In addition to his lawn business, Mike started selling cookware, china, and cutlery in the evenings and we also started an Amway business in 1975. Many of our Amway distributors joined us for weekly Bible studies. Mike was also a chapter leader for the John Birch Society.

In 1976, Mike started the Towson Bible Church with the people from our Bible study. The church originally met at the corner of Allegheny and Bosley Avenues in Towson. When he was asked, “There are many churches in the area, why start another?” he replied by asking three other questions:

1. “How many churches today still uphold and teach the inerrant Word of God?

2. How many are preaching salvation by grace through faith, not by works? (“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9)

3. How many churches are separated from the modern day apostasy?”

He also said, “I cut grass to support my family so I can do what I love best – telling folks the good news about the Lord. I want to use my life for the Lord in a way that really counts, talking about the issues and things that matter. I want to teach the Bible – the inspired Word of God which provides the guidelines for living.”

He pastored the Towson Bible Church for 43 years from 1976 - July 2018. From 2006 – 2018 the church met at Faith Theological Seminary on Walker Avenue in Towson, Maryland.

While our children attended Arlington Baptist School in Woodlawn, Maryland, Mike started teaching in the late 1980’s in the evenings at the Arlington Bible College, which met at the school. He taught there until the Bible College closed in 2009.

He taught Greek 1, Greek 2, Hebrew 1, Hebrew 2, Church History 1, Church History 2, Minor Prophets, and Biblical Worldview.

In 2004, Faith Theological Seminary moved to Towson, and Mike enrolled in the Doctorate program in the fall of 2005 and received his Doctor of Theology Degree in 2008. He also taught the following classes at at Faith Theological Seminary from the fall of 2005 – 2018: Greek 1, Greek 2, Hebrew 1, Hebrew 2, Church History 1, Church History 2, Apologetics, Bibliology, Biblical Worldview, Old Testament Prophetical Books, Introduction to Philosophy (How to Think Biblically), and Introduction to Economics.

On July 14, 2018, Mike suffered an aorta dissection and needed emergency heart surgery. His last words to me were – “Roberta, what are we going to do about the lawns?” In his final years, his family and friends demonstrated a steady faithful commitment to God and each other as they cared for him. After 3 and one half years in a comatose state, my husband peacefully passed into the arms of his Savior on January 31, 2022 at the age of 77.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Ed (1936-2008) and Nick (1940-2016).

In addition to me, Mike is survived by our three children and their spouses, Beth and Frank Johnson, Paul and Kate Britton, and Michael and Lauren Britton; 12 grandchildren – Bruce, Ryan, Jacob, Will, Anna, Wesley, Lily, Gabriel, Emma Kate, Michael, Julia, and Lydia; and his mother-in-law, Doris Mueller.

I thank the Lord for my husband, and our 48 and a half years of marriage. The Lord greatly blessed us with our children and our grandchildren. Mike enjoyed reading to them, telling jokes, and playing chess, ping pong, pool, basketball, and lacrosse with them. It was an honor and privilege for me to be Mike’s helper at our church, the Towson Bible Church, and at Faith Theological Seminary. We also worked together in his lawn business for over 35 years where his clients knew about his love of the Bible and his desire to live in light of it.

My husband was a man of principle, conviction, and integrity who was deeply committed to serving the Lord, even if he stood alone like Elijah, Daniel, Stephen, and Paul.

He has “fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

I am greatly rejoicing that Mike is now with his Savior, and I look forward to joining him one day and worshiping the Lord around His throne – O that will be glory for me!

Mike’s favorite Bible verses:

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

Mike’s favorite hymn:

Who Is On the Lord’s Side?

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

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