I LOVE HISTORY!!!

“I would to God that my readers were all entered as diligent scholars in Jesus’ college, students of Corpus Christi, or the body of Christ, resolved to get a good degree in the learning of the cross.” – C.H. Spurgeon

If God hadn’t called me into full-time ministry, I probably would have become a lawyer (because I like to build a case, argue it, and win), a journalist (because I enjoy writing and have been told that I have a God-given gift for it), or a history teacher. I simply love history, especially American history, which is why I packed my high school schedule full of history electives once I had finished all the English, science, and math classes that were required for college admission.

My favorite period of American history is probably the colonial and revolutionary eras when men such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton were laying the foundation for the “great American experiment in democracy.” And in case you’re wondering, my favorite Founding Father is Patrick Henry, probably because he was such a rabble rouser.

I also enjoy studying the Civil War, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II… as well as anything to do with Ronald Wilson Reagan, my all-time political hero. And yes, as anyone who reads my faith-based political blog knows, I also closely follow – and am very opinionated about – 21st century politics.

However, there is another aspect of history that I am deeply passionate about and that is church history. Not necessarily the first millennium after Jesus Christ, but more like the 1500s through the 1800s. I think it is a crime that most Christians are only vaguely aware of names like Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Wycliffe, John Calvin, and John Wesley… and they most likely have never heard of John Knox, Jonathan Edwards, or George Whitefield. The same goes for early missionaries such as William Carey, Adoniram Judson, and Hudson Taylor… or 19th century spiritual giants like Charles Finney, Charles Spurgeon, or D.L. Moody.

That is why, on the last Sunday evening of every month, our church has been learning about these great men of faith on whose sturdy shoulders we stand today. If you live in the area and don’t have any other plans, I encourage you to join us as we look at – and learn from – our spiritual ancestors.

“They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy.” Hebrews 11:37-38a (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President