O Holy Night

O Holy Night

In 1847, a parish priest in a small town in France asked a local wine merchant named Placide Cappeau to write a poem for his church’s Christmas Eve mass.  During a hard carriage ride to Paris, Cappeau read through the Gospel of Luke and imagined himself an eyewitness to the birth of Jesus.  On that carriage ride, Cappeau wrote the words to a poem he entitled “Cantique de Noel” (Song of Christmas). 

Cappeau asked his friend, Adolphe Charles Adam, to write the music.  It was an easy feat for Adam, a trained and skilled musician, and he composed the tune with ease.  The song was performed for the congregation on Christmas Eve as planned, and it was an absolute hit!  The song quickly spread through France.

O Holy Night!  The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
‘Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

However, leaders within the French church learned later to their horror that Cappeau had abandoned the Christian faith in favor of Socialism and that Mr Adam had always been a practicing Jew.  Neither was a believer!  Because of this, performance of the song was banned in French churches.  The French people loved it, however, and continued to sing it in private.  The song remained banned until the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, where the song was a catalyst for a ‘Christmas Eve truce’ between the armies.

The song came to the United States via a man named John S. Dwight, an abolitionist who was visiting France.  He translated the song into English, with some liberties to advocate for his cause, especially in the third verse:

Truly He taught us to love one another.
His Law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name
Christ is the Lord!
O praise His name forever!
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim!

https://www.incourage.me/2013/12/history-of-christmas-carols.html

https://pjmedia.com/faith/jeff-sanders/2016/12/12/the-unbelievable-inspiring-story-behind-o-holy-night-n96341

 

 

 

 

 

James Pennington

 The Fugitive Blacksmith

James Pennington was born into slavery in the Eastern Shore of Maryland around 1807.  He was apprenticed as a mason and later as a blacksmith.  After receiving a severe beating and witnessing his father receive an even more severe beating James made a dash for freedom at age 19, leaving behind his parents and eleven siblings.  He knew only to travel north and had a number of misadventures along the way – including being captured by bounty-seekers, whom he secured his freedom from by subtly mentioning that he had recently come into contact with a group of escaped slaves who were all suffering from smallpox.  This was clearly a lie, but it did the trick and James was released from his brief period of custody.

Later in his travels, starving and dehydrated, he came across a woman who informed him that he had finally reached Pennsylvania.  She connected him with the Quaker family of William and Phoebe Wright who, as was the habit of many Pennsylvania Quakers in that day, gave him shelter and medical care.  The Wrights taught him to read and write, and paid him a salary for his work.  They were also very likely the ones who nurtured the faith of the young man.

James later moved to New York, where he found modest work.  He lived frugally, and used his wages to pay tutors to increase his education.  He was later allowed to attend classes at Yale Divinity School, provided he sit at the back of the classroom and not ask questions.  He was not allowed to formally enroll in the school in the 1830s, and essentially “audited” the classes.  He was not allowed to receive a diploma, but completed his coursework and was ordained in the Congregational Church and called to pastor a small church on Long Island.  He later moved to accept a position at a church in New Haven, Connecticut.  One of his great delights was in conducting weddings for fugitive slaves.  In 1838, a young couple named Anna Murray and Frederick Douglass came to him asking to be married.  Since they had nothing at the time, James married them waiving the customary fee that was normally paid at the time.

During his time in Connecticut, he wrote a book in 1841 which is believed to be the first history of African Americans ever published, entitled “The Origin and History of the Colored People.”  In 1848, he completed his memoir “A Fugitive Blacksmith,” which was widely read both in Europe and the United States.  Pennington later traveled to Europe to raise money to purchase the freedom of American slaves and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Heidelberg.  Pennington contributed to a number of periodicals advocating for the abolitionist cause.

In 1842, James preached a famous sermon entitled “Covenants Involving Moral Wrong Are Not Obligatory Upon Man.”  In this sermon, he argued that when man’s law requires people to participate in evil, then they must disobey and follow God’s Law.  He had two applications: 1.) Americans who enforce laws holding others in slavery were in violation of God’s Law, and 2.) Those who restored escaped slaves to masters were violating God’s Law which commands God’s people to shelter outcasts (Isaiah 16:3-4). 

Normally a pacifist, probably due to the Quaker influence in his young life, Rev. Pennington ended up helping to recruit black troops during the Civil War.  After the war, he helped nurture a number of congregations in the South and passed away in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1870 after a brief illness.

In 2016, Yale University proclaimed him to be Yale’s first black student and named a classroom in his honor.

Periodical E-mail from Christian History Institute

https://connecticuthistory.org/reverend-james-pennington-a-voice-for-freedom/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W.C._Pennington

 

 

 

Ignatius of Antioch

 Ignatius of Antioch

Born around 35 AD, Ignatius of Antioch (not to be confused with Ignatius of Loyola, who lived in the 16^th century) was the third bishop (the first being Peter) of the important city of Antioch, a position he held for nearly 40 years, in the years 67-106 AD.  Tradition holds that he studied personally under the Apostles Peter and John. 

Ignatius became the model for future ‘Bishops’ within the church – basically, a pastor with authority over a number of churches in a geographical region.  He was one of the most influential members of the church in the years immediately following the Apostles.

In his writings, he bemoaned the divisions within the church that cropped up over doctrinal matters, yet he found himself heavily engaged in doctrinal discussions and debates.  His letters provide a great deal of insight into the early church and helped set the foundation for early doctrinal and organizational development within the church.  He wrote scathingly against a heretical group called the Ebionites, the next generation of the Judaizers who believed essentially that converts to Christianity needed to convert to Judaism before they could convert to Christianity.  His pen aimed at Docetists, a group who believed that Christ was never fully human – only appearing to be such.  He also wrote of the organization of the church, and corresponded with fellow bishops on matters of the church.  In his letters, he was the first of the early church Fathers to use the term ‘catholic’ (in the sense of ‘universal’) in reference to the church.

Because of his prominence within the church, when the Roman Emperor Trajan began his persecution of the church, Ignatius was a natural target.  He was arrested, most likely on the charge of “atheism” (i.e. failure to worship any of the recognized Roman gods) and order deported to Rome.  The trip to Rome was beset with many difficulties and took a great deal of time.  As he was traveling, Ignatius was met by followers of many churches along the way – and he was able to dictate many of his most famous letters during this trip.

Over time, as they traveled, it became apparent to Ignatius that a plan was forming to free him.  This, he discouraged strongly.  He wrote, “I fear your kindness, which may harm me,” he wrote to the church in Rome.  “You may be able to achieve what you plan.  But if you pay no heed to my request, it will be very difficult for me to attain unto God.”  He instead requested of the churches that they pray that he would remain faithful to imitate Jesus Christ in death.  He wrote, “Nearness to the sword is nearness to God; to be among the wild beasts is to be in the arms of God; only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ.  I endure all things that I may suffer together with Him, since He who became perfect man strengthens me.”

It was on October 17^th, the year 107 AD, when Ignatius finally reached Rome.  The arena was about to close, but remained open and Ignatius was hustled into the arena where two lions quickly dispatched him.  He is the first recorded martyr of the church after the time of the New Testament.  His faithfulness in following Christ to martyrdom was a great inspiration to the early church.

Christian History Institute e-mail

https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/ignatius-of-antioch.html

https://www.theopedia.com/ignatius-of-antioch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Old Rugged Cross

 The Old Rugged Cross

George Bennard was born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1873.  While very young, the Bennard family moved to Iowa so George’s father could work in the coal pits there.  George’s father passed away when George was only sixteen years old, and George came to faith soon after.  As a young man, George got involved in the growing Salvation Army and served, with his wife, as officers in that organization for a period of time.

Later, George joined the Methodist Episcopal Church as an evangelist.  His preaching emphasized Christian purity and godliness – and used the term “Christian holiness.”  He taught that when personal holiness (as defined in the Bible) was missing from individuals, the church lost the ability to positively impact the culture in which it lived.  George traveled extensively in his evangelistic work but tended to focus mostly in the states of New York and Michigan.

It was in the early twentieth century that the American and European churches were heavily flirting with theological liberalism, which called into question many of the fundamental doctrines of the church and, sadly, led many individuals, churches, and even entire denominations into a spiritual wasteland.  During this time, George himself seems to have been enticed by these doctrines and went through a bit of spiritual turmoil himself in struggling with this.

Rev Bennard spent much time in reflection on the Cross of Christ, and what Peter meant when he spoke of ‘sharing in the sufferings of Christ’ (I Peter 4:13).  In his reflections, he pictured in his mind a picture of the Cross on a distant hill and he resolved personally not to bow to the pressure of liberalism plaguing his church.

During this time of personal reflection, George was conducting a series of revival services and during one particular meeting, he was viciously heckled by a group of teenage boys.  In praying for them that evening in 1915 the words came to him for a song, with a basis on that mental picture of a cross standing on a lonely hill.

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross; The emblem of suff'ring and shame
And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best; For a world of lost sinners was slain
 
Oh, that old rugged Cross so despised by the world; Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God, left His Glory above; To bear it to dark Calvary
 
In the old rugged Cross, stain'd with blood so divine; A wondrous beauty I see
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died; To pardon and sanctify me
 
To the old rugged Cross, I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away; Where His glory forever I'll share
 
So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross; Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross; And exchange it some day for a crown

This beloved hymn was picked up by Hymie Rodheaver and popularized by him during the Billy Sunday crusades of the early 20^th century, and has been a beloved hymn ever since.  Wikipedia has a list (certainly not a comprehensive list) of performers that have recorded this hymn: Al Green, Andy Griffith, Anne Murray, Brad Paisley, Chet Atkins, George Jones, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ricky Van Shelton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Gaither Vocal Band, The Statler Brothers, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, George Beverly Shea, and Ronnie Milsap.

https://christianheritagefellowship.com/george-bennard-and-the-old-rugged-cross/#Introduces%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Old%20Rugged%20Cross%E2%80%9D%20(1913).BK

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Rugged_Cross

 

Nearer, My God, to Thee

Sarah Flower Adams

Sarah was born in 1805, in Essex, England.  She and her sister Eliza were the only children of Benjamin Flower, a Cambridge printer and newspaper editor who was jailed at least once for what he printed.  Both daughters became gifted composers and authors.

After her mother’s death, Sarah’s father moved the family to a rural area where they numbered among their family friends the great author Robert Browning. 

Their father died in 1825, and the two young women moved in with the pastor of their church.  Eliza devoted herself to enriching the musical ministry of her church, composing hymns and playing during the services.  Sarah married an author and civil engineer, and while she wrote some hymns herself, her passions turned to acting.  Moving to the Richmond district of London to be near the larger theaters, she performed in some minor roles, then played Lady Macbeth in 1837, with rave reviews.  Frail health put a stop to her acting career soon after, so she again turned to writing hymns and poetry after moving with her husband again to be near her beloved sister Eliza.

Her Pastor approached the two sisters in 1840, frustrated that he could not find a hymn to work with his upcoming Sunday sermon, taken from the story of Jacob at Bethel – Genesis 28:20-22.  Sarah offered to write the hymn herself if Eliza would write the music.  All week long, she pored over the passage, visualizing Jacob sleeping on the ground with a rock for a pillow while dreaming of a ladder reaching to Heaven.  The following Sunday, South Place Church sang this song for the first time:

Nearer, my God, to Thee,  Nearer to Thee

E’en though it be a cross That raiseth me!

Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, The sun gone down.

Darkness be over me, My rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I’d be, Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

There let the way appear, Steps unto Heav’n;

All that Thou sendest me, In mercy giv’n;

Angels to beckon me, Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts, Bright with Thy praise,

Out of my stone griefs, Bethel I’ll raise,

So by my woes to be, Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

Or if, on joyful wing Cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot, Upward I’ll fly,

Still all my song shall me, Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee!

Eliza died in 1846, after a long bout with Tuberculosis – faithfully attended by her dear sister the entire time.  It was only near the end of Eliza’s life that Sarah began to show signs of the disease herself.  Sarah held on for nearly two years, but finally passed away in 1848 at the age of 43.

One of the survivors of the Titanic, on April 14, 1912, recalled that the band played this hymn as the great ship sank to its icy grave.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Nelson Publishing, 2003.

https://www.bartleby.com/294/124.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Fuller_Flower_Adams

James Chisholm

James Chisholm

When we consider the word ‘ecumenical’ it can mean two things.  First, it can mean a sort of ungodly compromise – where those of different Christian faith traditions get together to discover their commonalities and try to merge into one.  While a noble thought, experience shows that the compromises tend to be around the lowest common denominator and, ultimately, the Christian teaching is watered down almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

Second, the word ‘ecumenical’ can mean something much better.  When Christians of many faith traditions gather together for the purpose of propagating the Gospel and shining the light of Christ, often great things can happen.  Samaritan’s Purse is a contemporary example of this kind of cooperation.

James Chisholm is a great example of godly ecumenicalism.  Born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1848 he moved to Virginia to teach and ended up becoming the rector (pastor) of St John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.  A few years later his wife passed away, leaving him the single father of two young sons.  He was described as unassuming and shy, his physical appearance as pale and frail, and he seemed somewhat awkward around people.

In the Spring of 1855, a Yellow Fever epidemic hit Portsmouth and Norfolk.  People of means fled to the country while the poor stayed behind.  Unfortunately, those who fled included the city’s doctors and clergy.  Reverend Chisholm sent his sons to stay with distant relatives and resolved to stay in Portsmouth.  Several weeks into the epidemic, he wrote:

Shall I regard personal safety alone, and flee with all speed from this atmosphere of poison and death, or shall I look the question of my relations to society, to humanity and to God, full in the face, and decide accordingly?  The question of duty, as a minister of Christ, has determined me to stand in the post to which, I believe, all along the providence of God called me.

James remained, along with a single Catholic priest, to minister to the entire city of 12,000.  Survivors of the plague wrote of his tirelessness in providing the medical care he could, in his surprisingly energetic preaching to the lost of the city – pointing them to the Cross, in patiently staying by the bedside of those who were dying, and even in digging graves for those who lost their fight with the disease.  He seemed like a changed man, tirelessly ministering to his own congregants who stayed behind, as well as those of the other Protestant churches and even some of the Irish-Catholic congregants of the overburdened Priest. 

By that Fall, the disease had run its course through the city and it began to abate.  It was only then that Reverend Chisholm began to show signs of the disease himself.  He was taken to a Naval hospital in Portsmouth where his exhausted body finally gave out.  He was 39 years old, one of over 3,200 victims of the disease.  His funeral was attended by 20 people, from all the different faith traditions of Portsmouth.  The funeral was conducted by a recently-returned Baptist minister.

Reverend James Chisholm is remembered in the Episcopal calendar on the date of his death, September 15^th.  He has a memorial in Cedar Grove Cemetery and was long remembered by all the churches in Portsmouth for his incredible energy and commitment to serving those in need in a critical time.  As he wrote late in the plague, “I trust that I more than ever realize the ‘Eternal God is my refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms.’ I am in His hands to do with me what seemeth Him good.”

Sources:

e-mail from Christian History Institute

https://standingcommissiononliturgyandmusic.org/2010/09/15/september-16-james-chisholm-priest-1855/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Chisholm_(priest)

 

 

 

The Siege of Eger Castle

 

The other September 11^th

In the middle 16^th century, Europe was working through the ramifications of the Protestant Reformation and the social and political turmoil that resulted from that watershed event.  On top of this, Eastern Europe was under threat from the expanding Ottoman Empire.  The Kingdom of Hungary fought some pitched battles against the Ottoman armies of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Hungarians were soundly defeated in a series of battles.  It was during these battles that the King of Hungary was killed without a clear successor.

Facing turmoil from within the Kingdom and threats from the Ottomans, fate found Baron Istvan Dobo de Ruszka – a man we will call Dobo – in command of Eger Castle in northern Hungary, the strategic gateway into central Europe.  Political turmoil and previous military defeats kept reinforcements from arriving and Dobo ended up facing the entire combined Ottoman armies, numbering over 60,000 trained soldiers with over 150 siege cannons.  Dobo had roughly 1,500 men defending the castle with less than two dozen medium and small pieces of artillery.  There were also a number of women and children who had taken refuge within the castle walls.  Dobo’s defenders included some trained soldiers and many peasants recruited from the surrounding villages.  The castle was as well-stocked as Dobo could make it to withstand a siege.

It was on September 11^th, 1552, when Suleiman appeared before the castle at Eger and presented his demand for unconditional surrender to Eger Castle.  Dobo read the letter to his men, who answered him enthusiastically that they would never surrender.  They then prayed in the manner of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19 when surrounded by the Assyrians, saying “We expect aid from God only, and not from men.”  Dobo answered with a nighttime surprise raid to steal supplies from the Turks.  Sulieman replied with a full 18 days of cannon fire, with all 120 guns hurling 50-pound balls into the fort and its walls.  They then tried a full assault on the castle and were repulsed.  More cannon fire was absorbed and more assaults were repulsed by the highly-motivated Hungarians under Dobo’s leadership.  At one point, Ottoman cannon fire hit the magazine of the fort and tons of gunpowder exploded, blowing a hole in the castle wall.  The Hungarians stood in the gap and repulsed the attack on the breach in the walls.  They were able to rebuild and reinforce the wall while under fire.  The Hungarians then took to manufacturing their own gunpowder in the basement of the castle.

Dobo and his little army withstood the siege for 38 days.  On the 39^th day, the exhausted Hungarians withstood yet another major assault.  The defenders were down to 700 men and were beginning to fall back when the women sheltered in the castle rushed forward.  Some took weapons from fallen soldiers and fought hand-to-hand on the battlements.  Other women poured boiling oil on the heads of the attackers.  The Ottomans lost over 8,000 soldiers that day alone and retreated in humiliation.

All in all, during the siege, over 12,000 cannon balls landed within the walls of Eger Castle.  Over half of the soldiers in the castle were wounded or killed.  However, their reliance on God’s protection and their own courage kept Hungary in Christian hands for another generation. 

Christian History Institute (via e-mail)

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Eger_(1552)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istv%C3%A1n_Dob%C3%B3

 

 

Michael Faraday

 

Michael Faraday

The great Physicist Albert Einstein kept a picture on the wall of his study of the man he saw as providing the foundation of his own scientific work – Michael Faraday.

Michael Faraday was born in England in a lower-class family in the year 1791.  When he was 14 years old, he was apprenticed to a bookbinder and bookseller.  While working there, he began to take an interest in the books he was working on – especially those of a scientific nature.  His book-binding work led him to interface with a number of people who influenced his scientific mind, including Ada Lovelace who, along with Charles Babbage, are credited with ‘programming’ the first computer; and Jane Marcet, who wrote educational works on Chemistry.

The owner of the book shop saw Michael’s interest in science and set up a small laboratory for him to conduct his own scientific experiments after-hours.  When his seven-year apprenticeship came to an end, Michael applied for and was eventually accepted as an assistant at the eminent Royal Institution, in Westminster, which was dedicated to scientific research.  There, Mr Faraday was able to indulge his scientific curiosity and over his 50+ year residency, rose to a position of great prominence within the Institution.

Michael made great discoveries in the fields Physics and Chemistry: he was the discoverer of Benzene, was instrumental in liquefying gases such as Chlorine, developed different iron alloys, and developed various types of glass used for different optical purposes.

Perhaps his most significant discoveries were in the field of electricity.  Michael made great studies in electrolysis.  He discovered electromagnetic induction – the ability for a current passing through one conductor to induce a current in another.  This, along with similar discoveries, set the foundation for the invention of the electric motor and the invention of transformers and other devices allowing for the long-distance transport of electricity.  He popularized modern electrical terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion.

Michael Faraday was a devout Christian, belonging to a Fundamentalist offshoot of the Church of Scotland.  This very disciplined church believed strongly in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures and sought to live as close to the pattern of the New Testament church as possible.  He was a deacon in his church, and served in the position of Elder for a few years – the latter roughly equivalent to an Associate Pastor.  Those who knew him spoke of his character as simple, modest, and humble.  He understood that his scientific discoveries would not allow him to ‘find’ God, but he was prompted in his study to better understand the beauty and symmetry of God’s creation.  His favorite Biblical book was Job, because of how Job realized he could not find God by his own reasoning, but only through the Scriptures.  He wrote that a Christian finds his guide for life in the Word of God, and direction through fear through grace and via the Scriptures.

As a very prominent scientist, Michael was able to make the unusual move from the lower-classes to rubbing elbows with the upper-crust of British society.  He was consulted and honored by eminent scientists throughout Europe, and even received recognition from Queen Victoria herself.  Despite this, he lived with his wife in a modest home on the grounds of the Institute and refused many honors, including a Knighthood and Presidency of the Royal Institute, stating that it was against Biblical teaching to pursue worldly reward and that he would rather to remain “plain Mr Faraday to the end.”  Late in his life, when it was hinted to him that he was destined for burial in Westminster Abbey next to Sir Isaac Newton, he urged his family to resist it.  In accordance with his wishes, after his death in 1867, he was given a simple burial in a common cemetery.  Westminster Abbey did erect a plaque in his memory near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton, however.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday#:~:text=Faraday%20was%20a%20devout%20Christian%3B%20his%20Sandemanian%20denomination,was%20located%20at%20Paul%27s%20Alley%20in%20the%20Barbican.

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/michael-faraday-11630518.html

https://www.christiantoday.com.au/news/michael-faraday-his-christian-faith-influenced-his-science.html

http://silas.psfc.mit.edu/Faraday/

 

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name

 

The National Anthem of the Christian Faith

 Edward Perronet lived in the 18^th century, born in England in 1726 and died in 1792.  He came to faith at an early age, due to the influence of his godly parents.  Entering the Anglican ministry, he became associated for many years with John and Charles Wesley.

Edward’s clever wit made him rather popular.  At one point, John Wesley put him on the spot and unexpectedly announced that his friend Edward was going to preach the next sermon.  Edward stood up and proclaimed that he was going to deliver the greatest sermon ever preached.  He opened his Bible to Matthew and read chapters 5, 6, and 7, The Sermon on the Mount, then sat back down.

In the November 1779 issue of The Gospel Magazine, edited by Rock of Ages author Augustus Toplady, a hymn appeared, the author labeled as ‘Anonymous’.  The first verse of the hymn was:

                All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!  Let angels prostrate fall;

                Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all!

Alongside the hymn appeared a separate poem – the first letter of each line spelled out the name “Edward Perronet”.

This 8-stanza hymn has been called “The National Anthem of the Christian Faith”.  It has been translated into almost every language on the globe where the Christian faith is represented, and is often used to this day in evangelistic work.

Reverend E.P. Scott, late in the 18^th century, traveled to India for purposes of evangelism.  He heard of a tribe of people who had never been reached with the Gospel.  He traveled alone to reach them and, nearing their territory, was suddenly confronted by a band of warriors from the tribe who all pointed their spears at his heart.  Fearing his life was at an end, he pulled out his violin, closed his eyes, and played the tune of this hymn, fully expecting to be martyred at any moment.  When he finished the song, he looked up and saw the warriors, many with tears in their eyes, and all spears lowered.  Reverend Scott had the privilege of spending two years with that tribe and seeing many of them come to faith.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/perronets-national-anthem-of-christendom-11630316.html

https://www.christianmusicandhymns.com/2015/03/all-hail-power-of-jesus-name-edward.html

Lemuel Haynes

Lemuel Haynes

Lemuel Haynes was born in Massachusetts in 1753.  A black child, he was abandoned by his parents at about 5 months of age.  He was taken on by a church deacon in a common practice of indentured servitude – he would work for the man until age 21, in return for the deacon’s raising him.  Lemuel became, in all but name, a member of the family.  Lemuel was given the opportunity to attend school, a rare experience for blacks in his day.  He was fascinated especially with the study of theology, especially the contemporary works of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield.  One evening as a boy, while laying outside in a quiet moment, he saw the Aurora Borealis – the Northern Lights – and quietly gave his heart and life to Christ.

In the home in which he was raised, a common Saturday evening practice was to read a sermon out loud.  One evening, when Lemuel was asked to read, he read an especially rousing sermon.  When asked who wrote the sermon, he sheepishly replied that he had written it himself.  From that point on, he was often asked to proofread sermons or preach in a fill-in capacity.

At age 21 he was freed from his servitude and enlisted as a Minuteman in the Continental Army the day after the battles of Lexington and Concord.  He participated in the siege of Boston, and later became one of Ethan Allen’s famed “Green Mountain Boys” and participated in the conquest of Fort Ticonderoga in 1776.  Soon after this, he contracted Typhus, ending his military service.

Lemuel continued his theological studies, was licensed to preach in 1780 and was fully ordained to the ministry in 1785 – the first ordained black minister in the United States.  Over the course of the rest of his life, he pastored churches throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York.  Notably, his congregations were either mixed-race or all white, a unique circumstance for that day.  His churches experienced great growth during his tenure.

Lemuel wrote often, on topics theological as well as social.  He was the first African-American published in the United States, and eventually gained an international audience.  Probably his most significant social writing was an essay he wrote as a soldier, inspired by the Declaration of Independence, entitled “Liberty Further Extended.”  In it, he took from Acts 17:26, Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill, “…and He made from one [man], every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation” to demonstrate the equality of all races and point out the shortcoming of the Declaration in not extending that same freedom to existing slaves and indentured servants.  He favored an immediate emancipation rather than the gradual emancipation many of the Founders envisioned.  He pointed out clearly and boldly that slavery was sin, and he pointed out the irony of slaveowners fighting for liberty while denying it to others.

Theologically, he gained great respect when, unknown to him until the last minute, a prominent Universalist preacher was invited to his church to speak.  After a lengthy sermon attempting to demonstrate that salvation was universal (i.e. a loving God wouldn’t condemn anyone to Hell), Lemuel was asked if he wanted to respond.  He stood up and, with no notes or preparation, gave a sermon of his own entitled “Universal Salvation – An Ancient False Doctrine”.  He articulated clearly through the Scriptures and plain logic, without disparaging the previous speaker or even mentioning him by name, the Biblical doctrine of salvation.  Wonderful tact!

Reverend Haynes married a white school teacher named Elizabeth Babbitt.  The couple had ten children, and surviving letters between the siblings speak glowingly of their father and memories of family devotions and prayer.

Lemuel Haynes passed into Glory in 1833, at age 80, in his Congregationalist church in South Granville, New York.  He composed his own epitaph: “Here lies the dust of a poor hell-deserving sinner who ventured into eternity trusting wholly on the merits of Christ for salvation.  In the full belief of the great doctrines he preached while on earth, he invites his children, and all who read this, to trust their eternal interest in the same foundation.”

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Haynes

https://wallbuilders.com/lemuel-haynes/#

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/haynes-lemuel-1753-1833/

https://thefoundingproject.com/lemuel-haynes-african-american-founder/

https://revivedthoughts.com/lemuel-haynes-universal-salvation-an-ancient-false-doctrine/

https://www.facebook.com/museumoftheBible/photos/a.656534441128184/2710890175692590/

 

 

Nathan Bedford Forrest: Sinner to Saint

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Can God forgive anyone?  Is there any sinner beyond His reach?  Nathan Bedford Forrest has a notorious reputation, much of it earned fairly, some of it unfairly.  “Bedford,” as he was called, was born in 1821, a twin with a sister, the two of them being the oldest of eight children.  His stubborn nature reared itself early in his life where he was a known fighter and brawler, exhibiting a fierce determination for personal success and a self-imposed code of ethics he impatiently expected others to follow.  As a young man, his personal life was one of seeming moral contradictions: he gambled, brawled, and swore, but never touched alcohol, treated ladies with the utmost respect, and, though he called it “a religion for women,” he had the utmost respect for the Christian faith and Christian ministers.  In a surviving letter to his son from late in the war, Forrest strongly implored his son to follow the example of his godly mother rather than his own sinful example.

When he left home, he tried a few lines of work before his found his fortune in two fields: agriculture and slave-trading.  By the time the Civil War began in 1861, Forrest owned plantations and slaves cumulatively worth an estimated 1.5 million dollars.  He was, by all worldly measures, a fantastic provider for his family.

When the Civil War began, the forty-year-old Forrest joined the Tennessee Mounted Rifles along with his brother and fifteen-year-old son.  Bedford enlisted as a Private, but his aggressiveness and leadership abilities soon earned him a promotion to Lieutenant Colonel.  Eventually rising to the rank of three-star General, Bedford was the fastest-climbing officer of the war on either side.  With his calvary unit ready in personnel, and too impatient to wait on the government for supplies, Forrest rode into Union-controlled Kentucky and personally paid to outfit his entire regiment with horses, saddles, and guns.  A great story can be read about his efforts to smuggle those goods out of Kentucky.

Forrest was engaged numerous times during the war, and earned the nickname “That Devil Forrest” from Gen. William T. Sherman, who promised a General’s commission to any person who could assassinate Forrest.  Despite having no formal military education, he displayed an aptitude for military strategy that makes his tactics a topic of study even to this day.  He led numerous Calvary charges and raids, often times against superior numbers.  He personally led his men into hand-to-hand combat numerous times, having at least thirty confirmed kills in close quarters.  Despite his reputation among the Union as a savage, Forrest sought regular counsel among his chaplains, who had almost as much influence on his later conversion as did his devout Presbyterian wife.

At the end of the war, Forrest disbanded his unit and sought whole-heartedly to do his part to mend the fences between North and South.  He is often mistakenly identified as the founder of the Ku Klux Klan.  He did demonstrate a level of involvement for a couple of years, and the then-decentralized Klan seized on his name recognition to incentivize recruitment.  The Klan grew more and more radical in its intimidation tactics, both against blacks and white carpetbaggers, and by 1868, Forrest had written a letter publicly denouncing the Klan and encouraging its disbanding.  Sadly, it had little effect.  Forrest went to his grave saying he never publicly approved of the violence and intimidation tactics the Klan soon came to be well-known for.

Post-war prosperity did not come to Bedford Forrest as easily as it had before the war.  He tried selling bonds and insurance, he tried his hand at being a railroad executive, and tried to go back into agriculture.  All ventures met with limited success or outright failure.

Bedford Forrest had a godly mother who prayed for him and his salvation her entire life.  Bedford’s wife Mary Ann was a devout Christian who patiently endured her husband’s bouts of temper and propensity to gamble, while interceding to God constantly on his behalf.  Numerous other Godly men crossed his path, especially during the war, who planted the seeds of faith in his heart.  On November 14, 1875, Bedford accompanied his wife to church and listened to the pastor preach a sermon on Matthew Chapter 7, the Parable of the Builders.  After the sermon, an uncharacteristically tearful Bedford Forrest approached the pastor and said, “Sir, your sermon has removed the last prop from under me.  I am the fool that built on the sand; I am a poor, miserable sinner.”

The Pastor instructed him to read Psalm 51, the Psalm of the repentant sinner, that evening and promised to call on him the next day.  The following day, they discussed the sermon and the Psalm, and Bedford Forrest bowed his head and prayed with his pastor.  After praying, the former general said, “All is right, I have put my trust in my Redeemer.”

Forrest still struggled with his temper from time to time, partially aggravated by his deteriorating health.  One recounted incident involves him exploding with anger at a tailor who accidentally allowed one of his garments to become moth-eaten.  Even though the tailor promised to make full restitution, Forrest pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the poor man’s head before leaving in a rage.  The following day, he returned, broken, to ask forgiveness.  Such an act of contrition would have been unthinkable in the violent-tempered Forrest of the Civil War, and shows the change God was continuing to work in his heart.

An overlooked, but very significant event happened in 1875, near the time of his conversion.  Bedford Forrest was asked to speak to a Civil Rights group in Memphis called the Pole-Bearers Association (a fore-runner to the NAACP), the first white man invited to speak to a civil rights group.  The full speech is short, but powerful and well before its time in terms of race relations.  As he rose to speak, he accepted a bouquet of flowers from a young black girl named Lou Lewis.  Some excerpts from his speech:

“…I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the southern states…I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong.  I believe I can…assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man and depress none.

 “I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you…When I can serve you, I will do so.  We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together.  We may differ in color, but not in sentiment…I am with you in heart and in hand.” 

Astoundingly, to an onlooker of the day, the former racist, slave trader and decorated Confederate General then leaned down and gently kissed Miss Lewis on the cheek, an unheard-of sentiment in that day.  He was roundly ridiculed for it, but defended his actions as stoutly as he defended any other action he took throughout the course of his life.

Nathan Bedford Forrest is a man of contradictions, a villain turned saint.  While his legacy continues to remain a source of debate on our national stage, he remains proof positive that while his sins were many, God’s grace was enough for even him.  He died in late 1877 at the young age of 56, with his last thoughts and words directed to his beloved Mary Ann.  At his funeral, people of all races lined the streets of Memphis to mourn him.

It is interesting to note that Bedford’s great-grandson, Nathan Bedford Forrest III, served in the US Army as a Brigadier General aviator and was killed in action in Germany in 1943.  His body is buried in Arlington Cemetery, the last male descendant of the great Confederate general.

Kastler, Shane E., Nathan Bedford Forrest's Redemption, Pelican Books, 2010.

http://www.tennessee-scv.org/ForrestHistSociety/forrest_speech.html

 

 

Henry Aaron

Henry Aaron

Forty-six years ago, on April 8^th, 1974, Henry Louis Aaron hit his 715^th Major League home run in his home stadium in Atlanta, officially beating the long-standing record set years before by Babe Ruth.  He finished the 1973 season one run shy of tying the record, actually tied the record on the road in the team’s first series of the season against the Cincinnati Reds, then hit number 715 at home against LA Dodgers pitcher Al Downing in the fourth inning.  ‘Hank’ went on to retire in 1975 with a total of 755 home runs, a record that stood until Barry Bonds beat it in 2007.

Henry Aaron was born in 1934 to a boilermaker’s helper in a ship-building company, one of six children.  He described his childhood as strict – with childhood chores and Sunday attendance at the local Baptist church as an absolute must.  His father worked hard and didn’t often have time to spend with his family, but when he did, he tried to make certain it was meaningful.

As a young teenager, already a noted baseball talent, Henry skipped school one day to go to a pool hall where he knew he could listen to a baseball game featuring his hero, Jackie Robinson.  For some reason, his father had been let off work early and happened to walk by the establishment and saw him.  Saying nothing, dad beckoned him with his finger and they walked home together.  Instead of punishing him, he spent the afternoon speaking with Henry.  Henry voiced his desire to drop out of school and take up baseball.  He remembers his father saying, “Son, I quit school because I had to…you don’t have to.  I put fifty cents on that dresser every morning for you to take to school to buy your lunch and whatever else you need.  I only take twenty-five cents to work with me.  It’s worth more to me that you get an education that it is for me to eat.  So, let’s hear no more about dropping out of school.”

At age 17, in 1951, Henry was offered $200 a month to play for an all-black team called the Indianapolis Clowns.  He had to promise his parents that he would continue his education later (a promise he kept) before they consented.  He was placed on a bus with two dollars, two sandwiches, and two extra pairs of pants to Charlotte, NC, where his new team was conducting spring training.  He roomed with a tall, lanky pitcher named Jenkins who shared Henry’s faith and served as an example and mentor for the younger Henry.  He noticed in Jenkins the same kind of self-sacrifice he had seen in his father, observing the lack of waste and watching his roommate put one of the two dollars he got for his daily food allowance and putting it into an envelope to mail to his wife.

Henry followed closely the career of his hero, Jackie Robinson.  It fascinated him that Jackie dealt with so much and kept his cool during it all.  Dealing with overt racism throughout his career, he leaned on Robinson’s example.  Reading about him, Henry learned the secret of Jackie’s self-control: prayer.  Henry wrote about him, “I learned that he prayed a lot for help, and he also had a sense of destiny about what he was doing, so much so that he felt God’s presence with him.  He learned to put aside his pride and quick temper for the bigger thing he was doing.”  From Jackie Robinson, Henry learned the quiet strength of humility.  Henry remarked once, “The best way to lick this racial thing is to play well.  Play so well that the fans forget your color.” 

As a result of his play with the Indianapolis Clowns, Henry received two offers to play for Major League teams, the New York Giants and the Milwaukee Braves.  The Braves offered fifty dollars a month more, and he later remarked that fifty dollars was the only thing that kept him from being teammates with Willie Mays.

Henry faced much overt racism during his career.  He remembered eating at a restaurant in Washington DC while playing with the Indianapolis Clowns and hearing the staff literally breaking the plates in the back rather than reuse them.  While on the Braves’ farm team, he was one of three black players.  The white players stayed in hotels when they traveled, the three black players had to find their own lodging, often staying in private homes.  He faced heckling and hate mail.  While still in the minor leagues, one sports writer noted, “Aaron led the league in everything but hotel accommodations.”

At the end of the 1973 season, when he was one home run shy of tying Babe Ruth’s record, Aaron received a plaque from the US Postal Service for receiving more mail than any person not holding public office in the country – over 930,000 pieces of mail that year.  The Braves had to hire a secretary to sort the fan mail, which was forwarded to Aaron, from the hate mail and death threats, which were forwarded to the FBI.  Aaron was confident he would beat the record the following season, but was privately worried he might not live to get there.  The editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution quietly had an obituary drafted in the event it was needed.

After his baseball career, including his last two years playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, Henry returned to Atlanta to accept a senior management position with the Braves.  At age 86 today, he continues to serve in that capacity in a limited sense, but devotes much more time to charitable work, having established a foundation to provide scholarships and grants to historically black colleges and universities.  One of many examples is called the “4 for 4 Scholarship Program”, which provides $4,000 a year for four years for twelve students.  Why those numbers?  Twelve times in his career, Henry went 4-for-4 (four hits in four at-bats) in a single game.

Henry Aaron was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, the first year of eligibility.  He received a higher percentage of votes for inclusion than any other person, with the exception of Ty Cobb.  His number, 44, was retired by the Atlanta Braves in 1977 and also by the Brewers.  He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002 by President George W. Bush.  He has been the recipient of numerous other accolades, both for his achievements in baseball and for his philanthropic work.

Henry Aaron’s accomplishments and noted humility, as well as his remarkable dedication to service and sacrifice, were first modeled by his father, then his baseball roommate and mentor, Jenkins, and then by his hero, Jackie Robinson.  In reflecting on his career, he remarked, “I need to depend on Someone who is bigger, stronger and wiser than I am.  I don’t do it on my own strength.  He gave me a good body and some talent and the freedom to develop it.  He helps me when things go wrong.  He forgives me when I fall on my face.  He lights the way.”

https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/entertainment/sports/hank-aaron-god-is-his-strength

https://nypost.com/2020/04/08/hank-aaron-puts-historic-hr-he-hit-46-years-ago-in-perspective/

https://theundefeated.com/features/hank-aaron-remembered-for-more-than-home-runs/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron#cite_note-greatath-7

Catherine of Siena

 

Catherine of Siena

Two monumental things happened in Italy in the year 1347.  First, in the port of Messina, a ship docked – likely from somewhere in the Middle East.  A black rat slipped off that ship, unnoticed.  On the back of that rat was a single flea, carrying a disease Epidemiologists today call Yersinia Pestis – in that day they simply called it the Black Plague.  The Plague swept through the Western world in successive waves, ultimately killing more than one-third of the population between Iceland and India.

Second, a child named Catherine was born in Siena – the twenty-third of twenty-five children in a wool-dyers family.  She had committed herself to a life of fasting and prayer by age seven, having claimed to receive a vision of Christ at that early age.  She was intrigued by the great scholars and early church fathers of the Christian faith and studied them devoutly.  At age sixteen, she was pressured by her parents to marry – but hoping to enter the Lord’s service, she cut her hair very short to ward off potential suitors.

As a teen, she joined a Dominican organization which allowed for her to live at home, while serving the Lord and adhering to the disciplines of the Order.  She spent three years wrestling with God, her own flesh, and God’s call on her life.  At the end of those three years, she was awakened to the needs of the world outside – a world mired in worry over the recurring Plague, corruption and uncertainty within the Church, and general malaise and despair.  She and a number of her followers devoted themselves to the ministry amidst the Plague.  While others would flee, they would stay and tend the sick – at great risk to themselves.  She wrote of having to learn to deal with the nausea from the stench of hospitals overcrowded with the dead and dying, and forcing herself to stay in that environment until the Holy Spirit had conquered what she considered the ‘rebellion of her flesh’ in her nausea.  Hers was an exemplary life of selfless and untiring service.  One author wrote that Catherine was unconcerned about making a mark as a “woman in ministry” and was more concerned with Jesus’ call for her to be a “woman who ministers.”

Catherine’s intelligence and grasp of the world situation is remarkable for any person of her day – as was her moral courage.  At the time, due to fears from the Plague and political machinations, the Pope had moved the Papacy from Rome to Avignon, France.   The French political and moral influence had very negative impacts on the church and had even mired the Papacy itself in immorality and corruption.  Catherine began an extensive letter-writing campaign calling sinners to repentance, calling for the reform of the Church, and calling for Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome.  She wrote to the Pope personally:

“Be manly and not fearful.  Answer God who is calling you…Restore to the Holy Church the heart of burning charity which she has lost: she is all pale because iniquitous men have drained her blood.  Come, Father!”

Within a year of her writing the letter, Gregory returned the Papacy to Rome.  Over 400 of Catherine’s letters and other writings exist today.  She asks hard questions others would not ask, and often answers them herself.  Hers was a huge voice, calling the church to reform – while at the same time fostering reconciliation and calling Christians to service.  Using skills of natural diplomacy, she acted as a mediator between the Italian city-states, and even helped raise an army for one of the Crusades.

At the heart of Catherine’s teachings was a vision of Jesus, bleeding on the Cross.  It wasn’t nails or the cross that held him there, it was love.  She taught that from the cross, you could see the heart of God, his unqualified and unspeakable love for all mankind.

Catherine died in Rome at the young age of 33, having exhausted herself in ministry.  Roman Catholicism has given her the title “Doctor of the Church” – an honor given to only 36 people in history.  She shares that honor with people like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.  More than that, though, she leaves behind the incredible example of a courageous person completely devoted to her Lord in the midst of a chaotic, complicated, and distressed world.

Packer, J.I., 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Broadman and Holman Publishing, 2000.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-94/catherine-siena-epidemics-christians-divided.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Catherine-of-Siena

https://worship.calvin.edu/resources/resource-library/pandemics-and-public-worship-throughout-history

 

Frances Ridley Havergal

The Consecration Hymnist

Frances Ridley Havergal was born in Worcestershire, England, in 1836.  Her father, an Anglican minister, enrolled her in a Christian school where she received Christ at age 6.  She was highly intelligent, mastering numerous languages including German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.  She found her love of the arts to be the way which she supported herself, publishing many volumes of poetry, composing music, and she was in great demand as a pianist and singer.  Frances loved Christ, and was very active in the Church Missionary Society – raising funds to support missions work around the world.

Frances kept very busy with writing and singing.  She turned down numerous proposals of marriage.  She loved one man very deeply, but he was not a believer and she called off the relationship in obedience to her Lord.  She is also the author of many hymns, including ‘Take My Life,’ ‘I Gave My Life for Thee,’ ‘Like a River Glorious,’ and ‘Who is on the Lord’s Side?’

An Advent Sunday, December 2, 1873, Frances received a little book entitled “All For Jesus.”  The book explained how every corner and room of a person’s life should be consecrated to Jesus.  The book moved her deeply, and the young woman re-committed her life to her Savior, resolving to commit her entire self to Christ.  This was a very significant moment of her life, one she called her “Consecration.”

Soon after this consecration, Frances had occasion to share a boarding house with ten people for a few days – some of whom were not saved, and the others not fully surrendered to Christ.  Frances prayed, asking God to give her “all in the house.”  She witnessed and, after the few days of boarding, she had the joy of seeing every person leave as Christians, fully yielded to Christ.  That last night of her visit, Frances was so excited she couldn’t sleep and instead wrote this hymn:

Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord to Thee.

Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love, At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing Always, only, for my King.  Always, only, for my King.

Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages for Thee.

Take my silver and my gold; Not a mite would I withhold.  Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my love, my God I pour At thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself and I will be Ever only, all for Thee.  Ever only, all for thee.

Frances made a habit, every December 2^nd, the anniversary of her consecration, to revisit this hymn in her devotional time.  On one occasion, she pondered the words, ‘Take my voice and let me sing, always, only, for my King.’  She sang frequently, including with the London Philharmonic, but from that moment on, she only sang for Christ.  On another occasion, she prayed over the words ‘Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.’  Over the years, she had accumulated a fair bit of jewelry, but she felt very convicted that those pieces, too, should go to her Savior.  She packed a box with all her jewelry and mailed it along with an expensive jewelry cabinet to her beloved Church Missionary Society, saving for herself only a brooch that belonged to her parents and a small locket with a picture of a niece who had passed away at a young age.  Writing to a friend, she said about this, “I had no idea I had such a jeweler’s shop; nearly fifty articles are being packed off.  I don’t think I need to tell you I never packed a box with such pleasure.”

Frances passed away unexpectedly in 1879, at the young age of 42 – a shining example of a consecrated life.  Her poetry continued to be published for over 30 years after her death, selling over 4 million volumes.  Many of her hymns continue to be published in many languages to this day.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/frances-havergal-wrote-take-my-life-and-let-it-be-11630571.html

https://www.havergaltrust.com/about-f-r-h/2/

R.G. LeTourneau, Mover of Men and Mountains

Robert Gilmore “R.G.” LeTourneau was born in 1888 to godly parents.  In his autobiography, he confesses that as a youth he was “fanatically determined to amount to nothing” – and came to Christ only in his later teen years.  He dropped out of school in the 8^th grade to take a job hauling sand for a foundry.  He took an interest in machines and how they worked, doing his best to dabble in the machines at the foundry.  During this time as a young man, he stumbled across a syllabus and text for a course in mechanics from the International Correspondence School.  He didn’t take the tests and he didn’t pay for the credits, but something stuck and he continued to dabble in mechanics. 

At age 21 he designed a “final exam” for himself.  With no formal education, he disassembled and reassembled a motorcycle within a day.  He declared he had a “Bachelor of Motorcycles” degree, a title he used off-and-on the rest of his life.

After a brief stint in the Navy during World War I, he bounced around looking for work.  By age 30, then married and in debt due to a failed business venture, he took a temporary job fixing a farmer’s tractor.  To prove it worked, he used the tractor to level part of the farmer’s field.  RG later said that this was the most satisfying job he ever had. 

R.G. began to get serious about his faith, and had a long conversation with his pastor, asking about potential avenues to go into pastoral or missionary work.  His pastor responded to him with the words, “R.G., God needs businessmen as well as pastors.”  This conversation set the direction for the rest of his life, declaring that his business partner was God.

R.G. took the experience with leveling the farmer’s field that he financed a similar tractor for himself and founded R.G. LeTourneau Inc., an earth-moving company.  He struggled with work throughout the 1920s, trying his best to underbid competing companies then inventing machines to move the earth more efficiently.  He found himself deep in debt from a couple of failed contracts and ended up having to sell a few of his machines to make ends meet.  R.G.’s debtors hired a man named Mr Frost to go over his books and help him get his books back on track and get to a state of profitability.  Frost arrived to a situation that, to his mind, was worse than he had thought.  Due to his faith, R.G. refused to work on Sundays, and was committed to meet a missions pledge of $5,000 to his church.  To Frost’s amazement, God brought in just enough business for R.G. to meet his commitments, though still in debt.

R.G. considered himself to be, first and foremost in the business of moving earth, but his creditors convinced him that instead of rolling the dice on large construction jobs that he’d be better suited for manufacturing and selling the unique machines he had invented.  This proved to be the best business move he could have made – he went from being indebted and near bankruptcy during the 1920s to tremendous profitability during the Great Depression.  His company and his machines were instrumental in the building of the Boulder Highway, the Hoover dam, the Orange County Dam, and other high-profile Depression-era infrastructure projects under the New Deal.  By 1938, his company was netting nearly a million and a half dollars in profit.

R.G.’s incredible imagination developed many of the earth-moving machines we know of today, from the bulldozer to the rubber tire to the electric wheel.  Other inventions included scrapers, mobile sea platforms for oil exploration and drilling in the deep ocean, dredgers, portable cranes, bridge spans, dump trucks, and logging equipment.  Many of these machines are unchanged in design to this day.  He developed various types of welding different types of metals in different circumstances.  During the second World War, R.G.’s factories produced 70% of all the earth-moving equipment used by the Allies during the war.  In all, he held 299 patents.

R.G. and his wife Evelyn held to the principle, as they put it, of “It’s not how much of my money I give to God, it’s how much of God’s money I keep for myself.”  They practiced what they called “reverse tithing” – giving 90% of their income to the work of the Lord and keeping 10% for themselves.  R.G. and Evelyn, as well as their six children, were very active in missions and charitable work.  They set up Christian missions in Liberia and in Peru, and used their Foundation to funnel tens of millions of dollars to Christian missions and ministries throughout the world.  They also established LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas, still a highly-regarded Faith-based technical school, on the site of an about-to-be-demolished Army hospital.

Sixty years after poring over that International Correspondence School syllabus, that same school gave the 8^th grade dropout an honorary Doctorate, one of five such honors he received in his lifetime.  R.G. LeTourneau passed away in 1969.  His autobiography, Mover of Men and Mountains, is still in print.

https://www.letu.edu/library/rg-museum.html#ContentBlock-1-3

http://www.giantsforgod.com/rg-letourneau/

https://centerforfaithandwork.com/article/who-was-rg-letourneau

https://thebestschools.org/magazine/rg-letourneau/

The Book of Romans

Romans – its impact on the church

The book of Romans is Paul’s theological Magnum Opus.  Paul had written to a church he had presumably never yet visited to ensure they were well-grounded in the Faith.  Since then, Paul’s letter to the Roman church has affected countless people and has shaped the course of the church.

In 386 AD, a brilliant young teacher of rhetoric living in Milan, Italy, was in the middle of a personal crisis.  He had come under the influence of the great Bishop Ambrose of Milan, and had begun to question his own lifestyle.  He was grossly indulging his flesh, including living with a mistress, and he knew his Christian mother was grieving over her son’s sin.  In the midst of his own personal crisis he heard a child outside his garden singing the repetitive words “Take up and read, take up and read.”  He looked for the child, but could not locate him.  Sensing this as a sign from God, he opened the Bible and read at random from Romans 13:13-14, “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”  Saint Augustine later wrote about this in his autobiography ‘Confessions’, “I neither wished nor needed to read further.  At once, with the last words of this sentence, it was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart.  All the shadows of doubt were dispelled.”

In the early 16^th Century, a young monk and professor in Wittenburg, Germany, began a series of lectures on the Book of Romans.  He re-read 1:17, “…the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’ “  These words troubled him a great deal and set him on the road to discovering that is was not his own works which saved him, but righteousness which comes by faith.  This was how Martin Luther was used by God as the spark that started the Great Reformation.  Martin Luther later described the book of Romans, “This Epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament and the very purest Gospel, and is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.  It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious is becomes, and the better it tastes.”

In May of 1738, a young man sat, despondent.  Previously, he had felt the call to ministry and had come to Georgia in North America to preach to the natives there.  En route, he fell into the company of a group of Moravian Christians whose sincerity and simplicity of faith astonished him.  He wrote in his journal “I have come to save the Indians, but oh!  Who shall save me?”  He did not last long as a missionary and returned home to contemplate his life and his faith.  On May 24^th, he reluctantly attended a Christian gathering.  There, he heard a man reading aloud the preface to Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans.  John Wesley wrote about his experience there, “while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.  I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Many of the early church fathers had much to say about Romans.  Its impact on the church is incalculable.