Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Dean of Students at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson
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I was baptized 65 years ago today. Here, my Uncle John is holding me in his lap. He drove from Memphis to Farmington, Missouri to baptize me on January 10, 1960. At the time, my father was assistant superintendent of the Presbyterian Home for Children of Missouri. Three weeks earlier, just before my second birthday, I was formally adopted into the family of George and Roberta Wingard. Good Presbyterians, they believed the promises of the covenant are for believers and their children. Together, parents and child, share the sign and seal of the covenant – baptism. _____ The toy chest in the lower right corner is the only piece of furniture I possess from my childhood. It gives me pleasure…
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When I finish reading or listening to a book, I add it to my annual “books read” list. My 2024 list is at the end of this post. READING HIGHLIGHTS One of the first books I purchased after becoming a teaching elder in 1985 was John Stott’s exceptional book on preaching, Between Two Worlds. Several times he referenced Anglican minister Charles Simeon, who served Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. Hundreds of future ministers, missionaries, and chaplains sat under his ministry and his influence was felt throughout the world. To learn more about him, I purchased Hugh Evan Hopkin’s Charles Simeon of Cambridge and began what has become a forty-year interest in his life, ministry, and sermons. Late…
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Alan D. Strange, Empowered Witness: Politics, Culture, and the Spiritual Mission of the Church. Wheaton: Crossway, 2024. $16.99, paperback. 2024 is a polarizing election year in America. Widely divergent political visions strive for cultural dominance. To be sure, claims about the breadth of the division are frequently overwrought and untrue. Today’s situation is not comparable to the fissures that cracked the foundation of society in antebellum America, fault lines that would eventually shatter national unity and lead to civil war. Still, contemporary forces on the political right and left compete vigorously for adherents among the electorate. The church is not exempt from cultural turmoil. Many congregations are deeply divided both over political issues and the question of how (if at all)…
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