Resources by Charlie Wingard
Today marks the 181st anniversary of the founding of First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City. The church has its beginnings in the protracted meetings that once played a vital role in the religious and social life of Southern protestants. Believers from various denominations, some traveling many miles on shabby, bone-jarring roads, gathered to pitch camp and enjoy several days of fellowship, fine cooking, and the preaching of God’s word. In late summer 1841, the kind Methodists of Benton, Mississippi hosted one such meeting. Gathering with them was a handful of Presbyterians from Yazoo City, who organized Yazoo Church on August 15, 1841. The church’s name was changed in 1843 to First Presbyterian Church of Yazoo City. The Rev. Richmond McInnis…
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I will be adding Theology for Ministry: How Doctrine Affects Pastoral Life and Ministry to my required reading list for students. Twenty-six pastor-theologians, touching upon every major area of ministry, winsomely demonstrate how theology gives shape to a godly pastorate. That this book honors Sinclair Ferguson is especially appropriate — his books, lectures, and sermons mine God’s word and Reformation theology, and set their riches before God’s beloved church. I can think of no better model of ministerial work. Since 2017 Sinclair Ferguson has served as Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.
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Where the Children Take Us: How One Family Achieved the Unimaginable by CNN anchor Zain Asher tells the story of her mother Obiajulu, a Nigerian immigrant and widow who worked tirelessly to educate her four children while living in a poor and dangerous London neighborhood. By the time Ms. Asher became a teenager, Obiajulu was determined to see her attend Oxford University, an ultimately successful endeavor. Her siblings excelled, too: one brother won best actor for his role in “12 Years a Slave.” Another brother is a business entrepreneur and her sister a physician. Obiajulu obtained her secondary education during the Biafran conflict, attending makeshift schools during the harrowing years of Nigerian civil war. To call her approach to parenting and education “tough…
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[My article in the spring 2022 issue.] Change is your opportunity to grow in grace. We say that it’s hard, but that’s not completely true. Change can be easy when it’s something we’ve hoped for, prayed for, and planned for. Difficulties come when we try to adapt to changes that are unwanted and unmanageable. Remember your trajectory. When you become a Christian, you are marked for change. One of God’s promises to you is that you’ll be transformed over the course of your life to be made more like your Savior. The process of sanctification is both beautiful and painful. Outwardly, the world is changing, exerting pressure that we become like it. Inwardly, the Holy Spirit works to mortify sinful…
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The Making of C. S. Lewis: From Atheist to Apologist (1918-1945), by Harry Lee Poe. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021, 399 pages, $32.99. For several years, “deconversions” have been a hot topic on social media as a succession of Christian celebrities—including pastors—have announced their departure from the faith. Apostasy is a tragic but not new phenomenon; one need look no further than the New Testament and Demas (2 Tim. 4:10). While writing this review, I am reading a biography of George Eliot, who abandoned the Christian faith and evangelical doctrine she once ardently espoused. The current interest in evangelical deconversions makes it a good time to examine one of the more remarkable conversions in recent Christian history—that of C. S. “Jack” Lewis.…
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One of my heroes of Christian ministry is Charles Simeon, who served Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. To fight against the temptation to speak evil of others, Simeon formulated a strategy. In a July 1817 letter, he counseled: “The longer I live, the more I feel the importance of adhering to the rules which I have laid down for myself in relation to such matters. “1st To hear as little as possible what is to the prejudice of others. “2nd To believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it. “3rd Never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report. “4th Always to moderate, as far as I can,…
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