Shoulder To Shoulder #1253 -- 8/23/21 ---- "The Tale of Two Systems" (Pt 9 -- System Two and Its Origin: The Founders' Other Primary Resources -- Pt 4)
Posted by: lifeunlimited1010 <lifeunlimited1010@...>
Shoulder To Shoulder, As We Fight the Good Fight of Faith"
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement
Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics
selected to motivate people to be strong students of the Word and
courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ.
It is a personal letter of encouragement to you, written solely to
help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world
will not be destroyed by those who do evil,
but by those who watch them without doing anything."
-- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind
of Christianity in this day,
which many have, and think they have -- a cheap
Christianity
which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice, which
costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” –
J. C. Ryle
"Now
these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica,
for they received the word with great eagerness, examining
the
Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."
-- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
Shoulder To Shoulder #1253 -- 8/23/21
Title: "The Tale of Two Systems" (Pt 9 -- System Two and
Its Origin: The Founders' Other Primary Resources -- Pt 4)
My Dear Friend and Pilgrim Partner:
Today is another Fall-like sunny and breezy day in the White Mountains
of eastern Arizona. We have just experienced another special day of
worship and fellowship at Greer Chapel and again stand in awe of how God
is touching hearts and bringing hope and encouragement to His people. I
preached the 11th sermon in my seasonal series, "Longing For Times of Refreshing" by looking at Psalm 2 and, focusing on verse 12, the idea of "Restoring Happiness in Times of Hardship".
Using the chaos of the conflicts of kingdoms and God's harsh reproach
against those kingdoms that have rejected His Son, David concludes by
stating, "How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!"
The Hebrew word for "blessed" in that text is almost identical to the word Jesus used in the Beatitudes of Matt 5 ---- "supremely and enthusiastically happy, fortunate, and well off".
The point I wanted to make was that, in spite of the chaos, tragedies,
fears, deceptions, and struggles of today's world, it was still possible
to be extremely happy, enjoying life to its fullest, because of God's
blessings that are released to us when we choose to maintain refuge in
Him; for when we "flee to Him", we find there all the protection,
provision, and pleasure we need with which to endure life's hardships
and excel in manifesting His goodness to the world.
Perhaps one reason this passage had such an impact on us is because of
the horrible man-made tragedies that have taken place in Afghanistan the
past several weeks. Not only have recent U.S. actions left Americans
and Afghani supporters in grave danger, but the repercussions have
echoed like sound waves around the entire global sphere. The
overwhelming majority of. news report I have read or seen have indicated
that the decision to leave Afghanistan in the way it was done has done
irreparable harm to our national standing in the world ---- our enemies
are unafraid, and our allies no longer trust us.
Time will tell how this tragic turn of events plays out, but one thing
is certain ---- we must make God alone our sole refuge. And that brings
me back to the focus of my recent letters -- particularly last week's
introduction of The Black Robe Regiment. In today's letter, and
perhaps for one or two more, I want to focus on a particular phenomenon
that took place prior to the American Revolution itself, and to some of
the specific characters of the Black Robe Regiment that helped fuel the
founders' decision to declare independence.
So, let's do that -- right after you consider . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Jason Whitlock and Satanic Origins: WOW! WOW!
WOW! Jason Whitlock is absolutely on target, and apparently declared it
on a recent Tucker Carlson show. I didn't see it, but what he says in
this article is "spot on", as the Brits would say. Praise God for
Christians who speak out these days with clarity and biblical truth. We
should applaud them and let them know. To read his piece, go to
https://www.theblaze.com/op-ed/whitlock-a-lot-of-what-the-political-left-supports-is-satanic?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20210824Trending-WhitlockLeftSatanic&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News
.
+ 229 Missionaries NOT Sentenced: As is often the
case when something happens like just recently did in Afghanistan,
hoaxes begin circulating again about large numbers of Christians about
to be executed for their faith. Today a friend sent me such a story of
229 missionaries about to be executed by the Taliban. The story is the
recirculating and revision of a hoax that has been floating around for
several years. Check it out at
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/229-christian-missionaries-afghanistan/
. Don't pass it on. If you already did, then send out a retraction to
everyone to whom you sent it.
+ A Contemporary American Hero: Here
is a man who deserves our praise and support.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/black-father-critical-race-theory-school?utm_source=theblaze-breaking&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New-Trending-Story_WEEKEND%202021-08-22&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Breaking%20News
.
+ The Plight of Afghan Christians: As of today,
both the Taliban and the reconstituted ISIS (already in Afghanistan)
have targeted two special groups of people -- Afghani's who "aided and
abetted" the U.S., and Christians. This article is a sobering
revelation of what Christians face in the country that some agencies
identify as the second most dangerous country in the world to be a
Christian. Read it, and share with your Christian friends, pastor, and
church groups. Go to
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/20/sobering-religious-freedom-lesson-afghanistan/
.
+ Freedoms Under Fire: Episodes such as this have
become so commonplace that headlines rarely appear. This is just a
reminder that any Christian anywhere has the right to host informal
Christian gatherings in his/her home. The First Amendment guarantees
it, and also the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
guarantees it. Don't allow misinformed or far-left bigoted officials
get away with violating your rights.
https://www.charismanews.com/us/86503-aclj-defeats-locality-s-attempt-to-shut-down-small-home-prayer-gathering?utm_source=Charisma%20News%20Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:5198635&utm_campaign=CNO%20daily%20-%202021-08-24
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> Having undertaken for the
glory of God, and the Advancement of the
Christian Faith, and the Honour of our
King and Country, a Voyage to plant the
first colony in the northern parts of
Virginia; [we] Do by these Presents,
solemnly and mutually in the Presence of
God and one another, covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civil
Body Politick for our better Ordering
and Preservation, and Furtherance of the
ends aforesaid." -- The
Mayflower Compact, November
1620
> ". . . I had lost hope of
America seeing another national revival.
It seemed to me that “revival” had
degenerated into the self-serving
pursuit of sensational, religious
phenomena, rather than being the fruit
of a sincere seeking after God, His
will, and purpose. Revival, it seemed,
had become a hyped, man-made, religious
event rather than a Divine invasion from
heaven." -- Dr. Eddie Hyatt
(America's Revival Heritage)
> "If America will once again
bless God as it did in its founding and
growth, perhaps God will bless America
again in its future and mission. But,
if it won't, it's likely that He won't."
-- T. Allen Robburts
> "How many are aware of the extent to which preachers actively
participated in our War for Independence — and not just rhetorically
from the pulpit, though the great sermons on behalf of the freedom fight
provoked many parishioners to action?" -- Moira Crooks (Author, word crafter)
America cut its spiritual teeth on the powerful preaching and exemplary
examples of men of the Black Robe Regiment. We need them as much now as
we did then.
> ". . . there was a direct
bearing of the First Great Awakening on
the founding of the United States of
America. Without the First Great
Awakening, there would have been no
United States of America as we have
known it." -- Dr. Eddie Hyatt
(America's Revival Heritage)
> “The
ministers of the Revolution were, like their Puritan predecessors, bold
and fearless in the cause of their country. No class of men contributed
more to carry forward the Revolution and to achieve our independence
than did the ministers. . . . By their prayers, patriotic sermons, and
services [they] rendered the highest assistance to the civil government,
the army, and the country.” – B. F. Morris,1864
> “The Black [Robe] Regiment Led the Fight in Our War for Independence” -- Wayne Sedlak, (Historian, educator)
> "Had ministers been the only spokesman of the rebellion -
had Jefferson, the Adamses, and Thomas Paine never appeared in print -
the political thought of the Revolution would have followed almost
exactly the same line. . . " -- Clinton Rossiter, Seedtime of the Republic (1953)
> "America cut its spiritual teeth on the powerful preaching
and exemplary examples of men of the Black Robe Regiment. We need them
as much now as we did then." -- Moira Crooks
> "Mighty men they were, of iron nerve and strong hand and
unblanched cheek and heart of flame. God needed not reeds shaken by the
wind, not men clothed in soft raiment [Matthew 11:7-8] but heroes of
hardihood and lofty courage to be the voice of a new kingdom crying in
this Western wilderness. And such were the sons of the mighty who
responded to the Divine call." -- Charles Galloway, Christianity and the American Commonwealth (1898)
IMPACTING MORE THAN THE CHURCH:
There has always been a biblical pattern . .
. even within totally secular cultures . . . where
the economy and safety of a nation is dependent on
its ethical standards, its ethics flow from its
moral values, its morality emanates from its
spiritual roots, and its spiritual foundations
either strengthen or weaken based on the condition
of its religious institutions.
So, when it comes to the current condition of any
nation, you need to first look at its religious
roots. The religious roots of America are
unmistakable ---- totally and exclusively Christian
in nature with its values, goals, and character all
streaming directly out of the principles of life
found in the Old and New Testaments. In his book, America's
Revival Heritage, Dr. Eddie Hyatt writes, "Religious
awakenings have been a part of the American
experience from the nation’s inception. It
would seem that Spiritual awakening is in our
national DNA. This should not be surprising
since many of the first pilgrims to this land were
Christian revivalists and reformists. Dissatisfied
with the state of Christianity in their own
country, they came to America hoping to forge a
more vital and Biblical form of Christianity. The
Pilgrims, for example, who landed in Plymouth,
Massachusetts in 1620, were Separatist Puritans
who were seeking, not only a reform of the old
churches of Europe, but also the formation of a
new church and social order based on the New
Testament” (Chapter One, "America, the
Original Vision").
There is no doubt that not only does
America trace its origins to its departure from
England in search of freedom and prosperity, but
that this search was triggered by the tyranny of the
British Crown and the suffocating legalistic
religion of European state churches. Even a cursory
look at just who first came to the shores of this
new world will show that, notwithstanding the presence of economics
and exploratory spirit, a primary
driving force in colonizing the land was the
presence of the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Separatists
driven from their parishes, churches, and
homes by wicked kings and corrupt churches trying to
silence their voices of doctrinal purity and
religious freedom.
What was it that was the real impetus behind the
political, economic, and religious upheaval in
Europe? If we take time to examine the
factors and trends lying behind the events, I think
it could be summarized in a word ---- REVIVAL. It
was a moral and spiritual movement that began as
early as the late Thirteenth Century and finally
erupted as what we know as the Protestant
Reformation. New life was beginning to fight its
way out of the cocoon of the Dark Ages that had held
it in its death grip for centuries.
While it may not fit our current understanding of
the term, "Revival", it was nonetheless a powerful
move of God that impacted the religious climate of
all of Europe. It was a mighty battle between the
institutionalized state-controlled church and the biblical church as seen
and understood by people like Calvin, Zinzendorf,
Zwingli, Hus, Luther, and others.
We are derelict
in expressing our gratitude to God for our existence
as a nation if we do not recognize and thank Him for
what happened spiritually in western Europe during
what is called the Protestant Reformation. While
the institutionalized form generally remained, the
return of doctrinal truth, the message of salvation,
and the work of the Holy Spirit brought new life to
an otherwise dead Christian religion.
This spiritual reformation in the
European Church clearly impacted the European
culture as a whole ---- it always does ---- and that
motivated the development of numerous cultural and
social reforms. Hence, revival birthed awakening. Likewise, it is equally impossible to understand
the spiritual fiber of Colonial America and the
First Great Awakening that fanned the flames of its
independence without connecting
the dots back to what was happening in the Church in
western Europe. If we do not see the connection,
then a secular and materialistic America is
an easy picture to paint. And this is exactly what
deconstructionists and revisionists try to do.
But, that picture is but a mere caricature of the real
America. If you want a true and accurate portrait
of our founding, you must include the background of
a European state-owned Church in the throes of a
spiritual renovation ---- a revival in actuality
---- breaking free from the bondage of perverted
doctrine, institutionalized atrophy, and politically
shackled ownership. It is these people . . .
explorers, laborers, businessmen, ministers,
educators, farmers, financiers, . . . who first came
to these shores, likely not looking to form a new
nation, but simply to enjoy a new way of life where
they could live in freedom and with opportunity.
Just who, then, were the first settlers to actually
arrive on these shores? Along with colonization in
the southeastern coastal areas primarily by Spanish
explorers such as Ponce de Leon (1513), De Narvaez
(1528), and Hernando de Soto (1535–1542) who brought
Christianity in the form of Roman Catholicism with
them, and the Scandinavian, French, and British
explorers who came first to the northeast, the more
permanent settlements ultimately took root in the
areas of the Central Atlantic Seaboard, namely
between Massachusetts in the north and Virginia in
the south.
These were people primarily from
England, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and other
European countries where Christians had either been
trying to reform the Christian Church or were being
driven from it to begin a new life in a new world
where a vibrant Christian faith could be practiced.
Therefore, the overwhelming influence of a European
Church in the throes of revival cannot be denied in
the founding and shaping of America.
Parenthetical: (If you happen to
be interested in North America's European
colonization, there is an excellent timeline,
beginning as early as the Tenth Century with the
Norsemen colonization of Greenland and
Newfoundland, at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_European_colonization_of_North_America.
There's also a nice collection of maps relating
particularly to the colonization from New England
to Florida, accessed at
http://etc.usf.edu/maps/galleries/us/earlyamerica14001800/index.php?pageNum
. A third source of colonial maps is
http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/maps-and-the-beginnings-of-colonial-north-america.)
End Parenthetical.
These settlements . . . Roanoke, Jamestown, Rhode
Island, Plymouth, Providence, etc. . . . were
established almost without question by colonists
that included those who actively practiced the
teachings of their Christian faith. Many of them
had already come as colonial leaders, or became
leaders, establishing principles and charters that
were grounded in the moral and spiritual principles
of the Bible.
Since I've already written many times
about this in the past, suffice it to say that by
the early 1700's, practicing the Christian faith was
as common to the average citizenry as is the
practice of accessing the internet is to us today.
Recognition of, respect for, and adherence to basic
Judeo-Christian values was the norm, even for those
who professed no serious faith in God or practiced
genuine Christian piety and life. Even the most
"heathen" spiritually speaking understood moral character, integrity,
honesty, and truth as being expected of all people by all people.
So, what is the bottom line? When the religious
uprising took place in Europe leading up to and
including the Protestant Reformation, it impacted
the lives of European citizens, many of whom were
spiritually transformed and often motivated to seek
out a new world where economic opportunity,
political liberties, and the exercise and expression
of religious faith could be openly and fearlessly
practiced. These are those who laid the groundwork
and poured the foundations that led to the eventual
establishment of our nation. That cannot be denied.
Europe, however, would not easily release its
control over its various settlements and enterprises
. . . especially England, who had almost a total
monopoly on the colonies. The Crown's tenacious
grip steadily tightened through import taxes,
governmental domination, and harassing military
presence, so much so that life was almost
unbearable. And, with each ensuing complaint or
resistance by the colonists, Britain's domination
increased.
Simultaneously though, there was an often unnoticed
influence stirring in the
shadows of colonial life ---- the clergy. The
minister and his message were faithfully urging the
citizenry toward genuine repentance and salvation,
strong Christian piety, . . . and true liberty and
freedom. It was the emergence of what was coined by
the British King as "The Black Robe Regiment".
Christopher Hamner, historian and professor at
George Mason University described these ministers in
this way:
"The term 'Black Robe Regiment' referred not
to a literal regiment of soldiers that wore black
robes into battle but rather to the influential
clergymen who promoted American independence and
supported the military struggle against Britain. .
. . the Black Robe Regiment was not an actual
detachment in the Continental Army but rather a
British epithet for the influence preachers
exerted in support of the Patriot cause. Advocates
of the British crown found preachers’ support of
the Patriot cause particularly detrimental to
their efforts to maintain loyalty among the
colonists.
"Such clergymen provided sanction for
the cause of independence as well as formal
support for the military effort. In the 1770s,
most colonists still considered themselves aligned
with England; many parishioners questioned the
fundamental legitimacy of revolution, and of
separating from Britain and consequently the
Church of England. From their pulpits, these
members of the Black Robe Regiment reassured their
audiences that their revolution was justified in
the eyes of God. Winning and maintaining the
support of the population was critical in the
American War for Independence, which relied
heavily on the support of volunteers and the
general population."
Hamner asserts that the clergy of the day were vital
to the success of the coming revolution. I could
not agree more.
BLAZING THE TRAIL TOWARD LIBERTY:
Following
men such
as we have just seen minister in the earliest settlements of Jamestown,
Plymouth, and other places, there was a new breed of patriot preachers
about
to arrive on the scene ---- burdened pastors, flaming evangelists, and
eloquent orators who would take the baton hand-off and begin their
powerful influence of helping further shape the moral and spiritual
climate of the colonies.
Most scholars agree that in many ways the
spiritual vitality of the earliest settlers had begun to wane as their
vision of liberty was being passed from one generation to the next. A common
characteristic of human nature, these second and third generation
immigrants had begun to neglect their spiritual roots while maintaining
an outward form of religion. Due in a large part to the increasing
pressure of taxation, shrinking freedoms, and oppressive government,
many of the citizens had grown weary and lackluster in their daily
lives, often succumbing to an attitude of fatalism over the never-ending
antagonism by the English Crown.
Even the Christian ministers who knew freedoms that their forefathers in
England never enjoyed grew weary as they consistently spoke against the
cancerous encroachments upon their freedoms and liberties. Into that
environment, God raised up a number of preachers and evangelists, both
within the colonies and from England, to help stir the flames of both
spiritual and patriotic fervor and vision.
Ministers like Jonathan
Edwards, Andrew Eliot, Charles Chauncey, Samuel Cooper, Jonathan Mayhew,
George Whitefield and others who had known past glowing days of
revival and harvest began to preach boldly about personal and corporate
sin, about salvation and redemption, and about civic issues that related
to the socioeconomic and political issues of the day.
Space won't allow details, but when the
British imposed the 1765 Stamp Act on the colonists as "the straw that
broke the camel's back", it was often ministers who led the opposition
and who preached on both political and spiritual issues. Edwards,
Mayhew, Chauncey, and Whitefield played particularly significant role in
stirring the people into action for the next chapter in America's
development. If it had not been for them, it is highly unlikely that
the Revolution would have ever transpired.
Between the 1730's and 1770's there was a spiritual
evangelical resurgence that took place throughout much of Europe, most
notably in Germany, Scotland, and England, in which a "new age of faith" emerged against the secularizing movement of "The Age of Enlightenment". This movement became known as "The Great Awakening", later to be identified in America as "The First Great Awakening" followed by other such movements of the Holy Spirit on the American culture.
The emphasis was on the belief that, as good as reason and logic may be,
they can never -- and must never -- replace the spiritual work of the
Holy Spirit bringing divine revelation to the human heart and mind.
Biblical revelation rather than human reason had to be the foundation of
religious piety and moral behavior.
Edwards' famed sermon, "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God"
characterized the tone of many who called people out of sin and
wantonness into the New Birth and revival. Whitefield traveled nearly
the entire coastal colonies preaching for eight years, warning people
not only of their spiritual bankrupt condition, but also urging time and
time again that England was up to no good for the colonies, and if they
were going to be free from British control, they must act fast and
decisively.
Mayhew was a graduate of Harvard and three years after was ordained pastor of the West Church, in Boston. He was described in Patriot Preachers of the American Revolution by Frank Moore in 1860 thusly: "In
this charge he continued until his death, 'loving his people, and by
them beloved;' explaining with manly fortitude, the truths contained in
the Bible, however discountenanced; esteeming the approbation of his
Father in heaven, far before the applause of the world;. . . "
Although Mayhew was a loving and humble man with no interest in fame or notoriety, he preached his famous sermon, "Discourse Concerning Unlimited Submission"
in 1749 on the 100th anniversary of the execution of Charles I. It
caused no small stir. His final sermon preached and published just
months before he died at age 46 was entitled, "Repeal of the Stamp Act".
TRAIL BLAZERS AND POINT MEN:
While there were many ministers, -- both Anglicans, Puritans, and
Separatists, -- who were used by God to provide spiritual impetus to
declare independence from England, probably the names Tennent, Wesley,
Edwards, and Whitefield were the most prominent, though not always the
first seen. These and others were really the original trail blazers of
the Black Robe Regiment, and must be duly noted. If it had not been for
them, the likelihood of a renewal of spiritual vitality and values is
highly improbable. And, if it had not been for the First Spiritual
Awakening, the recognition of the Black Robe Regiment's impact on our
founding fathers would have been greatly weakened.
And, if it had not been for the Black Robe Regiment's influence on what
our founders envision and penned, the probability of our having a United
States would be unlikely. Just as Clinton Rossiter insisted in his
1953 book, Seedtime of the Republic, . . .
"Had ministers been the only spokesman of the rebellion -
had Jefferson, the Adamses, and Thomas Paine never appeared in print -
the political thought of the Revolution would have followed almost
exactly the same line. . ."
One simply cannot, with any degree of honest integrity, overlook the
role of the clergy in the establishment of the United States of
America. The men of the Black Robe Regiment who were on both the
spiritual, moral, military, and political "front lines" of our war for
independence were motivated and propelled by those who initially helped
put metal in the backbones of those engaged during the Revolution
itself. So, let's take a brief look at a few, starting with . . .
+ William Tennent: Often overlooked among the Great Awakening preachers, Tennent was a Scots-Irish immigrant of Presbyterian background.
Born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673, Tennent
graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1695 and was ordained in
the Church of Ireland in 1706. Later he emigrated to colonial
Pennsylvania in 1718 at the urging of his wife's cousin James Logan.
Logan was reportedly a and close friend of William Penn. He pastored in
Bucks County, PA, the home county of my Mother's birth. In 1726 He
accepted the pastorate of the Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church in
what is now present-day Warminster.
The following year Tennent established a religious school in a log cabin
that became famous as the Log College. It got its name primarily as
the result of derision placed on it by certain ministers who had been
educated in Europe, often chiding Tennent for trying to "educate poor
farm boys unsuitable for the ministry." As a result, Tennent's impact
on America was both theological and educational. Training fiery young
preachers with strong emphasis on sound doctrine, a significant number
of his students became revivalist preachers in the First Great
Awakening. With his school becoming a training ground for the ministers
who would preach the revivals that made up the Great Awakening, they
learned to emphasize personal conversion—an inner work of grace in the
heart—a doctrine they would preach during the Awakening.
Tennent had four sons, all of whom were also Presbyterian clergymen, two
of whom were quite prominent in the day -- Gilbert (1703-1764) and
William, Jr. who was the Presbyterian pastor of the Freehold, New Jersey
congregation. A grandson, also the Rev. William Tennent, was known in
church history as William Tennent the Third. Tennent’s teaching about a
personal conversion became a controversial and volatile topic with
other Presbyterians, the "Old Sides", who objected to his emphasis on
conversion. They also felt his Log College did not prepare students to a
high enough educational standard. As a result, Tennent and other "New
Side" ministers like his son, Gilbert Tennent, split from the "Old
Sides" in 1741 during the Great Awakening, -- but not after training
hundreds of "fire brands" who would permeate the colonies during the
latter years of the Great Awakening and on into the American Revolution
itself.
American historian Christine Leigh Heyrman, Professor History in the
Department of History at the University of Delaware, wrote about the
First Great Awakening, stating, . . .
"The earliest manifestations of the American phase of this
phenomenon -- the beginnings of the First Great Awakening -- appeared
among Presbyterians in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Led by the Tennent
family -- Reverend William Tennent, a Scots-Irish immigrant, and his
four sons, all clergymen -- the Presbyterians not only initiated
religious revivals in those colonies during the 1730s but also
established a seminary to train clergymen whose fervid, heartfelt
preaching would bring sinners to experience evangelical conversion.
Originally known as “the Log College,” it is better known today as
Princeton University.
In addition to William Tennent's four sons, there were another nine
students making up the original enrollment. Prior to Tennent's
schooling, any young man entering the Presbyterian ministry had to
travel to either New England or even to Scotland itself for his
education. In the early stages of the school, students lived either at
nearby farms or in the modest Tennent household itself where Mrs.
Tennent served as "mother", "housekeeper", and "cook".
It wasn't long before necessity forced Tennent to erect that little log
school building just a few yards from his parsonage. Some of the young
men moved into the crude and drafty attic just above the single
classroom, cooking their meals in the open fireplace. Each day began at
5:00 AM with morning prayer time, and, following a full day of class
instruction, concluded with bedtime at 9:00 P.M. On Sundays the
students attended the Neshaminy church services.
It was this log school building that led jealous critics to call
Tennent’s school the “Log College.” This certainly underestimated
William Tennent's academic credentials, however, because he was a well
read theologian who had himself been educated at Edinburgh University.
British Evangelist George Whitefield called it the little "school of the prophets."
Tennent was a Greek and Hebrew scholar and could write and speak Latin
with the same perfect ease with which he had mastered the English
language. Most important, however, he was a pastor of unusual ability
and a man of genuine piety and evangelistic zeal. Perhaps his greatest
attribute as a trainer of young preachers, though, was that he was also a
warm and faithful teacher.
When Whitefield first visited Philadelphia in 1739, Tennent traveled
twenty miles (a two-day journey in those days) to the city to enjoy his
fellowship. Whitefield’s diary records the occasion with Whitefield
writing, “At my return home [from visiting a family] was much
comforted by the coming of one Mr. Tennent, an old gray-headed disciple
and servant of Jesus Christ [who] keeps an Academy about twenty miles
from Philadelphia, and has been blessed with four gracious sons.”
Tennent must have gained great popularity because when Whitefield later
visited Tennent at Neshaminy, he preached to an amazing crowd of some
three thousand people gathered in the “meeting house yard.” Again,
the Great Awakening Documentary website
(http://greatawakeningdocumentary.com/items/show/28), described how the
Holy Spirit moved during the service as "a 'great melting down' in the hearts of the people." Whitefield's description of the old Tennent school was priceless: “The
place wherein the young men study now is in contempt called the
college. It is a Log-House, about twenty feet long, and near as many
broad.”
Of those original thirteen Log College students, all became pioneers of
Christian education in America, some of them going on to establish other
educational institutions. There is a monument at the site of the Log
College, listing fifty-one colleges which were subsequently founded by
people who came out of this little "Log College." Dr. Archibald
Alexander (1772 - 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and the
very first professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He noted
that a major advantage which the Log College students possessed over
other students was that “the spirit of piety seems to have been
nourished in that institution with assiduous care. . . . They had, we
have reason to believe, the teaching of the Holy Spirit.”
Tennent died at age 73 in Warminster in 1746 at the height of the Great
Awakening revivals. His grave site is located in the church cemetery
of the Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church, and is still visited by
thousands of pastors and laity each year. His last will and testament,
recorded at the Bucks County Court House, indicates that when he died he
had remained a modest and humble servant of God, leaving very little to
his wife Catherine (née Kennedy) Tennent. The following year the log
building closed and was replaced by the College of New Jersey which
later was named Princeton University. Incidentally, of all the many
colleges and universities established during Colonial days, the
overwhelming majority began as Christian institutions of higher
education, and most of them by pastors.
+ Gilbert Tennent: -- According to the "Great Awakening" website (http://greatawakeningdocumentary.com/items/show/28), "Next
to Jonathan Edwards, the leading American preacher of the Great
Awakening was Gilbert Tennent of Pennsylvania. Tennent was a man of
unusual abilities, but part of the credit for his
accomplishments -- humanly speaking -- must go to the unusual education that
he, his brothers, and several others received from Gilbert’s father,
William Tennent, Sr. Their 'log college' may not have been an Ivy League
school, but it certainly was -- as George Whitefield called it -- a 'school
of the prophets'.”
Gilbert,
the eldest of four sons and a daughter, was fourteen years old when he
arrived with his family from Ireland. After his "Log College" training,
he remained at the school for a year as a tutor to other students.
During that time he went through severe struggling seeking assurance
that God had indeed called him into the ministry. Finally, he knew
beyond any doubt that he must preach the gospel. In 1725 he was both
licensed to preach by the Presbyterian church and received an honorary
Master of Arts degree from Yale University. He then preached in
Newcastle, Delaware, after which he accepted a pastorate at New
Brunswick, New Jersey. He was ordained in 1727.
The first six months at Newcastle saw not one single conversion to
Christ. During that time he also became seriously ill. He asked God
for six more months, and if He would grant it, Gilbert would, in his own
words, “stand upon the stage of the world, as it were, and plead
more faithfully for His cause, and take more earnest pains for the
salvation of souls.”
Gilbert Tennent kept His promise, and God radically restored his health
and transformed his ministry. Little did he know that revival fire
ignited by the Holy Spirit in his own local church would become part of
the raging fire we have come to know as the First Great Awakening.
Clarence Edward Macartney, in his book, Sons of Thunder: Pulpit Power of the Past (1929), described Gilbert's ministry as being "unusual". Archibald Alexander in his book, Biographical Sketches of the Founder and Principal Alumni of the Log College (1851), wrote that his preaching style as “popular and attractive with all classes of hearers.” Alexander also pointed out that Gilbert “possessed uncommon advantages as a preacher”, stating
that he was taller than normal, very well-proportioned physically, had a
clear and commanding voice that exuded authority and knowledge, and
exhibited a mannerism that revealed true sincerity and conviction.
Not everyone was that impressed with Gilbert Tennent, particularly those
who opposed the revivalism sweeping the colonies -- people such as
Timothy Cutler, an Anglican pastor who described him as "a noisy monster". Another revivalist opponent who was not impressed with Gilbert was Charles Chauncey who described Tennent as, “an
awkward Imitator of Mr. [George] Whitefield, and too often turned off
his Hearers with mere Stuff, which he uttered with a spirit more bitter
and uncharitable than you can easily imagine.” Chauncey,
incidentally, was a Congregational clergyman who strongly opposed the
First Great Awakening, and instead influenced the development of
Unitarianism and Liberal Protestantism. He particularly advocated and
insisted on rational religion and universal salvation.
Tennent's ministry was somewhat different than many other preachers of
the day who saw immediate results, whereas in Tennent's case, there was
little or no response to his sermons -- that is until several days after
he had left, when people would seek out counsel that would lead them to
repentance and salvation.
Somewhere around 1739 at Nottingham, Pennsylvania, Tennent, using Mark
6:34 as his text, preached one of America’s most famous sermons, "The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry." He
was deeply burdened and fearful that many pastors were failing to
declare the whole counsel of God and that some had never experienced
saving grace.
Then in 1740, the British evangelist who had been in his home years
earlier, George Whitefield, urged Gilbert to go on a preaching tour as
far as Boston, to follow up on what Whitefield had done earlier.
Accepting Whitefield's challenge, Gilbert preached almost every single
day for a period of three months, and saw what he personally described
as a spiritual “shaking among the dry bones.”
As a result, multiplied hundreds of convicted sinners sought out local
Boston pastors seeking salvation or assurance of their salvation. One
Boston pastor reported that more people had come to him in one week
seeking salvation than during his entire previous twenty-four-year
ministry. As far as I know, there are no statistics as to how many were
converted, and Tennent himself simply said, “I cannot offer any precise conjecture, and shall therefore leave it to be determined at the judgment day.”
Following sixteen years pastoring the New Brunswick church, Gilbert
accepted God's call to pastor a new work in Philadelphia in 1743, one
that was being established by a group of Whitefield’s converts. Having
seen the shepherding style of his father, Tennent saw himself as a sort
of father figure to his people, consistently and tenderly guiding,
counseling, reproving, and warning his parishioners as a father would
his children. Dr. Samuel Finley described Gilbert's ministry, saying, .
. .
“Above other things, the purity of the ministry was his care;
and. . . he zealously urged every scriptural method, by which carnal and
earthly-minded men might be kept from entering into it.”
While Tennent had pastored in New Brunswick, he came to the conviction
that the chief purpose of preaching was the conversion of the lost and
that conversion was “to be brought about by preaching the terrors
which awaited those who were unconverted and then by applying the balm
of the gospel.” This was the sentiment of Hughes Oliphant Old in his 2004 book, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, vol. 5, Moderatism, Pietism, and Awakening.
Nonetheless, in spite of his style and his many opponents, his
preaching got results -- and also got the attention of many colonists.
Tennent used his background as a farmer -- and a surgeon, incidentally
-- and also used his preaching skills to prepare the listeners for the
work of the Holy Spirit. His preaching was in some ways very different
than what people normally heard, but often overwhelmed professors,
formalists and other religious leaders through his extraordinary
knowledge and use of the Word of God, which led to his success in
winning many people to Christ. His skill with homiletical theology set
him apart from many pre-revolutionary pastors. While his methodology
was similar to Whitefield, this is what set him apart as a major voice
during the Great Awakening, helping set the stage for the recognition of
a "Black Robe Regiment."
One person who was dramatically impacted by Tennent's preaching was a
young Samuel Hopkins in March 1741 at Yale College in New Haven. Hopkins
tried to describe the moving of the Holy Spirit upon the students,
saying, “When I heard Mr. Tennent, I thought he was the greatest and
best man, and the best preacher, that I had ever seen or heard. His
words were to me, ‘like apples of gold in pictures of silver.'”
Hopkins studied with Jonathan Edwards, was licensed to preach in 1742,
and subsequently became a strong abolitionist, serving as pastor of
several churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island before his death in
1802.
Milton Coalter, Tennent's biographer, described the impact of Gilbert's ministry, writing, “Similar
plaudits were recorded by ministers in most of the towns on Tennent’s
itinerary. In those places where Whitefield had preceded Tennent, the
New Jersey pastor was credited with 'bringing home the Awakening
message' with a force greater than that witnessed during Whitefield’s
stay, and in regions untouched by the Anglican evangelist’s ministry,
Tennent was recognized as the source of a resurging religious piety.”
Gilbert's preaching successfully penetrated the culture and led to the
transformation of thousands of lives within the American colonies.
The story goes that an admirer once asked Tennent “what there was in the matter of manner of his addresses…that produced such a wonderful and irresistible effect”, to which Gilbert replied, . . .
“Madam, I had very little to do with it. I did not preach better
than common and perhaps not so well: for I was often much fatigued with
traveling, and had little time to collect or arrange my thoughts. But I
went into the pulpit and spoke as well as I could, and God taught the
people.”
As one poet had penned:
“I’ll hear the Call the lovely Tennent brings,
Because I know it’s from the King of Kings.”
(“Tennent’s Preaching,” Heimert and Miller, p.193)
After Gilbert Tennent's preaching "outraged traditional ministers" for
many years, he died at the age of sixty-one almost forty years after
that despairing day on which he had begged God for just six more months
to preach. Those who heard him never forgot that preaching. Describing
his preaching, George Whitefield wrote, “Hypocrites must either soon be converted or enraged.” The Tennent Family website states, "Gilbert was at Cranbury, New Jersey and became a radical minister."
+ Three Other Tennent Brothers: -- If I
don't mention Gilbert's three lesser-known brothers, I know you'll
wonder about them. So, here's a very brief sketch of each, none of whom
were as territorially well known as Gilbert. Their respective
ministries seem to have been generally localized with occasional larger
recognition.
> Rev. John Tennent, (1707 - 1732) was the third pastor
of the Presbyterian church his father had pastored. Though short in
duration, he preached with, as noted in the Tennent Family History
website, "all the ardor and consecration natural to youth. He was a
young man eminently pious, and 'thoroughly furnished unto all good
works.' . . . His conviction of sin was unusually deep and intense,
bringing him sometimes almost to despair; and he continued in agony for
about four days and four nights with "doleful lamentations." On the
other hand his conversion was a remarkable experience of inexpressible
joy and abiding consolation. Distinguished for piety and consecrated
zeal in his Christian life, he was a modest, gentle, humble young man;
yet he proved to be possessed of the traits of an attractive and
powerfully effective preacher. . . . "
John preached both in the Old Scots Church and the new and
first church on White Hill. Sadly, after only two years at White Hill,
he died on Sunday morning, April 23, 1732, at the age of 25 years. He
was buried in the Old Scots Church cemetery, his tombstone placed
horizontally and sinking into the ground. On the tombstone is this
epitaph:
"Here lies what was mortal of
The Rev. Mr. John Tennent
Nat. Nov. 12, 1707 Obijt April 23 1732
Who quick grew old in learning Vertue Grace.
Quick finished well yielded to Death's Embrace.
Whose moulded dust this Cabinet contains.
Whose soul triumphant with bright Seraphs reigns.
Waiting the time till Heaven's bright Concave flame
And ye last trump repairs this ruined frame.
Cur praematuram mortemque queramuracerbam
Mors Matura vinit cumbona Vita fuit."
> Rev. Charles Tennent
(1711 - 1771) was the youngest son of William Tennent, and served as
the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Christiana Bridge.
Little is known of his ministry. However, according to the Mill Creek
History blog, Charles Tennent preached at White Clay for 26 years,
during which time what was possibly the largest single gathering in the
area at the time took place in 1739 when the Tennent family friend,
evangelist George Whitfield, held a revival attended by up to ten
thousand people.
It was also under Charles' ministry there that The Old Side-New Side
Controversy took place. The Mill Creek History blog merely states, "Rev.
Tennent was on the New Side in the debate, not surprising considering
that his father and brother were very much at the center of the New Side
split."
This schism apparently lasted from 1741-1758. In May of 1752, Joseph
England who was a supporter of Rev Tennent gave a plot of land to the
supporters of Rev. Tennent for the construction of a new meeting house.
The new church "was a simple structure, 36 feet wide by 60 feet long,
but would serve the congregation for over 100 years. In 1785, the
plastered stone wall around the north and east sides of the lot was
added."
Finally, Charles also established the Buckingham Academy, a boys’ boarding school, in 1765.
> Rev. William Tennent, Jr.,
(1733-1777) became the fourth pastor of of the same church his father
and brother had pastored. The Tennent Family website identified him as
being, "famous in religious and church history." The story of
his life is extraordinary, because it records not only his genealogical
background, deep spiritual upbringing, and conversion to Christ, but it
includes an almost unbelievable account of a "death" experience,
resuscitation, amnesia, and complete restoration to health and
ministry. There is no possible way I can take time and space to record
it, so I urge you to visit
https://www.uh.edu/~jbutler/gean/tennentfamily.html and read for
yourself. Taken from the History of the Old Tennent Church by Rev. Frank R. Symmes, it is most extraordinary.
Now on to more prominent "Black Robe Regiment" Precursors:
+ Jonathan Edwards: -- Few
pre-revolutionary preachers of the early and mid 18th Century colonial
life had as much impact on the Great Awakening -- and subsequently the
American Revolution -- than Jonathan Edwards (1703 - 1758). Known as "The
Forgotten Founding Father", Edwards (1703-1758)
of
Connecticut was a Calvinist preacher,
Congregationalist theologian and
missionary. His father and grandfather before him
were ministers. At age 13, he enrolled at Yale
University and immersed himself in studying both
philosophy and theology. He was ordained to the
Gospel ministry in 1727 and quickly became one of
the most famous preachers of his day throughout the
Colonies. The revival that initially birthed the
Great Awakening began with Edwards in Northampton, Massachusetts.
He is widely regarded as one of America's most important and original
philosophical theologians. Even though he is not best remembered for
his theological work, but rather for his famous 1741 sermon in
Northampton, his theology is broad in scope, and rooted in the
pedo-baptist Puritan heritage and gave rise to a distinct school of
theology known as the New England theology. Nobody played a more
critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening as he did through
some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton,
Massachusetts.
Edwards was popular among both clergy, laity, and political leaders for his many books, including The End For Which God Created the World, and particularly Religious Affections. Both books remain popular among Puritan and Calvinist evangelicals today. His book, The Life of David Brainerd,
was used throughout the 19th Century to inspire thousands of
missionaries to go to foreign lands. It is still doing the same today.
In 1731 Edwards gave a public lecture in Boston in which
he said, "The great power of God appears in
bringing a sinner from his low state, from the
depths of sin and misery, to such an exalted state
of holiness and happiness." In spite of his
focus on the depravity of man and the righteousness
of God, his popularity grew to the point that he was
preaching to thousands. The fact that
he preached in a monotone voice and reading from a
fully prepared manuscript notwithstanding, the crowds grew.
However, what drew him into the public spotlight where he remains today was something that happened on July
8, 1741. On that day he preached his most famous sermon of all,
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," following George Whitefield's preaching tour throughout the thirteen colonies. Perhaps
the most recognized statement of the sermon is the
one in which he said, "There is the dreadful pit
of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there
is hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have
nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold
of; there is nothing between you and hell but the
air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God
that holds you up." The story goes that
hardened and seasoned grown men were so convicted that they gripped the
backs of pews in front of them until knuckles were white and cried out
in fear that God would spare them.
The revival quickly spread and developed into a
colonies-wide spiritual awakening now known as the
First Great Awakening (roughly 1730 to 1777).
Edwards, along with many other Calvinist-like
ministers, saw sinners come to faith in Christ,
churches grow, new churches begin, and the general
social and cultural climate steadily change. The
movement was so powerful and expansive that everywhere many
sinful practices declined and numerous social
improvements developed. However, the initial wave,
as is often the case, began to wane and Edwards,
having faced much severe opposition himself, began
to despair of the long-term impact this move of God
was having on the culture.
Little did he apparently know as to the impact he had made on the
colonies, not only spiritually, but politically in the future. Edwards
died from a smallpox vaccine shortly after beginning the presidency at
the College of New Jersey in Princeton. He was the grandfather of
Aaron Burr, the third United States vice president.
Finally, we take a quick peek at . . .
+ George Whitefield: -- It appears that the young 25-year-old fiery British
evangelist, George Whitefield, had heard about
Jonathan Edwards and the Northampton meetings, and
traveled there in 1740 to meet him and preach in his
pulpit. Following his preaching, Whitefield's
unedited journal posts the following entry. . .
"And,
when I came to remind them of their former
Experiences, and how zealous and lively they were
at that Time, both Minister and People wept much;
and the Holy Ghost enabled me to speak with a
great deal of Power."
So, in this way and
after many weeks of Whitefield's preaching at
Northampton, these two giants, Edwards a theologian
and Whitefield an evangelist, became lifelong
friends and co laborers.
What God had begun through the life and ministry of
Jonathan Edwards continued and expanded through the
life and ministry of George Whitefield, along with
other notables like John and Charles Wesley and
Samuel Davies, a Presbyterian minister who became
the fourth president of Princeton University, and
was a strong influence among African slaves who
converted to Christ in countless numbers. Davies is
credited with the first sustained evangelization of
slaves in Virginia.
I could go on with a myriad of
other lesser knowns, little knowns, and unknowns who
were used powerfully of God during the First Great
Awakening to draw the net on lost souls, speak to
specific social issues, and support independence
from England. Clearly space doesn't allow even a
cursory description of these men -- that will have
to be at another time -- but suffice it to say that
they were all used powerfully to fuel both the fires
of revival and spiritual awakening, as well as the
intensifying passion to become a free and
independent nation.
Whitefield's influence was so powerful as the result
of his seven different preaching voyages to the
Colonies that he became known as "The Father of the
American Revolution". Knowing the power-hungry
heart and wicked motives
of the King of England and his inner circle,
Whitefield had pleaded with pre-revolutionary
leaders since the 1740's to declare independence
from England because he knew what they intended to
do to the colonies. He repeatedly communicated his
warnings to a number of the future founders of the country.
When he went to preach in
Philadelphia, he was noticed by a local printer
in his early 30's named Benjamin Franklin. Franklin
initially viewed him as a "wild-eyed" itinerant minister, but was
nonetheless struck by the
power of Whitefield's voice that seemed to carry
endlessly through the streets of Philadelphia.
Then in 1739 while Whitefield was in Philadelphia fundraising for an
orphanage home in Savannah, Georgia, Franklin was struck by his ability
to raise money for "at-risk" children and attempted, unsuccessfully I
might add, to get Whitefield to build the orphanage in Philadelphia. In
his own autobiography, Franklin described the experience, stating, . . .
“I did not disapprove of the design, but, as Georgia was
then destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to send
them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it would have been
better to have built the house here, and brought the children to it.
This I advis’d; but he was resolute in his first project, rejected my
counsel, and I therefore REFUS’D TO CONTRIBUTE.
"I happened soon after to attend one of his sermons,
in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a
collection, and I SILENTLY RESOLVED HE SHOULD GET NOTHING FROM ME, I had
in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars,
and five pistoles (coins) in gold.
"As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to
GIVE THE COPPERS. Another stroke of his oratory made me asham’d of that,
and determin’d me to GIVE THE SILVER; and he finish’d so admirably,
that I EMPTY’D MY POCKETS wholly into the collector’s dish, GOLD AND
ALL.”
While he never espoused to Whitefield's theology nor
make any kind of public confession of his
conversion, he nonetheless printed Whitefield's
sermons on the front page of his newspaper, The
Gazette, and covered Whitefield's activities
and meetings in 45 separate issues.
Franklin was so impressed with Whitefield that he
used "the power of the press" to promote his fame.
Much like William Randolph Hearst who instructed his
editors to "Puff Graham", meaning to promote him
with front-page coverage, Franklin was highly
instrumental in spreading Whitefield's popularity;
and this only further strengthened the impact of the
First Great Awakening on colonial culture. He also
published all of Whitefield's sermons and journals.
Together, all of Franklin's support of Whitefield
and his ministry helped promote the evangelical
movement in America. In fact, when Franklin was
commissioned to travel to England to appear before
the King of England with the "Olive Branch" papers,
Franklin declined to go unless George Whitefield
went with him. They remained close friends and
Franklin strongly supported the British evangelist's
ministry until Whitefield's death in 1770.
FINALLY:
There are certainly other "point men" to the "Black Robe Regiment", and we will consider some of them next time. Suffice it to say that, with William Tennent as "The Father of Theological Training", Jonathan Edwards as "The Father of the Great
Awakening" and George Whitefield as "The Father of
the American Revolution", and supported and sustained
by many other noteworthy preachers who impacted
colonial America with comparable persuasion, the
colonies were being prepared for something
unanticipated, but clearly world-changing. Nearly
all of these "Men in Black" urged people to repent,
turn to Christ, and embrace freedom and liberty
found only in Him. Inherent in the ministry of many
of them was also the urging to become truly free
politically and socially by separating from a
godless Britain who espoused merely "a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof" (II Tim
3:5).
The USHistory.org website calls The Great Awakening
as "The Beginnings of Revolutionary Thinking",
clearly giving credence to the idea that The First
Great Awakening was almost certainly the seed bed
out of which America's independence was fertilized.
In fact, the article says, "Although the Great
Awakening was a reaction against the
Enlightenment, it was also a long term cause of
the Revolution. . . . The Great Awakening was also
a 'national' occurrence. It was the first major
event that all the colonies could share, helping
to break down differences between them. There was
no such episode in England, further highlighting
variances between Americans and their cousins
across the sea. Indeed this religious
upheaval had marked political consequences."
Subsequently our Founding Fathers gave us a
government which has had unparalleled success—unlike
any in history. The United States of America is the
world’s longest ongoing constitutional republic in
human history. We have maintained the same form of
government for more than 241 years. No other
contemporary nation can claim this prestigious
status. Other nations, such as France and Italy,
went through revolutions about the same time as the
American Revolution, but none fared as well then or
since. For example, France has had seven completely
different forms of government since its revolution,
and countless governmental changes. Italy has had
an astounding 51! We, on the other hand, have been
under the same constitution since its inception. If
we are to see it sustained further, we must protect
our constitutional republic and its constitution,
turn from our wicked ways back to God, and be
diligent to elect political leaders who will
protect, preserve, and obey the principles of our
Constitution and the laws of our land.
And, to a large extent, no group of people were
so instrumental in exposing Britain's intent, explaining the many
violations of scripture found in the Crown's taxations and laws,
pointing out biblical truth, promoting righteous morality, and calling
for freedom than did "The Black Robe Regiment." They were truly the unsung heroes of the upcoming American Revolution. We will look at a few more next time.
Until then, I am . . .
In His Bond,
By His Grace, and for His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
Life Unlimited Ministries
LUMglobal
Copyright August, 2021
"A
fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I
took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and
hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
"If Jesus had preached the same
message that many ministers preach today, He would never
have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead
of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns
entertaining the goats." -- Charles H.
Spurgeon
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