The Church

Clement Read Vaughan – a Faithful Friend Today, Clement Read Vaughan (1827-1911) is remembered only occasionally for his comparison of faith to a bridge – an illustration used by many pastors. Not much is known about his life – mostly what Thomas Cary Johnson (1859-1936) recorded in his biography...

Anne Dutton and Her Reasons for Writing From the time of her youth in 17 th -century Northampton, England, Anne was described as a lively and outspoken girl. Over the course of her life, she combined this zeal and candor with her natural clarity of thought and expression in order to provide...

Samuel McPheeters and His Commitment to Neutrality It was 1862, two days after Christmas. The American Civil War was still raging, when Samuel Brown McPheeters, Presbyterian pastor of the largest church in St. Louis, Missouri, met with President Lincoln to present his plea. A Southern Preacher in...

Pastors, elders, and godly parents rightly take interest in the education and nurture of their children, and as a result action-minded Christians start schools. Christian schools represent a natural or spontaneous result of faith, and the Lord is pleased with such loving motives and acts...

Cotton Mather - A Life of Suffering Cotton Mather has a bad reputation, mostly because of his involvement in the Salem Witch Trials. Even if he recommended caution and opposed the executions, his book Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions (1689) did much to feed the hysteria...

Katherine Parr and Her Role in the English Reformation Katherine Parr (1512-1548) is often remembered as the last of Henry VIII's wives. But she was much more than that. She was an important writer and a major player in the English Reformation. Early Life Katherine was raised in the royal palace...

What is discernment? Is it knowing who to unfollow and who to mute? What books not to read? What foods and medicines will make you sick? If this is the case, then I just need to make the right choices about what to avoid, and all will be well. But what if discernment is more than just what and who...

If you could recommend just one book, in addition to the Bible, for believers to read, what would it be? It’s a hard question to answer when you love to read and there are so many great books out there. But the book I find myself recommending most often is Christina Fox ’s A Heart Set Free: A...

Johannes Bogerman and His Powdering Speech “ Dimittimini exiteI ” (“You are dismissed, get out!”) With these imperious words, Johannes Bogerman (1576-1637), president of the Synod of Dordt, expressed what many of the delegates were had been painfully thinking. The Remonstrants had to leave...

No Place for Truth Jonathan and James are discussing a book that influenced both of them decades ago. Why would they be talking about it now, and what is the book’s relevance for today? 25 years ago, David Wells wrote No Place for Truth, a microscopic analysis of how the purpose of the church and...