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Book Review of The New Guidebook for Pastors
Billy graham critical biography research paper
Billy graham critical biography research paper
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Grant Wacker’s biography America’s Pastor is a superb breakdown of the many aspects of the life of Billy Graham. Unlike other biographies, Wacker examines the world-renowned evangelist from the perspective of Graham’s multiple individualities. In his book, Wacker looks at Graham as a preacher, icon, southerner, entrepreneur, architect, pilgrim, pastor, and patriarch. It is through these distinctions that the author provides the reader with a purpose for his writing. As an explanation of some of his selected points of view, Wacker writes: “As ‘Preacher,’ he articulated a traditional evangelical theology but presented it in increasingly appealing ways…As ‘Entrepreneur,’ he built from the ground up a crusade structure and organization of remarkable
In the first chapter of Nathan Hatch’s book, The Democratization of American Christianity, he immediately states his central theme: democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity. In proving the significance of his thesis, he examines five distinct traditions of Christianity that developed in the nineteenth century: the Christian movement, Methodists, Baptists, Mormons and black churches. Despite these groups having diverse structural organization and theological demeanor, they all shared the commonality of the primacy of the individual conscience.
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Johnson, through the revival, shows a growing Protestant influence within Rochester, New York. Charles Finney came, Bible in hand, proclaiming that the Millennium was in reach, but only through the efforts of the willing: this was a revival for social ch...
David Walker was “born a free black in late eighteenth century Wilmington,” however, not much more information is known about his early life. During his childhood years, Walker was likely exposed to the Methodist church. During the nineteenth century, the Methodist church appealed directly to blacks because they, in particular, “provided educational resources for blacks in the Wilmington region.” Because his education and religion is based in the Methodist theology, Methodism set the tone and helped to shape the messages Walker conveys through his Appeal to the black people of the United States of America. As evident in his book, Walker’s “later deep devotion to the African Methodist Episcopal faith could surely argue for an earlier exposure to a black-dominated church” because it was here he would have been exposed to blacks managing their own dealings, leading classes, and preaching. His respect and high opinion of the potential of the black community is made clear when Walker says, “Surely the Americans must think...
Southland Christian Church, one of several worship centers in the United States that has earned the moniker “Six Flags over Jesus,” is Lexington’s largest megachurch. With a weekly attendance of 8,000 people and an operating budget that supports a staff of over eighty members, Southland far exceeds most U.S. congregations in terms of financial resources and social clout. In recent years, popular and scholarly studies have attempted to situate the megachurch movement within a broad cultural context. Although the majority of these analyses dispute the precise definition of a megachurch, most distinguish these multiplex sanctuaries from smaller worship communities by using the same criteria—i.e. weekly attendance, campus acreage, annual budget, etc.—that megachurches themselves draw on to represent their own success. [2] However, the essence of a megachurch is not its large buildings, but rather the theology of consumption that informs its programming.[3] In this way, a megachurch ethos has infiltrated even the smallest congregations in the United States and has helped to solidify Christianity’s inextricable connection to consumer capitalism. To those who see megachurches as symptomatic of a flawed Christianity, market-minded church growth confounds one of the faith’s oldest dualities, the contradiction of living in the world without conforming to its ways, as Paul puts it in Romans 12. Megachurches at once reject “the world” and participate in it by seeking to win the lost and wow the consumer at the same time.
He was a man whose very words struck fear into the hearts of his listeners. Acknowledged as one of the most powerful religious speakers of the era, he spearheaded the Great Awakening. “This was a time when the intense fervor of the first Puritans had subsided somewhat” (Heyrmen 1) due to a resurgence of religious zeal (Stein 1) in colonists through faith rather than predestination. Jonathan Edwards however sought to arouse the religious intensity of the colonists (Edwards 1) through his preaching. But how and why was Edwards so successful? What influenced him? How did he use diction and symbolism to persuade his listener, and what was the reaction to his teachings? In order to understand these questions one must look at his life and works to understand how he was successful. In his most influential sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards’ persuasive language awakened the religious fervor that lay dormant in colonial Americans and made him the most famous puritan minister of the Great Awakening in North America.
Religion of the protestant church was an important factor in the pre-war timeline culture. The Second great awakening, which occurred in the 19th century, greatly impacted American society. This new point of view in terms and matters of faith led northerners to cherish the theory of Christian perfection, a theory that in fact was applied to society in an attempt to eliminate social imperfection. On the other hand, southerners reacted by cherishing a faith of personal piety, which focused mainly on a reading of the Bible; however, it expressed very little concern in addressing society’s problems.1
...main a widely respected evangelical preacher for more than 50 years because he avoided misinterpretations of the bible and financial scandals (Hall). What will count most to the lives that Billy Graham effected, will be the day those people die. Graham has led to eternal life that Jesus gave us. Those people will no longer perish but join Graham in Heaven one day.
O'Brien, Susan. 1986. “A Transatlantic Community of Saints: The Great Awakening and the First Evangelical Network, 1735-1755”. The American Historical Review 91 (4). [Oxford University Press, American Historical Association]: 811–32. doi:10.2307/1873323.
From an early age Jones was exposed to religion, specifically the Pentecostal sect of Christianity. With no father figure to look up to he turned to the pastors in his church for a role model. Watching the local pastors speak moved Jones; he id...
In the second chapter, pastor Martin decides to go see a preacher that he thinks will be able to help him learn to become a better pastor. When he gets there, he meets a man by the name of Willy Graham. Eventually pastor Martin finds out that Willy Graham is essentially a truck driver-preacher and he becomes obviously
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
In my own life I have been impacted by Billy Graham; several years ago I began to see how important integrity is – at that time I committed never to ride alone in a car with a girl. Although I was unaware of the “Modesto Manifesto” at the time, I knew that Graham refused to be alone with any woman other than his wife, and his vow helped to influence mine. Graham’s dedication to having all the world hearing the Gospel likewise influenced me to take the Gospel to the city of Rochester. Now, learning more about Graham and how he did ministry, I see where I could change in multiple ways: being more tolerant of all denominations,
Arthur Walkington Pink, otherwise known as A. W. Pink, has been one of the most influential scholars of the bible that I have ever come across, apart from the bible. First, I will discuss A. W. Pink’s history on this earth. Second, I will discuss the theology of A. W. Pink that came from the bible. Third, I will discuss the influence A. W. Pink has had upon the theological world and the influences within politics through the means of theology. Lastly, I will discuss the influence A. W. Pink has had upon my understanding of Scriptures and how that has pushed me to be involved in politics.