It’s
easy to think that persecution of Christians and suffering by Christians don’t
happen much anymore, at least in the West, and that’s certainly true compared
to some parts of the world. In fact a real ‘first world problem’ is that many
of us think that persecution stopped centuries ago when they stopped throwing Christians
to the lions. The only problem is that persecution still exists, and Christians
suffer as much as non-believers. And frequently pastors suffer as much, or
more, than anyone else. But as James reminds us, we should “Consider it pure
joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds”. (James 1:2, NIV)
And
that’s what we see in the profiles of men who suffered for their faith, or
despite their faith and service to the Lord. 12 Faithful Men” Portraits of Courageous Endurance in Pastoral Ministry
(Collin Hansen and Jeff Robinson, EDS,. Baker Books, 2018) profiles a dozen
well known Christian Pastors, mostly from the recent past centuries, (the
Apostle Paul and John Calvin go back a little farther) who learned the joy of
sharing in the suffering of Christ. Each profile is a few pages which can be
read in just a few minutes. Read about John Bunyon and Johnathan Edwards; John
Chavis and C.H. Spurgeon, and finish up with Ugandan Janani Luwum and Chinese
Wang Ming-Dao.
Fascinating
stories of fascinating men who helped shape the Church as it should be known
today.
I
received a copy of this book as a participant in Baker Books’ blogger program.
I was not required to write a positive review, rather offer my honest opinion.
4/5
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