New Uncommon Logo . . . uncommon web site target launch date, Jan. 16, 2008

The new Uncommon Christian Ministries logo is complete.

Please note two things about the logo:

(1) The color red in the centrally located "C" in UCM symbolizes the "precious blood" (1 Peter 1:19) of the Lord Jesus Christ:

+ ". . . without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sins]" (Hebrews 9:22).

+ "But now in Christ Jesus you [Gentiles/non-Jews] who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13).

+ "but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

(2) The logo's catch phrase "None but Christ ~ All for Christ" is a quote from James Brainerd Taylor. Frederick William Hotchkiss (1762-1844), the Yale College-trained, 61-year Congregational pastor (1783-1844) of First Church of Christ in Saybrook, Conn. , stated of his late friend and son-in-the-ministry James Brainerd Taylor,

To spend and to be spent in the service of Christ and for the salvation of souls was his all in all [cf. 2 Corinthians 12:15]. Often would he say, "None but Christ; all for Christ."

(Letter dated 8 May 1829. In John Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, Second Ed. [NY: American Tract Society, 1833], 423.)

Scroll down to see some pictures.

New Uncommon Blog . . . new uncommon website and logo to follow (stay tuned) . . . 8 books + DVD planned

"Be uncommon Christians . . . that is, eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday Christians."

So the Second Great Awakening evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829) encouraged others to be, and so he strived to be himself.

This newly formed blog/web log is for all aspiring "uncommon Christians" worldwide, and for all those yet outside of the faith who are curious about "uncommon" Christianity.

Among other purposes, this blog will serve as an on-going supplement to my 2 (of hopeful total 8) upcoming books and hopeful DVD:

(1) An Uncommon Christian: James Brainerd Taylor, Forgotten Evangelist in America's Second Great Awakening
--> Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, Jan. '08
--> Foreword by John F. Thornbury
--> Over 20 international endorsements from evangelists, pastors, church history scholars, Harvard-Princeton-Yale campus ministers, authors and seminary professors and principals
--> Book is a slightly reworked version of my Master of Theology thesis for Canada's Toronto Baptist Seminary . . . Michael Haykin, head thesis advisor
--> 255 pages, paperback . . . 38 photos, life/ministry chronology, comparative chart (cousins David Brainerd and James Brainerd Taylor), bibliography, index, map--> List price: $35 . . . purchase online at Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group's University Press of America or Hamilton Books or RLPG Books (15% off) . . . also online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Target, Borders, Tower, eCampus.com, Overstock.com, Powell's Books, Amazon.ca (Canada) or others
--> Outside of North America, purchase online at Amazon.com's international sites, Blackwell Book's (Oxford, England) or University Press of America's international distributors

(2) Of Intense Brightness: The Spirituality of Uncommon Christian James Brainerd Taylor
--> Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, May 2008
--> Foreword by Canada's James M. Houston
--> Epilogue ("A special word to university and seminary students") by Australia's Peter Adam
--> Over 15 international endorsements, including spirituality scholars and the 2007 student-president of Princeton Evangelical Fellowship campus ministry, the successor to Princeton University's Philadelphian Society of Nassau Hall (1825-1930, J. B. Taylor, primary founder)
--> Can serve as (1) a companion volume to An Uncommon Christian . . . or (2) a slimmer, less costly and more focused stand-alone biography on J. B. Taylor
--> 186 pages, paperback . . . 41 photos, life/ministry chronology, select bibliography (J. B. Taylor), recommended reading (evangelical spirituality), index, map [front cover yet-to-be created]
--> List price: $27 . . . purchase with online discount (15%) at Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group's University Press of America or Hamilton Books or RLPG Books . . . also online at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca (Canada) . . . other online sources to appear in winter/spring 2008
--> Outside of North America, purchase online at Amazon.com's international sites or University Press of America's international distributors

(3) God's Co-Worker: Uncommon Christian Evangelism with James Brainerd Taylor (tentative title)
--> Hopeful published and yet-to-be-written Class of 2010 Doctor of Ministry dissertation
--> Hopeful 2010-11 publishing date

(4) Uncommon Christian Living: A Biblical Look at James Brainerd Taylor's Uncommon Christianity (tentative title)
--> Edited volume in which 5 international scholars/students of the Bible write a chapter each on the 5 Bible-based traits of Uncommon Christianity as defined by J. B. Taylor: eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday Christian. Also, an opening and closing chapter on the modern-day American problem of "common" Christianity and the solution of rediscovering "uncommon" (New Testament) Christianity. With a Foreword and Epilogue. I would serve as the editor and introductory essay author.
--> Hopeful 2011-12 publishing date

(5) These Walls Do Not Shut Out My God: James Brainerd Taylor, Uncommon Christian Student (tentative title)
--> Modern-day guidance and inspiration for today's Christian student--high school, university and seminary--as gleaned from Taylor's student days at N.J.'s Lawrenceville School (Class of 1823), Princeton University (Class of 1826) and Yale Seminary/Divinity School (1827-28)
--> Hopeful 2012-13 publishing date

(6) James Brainerd Taylor: Uncommon Christianity for Kids (tentative title)
--> Biography for teens (or pre-teens)
--> Needed: skilled illustrator
--> Hopeful 2012-14 publishing date

(7) Nearer Access to God: Daily Devotions with Uncommon Christian James Brainerd Taylor (tentative title)
--> A 30, 90 or 365-day daily devotional book
--> Each day will include an opening quote by Taylor that is followed by a contemporary meditation on that quote
--> Hopeful post-2013 publishing date

(8) Travel With James Brainerd Taylor: In the Footsteps of the Uncommon Christian Student-Evangelist (tentative title)
--> Combine biographical history with modern-day travel!
--> Travel guide will include places of interest to visit in Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North and South Carolina, Virginia, etc.; over 100 photos; clear illustrated maps; related websites; more
--> For the non-traveler, the book can serve as a reference guide
--> Compare the U.K.'s Day One Travel Guides
--> Hopeful post-2013 publishing date

Also a DVD:
An Uncommon Christian: The Life, Ministry and Spirituality of James Brainerd Taylor
--> 30-60 minutes
--> Needed: skilled video cameraman and script copy editor
--> Hopeful post-2013 release

If you or a publisher (or illustrator or cameraman) you know feel led to partner with UCM on any of these projects, please contact me.

Thank you for visiting Uncommon Christian Ministries' new blog.

Stay tuned for the latest on my

+ Whereabouts and ministry ventures, including a web site for Uncommon Christian Ministries (Dec. '07 target month) and a MySpace.com and/or Facebook.com "social network" page;

+ Personal and uncommon reflections on theological, historical, cultural and contemporary issues; and

+ Efforts at preserving and reintroducing the early 19th-century New England evangelist James Brainerd Taylor to the early 21st-century global church, seminary and university.

"None but Christ ~ All for Christ" (James Brainerd Taylor).

Scroll down to see some pictures.