"Uncommon Christians" by Henry W. Frost (1858-1945), China Inland Mission

In his 1914 essay "Uncommon Christians" for the China Island Mission, the North American Director for CIM (1893-1929), Henry W. Frost, wrote,

[The Lord Jesus Christ] desires that no disciple should remain a common Christian, but rather that every disciple should become, at once and forever, an uncommon Christian. . . . 

[There] is a multitude of common Christians; but, comparatively, there is but a small body of uncommon Christians. So then, things are terribly wrong.

And it is no light matter that this is so, since it is this living on common planes of life which makes common action possible and uncommon action impossible. For a low-living church will never produce anything else but a low-level product of experience.

It is a vital question, therefore, what the Master means when He declares that He would have His disciples to be uncommon Christians. And it is this question which we desire to face, and as far as possible, to answer.

What then is an uncommon Christian?

Frost bases his 16-page essay and the term "uncommon Christian" on Scottish Bible translator Robert Young (1822-1888)--of Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible (1879) and Young's Literal Translation (1862) fame--and Young's suggestion that the Lord Jesus' words in John 10:10 can be translated as, "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it above the common."

Henry W. Frost (1858-1945)

According to Frost, an "uncommon" Christian (i.e., "above the common" Christian) is one who

(1) makes God's Word his only, his full, and his constant rule of faith and practice;

(2) lives out his life, having no confidence in the flesh, but having all confidence in the person and power of the Holy Spirit;

(3) makes the Lord Jesus Christ once and forever the absolute Lord of his life;

(4) has the vision of those who walk in heavenly places, and who thus sees things from the heavenly and larger standpoint; and

(5) gives his life irrevocably to God for the saving and sanctifying of the souls of men.

Published by CIM in Philadelphia and Toronto, the entirety of the 1914 essay is available online (in PDF format) and at no cost thanks to Cornell University Library's Wason Pamphlet Collection (vol. 91, pamphlet 21).

The essay gives no indication if Frost borrowed the "uncommon Christian" term from, or was influenced by, James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829), the Second Great Awakening evangelist who most likely coined or originated the term some 90 years prior.

J. B. Taylor, a Connecticut native and maternal cousin of the famed missionary David Brainerd (1818-1847), defined an "uncommon" Christian as one who is an "eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday" Christian. Among others, the prominent Scottish missionary-explorer to Africa, David Livingstone (1813-1873), was inspired to become an "uncommon Christian" by his reading of the popular Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor (New York and London, 1833).

Detroit-born and a graduate of Princeton University, the American Presbyterian pioneer missionary Henry W. Frost (1858-1945) was responsible for establishing an American headquarters for the China Inland Mission. Founded in 1865 in Great Britain by missionary J. Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), CIM relocated its offices to the U.S. in 1901. In 1965, CIM changed its name to the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Today, OMF International is headquartered in Colorado.

On the 50th anniversary of its first appearing in 1938, OMF Books republished in 1988 Dr. and Mrs. Howard and Geraldine Taylor's 364-page By Faith: Henry W. Frost and the China Inland Mission.

By Faith: Henry W. Frost and the
China Inland Mission
(1938, reprint 1988)

For an entry on the "uncommon Christian" H. W. Frost in the nearly 2,500-entry, 845-page Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions (page 230, Gerald H. Anderson, ed., Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1999), see here.

As the BDCM entry notes, Frost was a contributor to The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth. In the historic 90-essay, 12-volume set (1910-15), he wrote the essays on "Consecration" (in vol. 10) and "What Missionary Motives Should Prevail?" (vol. 12). As of 1999 when the BDCM was published, Frost's 900-plus-page unpublished autobiography was stored at the OMF International archives in Toronto, Canada.

Uncommon Christian Ministries moves to Louisville, Kentucky . . . Immanuel Baptist Church & Pastor J. Ryan Fullerton

Uncommon Christian Ministries. Est. 2007.

Uncommon Christian Ministries moved this month to Louisville, Kentucky.

Nicknamed Derby City, River City, Possibility City and The Gateway to the South, Louisville is the 27th largest city in the U.S. (pop. 605,000, over 1.2 million in the metropolitan area). The Ohio River separates the historic city (est. 1780) from southern Indiana.

So ends UCM's time in Port Angeles, Washington, and Marysville, Washington.

The pre-Christian, New England (Connecticut) boyhood dream to "Go West, Young Man" was more than fulfilled:

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4.

"No good thing does [the Lord God] withhold from those who walk uprightly (blameless)." Psalm 84:11b.

"Now to [the Lord God] who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." Eph. 3:20.

After traveling 2,500 miles throught 8 states, UCM's new home church is Louisville's 126-year-old Immanuel Baptist Church.

At Immanuel (est. 1887, spiritually revitalized 2002- ), I am reunited with my longtime friend (1995- ) from Canada's Prairie Bible College, J. Ryan Fullerton. A fine preacher and an uncommon Christian friend to sinners, Ryan serves (2002- ) the growing, 400-member church as her lead pastor.

Situated on the border of the predominantly African-American Smoketown and Shelby Park neighborhoods of Louisville, the Southern Baptist Convention church is in substantial agreement with the theology and ministry philosophy of 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches and The Gospel Coalition.

Many students and some professors from the nearby Southern Baptist Convention-owned and operated Boyce (Bible) College and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are members of Immanuel.

Founded in 1859 and with Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. as its 9th and current president, SBTS is one of the largest seminaries in the world. Student enrollment is over 2,000 at the flagship school of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries in the U.S.

Partly because of its close proximity and cooperative relationship with Boyce College and SBTS, the church has a 3-year Pastoral Apprenticeship program. Over 70 men participated in the program during the 2012-13 school/ministry year.

Like the many churches and Christian ministries based in the centrally-located American city and state of Louisville, Kentucky, so Immanuel likewise serves as a strategic hub for kingdom-advancing activity. After the Bible college and seminary students who are also Immanuel members graduate, many of them scatter throughout the U.S., Canada and other parts of the globe to serve as church deacons and elders, Sunday school teachers, church planters, evangelists, missionaries, pastors and professors.

This fact combines two passions of mine and is the reason I believe Louisville and Immanuel Baptist Church are a good fit for me and the James Brainerd Taylor-inspired evangelism- and discipleship--themed ministry of Uncommon Christian Ministries:

(1) ministering to Christian youth and young adults who are serious about their faith--and, in some cases, are called to the Gospel ministry--and (2) in the context of the local church.

I am not against academics and para-church ministries as I possess a few academic degrees and had a community college campus para-church ministry for nearly 8 years. But it was for the Church that the Lord Jesus Christ shed his blood (Acts 20:28, Eph. 5:25).

--> NOTE: For the history of the church, see A Great People's Church: A History of Immanuel Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky, 1887-2005 by David N. Theobald (Lulu Press, 2012). "The history documents how Immanuel was/is impacted by the doctrine and vitality of the nearby Southern Baptist Theological Seminary." For the library holdings of the 125-page book, see here.

Immanuel Baptist Church.
Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Est. 1887.
Present building (3rd location) built 1905.
Spiritually revitalized 2002-present.

Immanuel Baptist Church.
Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Recently refurbished sanctuary. 2012.
By Redemption Painting Co.

Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843), uncommon Christian Scottish pastor and missionary . . . 200th anniversary of his birth, May 21, 2013

Robert Murray McCheyne

Though largely unnoticed by Evangelical Protestants, May 21, 2013, was the bicentennial of the birth of Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-1843).

Just weeks prior, on March 19, was the bicentennial of another famous Scotsman, the missionary-explorer David Livingstone.

Click here for an instructive and inspirational 90-minute presentation by John Piper titled "He Kissed the Rose and Felt the Thorn: Living and Dying in the Morning of Life, Meditations on the Life of Robert Murray McCheyne." It was delivered at Desiring God's 2011 conference for pastors in Minneapolis.

Another minister who died young, the "uncommon Christian" James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829), was often compared to R. M. McCheyne, David Brainerd (1718-1747), Henry Martyn (1781-1812) and other American, British and Scottish evangelists, missionaries and pastors who died young in the 19th-century.

"[James Brainerd Taylor] was a man of exceptional piety, a Christian of the Henry Martyn and [Robert Murray] M'Cheyne type. With him love for Christ and the souls of men was a ruling passion."

--> John T. Duffield (1823–1901), Professor of Mathematics and Mechanics (1847-98), Princeton University, and longtime advisor to and historian of the student-led and James Brainerd Taylor-founded Philadelphian Society of Nassau Hall (est. 1825, continues today as the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship). Among other works, Duffield is the editor of The Princeton Pulpit (1852), a collection of 15 sermons by some of Princeton Theological Seminary's faculty and staff, including Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge and Samuel Miller.

Be blessed as you learn more about this Scottish divine and originator of the "McCheyne Bible Reading Plan" (whereby one can read through the Old Testament once, and the New Testament and Psalms twice, all in one year).

"Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely. . . . Live much in the smiles of God. Bask in his beams. Feel his all-seeing eye settled on you in love. And repose in his almighty arms."
--> R.M. McCheyne

To visit, click here.

David Livingstone, uncommon Christian missionary-explorer . . . 200th anniversary of his birth, March 19, 2013 . . . events and exhibits in Africa, U.K., USA, Canada

“I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would be an
uncommon Christian.”

So wrote a young David Livingstone (1813–1873) prior to his initial departure for Africa.

Though not widely known today, the inspiration behind Livingstone’s resolution is James Brainerd Taylor (1801–1829). The Princeton University and Yale Seminary-educated evangelist in the Second Great Awakening was a household name in mid-19th-century America and Great Britain.

As learned from the Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor (1833), Taylor defined an "uncommon Christian" as one who is an “eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday” Christian.

Probably the most widely known person who was influenced and inspired by Taylor’s Uncommon Christianity was Livingstone.

Henry Morton Stanley: "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
David Livingstone: “Yes, and I feel thankful that
I am here to welcome you.”
November 10, 1871     Ujiji, Tanzania, Africa

Presumably in a diary entry, the famed Scottish pioneer missionary-explorer to Africa wrote (and as quoted above),

I have found that I have no unusual endowments of intellect, but I this day resolved that I would be an uncommon Christian.

Elsewhere, in a May 5, 1839, letter to his younger sister Janet, it is clearly known that Livingstone read and was influenced by the Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor.

James Brainerd Taylor
1801-1829

At the time of writing, the memoir’s popularity was at its peak in the U.S. and U.K. (a London edition appeared in 1834 by the publisher Westley and David), and the 26-year-old Livingstone was 19 months shy of leaving for Africa.

In the U.S. in the mid-1800s, Taylor's memoir was the 5th most printed memoir by the largest Christian publisher at the time, the American Tract Society. Jonathan Edwards' biography on Taylor's cousin, David Brainerd (1718-1747), was the 2nd most printed memoir by ATS.

In the letter—which is housed at the National Library of Scotland’s John Murray Archive in Edinburgh—Livingstone makes reference to “Mr. J. B. Taylor” and “uncommon Christians” (with “uncommon” underlined for emphasis). He then cites the American evangelist almost verbatim.

At the time, the London Missionary Society (est. 1795) candidate Livingstone was studying theology under a pastor in Ongar, England. And his sister was a teacher in their native Blantyre, Scotland.

Livingstone quotes from a May 11, 1823, letter that Taylor wrote while a student at New Jersey’s Lawrenceville Academy.

John Murray Archive.
National Library of Scotland.

In the letter, the 22-year-old Lawrentian quotes from his own journal entry that describes his dramatic “second conversion” (assurance of salvation) experience in Haddam, Connecticut, on April 23, 1822.
--> See John Holt Rice (1777-1831) and Benjamin Holt Rice (1782-1856), Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, 2nd Ed. (New York: American Tract Society, 1833), 82-90. Memoir available online at Google Books and Archive.org.

Quoting the entire section for the sake of context, Livingstone states to his “dear sister,”

“The hand of the diligent maketh rich.” [Proverbs 10:4.]

This is true not only with respect to the things of this world, but also in reference to that, the possession of which is of far more consequence then all the other good things in the whole universe: the attainment of holiness, eminent holiness. We have the highest inducement to diligence in seeking this.

“They who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.” [Matthew 5:6.]

"Pray without ceasing.” [1 Thessalonians 5:17.]

And, “Whatsoever we ask” the Father in Christ’s name, “believing, we shall receive.” [Matthew 21:22.]

Let us ask perseveringly, earnestly, and with a determination never to rest content till we have attained, what Mr. J. B. Taylor used to term, the state of being uncommon Christians, that is, “eminently holy and devoted servants of the Most High" [James Brainerd Taylor, quotation marks not in the original].

Let us seek—and with the conviction that we cannot do without it—“that all selfishness be extirpated, pride banished, unbelief vanish[ed] from the mind, every idol dethroned, and everything hostile to holiness and opposed to the divine will crucified; that ‘holiness to the Lord’ may be engraved on the heart [Exodus 28:36, 39:30], and evermore characterize our whole conduct” [James Brainerd Taylor, quotation marks not in the original]. This is what we ought to strive after; this is the way to be happy; this is what our Savior loves: entire surrender of the heart.

May He enable us by His Spirit to persevere till we attain it. All comes from Him, the disposition to ask as much as the blessing itself. “Every good gift,” every grace “comes from the Father of lights” [James 1:17]. Let us bless him if he has given any desire after him and his Savior, and take it as a pledge of better things to come.

We must not rest satisfied with desires, never draw any comfort from our feelings. But only be content with the blessings themselves when conscious of resting on the Lord Jesus. Never look within but constantly away from ourselves to the blessed cure for our maladies, which is ever open and always free. 

Livingstone Cottages.
(Formerly called Chapel Cottages.)
Ongar, Essex, England.
This is where Livingstone penned
his May 5, 1839, letter.

Livingstone Cottages.
Ongar, Essex, England.

In one of the first exhaustive biographies on Livingstone, William Garden Blaikie quotes from a portion (approximately one-fifth) of the above May 5, 1839, letter by Livingstone. With a massive amount of Livingstone manuscripts at his disposal, the professor at New College, Edinburgh, no doubt had to be selective regarding what to include, and what not to include, in his 500-plus page volume.

In The Personal Life of David Livingstone (New York: Revell, 1880, free online copy here), Blaikie omits “Mr. J. B. Taylor,” maybe with the thought that the specific human source of Livingstone’s “uncommon Christians” remark is inconsequential.

And because Livingstone himself does not use quotation marks, the Scottish biographer is understandably unaware that Livingstone is actually citing “Mr. J. B. Taylor” in the section of the 1839 letter that he does include. Blaikie (1820-1899) simply writes, “Alluding to the remark of a friend that they should seek to be ‘uncommon Christians, that is, eminently holy and devoted servants of the Most High. . .’” (page 46).

The impression is given that the anonymous friend is a contemporary of Livingstone, possibly a friend (perhaps good friend D. G. Watt), fellow ministerial apprentice, or even his pastor-mentor, the Rev. Richard Cecil. And that the section “all selfishness be extirpated, pride banished, unbelief vanish[ed] from the mind, every idol dethroned,” etc., and expansion of what it means to be an “uncommon Christian” (“eminently holy and devoted servants of the Most High”), are Livingstone’s own words and not those of his anonymous “friend.”

Despite the omission of “Mr. J. B. Taylor” by Blaikie—and subsequently every Livingstone biographer since Blaikie’s hagiographical The Personal Life of David Livingstone—and despite the lack of quotation marks by Livingstone (and subsequently Blaikie and every Livingstone biographer since), that the anonymous “friend” is the “uncommon Christian” American evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801–1829), a.k.a. “Mr. J. B. Taylor,” can be deduced with certainty.

To visit, click here.

Bicentennial Events and Exihbits in Africa & U.K.

Here are 4 major online resources and events in honor of the 200th anniversary of David Livingstone's birth:

+ Livingstone200.org
Frontline Fellowship: Serving Persecuted Churches in Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Dr. Peter Hammond, Founder & Director (est. 1982)
--> Frontline Fellowship USA branch (Manitou Springs, Colo.)

+ DavidLivingstone200.org
National Trust of Scotland, Scotland Malawi Partnership, the Scottish government, etc.

+ Livingstone2013.com
Livingstone, Zambia

+ Westminster Abbey Bicentenary Commemoration
London, England
March 19, 2013 (6:30 p.m.)
--> The ceremony is being attended by Livingstone and Moffat family members, church bodies, medical professionals, government officials, MPs and MSPs and many others with a deep regard for Livingstone and his legacy  . . . Livingstone's wife Mary (1821-1862) was the daughter of Robert and Mary Moffat, Scottish missionaries to Africa
--> Livingstone's grave and inscription

ALSO, see:

--> "Dr. Livingstone: A 200-year Legacy," BBC News, March 18, 2013

--> "Events mark birth date of explorer Dr David Livingstone," BBC News, March 19, 2013

--> "Celebrating David Livingstone, 'Africa's first freedom fighter': Born to mill-workers living in a single room in Blantyre near Glasgow 200 years ago, David Livingstone's life and legacy as an explorer and humanitarian is being celebrated across the UK and Africa," "The Scotland Blog," The Guardian (U.K.), March 19, 2013

--> "Meeting David Livingstone's Descendants," Scotsman.com (Edinburgh), March 20, 2013

To visit, click here.

Bicentennial Events in USA
(for Canada, scroll to very end)

While American commemorative events are understandably yet sadly few, Uncommon Christian Ministries (est. 2007) is presenting a paper/lecture at the following academic conferences and church. For a copy of the paper, contact UCM. 

“Resolved that I would be an uncommon Christian”:

The Influence of the “Uncommon Christian”

James Brainerd Taylor on David Livingstone

In Honor of the Bicentennial of Livingstone’s Birth (March 19, 2013) 

+ Evangelical Theological Society

Pacific Northwest annual regional meeting

March 9, 2013 (3:00 p.m.)

Church For All Nations
Tacoma, WA

+ Evangelical Missiological Society

Pacific Northwest annual regional meeting

April 6, 2013 (10:45 a.m.)

Multnomah Biblical Seminary

Portland, OR

+ American Society of Church History

Biennial national spring meeting (and ASCH's 125th anniversary)

April 6, 2013 (4:00 p.m.)

Crowne Plaza Hotel Conference Center

Portland, OR

+ First Baptist Church
47th annual missions conference
May 14, 2013 (7:00 p.m.)
Marysville, WA

ALSO:
Evangelical Theological Society
Midwest annual regional meeting 
April 10, 2015 (11:00 a.m.)
Moody Bible Institute
Chicago, IL

Evangelical Theological Society
67th annual national meeting
November 19, 2015 (2:40 p.m.)
Atlanta Hilton Hotel
Atlanta, GA

Maybe see some of you in Marysville, Tacoma or Portland? Come and bless us with your presence!

If desiring a copy of the paper--or a more informal PowerPoint presentation at your church or meeting--contact UCM.
--> NOTE: The 139 PowerPoint slides are available here. They are borrowed from Dr. Peter Hammond of Frontline Fellowship, Cape Town, South Africa, and Frontline Fellowship USA.

Also, for a map created by Uncommon Christian Ministries entitled "The Global and Cross-Cultural Impact of the American Evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801–1829) and His Two Memoirs (1833, 1838)," see here.

Livingstone's grave. (See here for text.)
Westminster Abbey. London.

Issue 56 (Vol. XVI, No. 4). 1997. Christian History.
To order, or to view the free online copy, see here.

To visit, click here.

"Dr. Livingstone attacked by a lion."

Birthplace of Livingstone. March 19, 1813.
David Livingstone Centre.
Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

To visit, click here.

"Imperial Obsessions: David Livingstone, Africa and world history: a life and legacy reconsidered."
Academic conference. April 19-21, 2013. Livingstone, Zambia.

To visit, click here.

Bicentennial Exhibit in Canada

"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?"
& "David Livingstone: Magic Lantern Series" (in Belvedere Gallery)

March 19 - August 31, 2013

Castle Kilbride (1877, designated national historic site 1994)
Baden, Ontario

David Livingstone, a Waterloo resident and great-great-grandson of John Livingstone (1811-1899, older brother to the famed David Livingstone), donated artifacts to the exhibit, as did the Museum of Health Care Kingston, Stratford-Perth Archives and Waterloo Region Museum.

Of this lone Canadian exhibit, see:

+ "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume - in Baden: Exhibit shows location connection to explorer David Livingstone," The Record (Kitchener, Ont.), March 10, 2013

+ "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?", Waterloo Chronicler, March 13, 2013

+ "Exhibit shows Waterloo connection to explorer David Livingstone," MetroNews.ca, March 11, 2013

Canada

David Livingstone.
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
March 2013.

Great-great-grandson of John Livingstone (1811-1899),
Canadian immigrant and older brother
of the famed David Livingstone.

Photo by Brent Davis. The Record. Kitchener, Ont.

Canada

John Livingstone (1811-1899).

Older brother of David Livingstone.
Pictured with his grandson.

Immigrated to Ontario, Canada, in 1840.

Lived in Lanark County in eastern Ontario, 1840-60.
Listowel, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, 1860-99.

Buried in Fairview Cemetery in Listowel, Ontario.

Canada

Northwest face of Thunder Mountain in the Livingstone Range,
a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies in southeastern Alberta, Canada.

The range was named after David Livingstone in 1858 by Thomas Blakiston (1832-1891),
an assistant to the Irish-born geographer and explorer John Palliser (1817-1887).
When British-born "Forgotten Explorer" Peter Fidler (1769-1822) climbed Thunder Mountain
in 1792, he became the first European to make a recorded ascent in the Canadian Rockies.

There exists a Mount Livingstone in both Alberta (7,948 feet [2,422 meters])
and British Columbia (10,150 feet [3,094 meters], so named in 1927).

Adjacent to B.C.'s Mount Livingstone is Mount Stanley (10,138 feet [3090 meters]),
named after Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), the New York Herald journalist
of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame.

"Unworthy of the regard of my Christian friends" . . . James Brainerd Taylor's self-astonishment and wonderment

In his diary on November 18, 1820, the 19-year-old Lawrenceville Academy (N.J.) student and striving uncommon Christian James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829) wrote,

I feel myself, as heretofore, unworthy of the regard of my Christian friends; and at times I am astonished that any should love such a one as I am. Surely if they could see me as I sometimes see myself, they would wonder too. Alas! in all things I come short, and in many I offend.

Yet I bless the Lord for what he has done for me, and I rely on his grace to make me more like himself. My soul daily pants for more holiness, more devotedness to the cause of my Redeemer; and through him I do hope to be made useful.

*John Holt Rice and Benjamin Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, 2nd Ed. (NY: American Tract Society, 1833), 52-53.

When it comes to Christian friends and being a friend of God (James 2:23), may such J. B. Taylor-like humility and self-amazement characterize all present-day uncommon Christians.

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:12-15 (words of Jesus Christ)

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
                              1 Peter 5:5b-7




Appropriately, here is the song "Friends" (1983) by the contemporary Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith:

Independence Day 1820 with James Brainerd Taylor, uncommon American Christian . . . "The contrast will be fully seen only above"

Here is how one 19-year-old student--the "uncommon" American Christian, James Brainerd Taylor--spent his American Independence Day holiday near Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 1820.

On Tuesday I called at ten houses. At most of them I presented one or more [Gospel] Tracts such as I thought likely to be useful. This was the fourth of July.

In the evening I had many reflections on the manner which I had spent the day, so totally different from that in which I had heretofore spent that anniversary. O how much greater cause of triumph to be instrumental in delivering one soul from the power of sin and Satan than to be the conqueror of nations! The contrast will be fully seen only above.

*Benjamin Holt Rice and John Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, 2nd Edition (NY: American Tract Society, 1833), page 48.

May today's Christian--American or otherwise--not take holidays off in our efforts at telling others about the sin-bearing Savior Jesus Christ who "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

"Uncommon Christian" James Brainerd Taylor article on American Society of Church History blog

For an article on James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829) that was posted on the blog for the American Society of Church History (May 27, 2012), see here.


As stated in the article, "My specific attraction to Taylor is his challenge to be an 'uncommon' Christian. Taylor defined an 'uncommon' Christian as an 'eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday' Christian."


I have been a member of ASCH since 2007.


Founded in 1888, ASCH's central purpose is

"the scholarly study of the history of Christianity and its relationship to surrounding cultures in all periods, locations and contexts.

Through publications conferences, awards, research support, and other means, the Society encourages the study of the Christian church and faith, its figures and movements, in institutional and non-institutional settings.

We welcome scholars and practitioners of all backgrounds who employ traditional or newly developing methods, disciplines, and approaches to the study of religion.

The ASCH cooperates closely with the American Historical Association [est. 1884] and other scholarly societies and organizations in joint annual meetings."

ASCH annual dues are $70 and include receiving the quarterly journal Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture (published by Cambridge University Press).


In addition to ASCH, I am a member of four other entities. It s good to give one's name and money to societies and associations--academic or otherwise--that one believes are worthy of support.

Happy New Year 2012 . . . "My only resolution, 'trust in Christ, daily and hourly'" . . . New Year's Day 1843 with "uncommon Christian" Mary E. Van Lennep (1821-1844)

Frontispiece to the
Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep.
With Mary's imprinted signature and vow,
"Jesus, I give my all to Thee."

From Port Angeles, Washington, USA, Uncommon Christian Ministries wishes you a Happy New Year!

To encourage and inspire the follower of the Lord Jesus Christ to continue to grow and mature in his or her faith in 2012 (Hebrews 6:1, 2 Peter 3:18--UCM's key Bible verses), here are some excerpts from the private journal of one of the earliest American missionaries to Turkey, Mary E. Van Lennep (1821-1844). The journal is dated January 1, 1843.

At the time of writing, Van Lennep was 21-years-old and just 8 months away from marriage and sailing overseas. She was in the midst of making final preparations for foreign missionary service in Turkey with her soon-to-be husband. As was somewhat common then, she left for overseas service (October 11, 1843) just weeks after getting married (September 4, 1843). The couple had their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, New York.

Twenty-one months after writing the journal entry, Van Lennep died at the age of 23.

Lord willing, one day I would like to write a biography on the "uncommon Christian" Van Lennep. For now, online excerpts such as this will have to suffice. (Van Lennep was born and raised only 4 miles from where I grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut, 1976-91).

About Van Lennep, the below biographical sketch is from the online Portraits of American Women in Religion, a part of the Library Company of Philadelphia (est. 1731 by Benjamin Franklin). I have added some additional information to the sketch.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Mary Elizabeth Van Lennep graduated from the Hartford Female Seminary in 1838. (Hartford Female Seminary was founded in 1823 by Catherine Beecher, the older sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe.)

Her father, the Rev. Joel Hawes (1789-1867), who had studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary and was an influential Second Great Awakening pastor-author of the First Congregational Church in Hartford (est. 1632, called today Center Church or First Church of Christ), was an advocate of missionary work.

After battling a long illness which kept her bedridden through much of 1841, she spent a year teaching Sunday school to other females, and in 1843 married the widower Rev. Henry J. Van Lennep (1815-1889), a missionary with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM, est. 1810). Shortly thereafter, Mary sailed with him and her father to the mission in Smyrna, Turkey (modern-day Izmir). 

She died of dysentery in Constantinople, Turkey (modern-day Istanbul) a year later at the age of 23. Her grave remains at the Ferikoy-Istanbul Protestant Cemetery.

The Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep, Missionary in Turkey (1847) was compiled by her mother (Louisa Fisher Hawes) from her journals and correspondence. The preface quotes one of Mrs. Van Lennep’s friends about her character, which she believed made her a model for other young women.

*NOTE: The 382-page memoir is available online and at no cost via Google Books.

Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep

JOURNAL EXCERPT

Sunday, January 1, 1843. This morning was our communion, and it did seem pleasant to have it come on the first day of the year. We sang "Our God, our help in ages past," a sublime hymn, and "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand."

My dear father's sermon was from Colossians 1:12; showing what was necessary in order to be prepared for the happiness of heaven. I could answer all the solemn tests with some satisfaction.

It was sweet to be around His table, and I did enter with my whole soul into the consecration of myself to Christ; and I did pray, that when the year came round again, I might be engaged for him [as a missionary] far away among the heathen. These precious privileges, these dear friends, are very dear to me, but I do hope I can leave them all, and I pray God that I may not be in the slightest thing deceived about my state.

I have resolved to go no step alone. I consecrate to Jesus, my time, my studies, my friends, my earthly store, and ask him to guide me every moment. O, he whose love brought him to die for us, will he not give us all things necessary to enable us to live for him? O, I know he will. My only resolution, or rather all my resolutions, are comprised in this one thing, 'trust in Christ, daily and hourly' . . . .

And now I give up myself, and all my dear friends, and my interests to Jesus, praying that this may be a year of the right hand of the Most High; that his kingdom may come, not only here, but in all our world. Amen.

I must notice the beautiful day which smiles upon us. The sky is bright and softly blue, and the snow lies upon the ground, and gives a sweet, home-like aspect to all the dwellings around. Yes, all is calm and bright and beautiful. My Father makes it all. And He who makes the natural world so lovely, is making the moral world shine brighter and brighter, and all the dark clouds of pollution shall be chased away.

One thing I like, and 'tis that I am learning to read the revealed word of God, as well as the natural word, and I am thankful that I am beginning better to comprehend and love its sacred pages.

*Taken from Louisa Fisher Hawes, Memoir of Mrs. Mary E. Van Lennep (Hartford, Conn.: Belknap & Hamersley, 1847), pages 175-76.

First Congregational Church (Center Church).
675 Main Street. Hartford, Connecticut.

Est. 1632.
The current (fourth) church structure built in 1807,
thus the church of Mary E. Van Lennep and her
pastor father, the Rev. Joel Hawes (1789-1867).

Inside of First Congregational Church (Center Church).
675 Main Street. Hartford, Connecticut.