Summary of 26 months in Israel, May 2009 to July 2011 . . . ministry, pilgrimage, sabbatical

A dream that began as a non-Christian at age 18 (1989) became reality for an amazing 26 months, May 9, 2009, to July 5, 2011. "Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart," Psalm 37:4.

With the first visit being for 10 days in December 2005/January 2006, I revisited Israel for the sake of spiritual pilgrimage and ministry.

The over two years of living and ministering in the land of the Hebrew prophets, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostles, the early church and 19th-century Protestant pioneer missionaries also served as a self-imposed and self-funded sabbatical.

Below are the four main entities I was involved with. Two were Christian, one Jewish-based but very secular, and the other one non-religious/secular. All provided a great cross-cultural volunteer experience. I highly recommend them all.

But first . . .

Israel Nature and Parks Authority

In addition to the below, I made visits to Germany (February 2010), Jordan (April 2010), Egypt (October 2010), the Palestinian Territories (numerous visits) and a 5-week break in Canada and the U.S. (June-July 2010).

With use of a vehicle for 5 months in 2009, and use of the inexpensive public transportation system (buses, trains), I was able to visit most of the major Israeli national parks that preserve archaeological remains from Old Testament, New Testament and post-biblical times. It helped that Israel is small (about the size of New Jersey).

Plus, I visited a wide variety of museums (art, historical, military), nature parks (for hiking) and beaches, and attended Hebrew-speaking Messianic church services, Arab Christian services, Jewish synagogue services, Christian Zionist conferences and one Christian anti-Zionist/pro-Palestinian conference in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, Arab and Jewish concerts, films (including the annual Jewish Film Festival in Jerusalem), lectures, Holocaust memorials, sporting events, English-speaking theatrical performances and cultural festivals.

On a sad note, two acts of terrorism in which a Christian was killed occurred during my time in Israel. On December 18, 2010, CMJ-U.K. worker Kristen Luken was stabbed to death while hiking in the Jerusalem Forest. On March 23, 2011, Wycliffe Bible Translator missionary and Hebrew University-Jerusalem student Mary Jane Gardner was killed at a Jerusalem bus stop bombing.

(1) CMJ Israel -- Investing in the Spiritual Rebirth of the Jewish People since 1809 . . . . Christ Church Guest House (Jerusalem)

The Church's Ministry Among the Jews (CMJ) was founded in 1809 in London by such prominent Christians as Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce. Although not the first evangelical Christian (Protestant) organization founded to serve the Jewish people, this Anglican missionary society is the longest standing.

The year 2009 marked the ministry's 200th anniversary, as well as the publication of Kelvin Crombie's Restoring Israel: 200 Years of the CMJ Story.

Christ Church Jerusalem
Church of England (Anglican)
Built 1849

CMJ has branches in Australia, Ireland, Israel, South Africa, U.K. and U.S.

To view a 10-minute video highlighting the history and current work of CMJ and entitled "Grafted Branches" (per Romans 11:24)," click here.

Completed in 1849 by CMJ, Christ Church in Old City Jerusalem is the oldest Protestant church in the Middle East. The Jewish symbols and Hebrew texts found in the church are reminders that the Christian faith is built upon the foundation of God's promises to the Hebrew patriarchs and prophets, and that His covenant purposes for Israel have not been canceled (Romans 11).

Christ Church is a founding member of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (est. June 2008).

In exchange for free housing, food, educational opportunities and a periodic group outing, I volunteered 40-hours per week as a front desk receptionist at the CMJ-owned and operated Christ Church Guest House.

A team of 10-15 international volunteers worked alongside paid local staff at the 30-room guest house. The paid local staff consisted of Arab, Jewish and Russian believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Currently, the guest house is #6 of the 48 B&B's/Inns in Jerusalem ranked on TripAdvisor.com.

Living and working among the tourists and 35,000 or so Christian, Jewish and Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem's .35-square-mile Old City was a tremendous international cross-cultural experience.

Christ Church Guest House
Jaffa Gate, Old City Jerusalem

(2) Voice in the Wilderness -- Preaching the Gospel in Israel

Founded in the early 1990's by a Jewish convert to Christianity, Voice in the Wilderness is a church and evangelistic ministry.

The British-born founder leads church services three times per week (one in English, two in English but with translation into Russian) and organizes weekly distribution outreaches--Bibles, Christian literature, CDs and DVDs--throughout Israel and the Palestinian Territories/West Bank. For instance, every Friday night VIW ministers among the many African and Asian immigrants in Tel Aviv, some of whom escaped from war-torn Darfur.

Voice in the Wilderness
Jerusalem, Israel

VIW also organizes periodic outreach trips to Egypt, Jordan, Kurdistan and Turkey. 

I especially liked the times of fellowship with other believers when on a VIW weekly desert hike in the Judean Mountains. Fond memories created.

Located just outside of Jerusalem's Old City, VIW served as my home church. I had the privilege of helping VIW by means of street evangelism and substitute preaching. With the founding pastor, I also attended the monthly Men in Ministry gatherings in Jerusalem. 

Here is a 10-minute video of VIW founder Antony S. and the story of his conversion to Christianity. It is entitled "How I Found the Jewish Messiah in Israel" and has been viewed over 43,000 times since 2007.

VIW is a member of the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals (F.I.R.E.).

It is supported by, among others, Action International Ministries, Heart Cry Missionary Society and Zion's Hope Ministries.

Contact VIW if divinely led to volunteer or give financially.

(3) Sar-El -- The National Project of Volunteers For Israel

An affiliate of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Sar-El volunteers do non-combat civilian ("jobnik") work on an IDF base alongside and under the direction of the soldiers. 

Volunteers for Israel,
U.S. affiliate of Sar-El
Est. 1983

I spent a cumulative total of 10 weeks volunteering with Sar-El on 3 different Army bases: May 2009 and February 2011 (base on the Israel-Lebanon border), May 2011 (base near Beersheba in the Negev desert) and June 2011 (base in the Galilee area between Nazareth and Tiberias).

It was volunteering on an IDF Army base on my third "tour of duty" with Sar-El that I celebrated my 40th birthday.

The 5-day, 40-hour work week (Sunday-Thursday) was mainly in the logistical, maintaining, catering, supply and medical services.

In the evenings, there were various activities and educational presentations on such topics as the modern Hebrew language, Israel's ancient and modern history, Jewish holidays and traditions, and social and political issues in Israel.‏ Also, there were two Sar-El sponsored site-seeing trips for every 3-week program.

To view the 5-minute video "The Sar-El Volunteer Experience" produced by the IDF Film Unit, click here.

Since its beginning in 1983--during the First Lebanon War (Operation Peace for the Galilee)--and through the end of 2010, over 125,000 international volunteers have participated with Sar-El.

Last year (2010), 3,367 volunteered, with the most being from France (1,098) and the U.S. (1,045), and with 559 being non-Jewish (mostly Evangelical Protestant Christians), and with most being under the age of 25 (1,655).

Volunteers For Israel is the U.S.-based non-profit organization responsible for recruiting Americans to Sar-El. VFI seeks to "promote solidarity and goodwill among Israelis, American Jews and other friends of Israel."

Francis Kyle on IDF Army base in the Negev Desert, 1 of 3 bases
served on (non-combat) during 10 cumulative weeks (2009, 2011)

(4) Servas International -- Open Doors for Peace and Friendship

Founded in 1949, Servas International is the world's oldest international cultural exchange hospitality network. Its over 15,000 members are spread out in over 125 countries.

Servas International
Est. 1949

Though it has lost some of its early emphasis on world peace/pacifism, Servas has consultative status as a non-governmental organization (NGO) with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1998.

Though not a pacifist, I nevertheless signed up as an International Traveler with the U.S. Servas office. Over a 15 month period (April 2010 to June 2011), I visited 13 host families throughout Israel for a total of 38 nights.

Most of the hosts lived in rural areas (my favorite) and hosted me for 2-3 nights. All except one wife were secular/non-religious Jews (along with her husband, they were "illegal" settlers in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank), and all except one couple were over age 55.

Servas host in Ramat Gan, Israel, near Tel Aviv
June 2011

Once given a country's Host List, members schedule their own trips and pay for their own travel expenses.

Overnight lodging with the host is free though it is up to the host whether or not he/she/they have the time, energy and interest to accept a request for hosting.

Though not required, many hosts also fed me and gave me a tour of area sites.

For those wanting to meet locals in the country they are visiting, I recommend Servas and Couch Surfing.

Or, for those with space and a heart for people, become a host. (Travelers are not required to reciprocate and become hosts.)

Whether as a traveler or host--and though Servas is a non-religious organization--opportunities abound to be an ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Servas hosts in Arad, Israel
May 2011

"Essays to Do Good" by Cotton Mather . . . James Brainerd Taylor, do-gooder for God . . . Galatians 6:10

As I plod away at reading some of the influential 16th- to 19th-century books in the life of the American evangelist James Brainerd Taylor (1801-1829), the latest one was Essays To Do Good: addressed to all Christians, whether in public or private capacities (abridged title).
It was written by the prominent New England Puritan, Cotton Mather (1663-1728).

Among the 17 editions that appeared between 1800 and 1840, the 1816 "new and improved" London edition by editor George Burder is available online and for free at Google Books. It is a manageable and spiritually challenging 172 pages. (Burder's 1826 edition is also available at Google Books.)

Written in 1710, Essays To Do Good was popular among American and British Christians up to the mid-1800's. Harvard historian Perry Miller (1905-1963) considered it one of the most important books of the early eighteenth century.

The work even had a shaping influence on the non-Christian (Deist) Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). The famed American diplomat-statesman-scientist read the work when eleven years old. At sixteen, he borrowed from the book's theme when he pretended to be a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. The fourteen satirical letters from his pseudonym Silence Dogood were published in the New England Courant from April to October 1722.

Here are some quotes from Essays To Do Good. All page numbers are from the 1816 edited edition by Burder.

+ A power and an opportunity to do good, not only gives a right to the doing of it, but makes the doing of it a duty.  (pp. vi, 4)

+ The firstborn of all devices to do good is in being born again [John 3:3,7; 1 Peter 1:23].  (p. 22)

+ Without abridging yourselves of your occasional thoughts on the question, 'What good may I do today?', fix a time, now and then, for more deliberate thoughts upon it. Cannot you find time (say, once a week and how suitably on the Lord's Day/Sunday) to take this question into consideration, 'What is there that I may do for the service of the glorious Lord, and for the welfare of those for whom I ought to be concerned?'  (p. 35) 

+ Those who devote themselves to good devices [works], and who duly observe their opportunities to do good, usually find a wonderful increase of their opportunities. The gracious providence of God affords this recompense to his diligent servants, that he will multiply their opportunities of being serviceable.  (p. 36) 

+ What I aim at is this: Let us try to do good with as much application of mind as wicked men employ in doing evil. When 'wickedness proceeds from the wicked [1 Samuel 24:13], it is done with both hands and greedily.' Why then may not we proceed in our useful engagements 'with both hands,' and 'greedily' watching for opportunities. . . . 'If you will not learn of good men, for shame, learn of the devil; he is never idle' (Hugh Latimer).  (p. 27) 

+ A workless faith is a worthless faith. (p.31)

+ Let no man pretend to the name of a Christian who does not approve the proposal of a perpetual endeavor to do good in the world. What pretension can such a man have to be a follower of the Good One?  (p. 18) 

+ Protestants, will you be out-done by Popish idolaters? O the vast pains which those [Roman Catholic] bigots have taken to carry on the Romish merchandise and idolatry!  (p. 155) 

+ 'Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience.' . . . 'A good action is its own reward.' Indeed, the pleasure that is experienced in the performance of good actions is inexpressible, is unparalleled, is angelical; it is a most refined pleasure, more to be envied than any sensual gratification. Pleasure was long since defined, 'The result of some excellent action.' This pleasure is a sort of holy luxury. Most pitiable are they who will continue strangers to it!  (p. 170)

With an emphasis on self-denial, "Up and be doing" as a life maxim, and Galatians 6:10 as an oft-repeated Bible verse in James Brainerd Taylor's journal and letters, it is easy to see the impact that Essays To Do Good had on the "uncommon" Christian.

On June 19, 1820, the then 19-year-old Taylor wrote from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to one of his sisters:

'To do good and communicate forget not' [Hebrews 13:16] is a maxim which we should keep in continual remembrance. The more we conform our lives to it, the greater will be our resemblance to our blessed Savior as he lived among men [Acts 10:38]. To do good, we must seek opportunities; and then opportunities will frequently find us. 

Since reading Cotton Mather's 'Essays To Do Good,' I feel that I have been exceedingly deficient. In looking back to the time when I first made a public profession of religion [September 15, 1816] . . . I am constrained to say, O what a barren fig-tree I have been [Luke 13:6-9]! My leanness! My leanness! But blessed be the Lord, I have a desire to do good now. 

*From John Holt Rice and Benjamin Holt Rice, Memoir of James Brainerd Taylor, Second Stereotype Edition [New York: American Tract Society, 1833], 45-46.

In my estimation, Galatians 6:10 could really be used to summarize the Second Great Awakening that Taylor participated in. The verse reads:

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Because of the multitude of domestic and foreign Evangelical Protestant ministries that were established during the early 19th-century spiritual revival, this formative period of American history has been dubbed by some scholars as the Evangelical Empire and the Benevolent Empire. There was a great balance of the integration of faith and good works (Ephesians 2:8-10), with the student-evangelist J. B. Taylor being one of many examples that could be given.

Today's church in Mather and Taylor's native U.S. could learn much from Essays To Do Good. May we be striving uncommon Christians, "zealous for good works" (Titus 2:14) in response to our being justified by faith in Christ.

"Go West, Young Man!" . . . The Great American "Wild" West, 20th anniversary (1991-2011) . . . U.S. national parks--Glacier, Big Bend, Olympic . . . 19th-century frontier missionaries

This month (June 2011) marks the 20th anniversary of the fulfillment of my boyhood dream of leaving the east coast of West Hartford, Connecticut, for the Great American "Wild" West.

I am so thankful for the geographic change as it was used of God to change my life forever. To God be the glory for placing the desire (Psalm 37:4) and giving me the courage to heed the call to "Go West, Young Man!"

It was as a struggling 20-year-old University of Hartford student that I went west for the first time during the summer of 1991.

After working in the hotel/restaurant industry in three national parks--Glacier National Park (Montana), Big Bend National Park (Texas) and Olympic National Park (Washington) --I settled in Port Angeles, Clallam County, Washington, in 1992. Except for six school years of Bible college and seminary in Canada (1994-2000) and the last two years in Israel (May 2009-June 2011), I have mostly lived in Port Angeles--the "gateway" town to Olympic National Park and where the park headquarters are located--ever since.

Upon taking Amtrak trains "Lake Shore Limited" (New York City to Chicago) and "Empire Builder" (Chicago to East Glacier, Montana), I worked the summer of 1991 as a security guard at the historic, 214-room Many Glacier Hotel (built 1915) in Glacier National Park.

It was the best summer of my (pre-Christian) life in one of America's "sacred cathedrals."

The scenery of Montana's Rocky Mountains combined with the North American and international tourists and 150 co-workers I met--including co-worker and special friend Stephanie B. Freedman from Marblehead, Massachusetts (now Sara Mizrahi of Jerusalem, Israel)--made for an unforgettable summer. It was my first solo time away from home (Connecticut), thus adding to the adventure.

After Montana, I worked for seven months (October 1991-April 1992) as a hotel receptionist at Chisos Mountains Lodge in west Texas' Big Bend National Park. My hiring via a brief phone interview came after I quit my studies at the University of Hartford a month after the 1991 fall semester had begun. Quitting my studies was a big financial risk as I had free tuition because my mother worked at the expensive private university. Four of my five older siblings had graduated from the university while conveniently living at home only four miles from the school. My life of risk taking and "going against the grain" had begun.

In May 1992, I began what turned out to be my first of nine summers (1992-97, 1999-2001) as a seasonal waiter at the historic, 52-room Lake Crescent Lodge (built 1916) in Olympic National Park. Soon after arriving at Olympic, I attended my first-ever Evangelical Protestant church at Independent Bible Church (IBC) in Port Angeles, Washington (pop. 20,000).

Six months later, in mid-October 1992 and when 21.5-years-old, I became "born again" (John 3:3, 7 and 1 Peter 1:23 in the New Testament) in a Lake Crescent Lodge employee dormitory room. On November 1, 1992, I was baptized by water immersion at IBC by associate pastor Mike Chinn.

Some resources that have helped me appreciate more the Great American "Wild" West--and its 19th-century frontier missionaries--have been the below items.

Most of these same resources were used in my organizing the October 31, 2004, event "Go West, Young Man! A Tribute to Lewis & Clark and the Western Pioneer Missionaries that Followed." Sponsored by the Pensinsula College Christian Student Fellowship (where I served as founding advisor, 2002-09), the 2-hour Port Angeles, Washington, event saw about 200 in attendance. For a free video of the event, contact UCM.

+ DVD (1996), "The West," 8-part documentary series by PBS's Ken Burns and Stephen Ives . . . "journey through a boundless landscape where myth, vision and dream seem to shape to historical reality"

+ DVD (1997), "Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery," documentary series by PBS's Ken Burns

+ DVD (2009), "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," 6-episode documentary series by PBS's Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan

+ DVD (2008), "Great Lodges of the National Parks," documentary series by PBS

+ Music CDs by Montana's David Walburn, especially his albums "Lewis & Clark: West for America" (1999) and "Montana: Life Under the Big Sky" (2002). . . "captures the songs of Montana and Glacier National Park like no other artist. Whether historical ballads, love songs or personal tunes, David's Montana Music flows easy, like a cool mountain stream" . . . every summer, Walburn performs live shows six nights a week at Glacier Park's Many Glacier Hotel 

+ Book (1971), Bible in Pocket, Gun in Hand: The Story of Frontier Religion by Ross Phares (Bison Books)

+ Encyclopedia (1998), The New Encyclopedia of the American West by editor Howard R. Lamar (Yale University Press)

+ Book (1997), Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose (Simon and Schuster)

+ Book (4 volumes, 1931-46), Religion on the American Frontier, 1783-1850 (Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Presbyterians) by William Warren Sweet (1881-1959) (University of Chicago Press)

+ Museums, National Museum of the American Indian (part of Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, D.C., and New York City . . . and Jefferson National Expansion Memorial's Museum of Westward Expansion (and the adjacent Gateway Arch), St. Louis, Missouri

"Eastward I go only by force; but westward I go free. . . .

I must walk toward Oregon, and not toward Europe."

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), Walking (1862)

40th birthday . . . "40" in the Bible . . . celebrating with Sar-El (Volunteers For Israel) on IDF Army base

Today I celebrate my 40th birthday. I was born in the U.S. on Tuesday, May 18, 1971.

Amazing and hard to believe in light of the first 21.5 years (1971 - October 1992) that were filled with deep spiritual darkness, hopelessness and despair.

Along with King David after the Lord made a historic covenant with him, so with similar conviction I say,

Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house/family, that You have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O God.
2 Samuel 7:18-19 (also 1 Chronicles 17:16-17)

While I do not believe in biblical numerology or gematria, nonetheless some major events in the Bible occurred in 40 days, 40 weeks and 40 years. The list includes the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the desert and the Lord Jesus Christ's 40 days of fasting while being tempted by the devil and prior to beginning his public ministry. For some of the many occurrences of the number 40 in the Bible, click here and here.

Please join with me in praying for Divine guidance as this striving uncommon Christian begins a 5th decade of living today. After a 25-month sabbatical/pilgrimage/ministry venture in Israel (May 8, 2009 - July 5, 2011), I return to my native United States in early July.

As I "number my days" that I may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:2), I do so with eager anticipation and expectation as I discover/learn for the first time what the Sovereign Lord has already decreed from "before time began" (in eternity past, Titus 1:2; cf. Psalm 5:3, Psalm 139:16). Concerning my near and distant future, what I know not now I shall know hereafter/later (John 13:7).

I will be celebrating my 40th birthday by doing a third "tour of duty" with Sar-El: The National Project for Volunteers For Israel.

The first two "tours" were in May 2009 (3 weeks) and February 2011 (2 weeks) on a base in northern Israel on the Lebanon border. This "tour of duty" (3 weeks) will be on a base in the Negev desert near Beersheba and about 15 miles from the Gaza Strip. Next month (June 2011), I plan to do a fourth and final "tour of duty" (2 weeks) on a base in northern Israel near Nazareth and Tiberias.

An affiliate of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Sar-El volunteers do non-combat civilian ("jobnik") work on an IDF base alongside and under the direction of the soldiers.

The 5-day, 40-hour work week (Sunday-Thursday) is mainly in the logistical, maintaining, catering, supply and medical services. 

In the evenings, there are various activities and educational presentations on such topics as the Hebrew language, Israel's history, Jewish holidays and traditions, and social and political issues in Israel.‏ Also, there are two Sar-El sponsored site-seeing trips for every 3-week program.

Since its beginning in 1982 (during the First Lebanon War [Operation Peace for the Galilee]) and through the end of 2010, over 125,000 international volunteers have participated with Sar-El. Last year (2010), 3,367 volunteered, with the most being from France (1,098) and the U.S. (1,045), and with 559 being non-Jewish (mostly Evangelical Protestant Christians), and with most being under the age of 25 (1,655).

Volunteers For Israel is the U.S.-based non-profit organization responsible for recruiting Americans to Sar-El. VFI seeks to "promote solidarity and goodwill among Israelis, American Jews and other friends of Israel."

While most of my pacifist and Christian pacifist (anti-war, anti-violence) friends may not agree with my non-combat military and political involvement with Israel, I politely remind them that members of the Islamic terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah are not very nice people. Israel is not a perfect democracy, but it is the only one in the Middle East and a "work in progress." With the continuance of anti-Semitism in the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere, I believe Israel has the right to exist and defend itself against her enemies.

Also, my love does not discriminate between Jew and Arab (of whom I have friends on both sides), for both need to hear and respond by faith to the "gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) as it is found in the Messiah for both Jews and Gentiles, the Lord Jesus Christ:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek/Gentile. Romans 1:16

Cretans and Arabs--we hear them speaking [on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended] in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:11

Via YouTube and produced by the IDF Film Unit, here is a 5-minute video about Sar-El:

Easter 2011 in Jerusalem . . . The Garden Tomb . . . "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said" (Matthew 28:6)

This Easter/Resurrection Sunday, I will be attending the sunrise worship service at Jerusalem's Garden Tomb.

In addition to the 4th-century Church of the Holy Sepulchre within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, The Garden Tomb is a possible (though less likely) location of the burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Both locations claim to be adjacent to Calvary/Golgotha where Christ was crucified.

An oasis of calmness in the midst of a tension-filled and Muslim-dominated East Jerusalem, The Garden Tomb is popular with Evangelical Protestant pilgrims visiting The Holy Land.

Entitled "The Garden Tomb: Where Jesus Rose Again?", here is a 5-minute news video from CBN.com (April 1, 2010):

Uncommon Christian Ministries wishes you a blessed and Christ-focused Easter 2011. "None but Christ ~ All for Christ" (UCM's motto).

The Lord Jesus Christ, "declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead" (Romans 1:4). 

UPDATE:

Here is the video of the 1 hour, 15 minute worship service, recorded and broadcasted live by CBN.com on April 24, 2011:

James Brainerd Taylor, 210th anniversary . . . J.B.T. at findagrave.com . . . J.B.T. book review in New England Historical Association News

In honor of the 210th anniversary of the birth of James Brainerd Taylor (born April 15, 1801), Uncommon Christian Ministries is pleased to announce that a photo of J. B. Taylor's gravestone has been online since September 8, 2008.

Grave Memorial No. 29657825 at findagrave.com correctly records the inscription found on the gravestone located at Hampden-Sydney College Church's Presbyterian cemetery in Prince Edward County, Virginia:

James B. Taylor.
Of Middle Haddam, Conn.
A Preacher of the Gospel.
Died in this County.
At the house of his friend
Doctor Rice [John Holt Rice, 1777-1831].
On the 29th of March, 1829.
In the 28th year of his age [actually, 17 days shy of his 28th birthday].

Reader, his epitaph is,
what he would have yours to be.
A sinner saved by grace.

There also exists an obelisk (memorial monument/stone) to J. B. Taylor in the Taylor Family burial plot at Union Hill Cemetery in rural Middle Haddam, Connecticut.

Ten years ago, on April 15, 2001, it was fitting that the bicentennial anniversary of J. B. Taylor's birth fell on Easter/Resurrection Sunday. Though once well known among mid-to-late 19th-century American and European Christians, it is nice to see the American evangelist's "uncommon Christian" life and ministry being resurrected in the early 21st century via books and the Internet, including the free online (Google Books) editions of the two memoirs published on him in the 1830's.

Also, a book review of An Uncommon Christian: James Brainerd Taylor, Forgotten Evangelist in America's Second Great Awakening (University Press of America, 2008) appears on page 16 in the 24-page spring 2011 newsletter (Vol. 37, No. 1) of the New England Historical Association (est. 1965).

The review is by Dr. Leslie P. Fairfield, Professor Emeritus of Church History, Trinity School of Ministry: An Evangelical Anglican Seminary (est. 1975), Ambridge, Pennsylvania. In it, Prof. Fairfield states in his closing paragraph,

Francis Kyle has written a thorough, careful, balanced biography of this evangelical saint, so influential in mid-19th century America and so little known today. Based on exhaustive research in the relevant sources, this book offers a grass-roots view of New England revivalism in the 1820's, as the foundations of the antebellum "Evangelical Empire" were being laid. Readers interested in early New England and undergraduate studies of American religion should find this work accessible, interesting and useful.

Regarding the review's author, the first-ever issue of Trinity Journal for Theology and Ministry (Fall 2007, Vol. 1) was devoted to "Anglicanism, Past and Future: Studies in Honor of the Rev. Dr. Leslie P. Fairfield." Prof. Fairfield (B.A., Princeton; Ph.D., Harvard) is the author of John Bale [1495-1563]: Mythmaker for the English Reformation (2006) and--among other online and print articles--"The Trinity and Postmodern Evangelism" (The Anglican Quarterly, Fall 2010).

May today's church, seminary and university be instructed and challenged upon learning about the Princeton University and Yale Seminary-trained Taylor and his advocacy for uncommon Christianity--"eminently holy, self-denying, cross-bearing, Bible, everyday" Christianity.

Mary Jane Gardner (1956-2011), uncommon Christian Bible translator . . . victim of terrorism, Jerusalem bus stop bombing (March 23, 2011)

The wrong place at the wrong time.

Yet God is sovereign with not even birds (sparrows) falling to the ground outside of the Father's will (Matthew 10:27-31).

Scottish Bible translator Mary Jane Gardner is the second Christian (Evangelical Protestant) in 3 months to be the victim of Palestinian terrorism.

Of the 50 or so innocent bystanders who were injured by a bomb at a crowded 3:00 p.m. Jerusalem bus stop on March 23, 2011, the 55-year-old Gardner was the only person who died. On her day off from school, she was walking by the bus stop in order to have lunch with an Irish friend who had just arrived in the city with a tour group. Though not a suicide bombing, it was the first bus bombing in The Eternal City since 2004 and the Second Intifada.

Gardner was a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators since 1986. She served in a remote area of Togo, West Africa, for 20 years, and helped complete the New Testament translation into the Ife tribal language in 2009. A short-term student studying biblical Hebrew at Hebrew University's Rothberg International School, the never-married Gardner was preparing herself to go back to the Togo tribesmen this summer in order to translate the Old Testament into Ife.

After arriving in Jerusalem in January 2011, she lived at the Home for Bible Translators and Scholars in Mevaseret Zion, a suburb of Jerusalem. Gardner also frequented Yad Hashmona, a Finnish Christian moshav in the Judean Hills near Jerusalem.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, and the daughter (oldest of five children) of British missionary parents, she was a graduate of St. Andrews University (Class of 1977) in Scotland. A biographical summary of Gardner's life is available at Wycliffe Bible Translators' U.K. blog--click here.

As posted last month on this blog, on December 18, 2010, Christine Luken died of a stabbing attack by Palestinian terrorists while hiking just south of Jerusalem. An American Christian and lover of the Jewish people, the 44-year-old Luken worked in the U.K. office of the Church's Ministry among the Jewish People (CMJ). Since June 2009, I have been volunteering with CMJ Israel's Christ Church Guest House in Jerusalem.

Here are some news articles on the Jerusalem bus stop bombing and death of the "uncommon Christian" Bible translator Mary Jane Gardner:

+ Woman killed in Israel bus bombing remembered

CBN.com, April 4, 2011 . . . includes this 3.5 minute news video:

+ Mary Gardner, 1955-2011
Wycliffe Bible Translators blog (U.K.), March 28, 2011
(full biography)

+ Friends of Jerusalem bombing victim grapple with her loss: Bible translator Mary Jane Gardner "longed to give other people the same access to the scriptures" that she had enjoyed
Jerusalem Post (Israel), March 31, 2011

+ Terror bombing in Jerusalem
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 23, 2011

+ Scottish Bible translator killed by Jerusalem bus bomb
The Telegraph (U.K.), March 24, 2011

+ Jerusalem bus bomb victim was British Bible translator studying Hebrew
The Guardian (U.K.), March 24, 2011

+ Jerusalem bus bomb: Mary Gardner's family pay tribute
BBC News (U.K.), March 24, 2011

+ Distraught parents of Bible scholar killed in Jerusalem bomb blast pay tribute to "very special" daughter
Daily Mail (U.K.), March 25, 2011

+ Prayers tribute for Scot killed in Jerusalem
Herald Scotland (U.K.), March 26, 2011