‘An Agent of Usefulness.’ This is how William Wilberforce viewed himself as he reflected on the call of God on his life, and his constant prayer became that he might remain so for the benefit of mankind. He would end up giving his life and health in the pursuit of that call.
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I had been with Christian Focus Publications for a year or two when I pulled into the leafy campus of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts in late Autumn 2002. Coming from the Highlands of Scotland I was something of an innocent when it came to understanding the intricacies of the different tribes of US Evangelicalism. I knew what CFP stood for but was in the process of discovering where we fitted.
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“Did John Calvin murder Michael Servetus?” Questions like this swirl around Calvin’s involvement in the trial, judgment, and execution of Servetus in 1553.
Unlike other trials, the case of Calvin and Servetus is compounded by the often–emotional topic of Calvinism. As a hero or villain in church history, one is likely to read the evidence tainted by a desire to defend or vilify Calvin.
A dear friend of mine—whom my kids call Uncle James—is a missionary in Vietnam. When I first met James, he was on furlough in the States, visiting his aging mother. How did he spend his time while on furlough? He bunked at a nearby homeless shelter, living among the inner–city homeless in order to share the gospel with them. In fact that’s where I met James: serving him breakfast at the homeless shelter.
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