D. A. Carson's father was a pioneering church-planter and pastor in Quebec. But still, an ordinary pastor-except that he ministered during the decades that brought French Canada from the brutal challenges of persecution and imprisonment for Baptist ministers to spectacular growth and revival in the 1970s. It is a story, and an era, that few in the English-speaking world know anything about. But through Tom Carson's journals and written prayers, and the narrative and historical background supplied by his son, readers will be given a firsthand account of not only this trying time in North American church history, but of one pastor's life and times, dreams and disappointments. With words that will ring true for every person who has devoted themselves to the Lord's work, this unique book serves to remind readers that though the sacrifices of serving God are great, the sweetness of living a faithful, obedient life is greater still.

In The Pastor, author Eugene Peterson, translator of the multimillion-selling The Message, tells the story of how he started Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland and his gradual discovery of what it really means to be a pastor. Steering away from abstractions, Peterson challenges conventional wisdom regarding church marketing, mega pastors, and the church’s too-cozy relationship to American glitz and consumerism to present a simple, faith-based description of what being a minister means today. In the end, Peterson discovers that being a pastor boils down to “paying attention and calling attention to ‘what is going on now’ between men and women, with each other and with God.”

Carl Braaten’s memoirs tell the story of his life as a theologian, from his early years as a missionary kid in Madagascar to his years of study at the universities of Paris, Harvard, Heidelberg, and Oxford to his decades of teaching. Throughout the book, he delves into the many theological movements, controversies, and personalities that shaped his thinking and writing. Braaten’s fight for the faith is reflected in his theological work―spoken and written―that tangles with the “isms” of the surrounding culture of American religion. Because of Christ is more than simply a biography; it is a chronicle of the chief theological conflicts of the twentieth century that put the integrity of the gospel to the test.

This book presents the story of Gladys January Willis-from early childhood to retirement as a university professor and administrator. It chronicles her experiences as a Black girl born and reared in Jackson, Mississippi, as well as her educational sojourn in college and graduate schools, and a career in higher education and entrance into Christian ministry as an ordained chaplain. In Chapter IX of the book, Willis writes: It is no secret that in my racist and segregated community the majority-White system promoted its message loudly and clearly-on the public buses, in the segregated school system, in employment practices, in segregated eateries, in housing developments, in business transactions, and in the political arena. One of the most impacting experiences in my life, after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, was that of exercising my right to vote. Because of the cherished right to vote as an American citizen, whenever there is an election, exercising my right to vote is a top priority. I am sure that my Black home environment played a vital role in the way I came to think about life in general and my own life in particular. She credits her maternal grandmother, Henrietta Young Hedrick, as her primary role model. Mama, as she was called, "was a proud Black woman who demanded that she be respected. Her boldness was undaunted and communicated her respect for herself and her demand for the same from others, regardless of who they were or their station in life."

This comprehensive history traces the birth and growth of the Christian Church and the people who brought it into being.