The Top Ten List
By Jay Rogers
Published April 2008
Christian Leaders of Massachusetts
On the following pages are listed the top ten Christian leaders in Massachusetts history. Literally hundreds of names could have been included. No doubt, there are more than a few glaring omissions. Ever since the first English Pilgrims and Puritans settled here in the 1620s and ’30s, Massachusetts has led the nation in producing Christian leaders from all walks of life. Ministers, authors, statesmen, sports heroes and business people have professed their faith in Jesus Christ, sometimes in the face of ridicule, but often as a testimony to their success.
As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, Boston is “the hub of the solar system.” The Puritans believed that Massachusetts was literally the “New Jerusalem.” The names New Hampshire, New Haven, New England speak of the mandate of the New Testament to build the city of God on earth. The names of towns, rivers and places echo biblical names and doctrines. Even the city of Boston, originally named Tremont for the three hills the city was built upon, alludes to the Trinity. It was a city built upon the foundation of God.
While few today would think of New England’s citizens as being God’s chosen people, when we look at our great achievement and culture, it is obvious that there is a special calling for the region. Here is only a brief representation of the Christian leaders of four centuries. As the growing number of Christian students and local churches attest, it may not be long before we will see a new generation of Christian leaders who will build “the city of God” on the foundation laid by its founders.
- 1. William Bradford: Governor of Plymouth Colony (1590-1657)
- 2. John Winthrop: Governor of Massachusetts (1587-1649)
- 3. Anne Bradstreet: America's first poet (1612-1672)
- 4. Jonathan Edwards: The First Great Awakening (1703-1758)
- 5. George Whitefield: The First Transatlantic Evangelist (1714-1770)
- 6. Phillis Wheatley: Forerunner of American Abolitionism (1753-1784)
- 7. Samuel Adams: Father of the American Revolution (1722-1803)
- 8. John Quincy Adams: America's Evangelist President (1767-1848)
- 9. Dwight Lyman Moody: America's Greatest Evangelist (April 21, 1855)
- 10. Billy Sunday Draws 70,000 to Boston Revival (November 12, 1916)
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Dr. Francis Schaeffer - How Should We Then Live? (DVD)
Special Two-Disc Set!
After 40 years of intense study and world-wide ministry, Dr. Francis Schaeffer completed his crowning work of scholarship – to present profound truths in simple film language. Dr. Schaeffer’s brilliant analysis of the past and predictions for current trends have proven so uncannily accurate that this amazing series still feels contemporary almost three decades after its initial release. Ultimately, Schaeffer concludes that man’s only hope is a return to God’s Biblical absolute, the truth revealed in Christ through the Scriptures.
Available for the first time on DVD, this documentary spectacular also includes intimate in-depth conversations with Francis and Edith Schaeffer. With the on-disc study guide, this presentation forms a unique course of comprehensive study. While this series forms an innovative analysis of the past, this outstanding work is more than history. Each episode focuses on a significant era, yet speaks clearly to 21st-century man with answers for modern problems.
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Dr. Francis Schaeffer - A Christian Manifesto (DVD)
That Swiss Hermit Strikes Again!
Dr. Schaeffer, who was one of the most influential Christian thinkers in the twentieth century, shows that secular humanism has displaced the Judeo-Christian consensus that once defined our nation’s moral boundaries. Law, education, and medicine have all been reshaped for the worse as a consequence. America’s dominant worldview changed, Schaeffer charges, when Christians weren’t looking.
Schaeffer lists two reasons for evangelical indifference: a false concept of spirituality and fear. He calls on believers to stand against the tyranny and moral chaos that come when humanism reigns-and warns that believers may, at some point, be forced to make the hard choice between obeying God or Caesar. A Christian Manifesto is a thought-provoking and bracing Christian analysis of American culture and the obligation Christians have to engage the culture with the claims of Christ.
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Go Stand Speak (DVD)
With “preaching to the lost” being such a basic foundation of Christianity, why do many in the church seem to be apathetic on this issue of preaching in highways and byways of towns and cities?
Is it biblical to stand in the public places of the world and proclaim the gospel, regardless if people want to hear it or not?
Does the Bible really call church pastors, leaders and evangelists to proclaim the gospel in the public square as part of obedience to the Great Commission, or is public preaching something that is outdated and not applicable for our day and age?
These any many other questions are answered in this documentary.
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The Abortion Matrix: Defeating Child Sacrifice and the Culture of Death (DVD)
Download the free Study Guide!
Is there a connection between pagan religion and the abortion industry?
This powerful presentation traces the biblical roots of child sacrifice and then delves into the social, political and cultural fall-out that this sin against God and crime against humanity has produced in our beleaguered society.
Conceived as a sequel and update to the 1988 classic, The Massacre of Innocence, the new title, The Abortion Matrix, is entirely fitting. It not only references abortion’s specific target – the sacred matrix where human beings are formed in the womb in the very image of God, but it also implies the existence of a conspiracy, a matrix of seemingly disparate forces that are driving this holocaust.
The occult activity surrounding the abortion industry is exposed with numerous examples. But are these just aberrations, bizarre yet anomalous examples of abortionists who just happen to have ties to modern day witchcraft? Or is this representative of something deeper, more sinister and even endemic to the entire abortion movement?
As the allusion to the film of over a decade ago suggests, the viewer may learn that things are not always as they appear to be. The Abortion Matrix reveals the reality of child-killing and strikes the proper moral chord to move hearts to fulfill the biblical responsibility to rescue those unjustly sentenced to death and to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves (Proverbs 24:11,12; 31:8,9).
Speakers include: George Grant, Peter Hammond, RC Sproul Jr., Paul Jehle, Lou Engle, Rusty Thomas, Flip Benham, Janet Porter and many more.
Ten parts, over three hours of instruction!
Running Time: 195 minutes
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The Beast of Revelation: Identified (DVD)
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation?
Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry’s insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation — and even more importantly — amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview!
Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue — but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today.
Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study — for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John’s famous letter “… to the seven churches which are in Asia.” (Revelation 1:4)
Running Time: 145 minutes
$17.95 — ORDER NOW!
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