Category: Biography

A. Reid Jepson – Pastor, Missionary, Mentor

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 3 Comments

God gives us faithful men and women to lead us and shape us in our journey towards Christ. A. Reid Jepson was a mentor of mine. 

The classroom was empty, but I was sure it would soon be full. A junior at Biola University, I was excited about my developing relationship with God and expecting the gospel of Jesus Christ to reach the world in my lifetime.  A leader in the Student Missionary Union (SMU), I had arranged a prayer meeting to petition the Lord on some pressing missions concerns.  I had invited a dear friend, Reverend A. Reid Jepson, a long time pastor and missionary with the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) and the Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), to address the group.  Reid had traveled many times behind the Iron Curtain and had dozens of examples of the powerful work of God in his life to share.

I had invited all of the active members of the SMU and many personal friends, selected the time and place to coordinate with their schedules, and even used my meager college income to buy a few refreshments.   Reid had known my mother for years, had taught me many things about the Lord, and he was the most faithful Christian man I knew.  Always punctual, he arrived about 20 minutes before the prayer meeting was to begin.  I arranged and rearranged the chairs, the missions materials and the snacks, and we chatted as we waited.

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Adoniram Judson, a simple man used mightily by a mighty God

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Adoniram Judson was a bold, faithful Christian who wanted to bring word of Jesus Christ to the Chinese. He did, and millions of Christians in that great land have been blessed as a result. 

By Mark D. Harris

Each man has only one life and most that I have known start out with big dreams; dreams of riches, influence, and the ability to change the world and make it a better place.  Some of these dreams are dashed early, many are dashed later, and most are modified into something far more humble by the time the man is in his thirties.  It is the rare man, perhaps less than one in a million, who actually achieves what he dreamt of in his youth.  It is the rarer man still whose dreams as a boy were the same that God had for him as a man, and carried through faithfully in life to achieve them.

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Jonathan Potts – American Revolutionary Physician

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

Military physicians, just like all soldiers and military officers, should read military history. We will be better if we do.

By Mark D. Harris

Napoleon suggested “Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. … This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war. …” As true as this maxim is for line officers, it is also true for leaders in the Army medical department. By studying the struggles, victories and defeats of our forebears we can better surmount the obstacles we face today.

Dr. Jonathan Potts is a medical officer worth studying. He was born in Popodickon, Pennsylvania in 1747 and, with Dr. Benjamin Rush, attended the famous medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. He returned to the colonies on learning of the illness of his fiancé, Miss Grace Richardson. Potts married her in May 1767 and completed his Doctor of Medicine at the College of Philadelphia, the first institution to grant medical degrees in America, in 1771. He began a private practice in Reading, PA, but responded to the call of independence, seeking assignment with the Continental Hospital Department, comprised of Northern, Middle and Eastern Departments.

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What were William Carey’s contributions to the modern missions movement?

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Believers in Jesus Christ belong to the largest organization, with the longest history, on earth. Knowing the work of saints of old grounds us in who we were, who we are, and who we will become. 

By Mark D. Harris

William Carey (1761-1834), the 18th century cobbler who was captured by the grace of God and became the “Father of Modern Protestant Missions”, was a remarkable man in almost every respect. According to Indian Christians Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi, writing in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, he made major contributions in many fields:

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Why Was the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards So Effective?

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 2 Comments

Reverend Jonathan Edwards was a powerful leader in the American First Great Awakening. His style, but more important his heart, can inform us today.  

By Mark D. Harris

The name Jonathan Edwards is the first many people remember when discussing the Great Awakening. His signature sermon, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, delivered 8 July 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut, was electrifying; with wails and cries in the congregation and the fear of God on the lips of His people. It is the most famous sermon of the Great Awakening, a move of the Holy Spirit in which an estimated 5% of the population of the colonies found the Lord.

In a communications class today, however, Edwards might have received a failing grade on delivery. Most modern speakers are taught to speak from notes, to gesticulate, to vary the inflection of their voices, and to mix current events, humor, and even music and drama into their preaching. Edwards did nothing of the sort. He was an academic who spent most of his work hours in his pastor’s study. He wrote every speech, choosing each word with exquisite care, and read the sermon in a monotone voice. Edwards was so nearsighted that he kept his text close in front of his face to see it. Sinners has neither jokes nor anything calculated to identify with or engage the congregation. Churchill, the foremost orator of the first half of the 20th century, would probably have commended Edwards for reading his sermons but condemned him for his presentation.

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