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This hymn is a uniquely Wisconsin hymn. The words were written by a pastor buried in Wisconsin, and set to music by a pastor born in Wisconsin. Rev. Warren D. Cornell was born in Michigan but left at 19 to teach and preach in Texas. At 23 he came to Wisconsin, where he’d spend the next 40 years of Read more...
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Site of one of the most famous trials in the 20th Century, featuring Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. My first visit to the Scopes Trial Museum proved unsuccessful. It was the Christmas season and the County Executive ordered the building closed early for the day. So I took some pictures outside – the statues of William Jennings Bryan and Read more...
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Learn from Tim Schmig about the multiple references to God in the Jefferson Memorial We’re at the Jefferson Memorial, a monument to Thomas Jefferson, a man who in his lifetime was full of personal contradictions, and he was also conflicted about those contradictions. And yet, the life of Thomas Jefferson, the writings of Thomas Jefferson, give us some Read more...
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Blaine Myron Cedarholm (1911–1999) was a devoted pastor, teacher, and writer whose life’s work left a steady mark on mid-20th-century Baptist life, particularly among churches committed to historic doctrine and local church ministry. Though not a household name, his influence was widely felt through his preaching, pastoral leadership, and printed works that encouraged clarity in belief and consistency in practice. Read more...
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Hymn History: In the Sweet By and By Authors: Sanford Fillmore Bennett and Joseph Philbrick Webster “His (Bennett’s) poetry began appearing in [Illinois] newspapers and hymn collections; later he studied medicine while owning a drugstore in Wisconsin.” (Hymntime.com) The Origin of the Hymn “In the Sweet By and By” Among the most enduring and beloved hymns of the Read more...
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One night in September 1898 two salesmen, John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill, shared room 19 in the Central Hotel, Boscobel. They wondered if some organization could not be started for the mutual help and recognition of Christian travelers. A chance meeting of the two on May 31, 1899 in Beaver Dam led to plans for an organizational meeting Read more...
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On September 14, 1898, John Nicholson, a travelling salesman (think of the Music Man era) from Janesville, checked into the Boscobel Central House Hotel. Back in the day, not all hotel rooms were private – in fact often you may not have a bed to yourself. In 1776, John Adams wrote of having to share a bed with Benjamin Franklin, Read more...
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The life of John Lathrop (also spelled Lothrop) stands as a meaningful example of conviction, sacrifice, and pastoral leadership in the early 17th century. His journey from England to New England reflects the broader struggle for religious liberty that helped shape both Congregational and Baptist traditions in the English-speaking world. John Lathrop was born around 1584 in Etton Yorkshire and Read more...
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The West Parish of Barnstable—often called the West Barnstable Parish Church—stands as one of the enduring witnesses to early New England faith and community life. Although sometimes mistakenly associated with England, it is in fact rooted in Barnstable Massachusetts, where it has served generations since the early 18th century. The church was formally organized in 1717, during a period when Read more...
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On the back campus of Phillips Academy, one can walk down “Judson Road” and visit the secluded area by the “Rabbit Pond,” where Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, and other believers kneeled each morning by a huge boulder, prayer for missions, and dedicated their lives to God. On that boulder (affectionately called “Missionary Rock“), citizens of Andover, in 1910, affixed a memorial Read more...
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The grave of Henry Dunster, first president of Harvard College, is in the Old Burying Ground (adjacent to First Church, Unitarian) on Church Street. Harvard forced Dunster out of the presidency for his defense of believer’s baptism by immersion. Harvard never had a greater president. (See Chapter 13.). Copyrighted and used by permission from David Beale, Baptist History in England and America: Read more...
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The First Baptist Church of Boston stands as one of the oldest Baptist congregations in the United States, with a history that reaches back to 1665. Its story reflects both the struggle for religious liberty in colonial New England and the enduring influence of Baptist convictions on American life. The church was founded during a time when the Massachusetts Bay Read more...
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The First Baptist Church of Swansea holds an important place in the early history of Baptist life in New England. Founded in the seventeenth century, it reflects the spread of Baptist principles from Rhode Island into neighboring Massachusetts and stands as a testament to the struggle for religious liberty in colonial America. The church traces its origins to 1663, making Read more...
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Lloyd and Doris Anderson started the museum that is now known as the Mount St. Helens Creation Center to share the impact of the volcano that transformed Washington state. On March 15th, 1980, a series of earthquakes began, followed by avalanches, fractures, and ash clouds. Then, it appeared to stop on May 16th, and the area residents started demanding to Read more...
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The Focus on the Family Welcome Center serves as a public gateway to one of the most influential Christian ministries in the United States, Focus on the Family. Located at the organization’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, the Welcome Center combines education, outreach, and family-friendly activities to introduce visitors to the ministry’s mission and history. Focus on the Family was founded Read more...
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The Dunham Bible Museum is a distinctive institution dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of the Bible through rare manuscripts, artifacts, and historical displays. Located on the campus of Houston Christian University (formerly Houston Baptist University), the museum serves as both an educational resource and a place of reflection on the transmission and influence of Scripture through the centuries. Read more...
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Modern creationism, the idea that God created the world in six literal days approximately 6,000 years ago, and following that, a worldwide flood occurred, was championed by George McCready Price, a Seventh Day Adventist, starting in 1902. Williams Jennings Bryan unsuccessfully recruited him as a witness for the Scopes Trial. The “flood geology” movement grew to include conservative Lutherans, and Read more...
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The Woodland Museum of Biblical Archaeology is a unique institution dedicated to illuminating the historical and cultural background of the Bible through carefully curated artifacts and exhibits. Located on the campus of Trinity International University, the museum serves as an educational resource for students, scholars, and visitors interested in the ancient world of the Scriptures. The origins of the museum Read more...
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At a Christian broadcasting convention, a friend of mine introduced me to Russell S. Doughten Jr. He looked vaguely familiar, until my host reminded me about his film, A Thief in the Night. In 1972, Doughten and Donald W. Thompson formed Mark IV Productions. Shooting in his native Iowa, he would tell the story of the world’s last days as Read more...
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From Wikipedia: William Bell Riley (March 22, 1861 in Greene County, Indiana, USA – December 5, 1947 in Golden Valley, Minnesota) was known as “The Grand Old Man of Fundamentalism.” After being educated at normal school in Valparaiso, Indiana, Riley received his teacher’s certificate. After teaching in county schools, he attended college in Hanover, Indiana, where he received an A.B. degree in 1885. In 1888 he graduated from the Southern Read more...