Most presidents are remembered for specific achievements or mistakes made during their tenure. However, Calvin Coolidge is often remembered for what he didn’t do, and with admiration. While maintaining a steadfast attitude against drastic change, the president managed to keep the country on a steady course of “Coolidge prosperity.”   While his actions may have been somewhat bland, there is much more to the sometimes mysterious, always fascinating “Silent Cal” that the history books often leave out. Could he perhaps be the coolest of the presidents?   1. Coolidge Was Born on the Fourth of July Calvin Coolidge and his sons in 1920. Source: Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum   John Calvin Coolidge, named for his father, was born on July 4, 1872. Later dropping his first name in favor of his middle moniker, often shortened to “Cal,” the young man enjoyed a pleasant childhood in Plymouth, Vermont. His father was a storekeeper and a prominent member of the community. His mother was said to be quite beautiful and dreamy in disposition. However, she was frail in constitution, and when Calvin was twelve, his mother passed away.   Calvin honored his mother by always carrying a locket with her photo for the rest of his life. Five years later, he’d suffer great loss once again when his younger sister and only sibling, Abigail or “Abbie,” died at age 12, likely from an attack of appendicitis. Through their grief, Calvin and his father persisted in maintaining the family store and homestead, and Calvin continued his studies.   2. He Didn’t Get an Evil Stepmother; Quite the Opposite Coolidge in a 1923 portrait. Source: Library of Congress   In 1891, John Coolidge found love again and remarried. His new wife was Carolina “Carrie” Brown, a local school teacher. Calvin had known his new stepmother his entire life, and she stepped into her new role perfectly. She had a caring nature and treated Cal like her own son. He spoke of her fondly in life and in his autobiography, and the two were very close until her death in 1920.   3. He Met His Wife Because She Was Laughing at Him The Coolidges at a Chicago stock show in a 1924 Source: Chicago Tribune   After attending and graduating from Amherst College in 1895, Coolidge began pursuing the law. He worked for a firm in Northampton, Massachusetts before passing the bar in 1897 and striking out on his own. In Northampton, he met his future wife, Grace Anna Goodhue, whom he married in 1905. Coolidge was in his room at a local boarding house one evening, shaving. He happened to be doing so in front of the window, wearing only his underwear and a hat. Miss Goodhue was traveling past on foot when she caught sight of him and, thinking he looked foolish, laughed loud enough for him to hear. Coolidge later claimed he was wearing the hat to keep his hair out of his eyes.   4. Coolidge Learned He Was President in the Middle of the Night & His Father Swore Him In Grace and Calvin Coolidge in August 1923. He is wearing a black armband to signify mourning for the death of former president Warren G. Harding. Source: Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum   On August 2, 1923, Calvin and Grace were vacationing at the Coolidge family home in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. In the middle of the night, the elder Coolidge woke his son after learning that President Warren G. Harding died of a heart attack. At 2:24 AM, in the presence of several reporters who had gathered, John Coolidge, a justice of the peace, gave his son the oath of office, swearing him in as the 30th president of the United States. What was Calvin’s first action as president? He went back to bed.   5. He Was Lauded for “Doing Nothing” Effectively Coolidge at a baseball game in 1925. Bill McKechnie is to the left and Bucky Harris to the right. Source: Library of Congress   American journalist Walter Lippmann praised Coolidge for his “active inactivity” and its effect on the country’s success. In his inaugural address, Coolidge praised the “state of contentment” the country was in and that he hoped to maintain it. His approach appealed to people who thought the government had exercised too much reach in the past and business owners who wanted to be left to the “Invisible Hand” rather than face more regulation.   Coolidge and his cabinet, 1925. Source: Library of Congress   The country was enjoying the economic boom of the Roaring Twenties as Coolidge came into office, but he did not wish to see the excess many Americans were enjoying reflected in government spending and interference. He vetoed multiple bills to bail out the agriculture industry and create a federal electrical project to produce cheap power. Measures such as these paid off, and Coolidge became and remained a popular president as the country enjoyed what the media called “Coolidge Prosperity.”   6. Coolidge Wasn’t Much of a Talker President Coolidge at a church groundbreaking, 1924. Source: Library of Congress   Known to many as “Silent Cal,” Coolidge was a man of few words, but when he did speak, he often did so with his dry wit. His wife recounted a story that took place at a dinner party when a young lady sat next to Coolidge and told him that she had made a bet with a friend that she could get more than three words out of him. Without making eye contact or cracking a smile, he responded, “You lose.”   President Coolidge in cowboy costume in South Dakota in 1927. Source: Library of Congress   Coolidge told friends that he often sat silently during interviews because even a simple “yes” or “no” would “wind them [reporters] up for twenty minutes more.” Still, Coolidge is considered one of the most accessible presidents despite his quietude. He hosted many visitors and groups at the White House over his term and participated in numerous public events across the country.   7. Coolidge Didn’t Own a Home Until He Retired Coolidge in his office in an undated photo. Source: Library of Congress   Before he married, young lawyer Coolidge rented a room in a boarding house. Even after he was wed, the Coolidge family, which grew to include two sons, decided to rent rather than purchase a home. They leased half of a two-family duplex in Northampton until they moved into the White House.   While serving as vice president, Coolidge moved his family to the Willard Hotel in DC but maintained their rental in Northampton. They returned there after his tenure as president but found that the home lacked the privacy they desired in retirement. In 1930, they purchased The Beeches, a large home with a long private driveway and plenty of trees in the southern part of Northampton.   8. He Was an Animal Lover First Lady Grace Coolidge with Rebecca the Raccoon in 1927. Library of Congress photo. Source: NBC News.   Calvin Coolidge was an admirer of animals and had several pets during his presidency. Though his favorite was said to be his collie, Rob Roy, his menagerie was plentiful. The family had dogs, cats, and birds, along with a friendly raccoon named Rebecca. Along with the presidency came gifts from foreign dignitaries and domestic fans; some of these presents were living creatures.   For example, Harvey Firestone, of automotive fame, gave the president a pygmy hippo that hailed from the African nation of Liberia. Coolidge donated the creature named Billy to the National Zoo, where he became a popular attraction known for his friskiness.   Coolidge was also gifted a pair of lion cubs from the mayor of Johannesburg, South Africa. They were amusingly named Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau, and Coolidge used them to send a message about fiscal responsibility in the United States. As twins, the cubs were the same size, and Coolidge emphasized that they would need to be fed equally to maintain this. He compared this to the equal importance of focusing on a federal budget while reducing tax burdens, not just targeting taxes. Coolidge, a fiscal conservative, walked the walk, bringing the top individual income tax rate down to 25% during his term while working on the budget, vetoing over 50 spending bills and cutting existing expenditures.   9. He Was a Believer in Equality Robert Russa Moton, second president of Tuskegee Institute. Source: Tuskegee University (formerly Institute)   Coolidge spoke out for civil rights during his tenure. He shunned members of the Ku Klux Klan when it came to appointing public officers. While it was many years before Washington recognized African Americans as equal under the law, Coolidge made efforts to hear from the African American community, welcoming groups such as the Negro National Educational Congress to the White House and communicating with leaders such as Robert Moton, principal of Tuskegee Institute. Under Coolidge’s presidency, he signed the Snyder Act, or Indian Citizenship Act, into law in 1924, which granted US citizenship to America’s Indigenous people for the first time.   10. Some People Wanted Coolidge Forced Into a Second Term Coolidge tips his hat, 1924. Source: Library of Congress   Calvin Coolidge declined to run for a second term at the end of his first full term in 1928, despite the general belief that the popular incumbent would easily win. There were several reasons for his decision, including the death of his son. In his autobiography, Coolidge wrote that when his youngest son, Calvin Jr., only sixteen, died of an infection, “the power and glory of the presidency went with him.”   Coolidge also suggested that he believed a politician staying in office too long was at risk of becoming “careless and arrogant” due to the atmosphere of worshippers and supplicants a president is often surrounded with.   C.K. Berryman cartoon titled “In the Yellowstone,” published in 1927. Source: National Park Service   On August 2, 1927, Coolidge was traveling in the Black Hills when he printed a statement to hand out to local reporters: “I do not choose to run for president in 1928.” He refused to answer follow-up questions and felt the matter was settled. However, he was so popular among the American people that many refused to take no for an answer.   A movement erupted in which people wondered if the president could be drafted, much like the military, and forced to continue in his role. Due to the success of this movement, Coolidge was forced to make another statement in December, encouraging the Republican National Committee to search for another contender.   Herbert Hoover in 1928. Source: National Archives   Still, many continued to support the “draft Coolidge” ideology as the election loomed. Coolidge addressed the party once more in June 1928, as he heard whispers that several party leaders still planned to vote for him at the Republican National Convention. He sent personal messages instructing them to please not do so, as he felt the best move for the country was for him to “succeed himself.” Finally, Republican voters acquiesced, and Herbert Hoover, who had served as commerce secretary under Coolidge, gained the nomination for president in the 1928 election.

  In the US, Japanese immigrants’ adoption of Christianity could be a natural consequence of living in a predominantly Christian nation. However, Christian institutions aimed at Japanese immigrants in America served many purposes besides religion. Particularly in the early period, churches were often the first points of interaction for newly emigrated Japanese, especially among those without established contacts.   Japan’s Conflicted History With Christianity St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit Missionary who visited Japan, late 16th to early 17th century. Source: Kobe City Museum   Christianity played an important role in shaping the course of Japanese history. After decades of allowing missionaries to proselytize, in 1633, the Japanese government decided that the growing religion was a threat to its sovereignty. Those in charge feared that the spread of Catholicism would mean Japanese Christians would be more loyal to the pope than to the nation, so they imposed severe travel restrictions (both international and domestic) and all but eradicated Christianity within its borders. In fact, less than two percent of Japan’s current population identifies as Christian (The World Factbook, Japan).   Japan began allowing foreigners to enter the country after the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Foreign traders in Japan proliferated, and with them came Christian missionaries. These missionaries played an important role in helping the Japanese modernize to Western standards; they taught the children of the former elite samurai class at newly established American-run mission schools (Lee, 2018, p. 51). This association with the upper class may have favorably biased Japanese travelers toward accepting Christianity. Of those who decided to emigrate to the United States, fifteen to twenty percent converted to Christianity by 1930 (Spickard, 1996, p. 61).   Who Emigrated & Why  Issei at a Railroad Camp, ca. 1895. Source: Y. Matsushima, Japanese American National Museum   The feudal Tokugawa government was ousted by 1868, but the Japanese government’s policy of restricting travel carried over into the new Meiji era. It was not until 1885 that Japanese citizens were granted passports and allowed to travel abroad. At first, Japan enlisted elite citizens to travel abroad to learn Western ways that could then be brought back to Japan for implementation. Japanese immigrants arrived as students seeking the enlightenment of a Western education. Many of these “schoolboys” pooled resources to form small delivery services and restaurants or took lodgings with American families and did chores and errands to earn their keep while they studied (Ano, 1997, pp. 178–179).   When the Meiji officials decided to focus their resources on modernization, they found it an expensive process. To raise funds for modernization, Japan began introducing a system of tax reforms in 1873. One of these reforms was particularly burdensome to farmers. Instead of taxing income made from the production and selling of crops, the government decided to tax the farmer’s land at a flat rate of three percent of its estimated value. If the farmer had a good year and could sell at a high price, he was relatively unaffected. However, a poor harvest or low market would put the farmer in tough straits. Unfortunately, regulations of the rice markets caused prices to fall by more than half between 1881 and 1884 (Moriyama, 1985, pp. 2–4). No longer able to support their families or meet the tax obligations, many farmers lost their lands.   Map of Japan showing the capitol and the prefectures that supplied the most emigrants. Source: Spickard (1996); Image made by Anje Ukyu   A significant influence on the Meiji government’s decision to let its citizens travel was pressure from nations seeking Japanese workers. Between the Meiji restoration in 1868 and the end of the travel restrictions in 1885, the Japanese government received several requests for workers from the Dutch, Spanish, Kingdom of Hawaii, Britain, Canada, and the United States (Moriyama, 1985, p. 8). Most Japanese who emigrated to America came from the south of Japan. The prefectures of Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, and Kumamoto supplied the bulk of the early immigrants (Moriyama, 1985, p. 13).   Japanese Immigration to the US Pacific Coast. Source: Mears (1928), p. 412; Table by Anje Ukyu   Many early immigrants considered themselves to be temporary sojourners or dekaseginin. Their purpose in traveling to America was to find good-paying jobs that would allow them to save up enough money to return to Japan and set themselves up as farmers or merchants. While the average wage for a day’s labor in Japan in 1890 was about $0.14, work in America paid between $1.00 and $1.50 (Peterson, 2004, p. 12). The immigrants’ intention to return to Japan is supported by the fact that most early immigrants were heads of household or elder sons who would inherit their family’s wealth (Moriyama, 1985, pp. 17–18). As such, they could not be expected to settle permanently in the US.   Regardless of the reason for travel, the West Coast was a popular destination for Japanese immigrants. The Japanese community along the Pacific Coast had a population of around 1,559 people in 1890, and it expanded rapidly in the following decades (Ichihashi, 1915, p. 7).   Shinto & Buddhism in America Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, early 19th century. Source: Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii   From poor farmers to the sons of wealthy families, the first wave of Japanese immigrants, or Issei, came from diverse backgrounds. Nevertheless, once they reached American shores, their similarities far outweighed their differences. Newly arrived Japanese in America immediately faced the challenge of settling into their new lives despite having few or no resources to ease their way into society.   Early immigrants to America, especially those outside the major Japanese populations in California, had limited choices regarding religion. Those who immigrated after 1900 had a much wider range of organizations to choose from. Japanese immigrants were most familiar with the mixture of Shinto and Buddhism that had been practiced in Japan for centuries.   Shinto became particularly important in Japan around 1910 when the Meiji government established State Shinto to promote nationalistic and patriotic ideals. Part of this was the reminder that according to Shinto tradition, the Japanese emperor is a descendant of Japan’s patron goddess, Amaterasu (Gordon, 2003, p. 137). Although the first Shinto Shrine in the US was established in Hawai’i in 1898, Shinto played a minor role in America. It is involved more with tradition than specific services and rites, and Japanese immigrants in America practiced Shinto homes without the need for formal institutions (Abe & Imamura).   The majority of Issei retained their Buddhist faith while in America. As with Shinto, the Issei performed necessary rites at home before their family altar. One woman recalls: “We had observed Buddhist rituals at our family altar, and Father chanted his rituals before breakfast and after supper. Brought up in this religious family background, I found I could remember those chants in the United States” (Tamura, 1993, p. 129).   Christianity Among Early Japanese Immigrants Portrait of Masuo Yasui, ca 1903–1910. Source: The Yasui Family Collection   Despite the ability to continue some religious practices at home, during the earliest period of Japanese immigration, there were no Buddhist priests or temples established in America, so there was no one who could perform familiar birth, marriage, and death rites. Protestant churches and organizations stepped in to fill the void. In addition to spiritual salvation, Christian institutions, including associations like the YWCA, held English language classes, offered help with finding employment, and even provided childcare. Furthermore, the Christian church became extremely popular with Japanese women in America because it allowed them to participate in life outside the home (Spickard, 1996, p. 60).   One example of how Christianity facilitated life in the US can be seen in the story of sixteen-year-old Masuo Yasui. Yasui arrived in America in 1903; he intended to join his father and brother, who had already been in America for several years (Kessler, 1993, pp. 9–10). However, when Yasui’s ship docked in Seattle on March 12, his family was not there to greet him. Instead, they were one thousand miles away working on the railroad. With fourteen dollars in his pocket and no English at his command, Yasui was fortunate to be greeted by the Methodist Missionaries who (at the time) waited to meet each incoming ship (Kessler, 1993, p. 12). Yasui, who had a clear destination and plan, did not linger with the missionaries. However, their presence at the dock in Seattle suggests the great difficulties new immigrants faced in America and the ability of the missionaries to help them.   Oakland Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church, 1907. Source: The Yamashita Family Archives   Of all Christian denominations, the Methodist church was particularly active in the lives of Japanese immigrants. Their mission work was so vital that Japanese-oriented missions sprang up in areas where the Japanese community was negligible. For example, in 1887, the Japanese population of Portland, Oregon was around thirty people, but by October 1892, the Reverend Teikichi Kawabe, an ordained deacon of a San Franciscan Methodist Church, was charged with journeying throughout the northwest to meet with immigrants in different communities. Reverend Kawabe reported a definite need for a mission to serve the widespread Oregon communities, and in 1893, he founded the Japanese Episcopal Church of Portland—currently known as Epworth United Methodist Church.   A photo card of Reverend Kawabe and his wife, sent sometime after his return to Japan in 1897. Source: The Yasui Family Collection   Despite their services, doubts arose as to whether Christian churches were helpful for assimilation. A 1915 report on the status of Japanese immigrants in California states:   “In every community where any considerable number of Japanese have settled Christian missions have been instituted for their benefit. The membership of the Christian missions, while large and increasing year by year, is smaller than that of the Buddhist organizations. These missions are for Japanese alone, a recognition of the difference between them and other races and a condition which lessens their value as an assimilative force” (Ichihashi, p.48).   The report suggests that the homogeneity of the congregations of Japanese-oriented churches made it impossible for Japanese immigrants to assimilate into American life. However, Japanese immigrants may have looked to the predominantly white leaders of the churches to help them understand and adapt to white society (Spickard, 1996, p. 60).   Enduring Faith  Portland’s Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church members greet their old friend Yosuke Matsuoka (at the base of the stairs, holding a cane), 1933. Source: Oregon Historical Quarterly 98(2)   Support from the Epworth Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon, and nurturing from a white family was certainly pivotal in the life of Yosuke Matsuoka, a Japanese immigrant of the “schoolboy” variety. Matsuoka’s mother was a dedicated believer in the True Pure Land Sect of Buddhism (Shin Shū). Part of her reasons for allowing him to travel to America was to help facilitate US-Japanese relations by exposing Americans to Buddhist thought (Lu, p.4.). Matsuoka, it seems, had other ideas about religion.   Not long after Matsuoka’s arrival in Portland, Reverend Kawabe took him in and helped him settle into his new life. He enrolled Matsuoka in a local grade school and found him a part-time job performing chores and errands for local Christian families (Lu, 2007, p. 6). Placing Japanese students with Christian families to do odd jobs served many purposes for Christian missions. The missionaries saw it as providing a source of cheap labor to the families and giving the boys a chance to see how established Americans were living life. It also gave the boys good Christian role models to emulate and a chance to improve their English. Many immigrants came to the US with little English.   Soon, Matsuoka was invited to live with a Christian family. In return for his room and board, he helped around the house doing small chores. Furthermore, he was taken under the wing of the lady of the house, Isabelle Dunbar Beveridge.   Matsuoka visiting Mrs. Beveridge’s grave with her surviving family, 1933. Source: OHS negative CN 012612   Mrs. Beveridge treated Matsuoka like a son, teaching him English and seeing to his education. Matsuoka would remember Mrs. Beveridge as a second mother. His description of the lady is as follows:   “The lady was a faithful Christian who possessed a lucid penetration into everything. And besides, she was a very virtuous housewife. When I look back on myself, daily directed and enlightened by such a lady like an angel during my growing period from ages 14 to 16, I really think myself fortunate and I consider it a strange act of Providence” (Ano, p. 174).   Decades later, Matsuoka would rise to power in Japan. He became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he would eventually be charged with traveling to Germany to sign the Tripartite Pact with Adolf Hitler. Still, he always remembered his time in the United States and the Christian woman who had supported him. Throughout his life, Matsuoka spoke of her fondly.   Religious conversion was a convenient way for some immigrants to gain acceptance in American society during their stay in the United States. For others, such as Matsuoka, the conversion was genuine and wholehearted. In Matsuoka’s case, the choice to adopt Christianity was influenced by the kindness and sympathy shown to Matsuoka by Reverend Kawabe and Mrs. Beveridge. After returning to Japan, Matsuoka respected observances of Shinto and Buddhism but maintained that he was a Christian if only in his own way, saying: “While I am a Christian, I am a Matsuoka Christian” (Ano, 1997, pp. 173–174).   From their first steps on US soil to their burial on the same soil, Christian institutions were meaningful for many Japanese immigrants’ lives in America. The church offered fellowship, community connection, practical aid, and spiritual support.   References:   Abe, D. K., & Imamura, A. (2019). The destruction of Shinto shrines in Hawaii and the West Coast during World War II: The lingering effects of Pearl Harbor and Japanese-American internment. Asian Anthropology, 18(4), 266–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/1683478x.2019.1592816 Ano, M. (1997). Yosuke Matsuoka: The Far-Western roots of a world-political vision. Oregon Historical Quarterly 98(2), 164–204. Gordon, A. (2003). A modern history of Japan: From Tokugawa times to the present. Oxford University Press. Ichihashi, Y. (1915). Japanese immigration its status in California. Marshall, 1915. Kessler, L. (1993). Stubborn twig: Three generations in the life of a Japanese American family. Random House. Kamano, Y (Trans).  (1982). History of Epworth United Methodist Church. Epworth United Methodist Church. Lee, J. H. X. (Ed.). (2018). Japanese Americans: The history and culture of a people. ABC-CLIO. Lu, D. J. (2007). Agony of choice: Matsuoka Yōsuke and the rise and fall of the Japanese Empire, 1880–1946. Lexington. Mears, E. G. (1928). Resident Orientals on the American Pacific Coast; Their legal and economic status. University of Chicago. Moriyama, A. T. (1985). Imingaisha: Japanese emigration companies and Hawaii, 1894–1908. University of Hawaii. Peterson, T. (2004). Japanese Americans. Heinemann Library. Spickard, P. R. (1996). Japanese Americans: The formation and transformations of an ethnic group. Twayne Publishers. Tamura, L. (1993). The Hood River Issei: An oral history of Japanese settlers in Oregon’s Hood River Valley. University of Illinois.

To give thanks, we must realize as Christians that God is in control of all circumstances that surround our lives, both good and bad.

As my high school career wound down, I dreamed of playing baseball in college. I spent hours before and after school hitting off the tee in the batting cage, trying to improve my swing enough to get recruited. Unfortunately, all those reps off the tee didn’t help because every swing reinforced my bad habits. I needed a coach to guide my practice so it wouldn’t go to waste. Established preachers often tell younger preachers beginning their ministries, “The best way to learn how to preach is to preach. Take every opportunity you can.” This is true—if you’re taking good reps. The danger is that young preachers and teachers sometimes don’t know how to take good practice swings, so every preaching opportunity can reinforce bad habits. In Proclaiming the Word: Principles and Practices for Expository Preaching, David J. Jackman, former president of the Proclamation Trust and founding director of the Cornhill Training Course, distills three decades of experience training preachers into a book that provides the tools for preachers and teachers to take better reps. This book is designed to “identify and illustrate biblically the principles and methodology of exposition” to help preachers honor the text of Scripture (xiv). Justifying Expository Preaching Unlike textbooks such as Christ-Centered Preaching, Power in the Pulpit, or Biblical Preaching, Proclaiming the Word doesn’t provide detailed instructions on how to craft different parts of a sermon. Instead, it offers examples of developing and applying good preparation techniques so each preaching opportunity leads to growth. Jackman coaches readers to adjust their preparation and preaching methods to grow as a teacher or preacher of God’s Word. Young preachers sometimes don’t know how to take good practice swings, so every preaching opportunity can reinforce bad habits. John Stott once wrote that “the essential secret [to preaching well] is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions.” Following this model, Jackman begins his book by outlining the fundamental convictions and character traits a preacher needs to keep going with exposition. “To many people,” Jackman writes, “preaching seems strangely out of place in the modern world” (1). And so the preacher has to believe in both the expository preaching method and the Bible’s contents to show the importance of proclamation to the world. Instead of adopting modern communication techniques in a quest for relevance, Jackman argues that “expository preaching does not have to create relevance because nothing could be more relevant than the living and enduring word of the one true and living God” (17). Expository preaching is the natural outflow of believing God has inspired the Word. What makes expository preaching hard, however, is that attempts to shape the message according to the passage can sometimes turn the sermon into a running commentary. Jackman teaches readers to avoid this by knowing and applying the passage to their congregation and by reading well. Good Preaching Starts with Good Reading “Expository” sermons that are biblical but not textual begin with a failure of reading. As T. David Gordon points out in Why Johnny Can’t Preach, the same sermon on salvation by grace through faith could be preached from John 3:16 or Ephesians 2:1–10 or Romans 5:6–11 if the preacher doesn’t allow the specific details of each text to expose its unique message. The resultant sermon may be biblical, but it won’t be textual. Jackman shows that good preaching starts with good reading, listening to the text to hear what it’s actually saying so you can proclaim it from the pulpit. Jackman uses the narrative of Jesus’s temptations in the wilderness as an example. Matthew 4 is often preached as a stand-alone encouragement to resist temptation by memorizing Scripture like Jesus did. There’s some truth to this interpretation. Jesus serves as a model for us, but to only make this application misses Matthew’s larger point. As Jackman highlights, the passage begins with “then.” That shows the temptation narrative is connected to Jesus’s baptism. Matthew is tying Jesus’s baptism and temptation together to show he’s stepping into the story of Israel. Jackman writes, The voice from heaven has just declared Jesus to be God’s beloved Son. Now, like Israel before, he faces temptation in the wilderness. But whereas Israel repeatedly sinned and failed the test, this Son triumphed. (117) Thus Jesus can and will save us by his faithful life and obedient death on the cross. Carefully reading the text of Matthew 4 helps the preacher to make a textual connection to the larger gospel story even as he preaches on Jesus’s temptations. Bringing It All Together Proclaiming the Word is an excellent sourcebook for preachers. Jackman provides numerous examples of contextual readings from the Old and New Testament to help the preacher grow in his ability to accurately expose what God’s Word says. Jackman closes the volume with an effort to develop the readers’ “skills and confidence in understanding the Bible’s metanarrative” (195). The goal is to help readers see Scripture as a whole. Expository preaching is the natural outflow of believing God has inspired the Word. It’s no surprise a book on preaching method begins with a theological justification for preaching God’s Word and ends by outlining the big-picture theology of God’s Word. Expositional preaching always involves exegeting the sermon passage in the context of Scripture’s larger picture. By covering the convictions, practical skills, and whole-Bible understanding needed to preach faithfully, Jackman provides “a hands-on training manual” for expositors (x). The best way to use this book is to read it fully and then return to individual chapters as needed. Paul encouraged Timothy to immerse himself in the task of preaching so all would see his progress (1 Tim. 4:13–15). Reading this book doesn’t substitute for experience, but Proclaiming the Word can help both new and experienced church leaders make the most of every preaching and teaching opportunity.

Kevin was born in the 1960s. He grew up in a small town and attended church, Sunday school, and youth group. At college, life got busy, and Kevin drifted away from his faith. He experimented with the forbidden fruits of drinking, dating, and drugs. But deep down, these pleasures failed to satisfy. Worse, Kevin had pangs of guilt that he was doing the wrong thing. One day on campus, a stranger presented Kevin with an evangelistic tract. Using words such as “laws” and “sin,” Kevin was told he was rebelling against God and living outside God’s rule, and that he needed to submit to God. These words cut to Kevin’s heart. He remembered the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32). Kevin knew he needed to repent, return to his Christian upbringing, and receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Now compare Kevin’s story with that of his coworker, Kylee. She was born in the 2000s, immersed in a world connected by smartphones and the global supply chain. Kylee regularly hears stories about climate change, police violence, and sexual abuse. She’s passionate about social causes—racism, poverty, and the environment. Kylee finds little in common with Kevin’s Christianity. She stopped going to church when she turned 12. To Kylee, the whole Christian story is a privileged white man’s social construct, and any talk of “laws,” “God’s rule,” or “submission” is a thinly veiled attempt to oppress her with outdated views of morality. Besides, none of it makes sense to Kylee. If she’s championing for justice, what “sin” is she committing? What “law” is she breaking? If anyone’s a “rebel,” it’s the Christians, trying to go against the flow. One day, history will judge Christians to be on the wrong side. Kevin wishes that Kylee would adopt his Christian faith. But when he tries to explain the gospel to Kylee using words familiar to him, it turns Kylee away. Worse, it confirms to Kylee her worst fears about Christianity. Words that once cut to Kevin’s heart didn’t cut to Kylee’s heart. Instead, they seem to have the opposite effect, hardening her heart.  The Problem: What You Say Isn’t What They Hear Have you ever talked with a Mormon? We use the same word—“God”—but with a different set of meanings. When Christians say “God,” they refer to the one true God. But when Mormons say “God,” they refer to an exalted human being. Same word, two meanings. This is the problem of equivocation, or “What you say is not what they hear.” This is the problem of explaining sin to those in the post-Christendom age. In the same way that a Christian and a Mormon hear different meanings for the word “God,” a Christian and a non-Christian hear two meanings for the word “sin.” What do I mean by a post-Christendom age? In the post-Christendom age, Christianity is no longer the dominant story. Christianity is viewed as one option among many—and not often the most desirable one. Whereas those who grew up in a Christendom age (Kevin) typically had a set of background beliefs around moral absolutes, sin, and judgment and a positive view of the Christian church, a person brought up in a post-Christendom age (Kylee) doesn’t have the same set of background beliefs or a positive outlook on the church. In a Christendom context, a “normal” gospel presentation (think the Four Spiritual Laws) helps people “connect the dots” of their background beliefs and show how they could have their sins forgiven and receive eternal life. But in a post-Christendom context, people’s “dots” are different (or even nonexistent), which means that while a typical gospel explanation is just as true as it was in a Christendom age, it doesn’t connect in the same way. Where do we go from here? Do we need to abandon the old ways of talking about sin and salvation? Not at all. Rather, I suggest we need to be more biblical when we talk about sin, not less. Henri Blocher has observed that the Bible uses more than 50 Hebrew words in the Old Testament to describe “sin.” The New Testament adds several more, and the Bible’s evangelists—think John the Baptist and the apostles—invoke terms and use metaphors present in a culture as a way to connect the dots between the people’s sin and their need for grace and a Savior who can rescue and forgive them. The Bible has a number of ways of describing sin and salvation, and four images in particular can help people like Kylee see Jesus’s truth, goodness, and beauty. 1. Shame and Honor In a post-Christendom age, we’re moving away from a guilt-innocence culture into a shame-honor culture. We’ve become tribal. Unquestioned tribal loyalty is demanded. We virtue signal. Offenders are called out, canceled, and shamed. We need to be more biblical when we talk about sin, not less. In looking for ways to engage this different culture, we can learn from the apostles in Acts. When they preach to Jewish audiences, they appeal to a guilt-innocence model: “You’ve killed the Messiah, and now you need to repent” (see Acts 2:14–36). But when they preach to pagan audiences, they appeal to shame and honor: “There’s a good God who gives you good things, but you don’t worship him” (see 17:22–31). I do something similar when I communicate the gospel in high school settings. If I begin, “You’ve broken the Ten Commandments . . . you’re a sinner . . . you need to repent,” I can feel the eye rolls. They think I’m imposing an oppressive tool of power on them. Instead, I say there’s a good God who loves them, but we fail to honor this God. We enjoy the gifts without regard for the Giver. We instead need to worship this God. In return, God will take away our shame, lift us up, and honor us. My audience may not agree that there’s a good God who loves them. But they can see why, if there’s such a God, they need to honor him. This is entirely consistent with their values. They can also see how they have the problem of shame in their life. I can further articulate this by saying, We’re not the people we say we are. We’re not the people we want to be. We’re not the people we need to be. We let ourselves down. We let others down. And deep down, we’ve let down God. Within this framework, I can explain salvation as God washing away our shame. God restores us. God lifts us up and honors us. In this culture, I believe that the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24–26—with its promise of “face” and “peace”—is highly attractive. 2. Brokenness The term “broken” is contentious in Christian circles because it can soften the vertical component of sin. But at the same time, it has traction with our culture. It identifies sin’s horizontal and internal manifestations, where creation groans under our sin. It also describes our “iniquity”—our bent, twisted, sinful nature. The term “brokenness” can give us an entry point into our culture’s storyline. If we’re still worried that “brokenness” doesn’t adequately cover the full breadth of sinfulness, we can throw the term into a cluster of other descriptors. For example, we can say, “We have guilt, shame, pain, brokenness, hurt, and regret.” Kylee will agree her world is broken. There’s violence, poverty, and injustice. Kylee might also see herself as broken. There’s a high level of stress, anxiety, and depression in our Western world, despite our abundant material resources. Chances are that Kylee herself suffers internally from these. So how best to explain this brokenness? I love to quote Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts.” It’s one thing to diagnose the world as “broken.” But how can we solve this problem? We can solve it only when we realize we’re the problem. A society is only the sum of its parts. And we’re the parts that make up society. Evil begins inside each and every one of us. Society is broken because we’re broken. The solution is to humble ourselves and confess we’re the problem. But we cannot fix this brokenness ourselves. We need a new heart. This is something only God can do. Here, we can appeal to Isaiah 61, where God’s Servant brings justice and restoration. We can appeal to Jesus, who comes as the “doctor” to the “sick” (Mark 2:17, NIV). But we have to see that the “sickness” begins in our hearts. 3. Self-Righteousness and Falling Short In his parables, Jesus has a way of helping the Kevins and Kylees of the world feel seen. For instance, if Kevin identifies with the younger son (Luke 15) and the tax collector (Luke 18) in Jesus’s parables, then Kylee is the older son and the Pharisee in these same parables. These parables can be disarming for someone like Kylee. For example, when I speak to college students, I say, “Do you know what ‘sin’ is for Jesus? According to Jesus, sin is that attitude you have when you turn off your lights for Earth Hour but you see that your neighbor doesn’t. Or sin is that feeling of self-righteousness when you have an eco–shopping bag, but the person next to you uses a plastic bag.” The very things of which Kylee is proud expose her as sinful to Jesus. How? According to Jesus, Kylee’s sin isn’t that she has broken a law but that she “lifts herself up” (in self-righteousness). In the same way that the older son weaponizes his good acts against his father (Luke 15:29) and the Pharisee parades his good acts before God (18:11–12), Kylee lifts up her good actions. The very things of which Kylee is proud expose her as sinful to Jesus. But the problem is that Kylee also “falls short” of where she needs to be. She’ll never be good enough for her tribe. She’s only one badly worded social media post away from being canceled. Deep down, she also knows she’ll never be good enough for herself. What about that time she forgot her eco–shopping bag and used a plastic bag? She can never do enough. Why does she only turn off her lights for Earth Hour and not every day? The solution is that Kylee must humble herself, stop lifting herself up, and let God lift her up (v. 14). She needs to stop weaponizing her good acts against those who don’t live up to her standards. Instead, she needs to “come home,” surrender her heart to God, and be loved by God—like the younger prodigal son does. She needs to let her good actions come out of being loved and recognized by the Father, rather than serving as a cry for love and recognition. 4. Dying and Being Out-of-Jesus The New Testament describes salvation as both “Christ for us” and “Christ in us.” For example, Christ dies for us in our place as our federal representative (2 Cor. 5:14–15). This is the forensic nature of salvation. But at the same time, we’re also saved in Christ. We died and rose in Christ to a new life (v. 17). This is the realist nature of our salvation. Correspondingly, there’s also a double aspect to our sin. We’re guilty of transgression. That’s why Christ dies for us in our place. But we’re also corrupted. Bent. Twisted. Falling short. That’s why we need to be in Christ and receive a new nature. This double aspect gives us a fuller picture of our sin and salvation. The “Christ for us” aspect of sin and salvation makes sense to Kevin. But we can also explore the “in Christ” aspect with Kylee. When I speak to non-Christians in secular settings, the “in Jesus” language is disarming to my audience. They’re not used to this category for explaining sin and salvation. But intuitively, it makes sense to them. For example, I can explain that it’s dangerous to not be joined to Jesus. Jesus says that if we don’t remain in him, we eventually die (John 15:1–8). This sounds harsh, but it’s the way the natural world works. If a branch is cut off from a vine, it naturally dies. So it makes sense that if we’re cut off from our Creator, we also will die. But it’s more than this. If we choose identity, success, and security apart from Jesus, we’ll wither away and die. There are so many real-life examples that our audience knows it to be true. Instead, we should join Team Jesus. Be in Jesus. Find our identity in Jesus. Ask Jesus to fill us with his Spirit. Then, rather than wither and die, we’ll receive “eternal life.” A full, fulfilled life in Jesus. Wider Range In the age of Christendom, we chiefly explained sin and salvation in terms of guilt and innocence, transgression and forgiveness, judgment and Christ dying for us. All this makes sense to someone like Kevin. If we choose identity, success, and security apart from Jesus, we’ll wither away and die. But in post-Christendom, while these same ideas are just as true, they seem less persuasive. Instead of abandoning these ways of talking about salvation, we should be free to explore the wider range of biblical metaphors and weave them into our conversations. We can explore metaphors such as shame and honor, brokenness and restoration, lifting ourselves up and humbling ourselves, falling short and being lifted up, and dying and being in Christ. If we do this, we follow in the footsteps of the Bible’s evangelists—and Jesus himself—in communicating sin to various audiences.

At TGCW24, Courtney Doctor teaches on Jesus’s statement “I am the good shepherd” from John 10:11–18. A good shepherd cares for, protects, and provides for his sheep. Throughout Scripture, we’re compared to the sheep who go astray or get lost. We need continual care and vigilant protection, and Christ offers us that and so much more. He’s a shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep and rejoices at its discovery. He leads us, guides us, and restores our souls. Doctor teaches the following: The role of shepherds in the biblical narrative Jesus as the Good Shepherd Surprise 1: seeking unexpected sheep Surprise 2: leading on unexpected paths Surprise 3: dying an unexpected death The Lamb is worshiped as the shepherd in Revelation 7 Know the Good Shepherd and follow him forever

As the 2024 presidential campaign winds down, the Regime Media seek to mitigate any potentially costly gaffes by Team Harris and/or the campaign’s surrogates. Case in point, the suppression of billionaire Mark Cuban’s disgusting remarks on The View, wherein he stated that former President Donald Trump never surrounds himself with strong, intelligent women. Of the three Regime Media newscasts, only the NBC Nightly News mentioned Cuban’s gross remarks, and did so briefly: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS 10/31/2024 6:34 PM GABE GUTIERREZ: But a former NBA owner, now a top Harris surrogate, billionaire Mark Cuban, is facing backlash after he answered why he thought Trump why had not asked Nikki Haley to campaign with him. MARK CUBAN: Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women, ever. It's just that simple. They’re intimidating to him. ELISE STEFANIK: That attack by Mark Cuban was an attack on tens of millions of hard-working women across this country (VIDEO SWIPE) who proudly support President Trump.  To their credit, NBC actually showed Cuban’s smear of conservative women, then aired Republican reaction, to wit: House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY).  In all, about 25 seconds within a report that ran close to five minutes. But that’s 25 seconds more than was aired on CBS and ABC. The CBS Evening News is in a state of flux right now, so one might begin to understand. However, there was no excuse for Cuban’s smear not to air on ABC World News Tonight, given that The View is an ABC News product.  No excuse, to be clear, except the most obvious. Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on the NBC Nightly News on Thursday, October 31st, 2024: LESTER HOLT: Good evening and welcome. The final days of 2024 race for president moving at a blistering pace. Both Vice President Harris and former President Trump pushing their messages in the American West tonight, looking to expand the electoral map, while for Harris, pushing her polling advantage among women. Today, highlighting Mr. Trump's vow at a rally last night to, quote, “protect women whether the women like it or not.” Harris calling the remarks very offensive to women. The controversial comments come amid polling showing a clear gender divide in the race with Harris running strong among women, but behind Mr. Trump among men. Trump's trip to the West partly aimed at shoring up his strength among Latino men. Let's head to the campaign trail now for the latest, starting with Gabe Gutierrez. GABE GUTIERREZ: Tonight, with just five days to go Vice President Harris, with renewed urgency, targeting key battlegrounds Arizona and Nevada. KAMALA HARRIS: We all know who Donald Trump is. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge. GUTIERREZ: And now, attacking former President Trump for these comments about women overnight. DONALD TRUMP: I want to protect the women of our country. I want to protect the wom-- “sir, please don't say that.” Why? They said, “we think it's -- we think it's very inappropriate for you to say.” I said, well, I'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. I'm going to protect them. I'm going to protect them from migrants coming in. I'm going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles. GUTIERREZ: Late today the Vice President speaking exclusively with NBC's Yamiche Alcindor. YAMICHE ALCONDOR: Former President Donald Trump has said he would be a protector of women, whether they like it or not. What do you make of that? And how does that contrast with your views on women and their rights and needs? HARRIS: Well, I'll just speak on behalf of myself, but also the Americans that I speak with every day around our country, regardless of their gender, which is the majority of Americans believe that women are intelligent enough and should have and be respected for their agency to make decisions for themselves about what is in their best interests and not have their government and certainly not Donald Trump telling them what to do. And his latest comment is just the most recent in a series of examples that we have seen from him in his words and deeds about how he devalues the ability of women to have the choice and the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. ALCINDOR: Day One, what's your first executive action? HARRIS: Well, my first priority, which will probably be the package of bills, is about bringing down the cost of living. So it's about housing. It's about child care. It's about what we need to do to deal with grocery prices. GUTIERREZ: Tonight, NBA superstar Lebron James is endorsing Harris, posting a video and writing, "The choice is clear to me." But a former NBA owner, now a top Harris surrogate, billionaire Mark Cuban, is facing backlash after he answered why he thought Trump why had not asked Nikki Haley to campaign with him. MARK CUBAN: Donald Trump, you never see him around strong, intelligent women, ever. It's just that simple. They’re intimidating to him. ELISE STEFANIK: That attack by Mark Cuban was an attack on tens of millions of hard-working women across this country (VIDEO SWIPE) who proudly support President Trump.  GUTIERREZ: An NBC poll this month suggests a huge gender gap, women supporting Harris by 14 points. But she’s struggling with men who are backing Trump by 16 points. Outside her rally today in Reno, we met Harris supporters Jenny Hildebrand and Kate Becker who say they are deeply offended by Trump’s comments. KATIE BECKER: I don't trust anything out of his mouth. I don't think he really agrees with women or supports women or respects women given his track history and what he's done. JENNY HILDEBRAND: It's ironic that he wants to support women on his terms and not ours. GUTIERREZ: In the race’s critical, final days, Democrats are trying to build on that support among women, with a new ad voiced by Julia Roberts urging women whose male partners back Trump to secretly vote for Harris. JULIA ROBERTS: You can vote any way you want. And no one will ever know. GUTIERREZ: Trump supporter Patricia Montez finds that idea insulting, and says the former president's comments last night don't bother her. PATRICIA MONTEZ: He’s looking out for women's best interests. He’s not going to force somebody into anything. It's just sometimes the way he talks. Call it sometimes locker room talk, guy talk. It's just talk. HOLT: And Gabe, you're there at the vice president's rally in Reno. We can assume she'll keep the focus on Nevada later tonight? GUTIERREZ: Yes, Lester. After the event here, she has another late night rally in Las Vegas with Jennifer Lopez. And then she is expected to hit five battleground states over the next few days, including closing out her campaign in must-win Pennsylvania with a large rally in Philadelphia. Lester? HOLT: All right, Gabe Gutierrez starting us off, thanks.  

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