The Faithful Preacher

Today I received my copy of Thabiti's book "The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors." You may recall back in August I mentioned that I had the pleasure and privilege of reading this book in manuscript form and writing an endorsement for it (then again you probably don't remember that). Anyway, I received the book in the mail, and I must say how encouraged I am in going back over it. Thabiti has done us all a favor and has done so to God's glory. I thank my brother for this labor of love. And may God gladden the hearts of his people through this wonderful read.

If you have not already, please place an order for this book today. You'll be glad you did. On the back of the book you will read a small portion of my endorsement. Here it is in full:

From the first time I met Thabiti, I felt he was a brother of like-mind and passion. When I found out he had written on Lemuel Haynes, Daniel Payne, and Francis Grimke, my feelings were confirmed. In The Faithful Preacher, Thabiti has reminded us that God has, with diversity and glory, given to His church throughout history faithful under-shepherds to feed and guide His sheep. With biblical and historical insight, and intellectual and theological credibility, Thabiti would have us to know, admire, and thank God for the labors and lives of Haynes, Payne, and Grimke. And while some may refer to these men as lesser luminaries in comparison to their more noted white evangelical contemporaries, they are only lesser in the same sense that the minor prophets of the Bible are actually minor. In these three men we have clear demonstrations of what the pastoral ministry should be, regardless of race, color, or nationality. In reading The Faithful Preacher I was reminded of the saying, “It takes one to know one.” Thabiti knows these men to be faithful pastors because he strives to be one himself.”