Monday, May 5, 2008

Fearless Fosdick

A couple of weeks ago I wrote of counting books in my library, somewhat incredulous that I'd amassed so many books that I need to shed. A portion of this mess of paper, however, can be attributed to the generosity of a handful of pastors who offered me portions of their libraries when they retired.

Paul Stevenson was one of these wise sages who called me into his home one afternoon (Noblesville circa. 1990) and said: "Please deliver me . . . take these boxes of books!" He was an especially avid reader of Harry Emerson Fosdick--otherwise known as "Fearless Fosdick"--then pastor of the famed Riverside church in New York, for his willingness to take on the Christian fundamentalists in the 1940s and 1950s.

I think all of my "Fearless" books came via Paul Stevenson, and some of these books are still insightful for our time. Still, I wonder . . . how would people characterize my preaching?

Perhaps I'm known as "Inside-Out & Roundabout" Outcalt, or "Terrible" Toddy, or just known as "That Guy Up the Street . . . What's His Name . . . ?" Or maybe I'm just "Tome-dead" Todd. I've never heard anyone characterize my messages as "Fearless", so I'm just going to accept the reality for what it is. Just six days away from another boring message.

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