Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
The biographical sketches which appear on this home page were originally written as a series of articles for The Standard Bearer, a semi-monthly periodical published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The author of these articles firmly believes that the history of the church of Jesus Christ in the world is the history of men (and women) who were appointed and qualified by God to take an active role in the affairs of the church. They were for the most part very ordinary people. What set them apart is their faith. They belonged to the heroes of faith, whose roll call echoes down the centuries in Hebrews 11.
Their value to us is that they are that cloud of witnesses which urge us on in the "race set before us." They looked to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith. They inspire us, in our calling to do the same.
The author is professor of Church History and New Testament studies in the Protestant Reformed Seminary in Grandville, Michigan.