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I'm a baby-boomer.
After graduating high school, I attended university -- twice -- once
before the Vietnam war, and then again after returning home from
the military. I married, majored in Political Science, worked full
time, had a child, and somehow managed to graduate with honors. I then attended law
school for nearly 3 years before realizing it was not my calling, as
any of my law professors would attest. I became a computer tech
instead. We had a second child, just before I came to Christ.
I
have been a trainer for Evangelism Explosion, and profited greatly
from the Navigators 2:7 course. I was a deacon in the PCA
and trained for eldership. In 1984 I helped organize the Luis
Palau Crusade in Colorado Springs with a new piece of technology called
a personal computer. I've
taught children, youth, and Adult
Sunday School . I helped build a church from dirt
floors to a finished building. But I confess that I never went to
seminary. When asked why, I say tongue-in-cheek that I'd
rather keep my faith. The truth is, I had neither the time, the
money, nor the inclination to apply myself to
the rigors of seminary. But I admire those who do. In its place, I've
pursued a lifelong course of self-study, evangelism, and discipleship.
Fifteen
years into my Christian walk, I began
to search for a more ecumenical and celebratory approach to church
life. So I left the PCA to join an evangelical mega-church, what some
call a "seeker" church. I found what I was looking for there,
but I also missed something very precious: a firm orthodoxy. Many years
ago, the Evangelical movement shelved a number
of historic doctrines. Creeds and confessions were set
aside. The intent was to become attractive to more people, and
less offensive to other churches within the movement. That led to
some questionable teachings, because there was no
orthodoxy by which to judge them. Serious evangelicals
are now returning
to the reformed standards of the church. Some have joined the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. For insight on that trend, I recommend Michael Horton's book, Beyond Culture Wars.
In 2002 I
helped a pastor friend simplify the language of John Owen's Mortification of Sin
for use in the Philippines. Then I made a more scholarly moernized
version of it. I've continued to modernize Christian Classics ever
since. In 2009 the two of us created the Christian Legacy Resource
Library. It's a comprehensive digital collection of reformed works
(over 4000 at this time) that we give away for free to pastors,
missionaries, and seminaries overseas - those who might not have access
to these works, nor the funds to purchase them if they did. The
collection is being used to train the next generation of church leaders
in places where Christianity is persecuted, and church activities are
restricted or under constant surveillance. The Christian Classics
that I've modernized are part of that collection. They're intended for
those whose English is a second language, and whose knowledge of
Western History is limited.
I'm
now retired, with grown grandkids. I've served as an elder-pastor at a local reformed
baptist church for over 20 years. We stirive to maintain a tension between that passionate and celebratory
love for Christ that I was looking for, and a firm orthodoxy to undergird
and drive it. I've now stepped away from most of my duties there, ito make room for younger men. But I continue to employ whatever gifts God has given
me to share the faith of our forefathers, and having done all, to stand firm in the faith of the gospel.
I'm sure God would be pleased if I could do that gently,
and in love. I'm trying Lord...
William
H. Gross
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