Are you willing to take a stand for what you believe to be true? The US is what it is today because of men and women from our past who had the courage to do just that. Now, at a time when political correctness often supersedes personal conviction, we need to ask ourselves that question.

The Courage of Your Faith is a collection of twelve short stories from our Baptist history. Each story sets the stage for a Bible study on an issue as relevant today as it was then. You will be challenged and you will be surprised by what stands our forefathers took and by the impact they had.

Today, "denomination" has lost significance. "Christian" seems more appropriate as we seek to minimize differences. Yet looking at Baptist History, as in this study, teaches us something of what it means to be a Christian and the role Baptists had in making the world what is today. "Baptists are indeed a peculiar people." The collection consists of two volumes.

Volume 2
1. In 1771, Baptists and Quakers face off against the British sympathizers at the Battle of Alamance. Some consider this encounter to be the true first battle of the American Revolutionary War.
2. Then, in 1784, as the new nation debates its future, Baptists give Madison an ultimatum and threaten the union of the new republic. If you ever wondered why, after having a hand in penning the Constitution, Madison would immediately submit its first amendment, check out this story.
3. In 1793 Williamsburg, with rumors of a slave rebellion, Gowan Pamphlet—a-slave—is pastoring a LARGE church of both slave and free blacks. In his own way, Gowan rebels by petitioning for admission of his church into an all-white association of churches.
4. In 1845, as if foreshadowing the strife that would engulf the nation, the Baptists of America face their own internal war over three issues, one of which is slavery. If we all viewed others as made in the image of God, perhaps the divisions around us would not be so great.
5. Following the Civil War, Lottie Moon is the picture of both suffering and fulfillment. How important is God in your life? Would you give up your most prized possession for the sake of Christ? What is the role of suffering in the life of a believer? Missions is important to Southern Baptists. As a missionary to China, Lottie Moon had to choose between the man she loved and the God she loved. She said that God had first claim on her life.
6. Are you a fundamentalist, a moderate, or a liberal? Why? In 1979, two philosophies contend for control of the Southern Baptist Convention. With Southern Baptist Seminaries moving further to the left, fundamentalist conservatives begin a takeover of the their Convention. Our daughter and her husband attended Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville at the end of its liberal / fundamental transition.

Each of these stories complements a Bible Study that can be downloaded for free from the books' web site.