Posts by David Oliver
Awards and Recognition
A few years ago, my brother and I toured Sagamore Hill on Long Island, the home of Theodore Roosevelt. We then stopped at the nearby Young’s Memorial Cemetery to pay our respects at the grave of the 26th president. A brass plaque at the foot of the grave reads, “Theodore Roosevelt, Medal of Honor, Lieut.…
Read MoreTell Mother I’ll Be There
William McKinley was president of the United States during the Spanish American War and led the nation out of an economic depression into a season of prosperity. Still, he is little remembered, except for the tragic fact that early in his second term he was assassinated by an anarchist and was then succeeded by his…
Read MoreEndurance — Partaking in the Divine Nature
The word patience, as it is usually employed, means the ability to tolerate or to suppress irritation at delay or discomfort. But this patience is not precisely the quality that the apostle Peter had in mind when he wrote in his second epistle that Christians were to add to their faith “patience.” (2 Pet. 1:5,…
Read MoreThe Evangelist on the Titanic
“Women and children first” expresses a code of conduct prioritizing the protection of women and children in a life-threatening circumstance. It is primarily associated with the sinking of a ship when space in lifeboats is limited. When a British troop ship, the HMS Birkenhead, sank in 1852, this code was famously employed. From that incident…
Read MoreWhat Are Your Prized Possessions?
The challenge in sorting through my mother’s possessions after she died was not because her possessions were so numerous. Part of the challenge was, of course, the grief that colored the process. But it was also difficult because mixed among the clothing, dishes, furniture, and a few pieces of gold jewelry, were items that seemed…
Read MoreHow Family Tragedies Shape Lives
As with most first-person accounts, President Theodore Roosevelt’s autobiography provides unique insight and observations that would be missing from the full record of his life had it not been written. One extraordinary thing about Roosevelt’s autobiography is what is learned by what he omits. Roosevelt was married to a young socialite named Alice Hathaway. Two…
Read MoreThe Christian Attitude to Antisemitism
Although it has been over thirty years since I visited the nation of Israel, my memories of the experience remain vivid. In addition to touring many cites significant to the events in the Bible, I also visited Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. Visitors walk through numerous rooms displaying photographs, videos, and…
Read MoreBrokenness
After learning about the then on-going Welsh revival, well-known British Bible teacher F.B. Meyer traveled by train from London to the city of Cardiff to investigate the reports. Accompanied by a friend who was somewhat skeptical regarding the religious fervor sweeping through the land of Wales, Meyer attended a service in which the young evangelist…
Read MoreFamily Estrangement
Earlier this year, I read a fascinating autobiography of evangelist, pastor, and educator, Ed Nelson. Published just after Nelson’s death at the advanced age of 98, A Sinner Saved By Grace, catalogued a long, broad, and interesting life.1 One chapter was particularly sad. An adult son asked for a private meeting with Nelson just two…
Read MoreDo you know Mel Trotter?
Mel Trotter is a familiar name to folks living in West Michigan. It is the name of a large rescue mission and soup kitchen in Grand Rapids, as well as the name of a series of thrift stores found throughout the region. Unfortunately, many are unfamiliar with the man after whom these organizations are named.…
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