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Moving Mountains
ORU's Dr. Paul King Publishes a New Book on Bold Faith
By Elissa K. Harvill
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Dr. King, who holds three degrees from ORU (B.A., M.A., D.Min.) and a Th.D. from the University of South Africa, has a book signing scheduled for 1 p.m. at Mardel on December 11.
Regarding his inspiration to write on this subject, King shared, "I'm always looking for something more of God. I wanted to learn how to better walk in faith myself, so I began to read about these great people of faith from the past, like George Muller, J. Hudson Taylor, Phoebe Palmer, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers...I studied them, their teachings, their principles. We can trust their experiences and their teachings because these are really great men and women of faith."
As he was choosing subjects for the book, King purposely featured people outside the Charismatic Movement. "I particularly did not involve Charismatic or Pentecostal leaders because I wanted evangelicals to see that there are a great many men and women of faith who believe in the power of God who are not considered 'charismatic.' King intends this book--as well as his personal ministry--to be a bridge between evangelicals and charismatics and for finding common ground. For instance, King shared, "Most people don't know that Charles Spurgeon, a great Baptist preacher, had a healing ministry or that he operated in the supernatural 'word of knowledge.'"
Of the lives King chronicles in Moving Mountains, all are easily qualified as "history-makers," as King believes that leaving a mark in history (one that glorifies God) points to a life lived by faith. "If you look at Hebrews, chapter 11, it is sort of a 'Hall of Faith,' tracing through the biblical history of people who walked by faith. My book is really a 'Hall of Faith' for those in the last couple of centuries--going back in church history to recognize people throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Hebrews chapter 13 (verses 7 and 8) tells us: 'Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their ways of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.' [Moving Mountains] is intended to help us go back and remember these great people, their stories of faith, their teachings of faith, their experiences, how they dealt with persecution, and how they lived."
To those unconvinced of the necessity of faith in everyday life, King offers this. "Hebrews 11:6 says, 'Without faith it is impossible to please God,' so that makes it absolutely necessary, if we are to please God, to walk by faith. Now A. W. Tozer said 'Not all faith pleases God'--we have to find out what kind of thing pleases God. [The book] addresses these principles and gives examples that help define the faith by which one can live and please God."
As for the question of faith (or lack of faith) operating in government and society, King comments from a theological perspective, "There is no division in the Scripture of secular and sacred. All of life is sacred so that we cannot categorize or compartmentalize our faith from the decisions that we make or the policies we have. Our faith must go hand in hand with how we live our lives, seven days a week. And faith is not merely a private thing--it's public. John Wesley said there is 'no such thing as private faith'...faith is definitely a public thing."
King believes that even today's youth can identify with the "giants of faith" featured in Moving Mountains. "They may not be familiar with a lot of them, but these are real people who went through real trials of life, some of them lost their children, their loved ones, they went through doubts in their faith--all kinds of the circumstances that we go through. Though they are not from the world we live in today, the lives that they lived and the principles they shared are as true today as two centuries ago."
The book also journeys through the faith-filled lives of Hannah Whitall Smith, E. M. Bounds, Andrew Murray, A. B. Simpson, Amy Carmichael, John A. MacMillan, and A.W. Tozer.
Moving Mountains can be purchased at amazon.com, along with the other two books he has authored: A Believer with Authority: The Life and Message of John A. MacMillan and Binding & Loosing: Exercising Authority over the Dark Powers (co-author).
