An Honest Calling

Abraham Lincoln practiced law for nearly twenty-five years, five times longer than he served as president. Nonetheless, this aspect of his life was known only in the broadest outlines until the Lincoln Legal Papers project set to work gathering the surviving documentation of more than 5,600 of his cases. One of the first scholars to work in this vast collection, Mark E. Steiner goes beyond the hasty sketches of previous biographers to paint a detailed portrait of Lincoln the lawyer. This portrait not only depicts Lincoln's work for the railroads and the infamous case in which he defended the claims of a slaveholder; it also illustrates his more typical cases involving debt and neighborly disputes. Steiner describes Lincoln's legal education, the economics of the law office, and the changes in legal practice that Lincoln himself experienced as the nation became an industrial, capitalist society. Most important, Steiner highlights Lincoln's guiding principles as a lawyer. In contrast to the popular caricature of the lawyer as a scoundrel, Lincoln followed his personal resolve to be "honest at all events," thus earning the nickname "Honest Abe." For him, honesty meant representing clients to the best of his ability, regardless of his own beliefs about the justice of their cause. Lincoln also embraced a professional ideal that cast the lawyer as a guardian of order. He was as willing to mediate a dispute outside the courtroom in the interest of maintaining peace as he was eager to win cases before a jury. Over the course of his legal career, however, Lincoln's dedication to the community and his clients' personal interests became outmoded. As a result of the rise of powerful, faceless corporate clients and the national debate over slavery, Lincoln the lawyer found himself in an increasingly impersonal, morally ambiguous world.

Doubt is a still small voice, best heard in desperate hours when we are alone. You and I know these hours: the ones when you come to your place of prayer in troubled times and are helpless to speak. The need or pain that drives you to pray becomes more than you can speak, but you reach toward God, doing your best to find the words for your sorrow. You stay, struggling until your emotions are spent. There is no miracle and God does not answer; but your pain is less and you have a good cry. You tell yourself it is time to wait on God and you watch to see what God will do, as you turn back to your life among men. Days become weeks and a solution forms. You do not see the place of your prayer in the outcome. The things you asked for do not fit the result, so you trust that God knows best and ignore the voice of doubt that is trying to save you.

Mark has been in and out of hospital his whole life - and he's fed up. So when his cancer returns, he decides he's had enough. Running away with his dog Beau, he sets out to climb a mountain - and it's only when he's left everything behind that Mark realises he has everything to live for.

What’s a cross-cultural discipler? It’s someone who crosses distinct cultural barriers—whether at home or abroad—to share the gospel and develop other effective Christian disciples. Think of the apostle Paul who was born into a Jewish heritage but preached in Greece and Rome among other places, or modern day missionaries, both short-term and long-term, who bravely go where God sends them despite the challenges of language and lifestyle differences when they get there. Called to Reach is a much-needed book of encouragement and training for cross-cultural disciplers new and old. Based on the authors’ dynamic experiences, it defines seven characteristics that best enhance the effectiveness of disciplers in overcoming cultural barriers and emphasizes the importance of personally growing in spiritual maturity with every outreach opportunity. Throughout, Jesus is presented as the model cross-cultural discipler, for He left the culture of Heaven to disciple us in our earthly culture.

The Honest Contrarian: And Other Stories About Washington DC By: John Patrick Feehery On the morning of September 11th, 2001, John Feehery was running late to his office in the nation’s Capitol building. He had to make a choice. Get his weekly picks in for his dad’s football pool or get the daily press briefing in to his boss the Speaker of the House. As he watched the first plane hit the World Trade Towers, he forgot about those plans and embarked on a crazy day that culminated in him organizing a press conference where members of the House and the Senate sang God Bless America on the steps of the Capitol. The Honest Contrarian is a book about politics, but also about faith, family, and the fight for freedom.