From One Generation to Another
June 30, 2025
“One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts . . . They shall utter [bubble forth] the memory of Your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness” (Psalm 145:4, 7).
Dear Praying Friends:
The sermon in our church yesterday was based upon the incident recorded in Joshua 4:1-9, when Joshua ordered that memorial stones should be placed where the rushing waters of the Jordan were stopped by God as the people of Israel crossed over into the Promised Land.
These stones were to testify of the Lord’s miraculous work from one generation to another.
Likewise, the preacher said, we are to tell the next generation(s) how God has acted in our lives and in the lives of others who have followed him.
Immediately, I realized that this is precisely what I have been trying to do in much of my writing.
The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity (BDCC: bdcconline.net) records the lives of Western missionaries and Chinese Christians who have faithfully borne witness to Christ, usually at great cost to themselves.
The China Inland Mission: a Biographical History, now available at Amazon.com, provides in-depth stories about some of the outstanding members of the largest Protestant mission to China.
Builders of the Chinese Church: Pioneer Protestant Missionaries and Chinese Church Leaders; Wise Man from the East: Lit-Sen Chang (Zhang Lisheng); and the other volumes in the series Studies in Chinese Christianity, for which I served as co-editor.
Carl Henry: Theologian for All Seasons.
The autobiography that I have resumed writing.
Thank you for praying last week. God helped me to post a new short article on two missionaries for the BDCC here: George and Etta Ward; write more on Hebrews and my autobiography; compose a short article, “Do Missionaries Need Theological Education?”; and connect with several people by telephone.
A couple months ago, the founder and leader of the Chinese Sunday School class asked me to assist him by leading the class every other week and while he and his wife have been on vacation. With Dori’s excellent help, I have done this with great enjoyment for five weeks. It’s the first in-person ministry to Chinese we have done together since leaving Charlottesville in 2015.
“They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom” (Psalm 145:11-12).
Yours in his greatness and goodness,
Wright