The wilting sadness of the World Trade Center tragedy—the dead bodies in the dust, the people jumping out of windows, the angst of the traumatized, the weary searching, the yearning eyes of family members, the apparent senselessness of it all—leave disturbing imprints on our American soul. What are we to do?

First, we should pity all who do not know Christ. We will all die, but not all will die in such a tragic manner. Some who perished are now in heaven. How many were prepared for that we will not know now. But others met this untimely death without preparation. I can think of nothing more tragic than that. If we weep, and we certainly must, let us weep for the tragedy in terms of eternity.

James, the youth: Is affection necessary for true spirituality? I mean, can't a man be Christian, yet cold as a stone emotionally?

Mr. Brockton: Affection cannot be separated from true religion.

James: But are we to strain to be affectionate toward God when it is not natural?

Brockton: We are to strain to know God, and that is enough. Mr. Phipp will make my point for me. Hear his story:

When the elderly Mr. Phipp lost his wife, he cried for the first time in seventy-plus years. Emotions were not Phipp's strong suit. He despised them. Even when Jasmine died, his oriental war bride, the emotions that surfaced were fugitive and hung in his ocular cavities only temporarily much like condensation on a cold glass. He was not going to give in. He thought that a man, if he were truly manly, conquered emotions in childhood and never permitted them again.

I have been considering for some time the desperate condition of preaching in the West. I have even toyed with the idea of writing a booklet entitled Serious Preaching. Such preaching is out of vogue, but I still believe in it. Please know that I’m not talking about serious sweating. It used to be said that if a man didn’t fill his hanky with sweat, make himself hoarse with screaming and wind up walking on about two inches of his pants cuff, he hadn’t really preached at all! Billy Sunday, the baseball-player-turned-evangelist of the early 1900’s, was like that. But, with all the humor and quaintness of his message and style, after reading his sermons (and even hearing one on tape) I am left empty. He could rivet a sinner with words like a machine gunner, he could wave his chair and compel them to listen, he could lure them down the “sawdust trail” (his words, by the way), but all in all, nothing very important was said. It is easy to wave a Bible and yet never preach it. There are many who have fought hard for the inerrancy of Scripture who don’t sufficiently break open the Bible they fought for. No, What we need is doctrinal preaching...real solid truth.

• Sept. 22-23 Christ Community Church, Cordelia, CA 707-447-9776
  
  
• Sept. 25 Whitefield Fraternal, Cordelia, CA 707-447-9776
  
  
• Sept. 28-30 Grace Community Church, Gardnerville, NV 775-782-6516 briborg@nanosecond.com
  
  
• Oct. 4-18 Ministry in Wales, including Heath Conference on Revival (10-12), Dewi.Higham@Tesco.net
  
  
• Oct. 26-28 Audubon Bible Church, Annual Conference, 800-405-3788
  
  
• Oct. 31 FCA Headquarters Chapel, KC, MO
  
  

• Like all of you, we have been monitoring the World Trade Center attack on the TV and radio. The above article might serve as a help for you personally, or as a tool to pass on to others. Please feel free to copy it from the web site.
• Jim has decided to go to Wales alone rather than take Pam and his son, Benjamin, because of the uncertainty of the travel situation at this time. Jim will not speak in Scotland, as planned, but will minister only in Wales for the Conference on Revival, Heath Evangelical Church, Cardiff. Leaders from all over the British Isles will attend. The exact dates of departure and return are being worked on now. Jim requests your prayer for this trip and his preparation for preaching.
• Jim has begun work on a book based on his booklet Revival and the Unregenerate Church Member. He has outlined sixteen chapters. Please pray for the time and wisdom to make a work that will be useful for the kingdom.
• The church that Jim helped found here in Kansas City has sponsored a new church start in Olathe (South west KC, KS) using three interns from the church as its first pastors. These men are part of a regular theological reading group that Jim leads each week when he is in town. Their names are Sean Melvin, and Christopher Brenyo. Please pray for this new work and the forty people who attend.
• The articles that Jim writes for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sharing the Victory Magazine are found on the web site under "Way to God" in the articles section. These succinct articles may help you in your witness. More will be added month by month. They are available for you to photocopy. Jim is hopeful of combining these articles to make an evangelistic book in the future.
• The Busshaus family hope to move to KC to join in with CCW, however, their home in the hill country of Texas has not yet sold. Please pray for God's will.
• Elliff Family News: Benjamin (14), Bryan (12), and Laura (9) have begun their schooling again. Benjamin is into piano and basketball; Bryan plays classical guitar and loves baseball; and Laura is learning violin and art. The boys are studying Latin on computer for the last couple of years, and all three, plus Pam, are adding a Greek class this year. Dad is not looking so smart anymore. The family is also the "friendship partner" with Ethopians, Yonathan and Dawit Getachew, from Park University nearby.