My Last Day in Oxford

It has been another great day here in Oxford. I did very little today...worshiped God...rested...packed...and took a walk around the park for a last time. I have become addicted to the parks here. They are gorgeous. This park is at least 2 miles around. The pathway is very pretty and a small river and creek run beside it. Here are a few pictures...

Notice the people just gather in groups to talk and visit. This is the way that life was meant to be lived! Not gathering around a TV. Families are very close here. I could not help but think of my own family...wish they were here.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon - Metropolitan Tabernacle

This is Metropolitan Tabernacle...the only original portion of the building is the front that you see in the picture...this building was heavily damaged by German bombing in WWII.

While this is not Charles Spurgeon's original pulpit, it was a thrill to stand behind it. The church continues to do well as they run approximately 600 in worship on Sunday mornings...not as many as Spurgeon but still going strong in the ministry.

Charels Haddon Spurgeon, (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892)

On his way to a scheduled appointment, Charles Spurgeon encountered a snow storm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a Primitive Methodist chapel in Colchester where, in his own words: "God opened his heart to the salvation message."

The regular pastor was not present (probably because of the storm) and a lay leader had to give the message. Even though the message was not delivered in a great manner...it was scripturally sound and the Holy Spirit moved greatly. The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 - "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." That is why these words are still posted on a sign above the pulpit in the sanctuary!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a British Reformed Baptist preacher who remains highly influential amongst Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers." He also founded the charity organization now known as Spurgeon's, that works worldwide with families and children, as well as a famous theological college which after his death was called after him: Spurgeon's College. His sermons were translated into many languages in his lifetime.

Bunhill Fields - London

Bunhill Fields is a former Dissenters' burial ground of four hectares, bounded by City Road to the east and Bunhill Row to the west. Today the area is an oasis of calm and greenery, which has been managed as a public open space by the City of London since 1867.

The cemetery was established for many that were martyred for their faith...the church of England would not allow them to be buried in their cemetery. It is the last resting place for an estimated 120,000 bodies, including three of Britain's most eminent Nonconformists - William Blake, John Bunyan and Daniel Defoe. Also buried in the cemetery is Dr. Isaac Watts - the father of hymnology! The main burial ground was also severely damaged by German bombing during World War II.

JOHN BUNYAN

John Bunyan is the author of Pilgrim's Progress (a book translated into more languages than any other apart from the Bible)

DANIEL DEFOE

You may know him as the author of Robinson Crusoe...he was also a religious dissenter. Which means that he fought for freedom of religion and did not want to conform to the Catholic church because he felt their practices were not scriptural. I agree...

The site has a long history as a burial ground, but is most significant for its Nonconformist connections, dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and the burial of prominent people including William Blake, Daniel Defoe, John Bunyan and Susannah Wesley (mother to Charles and John Wesley).

WILLIAM BLAKE

English poet, painter and print maker...dissenter...

Friday July 25 - High Tea and Great Foods!

What a great day is has been! I have not done much of anything...worked on 2 writing assignments...read...took a walk around Christ Church park.

In England, people live in small houses, so they utilize parks for sitting, recreation, family and friend gatherings...

Their parks are gorgeous. Today I walked for a long, long way around and through the parks. I saw the river, boating, punting (ask me about this later). What a refreshing day. Here are a few pictures of me here in Oxford.

The first picture is of me holding up a rugby jersey. Yeah right!!!!

The picture to the right is my "group" project team. In the center is Esther Huh and to her right is KaRon Coleman. KaRon is now a pastor is Houston and a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. KaRon also played football as a running back in the NFL! He played for the Denver Broncos...but his favorite team remains the Dallas Cowboys. He tells me that his favorite game was playing the Cowboys in Dallas. He played football in 2000-2003.

In the third picture, I am involved in a theological discussion...which happens here 24/7...

In the last picture...we are having in "High Tea" which consists of a heavy cream, fresh fruit, jams, and scones (biscuits to you and I)...of course served with tea!

Speaking of foods...here are a few of the great foods that I have experienced since being in England.

First - Bangers and Mash! (Sausage and Mashed potatoes)

Second - Toad in the Hole! (Sausages covered in batter and roasted)

Third - Yorkshire Pudding! (made of flour and eggs and moistened with gravy - not a desert)

Fourth - Fish and Chips! (fried fish and french fries)

Fifth - Ploughman's Lunch! (a cutting board with cheeses, veggie's, bread, a generous portion of ham, a good lunch)

Sixth - Spotted Dog! ( a great desert- also known as Spotted Dick - a sponge pudding with sultanas and raisins)

Friday July 25

We have another day off today. On Saturday we are heading back to London for a wrap up of the Oxford trip...then Sunday we are attending church...then on Monday we are on an airplane to Texas!

Take a look at what lives outside of my window in the dormitory! This college has kept this turtle for 40 years! When we first arrived...the turtle lived about 20 yards to my left...but since I keep my window open a lot...he has moved his spot to right outside of my window!

I guess he likes the company...and I do too! We have a good friendship going. Hope you enjoy!

London - Second Visit - July 24

Today was one of the few free days that Oxford has given us. Another student and I decided to hop on the tube (bus service) and travel to London for another look at the Westminster Abbey and the British national Museum. We had a great day...and we topped it off by shopping at Harrods department store.

Westminster Abbey

We started off by visiting the inside of Westminster Abbey. Notice the Martyr Memorial above the doorway...in the center is Martin Luther King, Jr.

Incredible...Westminster Abbey is steeped in more than a thousand years of history. Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day.

The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

Westminster Abbey is famous for its many tombs and memorials. Ranging in date from the eleventh to the twenty-first centuries and displaying a corresponding variety of artistic styles they form the most important single collection of monumental sculpture in the country.

There are around 600 monuments and memorial statues together with many gravestones and commemorative floor slabs, though these represent only a small proportion of the 3,300 people who are actually buried in the church and its cloisters. As well as the shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the tombs of kings and queens, and important military memorials, the Abbey has been for several centuries the place where the nation commemorates those who have achieved greatness in many different walks of life, including literature, science, music, religion and politics.

British National Museum

Harrods Department Store

Sharon, I've decided that since I love you so much...that I would let you shop there...and anything that your eye falls upon...you may have! NOT!!!! VERY EXPENSIVE!!! Well...the I love you part is true...are you sorry you married a poor preacher?

I also thought it was interesting that there is a memorial to Princess Diana and to Dodi Fahad in Harrods. Dodi Fahad's father owns Harrods department store.

Andrew Fuller - Kettering

The last stop of our day was in Kettering at the Fuller Baptist Church. This was the church Andrew Fuller pastored. To the left I am standing in the origianal pulpit of Andrew Fuller that is now located on the second floor of the church.

Below and to the right I am standing in the pulpit that is now located in the sanctuary.

Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) was an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire, and settled at Kettering.

William Carey said that, "Andrew Fuller held the ropes that lowered me into the pit." This was speaking of William Carey's great missionary journey to India.

Fuller was a zealous controversialist in defence of the gospel against hyper-Calvinism on the one hand and Socinianism and Sandemanianism on the other, but he is chiefly distinguished in connection with the foundation of the Baptist Missionary Society, to which he for most part devoted the energies of his life.

During his life, Fuller pastored two congregations -- Soham (1775-1782) and Kettering (1782-1815). He died May 7, 1815 at Kettering, Northamptonshire.

John Newton - Amazing Grace!

The Oxford study group then traveled on to Olney where John Newton's church still stands today. We had a chance to actually sing Amazing Grace, the famous hymn that Newton composed, in the choir loft of Newton's church. Here, I am standing beside the pulpit of John Newton! (Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Read below to find ot more about John Newton and his amazing transformation! John H. Newton Jr. was born in Wapping, London, in 1725, the son of John Newton, Sr., a shipmaster in the Mediterranean service, and Elizabeth Newton (née Seatclife), a Nonconformist Christian. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 6. Newton spent 2 years at boarding school, at the age of 11 he went to sea with his father and sailed with him on a total of six voyages until the elder Newton retired in 1742. Newton's father had planned for him to take up a position as a slave master at a sugar plantation in Jamaica but in 1743, he was pressed into naval service, and became a midshipman aboard HMS HarwichAfter attempting to desert, to see his girlfriend / fiancee, Newton was put in irons and court martialed. The captain was determined to make an example of Newton for the rest of the crew. Thus, in the presence of 350 members of the crew, the 18-year old midshipman was stripped to the waist, tied to the grating, and received a flogging of 96 lashes, and was reduced to the rank of a common seaman.

Following that disgrace and humiliation, Newton initially contemplated suicide, but he recovered, both physically and mentally, and, at his own request, he was placed in service on a slave ship bound for West Africa which eventually took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He became the servant of a slave trader, who abused him. It was this period that Newton later remembered as the time he was "once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa." Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had been asked by Newton’s father to search for him on his next voyage.

Sailing back to England in 1748 aboard the slave-ship Greyhound on the Atlantic triangle trade route, the ship encountered a severe storm and almost sank. Newton awoke in the middle of the night and prayed to God as the ship filled with water. It was this experience which he later marked as the beginnings of his conversion to evangelical Christianity. As the ship sailed home, Newton began to read the Bible and other religious literature. By the time he reached Britain, he had accepted the doctrines of Christianity. The date was March 10, 1748, an anniversary he marked for the rest of his life.

(Notice the bottom of the stained glass window - it depicts the story of the storm at sea and Newton in the pulpit! This glass is located inside the sanctuary of Newton's church)

From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling, and drinking, although he continued to work in the slave trade. He later said that his true conversion did not happen until some time later: "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer in the full sense of the word, until a considerable time afterwards."

Newton returned to Liverpool, England and, partly due to the influence of Joseph Manestay, a friend of his father’s, obtained a position as first mate aboard a slave trading vessel, the Brownlow, bound for the West Indies via the coast of Guinea. During the first leg of this voyage, while in west Africa (1748-49), Newton acknowledged the inadequacy of his spiritual life. While he was sick with a fever, he professed his full belief in Christ. He later said that this experience was his true conversion and the turning point in his spiritual life. He claimed it was the first time he felt totally at peace with God.

He later wrote a tract decrying it in aid of abolitionist William Wilberforce.

William Carey - The Great Missionary!

Today we traveled to Moulton, England. Moulton was the place that William Carey first developed his missionary vision while preaching and cobbling shoes. The Carey Church was very gracious and provided tea for our group. I also had a chance to have my picture taken next to his pulpit. Tead further to learn about William Carey and his desire to fulfill Jesus' Great Commission command.

William Carey - born August 17, 1761 and passed from this life on June 9, 1834. He was an English Protestant missionary and Baptist minister, known as the "father of modern missions." Carey was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society. As a missionary in the Danish colony, Serampore, India, he translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects.

Carey became involved with a local association of Particular Baptists that had recently formed, where he became acquainted with men such as John Ryland, John Sutcliff, and Andrew Fuller, who would become his close friends in later years. They invited him to preach in their church in the nearby village of Barton every other Sunday. On October 5, 1783, William Carey was baptized by Ryland and committed himself to the Baptist denomination.

In 1785, Carey was appointed the schoolmaster for the village of Moulton. He was also invited to pastor the local Baptist church. During this time he read Jonathan Edwards' Account of the Life of the Late Rev. David Brainerd and the journals of the explorer James Cook, and became deeply concerned with propagating the Christian Gospel throughout the world.

His friend Andrew Fuller had previously written an influential pamphlet in 1781 titled The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation, answering the hyper-Calvinist belief then prevalent in the Baptist churches, that all men were not responsible to believe the Gospel. At a ministers' meeting in 1786, Carey raised the question of whether it was the duty of all Christians to spread the Gospel throughout the world. J. R. Ryland, the father of John Ryland, is said to have retorted: "Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine." However, Ryland's son, John Ryland Jr., disputes that his father made this statement.

In 1789 Carey became the full-time pastor of a small Baptist church in Leicester. Three years later in 1792 he published his groundbreaking missionary manifesto, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens.

Martyr - Thomas Cranmer

Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI. He helped build a favourable case for Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon which resulted in the separation of the English Church from the Roman Catholic Church. Along with Thomas Cromwell, he supported the principle of royal supremacy in which the king was considered sovereign over the Church within his realm.

During Cranmer's tenure as archbishop, he was responsible for establishing the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England. Under Henry's rule, Cranmer did not make many radical changes in the Church due to power struggles between religious conservatives and reformers. However, he succeeded in publishing the first officially authorised vernacular service, the Exhortation and Litany.

When Edward came to power, Cranmer was able to promote major reforms. He wrote and compiled the first two editions of the Book of Common Prayer, a complete liturgy for the English Church. With the assistance of several Continental reformers to whom he gave refuge, he developed new doctrinal standards in areas such as the eucharist, clerical celibacy, the role of images in places of worship, and the veneration of saints. Cranmer promulgated the new doctrines through the Prayer Book, the Homilies and other publications.

Cranmer was tried for treason and heresy when Mary I came to the throne. Imprisoned for over two years and under pressure from the Church authorities, he made several recantations and reconciled himself with the Catholic faith. When the church burned Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley at the stake...they made Thomas Cranmer watch from a nearby tower located in, of all places, St. Mary's Church.

On the day of his execution, he church gathered...they chained Thomas Cranmer to a pillar inside the church and the priest took his position on the opposite side in the pulpit.

The people wept for Cranmer, who was to deliver a recantation and lead the people to follow the Catholic faith. The people also worshiped with music and song. When Cranmer was given the opportunity to speak, he opened with a prayer and an exhortation to obey the king and queen. However, he then ended his message totally unexpectedly, deviating from the prepared script.

He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his own hand since his degradation and as such he stated his RIGHT hand would be punished by being burnt first.

He then said, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine."

The same people that cried for him then pulled from the church and took him to where Latimer and Ridley had been burnt six months before. As the flames drew around him, he fulfilled his promise by placing his right hand into the heart of the fire and his dying words were, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

Let it be known that Thomas Cranmer dramatically withdrew his recantations and died as a Protestant martyr. His legacy lives on within the Church of England through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles, an Anglican statement of faith derived from his work.

Christian Martyrs - Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer

Hugh Latimer became a noted preacher more widely. In 1535, he was appointed Bishop of Worcester, in succession to an Italian absentee, and promoted reformed teachings in his diocese. In 1539, he opposed Henry VIII's Six Articles, with the result that he was forced to resign his bishopric and imprisoned in the Tower of London (where he was again in 1546).

During the reign of Henry's son Edward VI, he was restored to favour as the English church moved in a more Protestant direction, becoming court preacher until 1550. He then served as chaplain to Katherine Duchess of Suffolk. However, when Edward VI's sister Queen Mary I came to the throne, he was tried for his beliefs and teachings in Oxford and imprisoned. In October 1555 he was burned at the stake outside Balliol College, Oxford.

Latimer was executed beside Nicholas Ridley. He is quoted as having said to Ridley:
"Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

Hugh Latimer was the Bishop of Worchester and Nicholas Ridley was the Bishop of London.

The deaths of Latimer, Ridley and later Cranmer— now known as the Oxford Martyrs — are commemorated in Oxford by the Victorian Martyrs' Memorial which is located near the actual execution site. The Latimer room in Clare College, Cambridge is named after him.

How many shoulders do we stand upon? These men gave their all for their belief in God.

Monday July 21 -Stonehenge, England

Monday July 21 Bath, England

The Oxford study group boarded a bus this morning and headed for Bath, England. Bath is actually a Roman town famous for it's Roman bath houses and Bath Abbey (church). This was a great place of study for its history and architecture.

These pictures to the left are of the Bath Abbey. Incredible structure. Check out the high vaulted ceilings and the detail. The stain glass windouws cannot be compared.

Now note the Roman bath house...incredible! Sharon, I thought you would like to see these since you and I just finished studying Roman history post death of Christ.

High Church - Sunday July 20

We had a chance to attend church today...different...very different. No Otis, Troy, Roy, Verne, David, Elder, Richard or Larry in this church. Very little speaking. This is an Anglican Church which is basically Episcopalian. They call this particular church "high church." I attended "high church" at night...but for the morning worship service I went to Aldates Church which is known as "low church." All Days Church is also known as the "Happy Clappy Church." I fit in better at the "Happy Clappy" church! Great experiences...

I miss my church and church family. I have been praying for you. From what I hear, God has provided very well for you in my absence. I have heard so many wonderful things about Dr. Owens and Dr. Autrey. I know that God placed a special message upon their hearts specifically for FBC Nixon.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and continued support of my family.

London July 19

Today we traveled to London. I placed a photo of Big Ben on the blog for Kaile.

We had a chance to see the British Library's world famous collection of books. Then on to the British Museum, one of the greatest museum's in the world. The British Museum has ancient artifacts (to name just a few) from Greece, Rome, Assyria, Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

One of the most interesting displays that I saw is the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which records the conquests of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. Noted on the monument is the defeat of King Jehu- King of Israel.

The Rosetta Stone is displayed at the British National Museum as well. The Rosetta Stone is a well-known example from a series of decrees, the Ptolemaic Decrees, issued by the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 305 BC to 30 BC. The series consists of the Decree of Canopus by Ptolemy III, Decree of Memphis, (as represented by the Memphis Stele) by Ptolemy IV, and the Rosetta Stone decree by Ptolemy V.

After this, had a chance to slip over to Buckingham Palace and have tea with the Queen...just joking...we were one of hundreds gawking at the beauty of the palace outside.

We ended our tour by exploring the National Gallery. We had a chance to see some of the most famous European paintings in the world.

Some of these events are simply more than the mind can absorb.

At 5pm we headed back to Oxford. More lectures, more study...