Author Archives: Vance Christie

John MacArthur, one of the most prominent Christian preachers of our generation, recently went to be with the Lord in Heaven. For five and a half decades MacArthur faithfully and unapologetically proclaimed the truths of God’s Word through his preaching, writing, and radio ministries that reached multiple millions of people around the globe.

Yet as a teen John had a different career ambition. The story of how God redirected him into vocational Christian ministry is not only remarkable, but also suggests some of the ways in which the Lord leads His disciples into the ministries He has for them to carry out.

John’s father and grandfather both pastored local churches and maintained a radio preaching broadcast in southern California. John was greatly impacted by his father’s capable preaching, as well as by his unfailing integrity in consistently living out the scriptural standards he encouraged his family and congregation to embrace.

In high school John excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track (as a sprinter). Athletics were his absorbing interest, and a professional sports career was an attractive possibility.

But his mother had prayed that her son would become a preacher. And from his early years John had sensed a call in that direction. With that expectation in view, his parents sent him to Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. John was not enthused about attending BJU because it had no intercollegiate athletics. He also did not embrace the school’s hyper-Fundamentalist environment with its ultra-separatist practices.

At the end of his first year at BJU, John shared a car ride with five other students who were all bound for home. As they drove down an Alabama highway at the speed limit, the driver lost control of the vehicle. As the car turned over, one of its doors flew open, and John was thrown out. He landed in a seated position on the asphalt road and slid for over 100 yards. Incredibly, none of his bones were broken, but third-degree friction burns took the flesh off his back and left asphalt embedded in the tissue that remained. One of his hands would be scarred for life.

John later related of the life-changing impact of this accident: “As I stood up on that highway, having never lost consciousness, I committed my life to serving Christ. I told Him I would no longer resist what He wanted me to do, which was to preach His Word. I realized I was not in control of my future. I had survived something that should have killed me. God suddenly had my undivided attention.”

After the initial hospital care, three months of painful treatment followed. John underwent skin grafts and other treatment which required him to lay on his stomach for extended periods.

This marked a great turning point in his life. From that point on, “the Christian ministry became the pole star of his life.”

After attending another year at Bob Jones University, John transferred to Pacific College in Los Angeles, where he completed his Bachelor’s degree. There he participated in athletics again, excelling especially in football. He was named to an All-America squad as halfback, and more than one professional team showed interest in him.

But John now had a higher purpose and pursuit in life. This was confirmed to him through an unexpected opportunity which arose out of a football luncheon at which he received a reward. After he used the occasion to speak of his faith in Christ, one of his hearers asked him if he would visit a seventeen-year-old girl named Polly in the hospital. Her spinal cord had recently been severed in an accident, and she was left paralyzed for life.

When John went to the hospital to see Polly, her first words to him were: “I’d kill myself if I could. I have no reason to live.”

Not knowing what else to do, John started sharing the Gospel of salvation and eternal life with her: “It’s not what happens to your body that matters most, Polly; it’s what happens to your eternal soul. You’re going to live forever somewhere. God can bring joy into your heart even now if the issue of your soul is taken care of. Would you like to hear about how that can happen?”

The Lord opened her heart to listen to what he had to share. After several occasions of conversation and prayer, she was able to say: “You know, John, in some ways I’m glad this accident happened. If it hadn’t, I would never have met Jesus Christ.”

That early experience in evangelism and pastoral care profoundly affected John. He later stated of it: “After that exposure to the power of the Gospel, I thought: ‘This is all I want for my life. Nothing else even comes close in significance’.”

John subsequently attended and graduated from Talbot Theological Seminary in La Mirada, California, before embarking on his long, fruitful career of vocational Christian ministry.

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This narrative was adapted from the first chapter of Iain Murray’s excellent biography, John MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock (Banner of Truth, 2011).

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

Luis Palau came to have tremendous fruitfulness and prominence in his worldwide evangelistic ministry. But as a young man, he seriously questioned his ability to effectively proclaim the good news of salvation and was tempted to give up his evangelistic efforts. To follow is a vital lesson he learned about evangelism, and a valuable reminder for all of us in our various forms of service for the Lord.

By the time Luis was in his early twenties, he and several other young men in the Gospel-preaching church he attended in Cordoba, Argentina, held many evangelistic street meetings, sold Bibles, and handed out tracts. They also organized a Sunday School program, led youth meetings, and held all-night prayer meetings.

However, Luis became frustrated that his evangelistic preaching seemed to have no spiritual power. He sought to be studied up, prayed up, and fired up in his ministries. Yet he saw no immediate fruit from his evangelistic efforts, except a few children who trusted in Christ as their Savior when he directed and taught Vacation Bible School.

Finally, he decided that if he did not see any converts by the end of the year, he would quit preaching. He would still be an active Christian and would continue to study the Bible and pray. But he would resign himself to simply assisting others in their ministries rather than leading in ministry himself. When the year ended with no one turning to Jesus, he firmly concluded, “I don’t have the gift of evangelism.”

On a Saturday morning, just a few days into the new year, Luis sat down to read The Secret of Happiness, a book written by Billy Graham, who by that time had become a famous young American evangelist. Luis was blessed by Graham’s thoughts on Christ’s Beatitudes recorded in Matthew 5:3-12. As he read, he memorized the main points Graham made on each Beatitude.

That evening Luis did not feel like going to the home Bible study he usually attended on Saturdays. But to support the church leaders, he went anyway. When the intended speaker never arrived, Luis was asked to speak. “Oh, I’m not prepared to speak tonight,’ he tried to excuse himself. “And besides, I forgot to bring my Bible.”

But eventually he was persuaded. With just enough time to breathe a silent prayer, Luis urgently asked the Lord for His help and blessing. He borrowed a New Testament, turned to Matthew 5, and read the first Beatitude. After repeating a few points he remembered from Billy Graham’s book, he read the next verse and did the same.

When he came to verse 8, he read: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Suddenly a woman from the neighborhood stood and started to cry. “Somebody help me!” she pleaded. “My heart is not pure. How am I going to find God? Somebody tell me how I can get a pure heart.”

Luis directed her attention to 1 John 1:7 and read: “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.” He went on to explain that Christ shed His blood on the cross so that those who trust in Him can be cleansed from sin and saved from its judgment. As a result, the woman believed in Jesus and went home that night with a pure heart that was at peace with God.

Luis returned home full of joy and praise to the Lord that He had used him in pointing this woman to the Savior. Through this incident he was reminded that it is God’s Holy Spirit who convicts people of sin. God draws individuals to Jesus and salvation in His own good time.

Not only in evangelism, but in all our endeavors to serve the Lord, we do not control when or to what degree positive spiritual fruit will be borne. Rather, our part in the process is to always serve Christ in the ways we believe He would have us to, while prayerfully depending on Him to use our efforts for good. God will graciously use us to bear fruit when and how He desires. In this way it remains clear that He, rather than we, deserves all the credit and glory for any fruit resulting through our efforts. (See also John 15:5-8 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.)

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This is just one of many interesting, spiritually-instructive incidents in my new youth biography Luis Palau: Calling the World to Christ. If you missed it earlier, you may also be interested in my recent blog, “Reasons to Read My Luis Palau Youth Biography”: https://vancechristie.com/2025/08/26/reasons-to-read-my-luis-palau-youth-biography/

Here’s a link to further information from the publisher about the book:

https://www.christianfocus.com/en-us/product/9781527113688/luis-palau-calling-the-world-to-christ-paperback

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

Recently I read an outstanding, newly published book entitled Compelled: Ordinary People, Extraordinary God, which I heartily encourage others to read. This work is written by Paul and Sarah Hastings, and relates seven incredible true stories of modern-day people in whose lives God carried out His mighty, merciful work for their good and to His glory.

The book’s chapters relate the amazing testimonies of:

Hannah Overton, who was falsely accused and convicted of the murder of her beloved foster son, then sentenced to life in prison. How the Lord sustained and used her in that unthinkable ordeal is instructive.

Don and Carol Richardson, who courageously, compassionately ministered among cannibals and headhunters in Papua New Guinea for many years. The peace God established between warring tribes and the peace He brought to superstitious “savages” with Himself is incredible.

Laura Perry Smalts, who was delivered from radical transgenderism, had her life transformed by Christ, and found in Him her true identify and the personal joy that had always eluded her.

Brian Birdwell, whose life was providentially spared by God when a jet commandeered by terrorists slammed into the Pentagon on 9/11, where he fell, trapped inside the burning building, only fifteen yards from the initial impact site of the crash. Brian also experienced the Lord’s sustaining mercy in the long, grueling process of recovering from the serious burns he sustained that day.

Carol Everett, who justified thousands of abortions while running a lucrative abortion clinic business. The story of how God transformed her heart and led her into compassionate pro-life ministry is remarkable.

Troy Gause, an infamous drug dealer in New Orleans who went by the unique nickname of “Church Boy.” The Lord drew Troy to Himself through the horrific consequences of his own poor choices, then called him into significant Christian ministry.

Jeff Parker, a Chrisian husband, dad and ministry leader, who for many years lived a double life of bondage to deception, pornography and gambling, before experiencing full and permanent deliverance through the power of Christ operating in his life.

These testimonies clearly show that God is still very much in the business of patiently, graciously working in the lives of people who are very far from him, to draw them to Himself and to dramatically change their lives. Other of these people were committed Christians who experienced unspeakable adversity in their lives, which God permitted but then used to greatly grow their spiritual faith and fruitfulness. These stories also exhibit how God redeems people’s profound pain and excruciating trials (rather than allowing those to be wasted) by bringing marked blessings to them, as well as tremendous benefit to others through them.

Every one of these stories is related in a well-paced, highly-engaging fashion. Each person’s testimony is so significant and well-told, I didn’t want to put the book down until I had finished a chapter. And I was eager to pick it back up again to read another chapter or two.

In 2018 Paul and Sarah Hastings launched the Compelled podcast. Since then, they’ve produced upwards of 100 of the most powerful testimonies they could find of lives that have been completely changed by Jesus. I believe this is their first collection of testimonies in book form and certainly hope other such works will follow.

The Hastings state in the introduction to their book: “Our prayer is that these stories would reassure you of the incredible power of Christ and kindle fresh affection in your heart for the Author of your own story.”

Christian apologist Lee Strobel offers high personal commendation of Compelled by stating: “I love this book! The compelling stories of God’s intervention into unlikely lives inspired me, encouraged me, and motivated me to continue sharing His message of grace with others.”

May God be greatly glorified through this work, and may innumerable readers find in its chapters heartening and helpful touchpoints to their own lives.

This book is available through a number of booksellers at a nicely discounted price, and can likely be ordered through your favorite Christian bookseller. Here’s a link to one of those: https://store.thegospelcoalition.org/product/9781837280544/compelled-paperback

 Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

Recently I became acquainted for the first time with a very old hymn which has proved to be a tremendous blessing to me. I’d like to share it with you in the form of a factual hymn story drawn from the ministry of William Carey, the preeminent pioneer missionary to Bengal, India. I hope both the hymn story and the hymn will be a significant blessing and inspiration to you as it has been to me.

  Carey and his initial missionary colleague in Bengal, John Thomas, carried out seven long years of diligent evangelistic effort before they won their first Indian convert to Christ. On a number of occasions they had seen Indians, both Hindus and Muslims, show initial interest in the Christian scriptures and the good news of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Some of those individuals inquired about Jesus for months and seemed near believing in Him as their Savior. But each time, in the end, they drew back and did not profess Christ.

For them, becoming a Christian would have involved turning from their former religious beliefs and facing strong disapproval and opposition from family members and friends. In addition, by associating with foreign missionaries or with Indians from other social classes who were similarly seeking after Christ, they would be breaking the ironclad caste system which ruled India. Breaking caste was strictly forbidden and would result in total familial and social ostracism, and likely in persecution.

Near the end of November 1800, Thomas, who was also a medical doctor, reset the dislocated shoulder of a Hindu carpenter named Krishna Pal. Krishna lived in Serampore, where the missionaries had their headquarters, fourteen miles north of Calcutta. In addition to ministering to Krishna’s physical need on that occasion, Carey and Thomas used the opportunity to share the gospel of salvation with him and his family at his house.

After that, Krishna and his brother Gokul repeatedly visited the missionaries at their mission house to learn more about Christianity. Carey, in turn, continued his visits to Krishna’s home, where he shared Christ with them and several of their neighbors. Krishna’s wife Rasu and her sister Joymooni joined him and Gokul in desiring to follow Jesus. They all said they were ready to lose caste and all for Christ. But when Gokul shared with his wife his intention to profess faith in Jesus, she left him and went to live with her father.

Despite that, on Monday, December 22, Gokul, Krishna, Rasu, and Joymooni shared their personal testimonies of having come to faith in Christ at an official church meeting at the mission house. They were welcomed into the church’s membership, and it was agreed they would all be baptized the following Sunday.

The next morning, however, some 2,000 people gathered at Krishna’s house and poured out anathemas against him for breaking caste and becoming a Christian. Serampore was a Danish settlement, and the mob dragged Krishna and Gokul to the Danish magistrate’s house. The magistrate commended rather than condemned the two brothers, then ordered the crowd to disperse. Fearing that “some mischief” or even murder might befall Krishna’s household that night, the missionaries appealed to the Danish governor, who sent a sepoy to keep watch throughout the night.

Later that week Gokul’s wife offered to reconcile with him if he returned to his Hindu beliefs. This caused him to hesitate about receiving Christian baptism. Rasu and Joymooni likewise hesitated in being baptized after being confronted by the tearful appeals of their relatives.

Early in the afternoon on Sunday, December 28, however, Krishna steadfastly took his stand, alone, by being baptized by Carey in the Hooghly River that flowed past the mission property. A large number of Hindus, Portuguese, and Europeans witnessed the baptismal service.

Before baptizing Krishna, Carey addressed the congregation in Bengali and led them in singing a Bengali translation of the hymn “Jesus, and Shall It Ever Be.” The hymn was perfectly suited for the occasion, being a devotional expression of the appropriateness of readily professing Christ, rather than being ashamed to do so. Some of the verses read:

Jesus! and shall it ever be
A mortal man ashamed of thee?
Ashamed of thee, whom angels praise,
Whose glories shine through endless days?

Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star;
He sheds the beams of light divine
O’er this benighted soul of mine.

Ashamed of Jesus! that dear Friend
On whom my hopes of heaven depend!
No, when I blush, be this my shame,
That I no more revere His name.

Till then – nor is my boasting vain –
Till then I boast a Savior slain;
And oh, may this my glory be:
That Christ is not ashamed of me.

This hymn was originally written by Joseph Grigg in 1765 and altered by Benjamin Francis in 1787. Grigg’s original version of the hymn contained seven stanzas. The hymn has been published in many hymnals, which include (or exclude) quite a variety of verses and set the song to different tunes. Not all presentations of the hymn are equally attractive. But here is a link to one presentation which I find to be edifying, especially as thoughtful attention is given to the printed lyrics: https://youtu.be/6cE1PFP0d3k  (Just skip past the unrelated ad if that pops up.)

By the way, in the weeks and months that followed Krishna’s baptism, his wife, sister-in-law, and brother all publicly signified their Christian faith by being baptized. Happily, Gokul’s wife also became a Christian and was baptized. They all went on to faithfully serve Jesus, despite the sacrifices and persecution that brought them.

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

My mom, Phyllis (nee McCarry) Christie, was welcomed to her heavenly home by her Savior Jesus Christ on Monday, March 10, 2025, at the age of ninety. Here’s a short summary of Mom’s life and a brief tribute to her.

All glory to God for His innumerable blessings to Mom throughout her life and continuing now in eternity. Praise Him for using her to bring tremendous blessing to countless people during life and, through her ongoing memory and influence, even after death.

Mom was born at Trout Lake, Michigan, on April 22, 1934. She grew up on her parents’ farm near Trout Lake.

She and her siblings were taught high moral values by their parents. They did not do any farmwork on Sundays, except caring for the animals. However, they never attended church.

But when Mom was nine years old, a Rev. Morrison and his wife taught a Vacation Bible School at Trout Lake. Mom was able to attend it, and that week believed in and received Jesus as her Savior. She never again saw the Morrisons, who were not from that area, but thanked God many times afterwards for bringing them into her life to lead her to the Savior.

Mom attended school at Trout Lake through the tenth grade, and gave the valedictory address at her eighth-grade graduation. She completed the final two years of high school in Rudyard, Michigan, graduating one month after her seventeenth birthday.

She married George Christie at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on March 1, 1952. The Lord blessed them with two sons and two daughters, who even arrived in the birth order they desired. (We their kids were “always” remarkably cooperative children! 😊) Dad and Mom were married for sixty-six years, until his death in 2018.

Mom faithfully supported Dad as he served a stint in the Army, then completed his college and seminary education. For forty-four years they actively and sacrificially served together as pastor and pastor’s wife of four established Grace Brethren congregations and three church plants, all in Washington State. Mom ministered to many people through her special gift of hospitality and as a capable women’s ministry leader in their local churches and in their denomination.

Her gift of hospitality truly was exceptional, though she viewed it as just normal. Dad and Mom hosted many of their church people in their home for meals, or for refreshments after Sunday evening services. They also hosted virtually all the church guest speakers in their home for a meal and a place to spend the night. 

Mom used her considerable organizational and secretarial skills in a variety of medical office jobs, including many years as a medical transcriptionist. She thus supplemented the modest salary her husband received from the small churches they served.

Mom was always very interested in and devoted to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren, all of whom, along with their spouses, came to number over forty. Though she lived at a distance from many of them, she kept in touch with all through a steady stream of letters, cards, phone calls and gifts. In-person visits to or from family members were always highlights of Mom’s years.

Her letter and card writing were extraordinary. In addition to writing her own kids, grandkids, etc., she also maintained a voluminous correspondence with literally hundreds of other friends and relatives. Her annual Christmas card list typically included over 200 people, and many of those individuals received additional cards and letters from her at other times during the year. For more than twenty years after she went legally blind from macular degeneration, Mom continued to type (with almost no typographical errors) hundreds of letters per year.

She also had an exceptional prayer ministry for her family. With Dad while he was still living, then on her own after He went to be with the Lord, she prayed for all her family members every day. One night while visiting at Mom’s home a few years ago, I heard her talking aloud in her bedroom after she had gone to bed and turned out the lights. Surprised, I paused to listen briefly, to make sure she was alright. I quickly realized she was praying for individual family members. I went to bed that night with a fresh reminder of how blessed we were as a family to have a faithful, praying Mom and Grandma. Many other friends were included in her prayers as well.

Mom responded to the increasing challenges of her latter years with her typical overcoming spirit. After going legally blind at age sixty-seven, she could no longer carry out all the work and ministry she was accustomed to doing. But she remained actively engaged in life by continuing to care for her home and family, serving as pastor’s wife for five more years, and maintaining caring contact with many others to the end of her life. When Dad’s health faltered and failed in the closing couple years of his life, Mom cared for him with unfaltering love, devotion and patience. She missed her spouse terribly ever after his passing, but even then did not give up on life.

Through all these adversities, I never once heard Mom complain or express self-pity. Instead, I continued to see her manifest a quiet trust that the Lord would continue to help and care for her.

She always had an interest in and a desire to preserve family history, both from the past and present. In the final years of her life, she compiled a family history and genealogical album, which began with Dad and Mom’s grandparents and continued down through all their (George and Phyllis’s) descendants born by that time. Mom provided a copy of that family history album – which includes detailed family trees, historical pictures, and pertinent newspaper articles – for each of her children and grandchildren.

Then, just in time for her 90^th birthday celebration last April, Mom wrote a collection of her personal memoirs entitled Memories of a Farmer’s Daughter and Pastor’s Wife. Those were compiled into an attractive eighty-page book which she gifted to family members and a number of friends.

In the past year, Mom’s strength largely deserted her. She became more and more desirous of going to be with the Lord in Heaven, and to be reunited with other Christian relatives and friends who had already gone there. Her desire was granted when she died suddenly and peacefully on March 10.

Also fulfilled for her at that time were the promises of Christ Jesus Himself to those who follow Him: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie

Recently I was delighted to send off to my primary publisher, Christian Focus Publications, the completed manuscript of a youth biography I’ve written on Luis Palau, the famous evangelist. CFP will likely publish the book this coming August or September as part of its Trailblazers series of children’s biographies on outstanding men and women of the Christian faith.

Here are a few of the primary reasons I think kids (and adults too!) will enjoy and benefit from reading this book:

(1) Second only to Billy Graham, Luis was the most prominent Christian evangelist in the world during the closing decades of the twentieth century and the opening decades of the twenty-first century. He was the premiere evangelist used of God in spreading the Gospel (good news) of salvation throughout South and Central America, and commonly became known as “the Billy Graham of Latin America.” Luis then went on reach millions of other people around the world with the Gospel, even while continuing his strong evangelistic endeavors throughout Latin America. Such an eminent servant of Christ is well worth learning about!

(2) Luis’s father died unexpectedly when he was only ten years old, and his family experienced marked financial hardships as a result. After coming to saving faith in Christ at age twelve, Luis then experienced significant discouragements and struggles in his spiritual life as a teen. Young readers will find much in his boyhood experiences that they will be able to relate to and gain guidance from.

(3) Beginning in his early twenties, Luis became actively involved in Christian service. He had a compelling desire to share the Gospel with non-Christians and frequently did so. He even had curious visions (which he kept to himself) of his preaching the Gospel in stadiums filled with immense crowds of people.
Luis thought that God might be calling him to vocational Christian ministry as an evangelist. He held back, however, from making such a commitment due to an absence of a pressing emotional conviction that He was called by God. He also hesitated because of an ongoing need to help support his family financially. Then the Lord worked through a series of definite and remarkable circumstances to lead Luis into fulltime Christian service and to further his education in preparation for such ministry. Consideration of Luis’s experiences in these regards will provide young people with much helpful food for thought concerning how the Lord would have them to serve Him with their lives, whether or not that be in some form of vocational Christian ministry.

(4) This book relates dozens of the hundreds of occasions when Luis proclaimed the Gospel to tens of thousands of people and saw thousands of them come to saving faith in Christ. The book also shares the dramatic conversion testimonies of many of the individuals who placed their trust in Jesus as a result of Luis’s evangelistic ministry. Those include the salvation stories of national political leaders, radical Communist rebels, those trapped in various types of abuse, people who had lost hope or become disillusioned with life, and others.

The instances of thousands of people simultaneously coming to Christ and the examples of individuals finding the Savior hearten Christians regarding the power of God and the Gospel to transform lives, whether by thousands or one at a time.

These are just a few of many reasons youth will enjoy and profit from reading this account of God’s tremendous work in and through Luis’s life and ministry. I’ll share other reasons as the book’s publication draws closer. I’ll also be sure to provide further information from the publisher about the book and ordering copies of it as all that becomes available.

Copyright 2025 by Vance E. Christie