A Light on the Hill

  I have read many biographies of great men and women from Church History. It greatly encourages my faith to learn about God’s faithfulness to pastors suffering with great physical difficulties like Charles Spurgeon or to read about God’s protection over missionaries like John Paton working on an island filled with cannibals! I have also read books on Church History, which teach about the broad movements of the Lord’s working during the last 2,000 years.
  But I have never read a biography diving into the life of one singular church. A Light on the Hill was refreshingly unique. No single person stands out as the hero in this story, but the book tells the stories of dozens of faithful saints who served the Lord during ordinary or extraordinary times.
  The author, Caleb Morell, is an assistant pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, so he is recounting the history of the church he loves and serves. With an incredible depth of research, the book feels comprehensive without being bogged down or clunky. Caleb uses quotes from meeting minutes 100 years old to help give a sense of how people dealt with a range of issues the church has dealt with during the last 150 years.
  One of the most helpful aspects of the book is how Caleb weaves the recounting of how things were with clear biblical teaching on how things ought to be. At the same time, he captures the tension that so often exists when big decisions need to be made or difficult problems need to be solved. This book made me more grateful for the history of the local church (the same Billy Sunday who’s tent revival in Livingston played a part in WCC’s founding was connected to Capitol Hill Baptist Church as well!). It also fueled in me a desire to see our church take the baton from 90 years of our history and carry the ministry faithfully through the next season of church life!
  May this book bless you, inspire you, and encourage you as you participate in the local church!