A Divine Light: The Spiritual Leadership of Jonathan Edwards (David Vaughan)

A Divine Light

The Spiritual Leadership of Jonathan Edwards 

Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) was one of the leading religious thinkers of the colonial era. Educated at Yale, he became the senior pastor of the Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1724 at the age of 21. As pastor of the most influential church in New England at the time, his powerful preaching helped launch the revival of 1734-35 and spearheaded the more extensive Great Awakening of 1740-41.

When the awakening came under attack due to various excesses and slanders, Edwards became the leading apologist for experiential religion. His articulate defense of the revival, A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections, is now considered a masterpiece of the study of the religious mind. Edwards always had a huge passion for missions and evangelism. So is no surprise that he spent his final years preaching the gospel to American Indians.

As with all volumes in the Leaders in Action series, the first half of Vaughan’s book is biographical, the second half being devoted to various admirable character traits of Edwards.

Contents

A Divine Light comes in three parts:

Part 1: The Life of Jonathan Edwards

• The Puritan Hope
• Meeting God at Yale
• Ministry and Marriage
• Receiving the Mantle
• Breaking Up the Fallow Ground
• Whitefield and the Great Awakening
• In Defense of Revival
• Controversy and Dismissal
• Frontier Theologian
• An Unhappy Providence

Part 2: The Character of Jonathan Edwards

• Books
• Study
• Discipline
• Consecration
• Determination
• Spirituality
• Humility
• Holiness
• Duty
• Love for God
• Love for Man
• Ministry
• Christlikeness
• Civic Leadership
• Preaching
• Family
• Spiritual Disciplines
• Experiential Religion
• Sovereignty
• Gloria Dei

Part 3: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards 

• Vindication
• To Future Generations
• Life and Letters
• Memorial
• The Lessons of Leadership

About the Author

David Vaughan grew up in the St. Louis area and came to know the Lord in 1975. Throughout the 1980s he ran a youth ministry called Moriah which was usually a packed house of youth eagerly wanting to study the Word each week. He and his wife, Diane, married in 1989. Around that time his church commissioned him to help plant a church in St. Peters, Missouri .  In 1996 that church called David to be its pastor, where he has faithfully preached and shepherded since then.

David serves in a variety of areas including Director of Liberty Leadership Institute, Research Professor and Lecturer at Whitefield Theological Seminary, and President of Liberty Classical Center. He also appears weekly on the KSIV Encounter program where he interviews authors on their books encompassing a variety of theological topics.

In addition to these ongoing activities, David also addresses current and biblical issues through writing.  His articles have appeared in numerous national publications.  He has also authored several books including Give Me Liberty: The Uncompromising Statesmanship of Patrick Henry.

David and his wife, Diane, have four children: Hannah, Lydia, Ethan and Adam.