Heritage book club goes digital

by David Crowe

For more information about the FWB Home Missions Department (now North American Ministries), please visit www.FWBNAM.com.

EXCITING THINGS ARE HAPPENING with the Heritage Book Club (formerly called Benjamin Randall Book Club). First, the new name represents all Free Will Baptist history and heritage in North America and Europe including the history and heritage of the Benjamin Randall movement of the North, the Paul Palmer movement of the South, the Free Communion Baptists of New York, the Six Principle Baptists of Rhode Island, the English Baptists of Europe, and other smaller groups.

History Meets Technology

A second exciting change is the addition of digital versions of out-of-print books and publications. In the past, the club has reprinted a book each year. The collection includes: Centennial Record, 1880; Life of Colby, 1854;Life and Labors of Rev. Ransom Dunn, 1901;History of Free Will Baptists, 1864; and History of Six Principle Baptists, 1827. It is great to hold these volumes in your hands and place them on your shelves, but we can only reprint one book per year.

With that in mind, we have begun the process of scanning many volumes into digital format. The files will be duplicated on CDs that can be read by any computer with a CD-ROM drive. Each copy will be word searchable. And each word, phrase, or page can be printed as needed. Thousands of pages of history are being introduced to the technology of the twenty-first century. The Free Baptist Cyclopedia, 1889, a massive volume with over 900 pages of Free Will Baptist history has been completed already. The book, perhaps the most sought after volume of Free Will Baptist history, can now be read and assessed from one CD.

Systematic Theology, a 400-page theological and doctrinal volume written by Butler and Dunn in 1890, has also been completed. As more books are completed, the club will keep you updated. As a member of the Heritage Book Club, you will soon enjoy full access to a massive digital library of Free Will Baptist information available only to a handful of dedicated historians for hundreds of years. However, you can only acquire these books and CDs as a member of the Club.

Out of the Ashes

The sixth bound volume offered by the club is an original novel entitled, Out of the Ashes. Written by the late Steve Hasty, Free Will Baptist preacher and historian, the plot is rooted in Free Will Baptist history and contains mystery, intrigue, drama, and humor. The setting revolves around the merger of the Northern Free Will Baptists with the Northern Baptists (American Baptists) in 1911.

For more information about how to begin receiving these books and CDs as a member of the Heritage Book Club, you may:

1. Call toll-free (877) 767-7674 and ask for Sarah Hadley

2. Go online to our website and click on Book Club

3. Email shadley@nafwb.org for more information

David Crowe is the director of church growth for the Home Missions Department in Antioch, TN.