GraceBaptistChurchBlueBellBook

Discover Russell Conwell's Prized Possessions             Grace Baptist Church's fourth pastor, Russell H. Conwell, had been a captain in the Union army. During his lfetime, Conwell was also amazingly productive. He was a lawyer, real estate developer, newspaper man, prolific author, and well-known lecturer in the US. He actually traveled the globe giving his speeches. He gave his most famous speech, "Acres of Diamonds," more than 6000 times. It is estimated that Conwell earned an incredible sum over his lifetime for these lectures, but instead of keeping the funds for himself, he supported thousands in getting their college education. When asked what drove him to work so hard, he explained he worked for two. And shared the story of John Ring.      Before leaving for war, his beloved regiment honored him with a gold-sheathed sword, which Conwell promised to guard with his life. Many young men clamored to a part of the great effort of the...

 February 18, 2021 As I sit in my home office here in the suburbs of Philadelphia, watching the snow plows clear the latest 6-9 inches of snow we got this morning, I'm mesmerized by the following letter. It has transported me to a hot, desolate empty field in North Carolina in 1914, and then back 50 years earlier to a Civil War battle. The letter was written my Russell H. Conwell, my church's pastor from 1882-1925. He wrote back to his congregation his thoughts since he'd just visited the battlefields and recounted his memories of those days, including a story of a young soldier, Johnny Ring, who died saving his captain's beloved sword. Conwell is best known for founding Temple University, and helping fund many students' educations through funds he earned through his lectures, including his most famous one, "Acres of Diamonds." Below is my typed version, but if you read on you can see Conwell's letter in his own handwriting.    

The Four Chaplains Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13 On a frigid February 3, 1943, the US troop ship Dorchester was sailing through rough seas in a convoy out of Newfoundland bound for Greenland.  They were about 150 miles off the coast.  Down in the old converted cruise ship’s stifling hold, 4 US chaplains circulated among the frightened young men, some lying wide-eyed in their bunks, others nervously playing cards or shooting dice.  Chatting with the troops, the chaplains eased tensions, calmed fears and passed out soda crackers to alleviate seasickness. The troops anxiously looked forward to reaching Greenland the next day.  They knew that U-boats prowled their ship’s course.  They did not know that by morning nearly 3/4s of them would be dead, and that the rest would have their lives changed forever.  Nor did they know the magnificent way in which these four chaplains would minister to them. ...