FLIGHT PATH
A biography of Frank Barker Jnr.
By Janie Buck and Mary Lou Davis. Christian Focus. 85 pages
ISBN 1 85792 918 7
This is the very encouraging story of a contemporary Presbyterian (PCA) leader in America. Brought up as a bit of a rebel within a Christian family, Frank Barker, was called to the ministry and converted while he was as fighter pilot on US aircraft carriers during the 1950s.
Starting with a little church which met in a shop-front in Birmingham, Alabama, God blessed the work and over the years Briarwood Presbyterian Church has grown to a membership of over 4,000 people and has missionary interests all over the world. The book makes a good read for several reasons. First, there is a challenge to practical faith. There is a risk taking for the kingdom and Barker's description of God's 'guiding stars' in his life is a theme throughout the book. His sacrificial attitude to the use of money is remarkable. Second, the story takes place against the background of big social changes in the American South. Briarwood took a firm stance for black civil rights during the 1960s. Third, the man admits his many failings, both before and after his conversion. This conveys a down-to-earth reality about his dealings with God from which we can all learn. The chapters are short (40 in a book of less than 200 pages) and though it is a biography it is written as if it is an autobiography. All this turns it into a spiritual 'page-turner'.
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