Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia

Several years ago (2000), my good friend Tom Hayes, a gifted evangelist from Saluda, NC, and I visited Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, PA one weekday afternoon. Our purpose for going was our mutual admiration of the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice. He had died a few months prior to our visit there. We entered the church and asked if we might look around and take some pictures, which they allowed us to do. A very kind lady offered to show us to the sanctuary. As we began to talk about our esteem for Dr. Boice, this lady's eyes began to well up with tears. She said, "In case you are wondering why I am getting so emotional, my name is Linda Boice, Jim's wife." We shared a few moments of brief fellowship together with her, and she escorted us to Dr. Boice's office, which was still as he had left it. His personal assistant allowed us to peruse his books, and showed us inside of his desk the handwritten sermon outline of Dr. Boice's ordination charge, preached by Carl F. H. Henry. Tom and I left rejoicing at the tremendous blessing God had given us in that brief visit.

I was glad to know a few years later (2004) that the church's 175 year history had been published by Presbyterian and Reformed. I purchased two copies of the book and sent one of them to Tom as a remembrance of our visit to the church. Then I did what I do with most books I buy: I put it on the shelf and said, "I'll get around to that one day."

Next month, Bill Whitcomb and I will be travelling to Tenth for the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. What better opportunity do I need to read the book? So, over a week or so, I have devoured the thing cover to cover. It was an absolute joy to read.

Why I loved this book:
1) I love guys who labor long in one place. Tenth Presbyterian has had a string of long term pastors (they are the norm rather than the exception) over their 175 year history, beginning with Dr. H. A. Boardman, and extending to notable pulpiteers Donald Grey Barnhouse and James Montgomery Boice.
2) All of Tenth's pastors have been gifted expository preachers. The church has developed such an appetite for biblical exposition that they EXPECT it of their pastor.
3) Tenth is an urban church which has refused to retreat to the relative security of the suburbs.
4) Tenth is continually developing new ministries to reach the multi-ethnic and variegatedly diverse community of Center City Philly.
5) Tenth is committed to excellence in worship, fueled by traditional God-exalting hymns rich in doctrine and great in heritage.
6) Tenth thrives today without buying into the lie that relevance is the most important thing a church can pursue. Their faithfulness to the gospel, to rich doctrine, to authentic worship, and to life-changing ministry is as relevant as it gets.

For all these reasons and more, I would recommend to you Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia: 175 Years of Thinking and Acting Biblically, edited by Philip Graham Ryken.