Piety, Passion, Paradox: The Life and Legacy of Basil Manly Sr.

Paperback
4.75" x 7"
138 pages

Read a blog post by Kurt Smith "Gaining Greater Assurance"

Foreword by Michael A.G. Haykin

Description

Very few Baptists in the antebellum South carried the influence mingled with the grace and gifts to be what one could describe as “the leading voice of his generation.” But for Basil Manly, Sr. (1768-1868), such an accolade was no exaggeration. Manly was fitted in his demeanor, sanctified in his character, and suited with just the right gifts to enable him to serve his fellow Baptists (and evangelicals at large) on multiple fronts with exemplary influence. And yet, such a figure like this in church history has been all but forgotten. In this present volume, Kurt Smith seeks to remedy this problem, as he writes in short compass a readable, accessible, and candid biography on the life and legacy of Basil Manly, Sr. Readers will be inspired, encouraged, and challenged by what they see in this one Christian man of whom it was said, “[he combined’ such excellencies, and achieved such usefulness, as are unusual even in a generation of men.”

Endorsements

“Smith’s discussion of Manly and slavery is one of the best I have seen for its contextual sensitivity as well as its ethical standing.”

—Tom Nettles

“Manly’s life, like those of every other imminently useful servant of Christ has much to teach Christians today—not only how to follow Christ as he did but also how to beware of our own tendencies to live in ways that are inconsistent with what we believe.”

—Tom Ascol

Author Bio

Kurt M. Smith is the pastor of Providence Reformed Church in Remlap, Alabama, on Pine Mountain, where He and his wife, Lorrie, reside with their three children. Kurt has served in the Gospel ministry for 30-plus years, where he’s had the joy and privilege to preach and teach God’s Word across the southeast in multiple churches. Kurt holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Luther Rice Seminary (Lithonia, GA) and is a published author in the genre of Christian biography.