Portrait of Integrity: The Life of Ray C. Stedman

by Mark S. Mitchell

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1572931167
• ISBN13: 9781572931169
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Our Daily Bread Publishing
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Portrait of Integrity: The Life of Ray C. Stedmanm

This book is a beautifully written account of the life of an amazing man. I only recently learned of him, and I thoroughly reading his writings.

Review of

I very much enjoyed reading this book. In looking at some of the other reviews, too, I am not sure I see the point of Mr. Harding's comments. Instead of the pot calling the kettle black is it not more appropriate for men like Harding to be building up the remnant instead of fault-finding those of God's servants who have gone home for a perfect assessment of their lives by our Lord. For Mr. Harding who was not in leadership at Peninsula Bible Church and did not even know Mr. Stedman's family intimately, to discuss Ray's family in a book review is very inappropriate. However, since he brought this up, the very trials that Mr. Stedman and his family encountered were the very things that made Mr. Stedman the man he was and the " cracked clay pot" - cracked through the circumstances of life, that Christ could be seen through, and made the message he was preaching of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" transparent and real. A major focus of Ray was to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. To understand that Christ is the Head and we are His Body, with each member gifted by Him and filled by His Spirit, when we choose to allow Him, made Peninsula Bible Church one of the most Spirit filled Churches I have seen. No church is perfect, nor is any leader perfect. Ray Stedman would have been the first to admit this. That was one of the refreshing parts of Mr. Mitchell's biography in that he did not try to hide any parts of Ray's life or ministry. The point of the book and Ray's ministry is summed up in 2 Cor 3:4-6, "Not that we are competent of ourselves, but our competency comes from God, who has made us ministers of the New Covenant." You see, Ray felt that it was truly everything coming from God and, nothing coming from us, as it is God who provides the competency and all we do is just show up and allow Him to use us in whatever circumstances we are in. I want to thank Mr. Mitchell for researching the material for this book so carefully and for writing this book about this man, Ray Stedman, who J. I Packer put in the following company, "throughout the Christian centuries, from Cystostom and Augustine through Luther, Calvin and Matthew Henry, to Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Ray Stedman, working pastors have been proving themselves to be the best of all Bible expositors." To be included in such company is high praise indeed, not that Ray needed it or would want it. As Howard Hendricks said, "Ray was a much more important leader in evangelicalism than most Christians would know, because of his incredible humility. He was never a self-promoter. He never sought high positions. But everywhere I go to this day when I mention Ray Stedman's name I get an incredible response. He would be a candidate, in my mind, for a position on the Mount Rushmore of evangelicals." Again, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and to read more about Ray or read his sermons, please visit his website at [...] Jimmy Stewart

Another Amazing Man from the WWII Generation

Author Mark Mitchell creates a vivid image of the life of Ray Stedman, yet another compelling and interesting character from the "Greatest Generation." Not that a potential reader should confuse this as a book about war or soldiers--from from it. It simply strikes me, having just finished the biography, that Ray Stedman's rise from the humblest and most difficult beginnings, followed by a pioneering career in pastoral service and biblical studies, parallels many of the other great individual accomplishments of the WWII generation. It continually amazes me how so many men and women of this generation rose up from nothing during very trying times (WWII, the great depression) to accomplish great things against even greater odds. I wish I'd met this guy!!

An inspiring biography of a Christian pastor and leader

In 1984 I was checking out Palo Alto churches and spent 5 minutes in the back of the Peninsula Bible Church (PBC) where there were many printed documents and sermons. It seemed very serious so I decided to attend another church but over time I heard of the church's first senior pastor, Ray Stedman, and his legendary preaching. When I saw his biography on a bookshelf I picked it up because all I knew about the man was his association with PBC. 24 hours later I'd read the book as fellow pastor Mark Mitchell has written a compelling portrait. It draws on interviews with Stedman's colleagues and relatives. I have to compare this with Tim Dudley-Smith's two-volume biography of John Stott. Both biographies are written by pastors about a fellow churchman who expounded scripture, stayed at the same church for decades and nurtured young preachers. Whereas John Stott had an elite education, Ray Stedman had a broken home and wild west upbringing. It is amazing that Mark Mitchell could compress the biography into just over 150 pages as he chronicles upbringing, study, family life, ministry and retirement. He omits details of overseas trips and unlike John Stott's biography does not discuss in detail the evangelical scene at the time. It would be good to have a sequel that interviews more people and examines the life of Ray Stedman on his preaching trips. Appendices give writings of Stedman, including his last sermon at PBC, which help one understand his philosophy. If you aren't familiar with Christian doctrine then dispensationalism is explained in the book. You will, however, get more out of the book if you are familiar with the basics of Christianity. Everyone wishing to be a preacher should read this book. It is also useful for church planters as it describes how Ray Stedman was called by 5 Christians who prayed that there would be Christians in the San Francisco area near Stanford University. Peninsula Bible Church not only became a leading church, but it spawned spinoffs - including the author's church Central Peninsula Bible Church in Foster City, CA. From the book I learned that Ray Stedman delivered many sermons and each was meticulously prepared. He also wrote a plethora of Christian books and had innovative ideas for how to manage a church. No wonder I was overwhelmed by the publications at Peninsula Bible Church. I also learned he had a hard time communicating with his family as he was so busy with his life's calling. It would be interesting to have a biography of his wife. The book shows how faith can change a person. It inspires Christians to follow the Bible and Christ. It is quick to read and engaging.

A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

I knew Ray Stedman very well for more than a quarter century and can certainly attest that this excellent biography is true to life. Seldom are the men God greatly uses depicted as ordinary, flawed, and less than perfect in their biographies. Although he started life with quite a few strikes against him, Ray was a faithtul to God day by day all his life long. Mark Mitchell's wonderfully well-written account, based on countless interviews and much research, shows that the Lord Jesus Christ can use any of us--if we will commit ourselves to the journey of faith and stick to it. Ray Stedman stuck with it. Now, some 14 years after his homegoing, Ray's 800+ sermons (all online, http://pbc.org/dp/stedman/) are immensely popular today and proving to more relevant than when they were first spoken. Someone has said there is no limit to how much God can use a man as long as that man does not care who gets the credit. Ray saw to it that credit for all his life's work went to His Lord Jesus. Mark Mitchell has given us a wonderful tribute to Ray and at the same time thrown out a challenge for us all to emulate Ray's faith and to follow his example, no matter where we are starting from.