Richard E. Simmons, noted author and lecturer, will present a seminar on “Living as a Christian in a Secular World” at Millsaps College’s Leggett Center on Sat., Feb. 23. Simmons is the author of the popular book The True Measure of a Man and is a well-known men’s Bible teacher and conference leader.
Simmons says that he wrote True Measure in part to help men deal with the fear the modern world presents—fear of personal and business failure, fear of the future in unstable times, fear of losing the ability to cope with what life throws at them.
“The Number One imperative that God gives his people is not to love or to be generous or to be kind. It is to ‘fear not,’” Simmons says. “And obviously it’s because fear does great harm to our lives. It runs wild in our imaginations, and men don’t know how to deal with that fear.”
A graduate of the University of the South, Simmons is founder and executive director of the Center for Executive Leadership, a professional counseling group in Birmingham, Ala. Before founding the Center, he was CEO of Hilb, Rogal and Hamilton, a property and casualty insurance firm.
Simmons is a frequent public speaker whose topics range from the struggle to find God to the difficulty of living in tough economic times to the challenge of faithful discipleship. He knows the demands of the professional life and seeks to convey ancient biblical wisdom to those who are experiencing the stresses of modern life.
Simmons’ most recent book, Reliable Truth: The Validity of the Bible in an Age of Skepticism, was published in December of last year. In it he shows that the Bible reflects the true nature of reality and he debunks the many myths, legends and false beliefs about the Bible found in popular discussions of the sacred text. It is a timely resource to provide clarity and confidence to those who question the Bible as the inspired word of God and who seek to know the truth.
In his endorsement of Reliable Truth, Gary Fenton, senior pastor of Dawson Baptist Church in Birmingham, notes its relevance to all Christians. “Simmons provides convincing and convicting evidence for the reliability of the Bible. It’s a great book to give to college students, and every pastor and Bible study leader needs to read it as well.”
The seminar is sponsored by Firm Foundation, a Mississippi based clergy and lay Episcopal group dedicated to the promotion of biblical Christianity and the preservation of traditional Anglicanism. The public is invited to attend. Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (by Rosemary Foncree)