Destiny and Decision: The Molding of a Minister in the Twentieth Century

Fred R. Zimmerman

Aug 2013 · Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

About this ebook

In this autobiography of a Christian minister, Fred R. Zimmerman tells the story of his life on the stage of world events that affected him either directly or indirectly. Born to be a minister, he first became aware of his calling early on in his boyhood. Orphaned at eighteen months during the flu pandemic of 1918–19, he was fortunate enough to be adopted by a childless couple. In their capacity as committed church-going Christians, he was wisely nurtured in his mission to become a minister. During his college and seminary years, crises accompanying this destiny began to arise. As his ministry developed through the years, destiny and decision became the yoke (Matthew 11:27–30) under which he exercised the burden of being a pastor. This is therefore a story not primarily of a person but of a God-appointed ministry.

About the author

Fred R. Zimmerman served as an active parish minister of the United Church of Christ in Ohio for sixty-two years. During the middle of his professional career, he filled a significant post on the administrative staff of Defiance College, Defiance, Ohio. A preacher and teacher of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Zimmerman has been an ardent advocate of life as affirmed by Jesus in St. John 10:10 (“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”).