“Many people think that the mark of an authentic Christian is doctrinal purity; if a person's beliefs are biblical and doctrinally orthodox, then he is a Christian. People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life.”
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Raymond Charles Stedman was an evangelical Christian pastor, and author. He was a long-time pastor of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, and author of several books.
Peninsula Bible Fellowship had begun two years earlier as a small Bible study. By 1950 it had grown to the point of needing pastoral care. The directors of Peninsula Bible Fellowship offered the position to Ray in 1950. Peninsula Bible Fellowship became Peninsula Bible Church, and Ray's leadership here was to last forty years, culminating in his retirement as a pastor and elder on April 30, 1990.
Ray was known for his humor and warmth. His gentle personality allowed all those who met him to feel instantly at ease. At the height of his career, when he was speaking internationally; Ray often would return home to Palo Alto and listen to Peninsula Bible Church interns preach from the church pulpit. Regarding Ray's impact, Chuck Swindoll said "Ray Stedman is what I want to be when I grow up."