Christian author Danny E. Morris and Dr. McGregor Smith JR., Professor Emeritus at Miami Dade College, consider several facts, theories, and possibilities gleaned from the history of Earth-and the Church. These considerations will expand your awareness and appreciation for both the planet and the Church. You will know more when you finish reading than you did when you started. But keep in mind, all written history-of the earth and of the Church-is "done data." Our goal is for you to realize that our generation is writing its own history-right now! It is in the history we are writing that we shall make it or break it! 'Because the words miniature and history are contrary ideas, using them as we have in the title of this book has resulted in an oxymoron. One of us (Mac) is a career environmentalist-an Earth Ethicist, if you will. The other (Danny) is a Minister of the Gospel. Yet our shared faith stance has kept us from being saddled with a "combination of contrary words," as the dictionary defines oxymoron. We are in fact "joined at the hip"we have simpatico, as stated elsewhere. In this book, we are not attempting to focus on a sweeping, historical plethora of human affairs or "wars and rumors of wars" that the first three Gospel writers predicted (Matt. 24:6; Mark. 13:7; Luke 21:9). We have intentionally linked "miniature" and "history," but we have no intention of usurping the task and passion of historians for making a study or a record of past events. Though we will mention various historic events, we will concentrate our focus on the beginning of history (the earliest absolute past) and the present day, hence, Miniature History. One cannot pick up a stick without both ends lifting. Here, we are most keenly interested in this end of the "stick" because our end of history is the only portion yet to be written. And all of us have the privilege of writing it. Ultimately, this is about how we will answer the question: What history do we want to-or will we be able to-write about our earth-and about our faith?' Danny E. Morris & Dr. McGregor Smith JR.
About the Author: Author Danny E. Morris spent forty-six years in ministry with The United Methodist Church and twenty-five years on the staff of Upper Room Ministries (a Ministry of the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church). He has authored sixteen books, including humor books, children's books, and Christian titles. Danny and his wife Rosalie live in Middle Tennessee and have three grown children, Alan, David, and Diana, and nine grandchildren. Over his long career with the United Methodist Church and Upper Room Ministries, Morris personally developed the following programs: -The Academy for Spiritual Formation (now international) -The "Five-Day Academy" -The Living Prayer Center (nationwide) Danny Morris also brought the Catholic Cursillo into the United Methodist Church through the Department of Developing Ministries. Through Bob Wood's leadership, Cursillo became "The Walk to Emmaus." By 2008, the one-millionth-person had completed the "Walk . . . " Dr. McGregor (Mac) Smith, Professor Emeritus at Miami Dade College, founded several programs at the college including Life Lab, the Environmental Demonstration Center at Kendall Campus, and the Environmental Ethics Institute. It was decided in 2003 that changing its name to "Earth Ethics Institute" would more accurately convey the purpose and mission of the Institute. In 1976, McGregor Smith Jr. presented the seed of an idea to the (then) MDCC Board of Trustees with the vision that it could grow into a self-supporting Environmental Demonstration Center. In 1978 a group of committed staff, faculty and community members broke ground and planted that seed. From that ground on the west side of Kendall Campus, the Environmental Demonstration Center (EDC) sprouted. The EDC was a Wolfson Campus program, but it was located adjacent to Kendall Campus. Over the following ten years, the Center grew, developed and evolved into a unique tree with branches for an Owner-Builder Center, a Landscape Center, a Tropical Lifestyle Center, and a Nature Center. In addition to these, by 1989 Mac Smith and Norma Watkins had established the Environmental Ethics Institute that offered credit and non-credit courses in Earth Literacy. And by that time, the Institute's roots had already spread beyond Miami Dade College, to St. Thomas University in Miami, to Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and to the Highlands Center in North Carolina.