The Forgotten Man of Christmas

What do you do, when your much-younger wife to be, informs you that she is pregnant? What if you're not the father? How do you handle the discussion, when she goes on to tell you that the father isn't of this earth -- that he is, in fact, God? And what if God sends an angel to speak with you and confirm what your bride to be had told you? And years later, what if that baby turns out to be the promised Messiah that had been foretold in more than 300 prophecies?

This the situation that Joseph, a not-so-spectacular, but honorable carpenter, found himself facing nearly 2,000 years ago. We all know what has been told to us of the famous event and what is presented in the four narratives of the Bible known as the Gospels (written, most likely in this order: Mark, Matthew, Luke and John).

However, the Biblical stories give us more information about the shephards and the animals in the manger scene, more about the angels, the Magi and their gifts, and more about the hunt for the newborn child by Herod, than it does about the eartly father of the infant Jesus. We know very little, if anything solid, about Mary's husband.

Singled out by God to be, in fact, the adopted earthly father of Jesus, Joseph is known to us only as a dim figure in the background of the Gospel narratives. Yet his whole-hearted reconciliation to Mary, even in the face of possible slanderings by his neighbors, his complete self-sacrifice, when he left all and fled into Egypt to save the infant Jesus, are indicative that he was not unworthy to fulfill the great trust which was imposed upon him by his creator. In reality, this man, Joseph, has become, down through the ages, virtually 'the forgotten man of Christmas."

Howard Edington

Howard Edington is a nationally renown speaker and preacher, and a leader in the global mission community. His ministry began in Kilgore, TX back in 1967. He served congregations in South Carolina and Arkansas, before beginning a twenty-one year service as senior minister of the six thousand-member First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. Throughout his tenure, the congregation quadrupled and his televised weekly services (The Certain Sound) were picked up by audiences in the Southeast. He and First Pres set a high standard for programmatic outreach, developing over one hundred and eight ministry areas that reached throughout the world.

Following a distinquished career in Orlando, Howard, instead of hanging up his robe and entering retirement, took on a dying church. In 2008, he became Preacher-in-Residence at Central Prebyterian Church on the Upper East Side of New York City. Over time, the 1904, John D. Rockefeller-built church was revitalized and filled to capacity. The final pastoral ministry occurred in Houston, TX (at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church).

Howard Edington has a post-graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, The Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Israel, and Oxford University, England. He has honorary doctorates from Arkansas College, Rhodes College, Presbyterian College, Florida Christian Univeristy, and Grove City College.

He was founding chairman of The Christ School (an elementary and middle school on the campus of First Presbyterian Church, Orlando). He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Montreat College, including a term as chairman.

The original publication of The Forgotten Man of Christmas was released in 2005 and received a major writeup in Time magazine.

The father of two adult daughters, Howard is grandfather to three. His 22-year-old son, John David, died in an automobile accident.

Fifty plus years have combined to make Howard Edington a power voice among Christians, a strong educator and a wonderful writer. The Forgotten Man of Christmas: Joseph's Story is an example of his powerful writing skills.