John Herman Randall Sr.

John Herman Randall Sr., D.D., born in St. Paul, Minnesota, was a Baptist minister selected by the Fountain Street Baptist Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a young graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School. During his ministry (1897-1906), Randall effectively converted Fountain Street Baptist Church from "traditional" to "progressive," reflecting the spirit of the Divinity School that is still known for its liberal approach to religious studies. He left to serve Mount Morris Baptist Church of New York, and eventually moved on to serve John Haynes Holmes' Community Church of New York, beginning a kinship with Unitarians that continued until his death.

His books include *A New Philosophy of Life* (1911); *The Culture of Personality* (1912); *Humanity at the Cross-roads* (1915); *The Life of Reality* (1916); *The Spirit of the New Philosophy* (1919); *The New Light on Immortality; or, The Significance of Psychic Research* (1921); *The Irrepressible Conflict in Religion* (1925); and *Religion and the Modern World* (1929), coauthored with his son, John Herman Randall Jr., who became a noted philosopher at Columbia University, New York. He retired in 1927 to become director of the World Unity Foundation and editor of its magazine.

Sources: [RootsWeb](https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~knower/genealogy/johnhermansrcareer.htm) and [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_Street_Church)