‘Never suppose you know anyone completely, even a member of your family,’ state the grandsons of the late G. Campbell Morgan in the new book In The Shadow Of Grace (June 2007, Baker Books).
Despite their grandfather’s popularity, the fact that he was named one of the ten greatest Christian preachers of the 20th century by Preaching magazine, and their close attachment to him, Richard, Howard, and John Morgan discovered that of all his writings and the writings about him, “…none had centered on his life crises and the faith that arose out of them.” This book does. Each chapter represents a major theme of G. Campbell’s life, including “When Loved Ones Die” and “Growing Older,” and uses snippets of his sermons to detail his thoughts on each.
He was a famous preacher but “…he was also a human being who struggled with some of the same life issues we face”. Morgan comforted his flock through multiple national disasters, including the sinking of the Titanic and World War II. Morgan experienced his share of personal tragedy as well, the death of his two and half year-old daughter being perhaps the most difficult. It never seemed to faze him, however, because he recognized that doubt was part and parcel of the Christian walk.
“[Morgan] was always compassionate toward doubters,” and he chose to see the bright side of a dark situation. Even when he found himself confronted with the rationalistic and materialistic philosophies of the late nineteenth century he reminded us in his diary, “When the sun is eclipsed, the light is not killed, it is hidden.”
He was a man of social equality in his day and the annual G. Campbell Morgan Preaching Prize given to the student who best exemplifies Morgan’s ideals has been given four times; three to African-Americans and two to women. For his native country of England, he was the right man at the right time. Despite the difficulties he experienced, G. Campbell’s successor at Westminster Chapel, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, believes that “[G. Campbell Morgan], surely, was the supreme illustration of the fact that God always gives His gifts at the right time.” His grandsons, however, feel that “[t]his may well be another time for the words of G. Campbell Morgan to speak of grace and hope for our embattled world.”
