Past Masters

There had been a persistent rumor around town about a particular house located across the road from one of the local high schools and how it had become a den of iniquity. A preacher had been making a big deal about it and the fact that sexual immorality was rampant in the area, particularly among young people. One version of the tale had it that some of the high school students were planning some kind of demonstration out at the makeshift tabernacle, where the old preacher was railing against the sins of the city. The whole thing finally convinced one previously reluctant young man to go out to one of the revival meetings to check out things for himself.

In 1938, Time magazine honored E. Stanley Jones with the distinction of "world's greatest missionary evangelist." Time's laudatory expression was not an isolated one. Christians and non-Christians celebrated the multi-faceted contributions of this visionary man. For instance, his missionary work in India coupled with his outspoken efforts for Indian self-determination in the early decades of the 20th century caused one Indian government official to say Jones was "the greatest interpreter of Indian affairs in our time."

On the opening day of the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale University in 1912, John Henry Jowett said, "I have had but one passion, and I have lived for it-the absorbingly arduous yet glorious work of proclaiming the grace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Such a confession revealed a romance with preaching that made Jowett one of the most admired ministers of the early 20th century and subsequently earned him the title "Stylist of the English Pulpit." Jowett was born Aug. 25, 1863, in Halifax, England, in the home of devoted and godly parents. His call to the ministry was influenced by his parents and his church, and it was nurtured through his educational training at Airedale College and Edinburgh University. At first, Jowett was interested in a legal career and considered studying law. However, his Sunday School teacher challenged him to reach a decision about the ministry. In his 17th year, he experienced a definite call and surrendered to "the divine initiative."

One day, after Criswell had been filling George W. Truett's shoes for nearly eight years, W.A. glanced out the window of his office and saw an old man sitting there. He buzzed his secretary and asked how long the man had been waiting, "Well, he's been there for quite a while, Dr. Criswell. He looked like a bum to me, and I wasn't sure you'd want to be disturbed," she said. Criswell recognized the old man. He was no bum...

?Peter Marshall often said, "Spirituality is a matter of perception, not proof."

?Helmut Thielicke was a preacher-theologian who stood between two worlds: the academy and the church.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was responsible for the most vital period in the life of Westminster Chapel. A man of unparalleled intellect and prodigious sermonic output, he left his mark on both sides of the Atlantic-and around the world.

Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary, Theologian