David James
Burrell
Contributor
David James Burrell was born at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, in 1849. He graduated from Yale College in 1867. He was saved as a young preacher trying to comfort an old Scottish backslider at death. The old man interrogated Burrell until he had to admit his lost condition. He came to Christ beside the dying man's bed. In 1891, he became pastor of the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. The church, still active, is the oldest continuing congregation of Protestants in the USA. Of the Dutch Reformed denomination, later Presbyterian, the church started in 1628. Burrell was pastor, professor and preacher to many of New York's highest citizens. His delivery was said to be clear-cut and vigorous, rising to dramatic heights of eloquence. Burrell was a prolific writer and many of his sermons still exist. He is so unknown today that his church does not even mention him in its online history, instead extolling Norman Vincent Peale, who pastored there a generation later. Burrell delivered original, highly entertaining sermons that are still beneficial for us today.
MORE ARTICLES BY David James Burrell
