I have published the works of many authors on this blog and on my YouTube channel, and you will find a list of them on this page with links to their writings. I will try to give some information about each one, when I have information available. Also, I will add new material or author information to this page as it becomes available and keep the list to 20 authors per page. Here is the list of the authors on this page:

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Matthew Henny

In 1680 his father took him, aged 18, to the academy of Thomas Doolittle at Hackney, where he studied for two years under Doolittle and Thomas Vincent, until persecution forced the academy to relocate. Henry moved to the estate of Bronington, Flintshire, which he inherited from his maternal grandfather, Daniel Matthews. The next time he returned to London it was to study law, and he was admitted to Gray’s Inn in 1685.

He continued his theological study in private, and began to preach in his father’s neighbourhood in 1686. He moved to Chester the following year, and was asked to become the local minister. The penalties against dissent having been somewhat relaxed, he was privately ordained a minister in London in 1687. Returning to Chester, he began his twenty-five-year ministry of the Presbyterian congregation there. That same year, he married Katherine Hardware of Bromborough, Cheshire; she died in childbirth (James Hamilton in his Life of Matthew Henry, 1847, says it was smallpox) in February 1689, at the age of 25.

The following year, Henry married Mary Warburton, with whom he had one son, Philip, and eight daughters, three of whom died in infancy. Henry saw much success in his Chester ministry – the number of communicants was eventually 350, and a meetinghouse was built for him in Crook Lane, opened in 1700, with a gallery added in 1706. As well as his congregational work, Henry held monthly services in surrounding villages and preached to prisoners in the castle.

He began work on his famous Commentary on the Whole Bible in 1704, completing it from Genesis to Acts by his death ten years later. Several of his fellow ministers compiled the remainder of the Commentary (Romans to Revelation) primarily from Henry’s own notes and writings. While still at Chester, Henry also completed his A Method for Prayer with Scripture Expressions proper to be used under each head (an edition of which, edited by O Palmer Robertson, is published by the Trust as A Way to Pray).

As his Commentary began to be published, Henry became increasingly well-known, and was eventually prevailed upon to move to Mare Street, Hackney in London in 1712. This gave him opportunities of preaching almost every day of the week, and sometimes two or three time on the same day. It was probably in this way that he accomplished most, for his Hackney congregation was not large. He found only a hundred communicants. It was not a lively period in the history of religion anywhere, and the London churches widely shared the spiritual torpor which soon after his decease transformed the Presbyterian chapel at Chester into a Unitarian meeting-house.

Revisiting Cheshire in 1714, on Monday, June 21, Henry set out on his return to London. He was engaged to preach at Nantwich on the way. At Tarporley, his horse threw him, but he denied that he had sustained any injury. Accordingly, he preached on Proverbs 31:18; but everyone noticed that he was not so lively as usual. He was short, and afterwards very heavy and sleepy; he was soon seized with apoplexy, and at eight on the following morning he fell asleep in the Lord. He was buried in the chancel of Trinity Church, Chester.

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William MacDonald

James G. McCarthy Wrote this about William MacDonald.

Speaking of the Lord Jesus, the Bible says, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:6). Bill wrote in his commentary, “Jesus’ life, as set forth in the Gospels, is our pattern and guide. It is not a life which we can live in our own strength or energy, but is only possible in the power of the Holy Spirit. Our responsibility is to turn our lives over to Him unreservedly, and allow Him to live His life in and through us.”

True Discipleship

In 1962, Bill wrote True Discipleship, a summary of what it means to walk in the same manner as Christ walked. In the foreword, he said:

This booklet is an attempt to set forth some principles of New Testament discipleship. Some of us have seen these principles in the Word for years, but somehow concluded that they were too extreme and impractical for the complicated age in which we live. And so we surrendered to the chill of our spiritual environment.

Then we met a group of young believers who set out to demonstrate that the Savior’s terms of discipleship are not only highly practical but that they are the only terms which will ever result in the evangelization of the world. We acknowledge our indebtedness to these young people for providing living examples of many of the truths set forth here.

To the extent that these truths are still beyond our own personal experience, we set them forth as the aspirations of our heart.

Bill listed seven principles of Christian discipleship.

1. A supreme love for Jesus Christ.

2. A denial of self.

3. A deliberate choosing of the cross.

4. A life spent in following Christ.

5. A fervent love for all who belong to Christ.

6. An unswerving continuance in His Word.

7. A forsaking of all to follow Him.

Challenged by these seemly impossible standards, Bill wrote:

The writer realizes that in the act of setting them forth, he has condemned himself as an unprofitable servant. But shall the truth of God be forever suppressed because of the failure of God’s people? Is it not true that the message is always greater than the messenger?

The message is indeed greater, but in this case, the messenger also was noteworthy.

A Visit to his Apartment

Perhaps Bill’s life can best be recalled by a final visit to the apartment where he lived for the past thirty-four years. The building is unremarkable, unless one remembers that the occupant of apartment number seven had a Master degree in business administration from Harvard Business School and was a former investment analyst for the First Bank of Boston. One would have expected such a man to live in a large home in a gated community, rather than in a one bedroom apartment on a busy street. The stainless steel doorbell/intercom panel guarding the front lobby door is new. Had we visited two or three years earlier, however, we would have noticed on the old panel that the button for Bill’s apartment had been replaced. His many visitors had worn it out prematurely.

Entering the lobby and turning to the staircase on your visit to Bill MacDonald’s apartment, you would pass a row of mailboxes. Though conveniently placed, Bill never received his mail there. He preferred to have it delivered to Fairhaven Bible Chapel a few blocks away. He would stop by Fairhaven each day, greet the secretaries, and pick up his mail. He had helped to start the Discipleship Intern Training Program there and taught in it for twenty-one years, training scores of men to serve Christ.

As you topped the first flight of stairs, Bill would be waiting at his apartment door with a smile and a hearty handshake, or if he knew you well, a hug. Unlike many who become grumpy and bitter as they grow old, Bill grew more warm-hearted and sympathetic as he aged. More like Christ.

The Kitchen

Entering his one-bedroom apartment, you would pass a small windowless kitchen on the left. While others over the past thirty-five years had invested thousands of dollars remodeling their kitchens, Bill’s had remained the same—a stove, a sink, a refrigerator, and a small counter, just enough room for one person to work. “It’s fine,” he would say. He enjoyed cooking for himself and his guests, serving full meals with dessert. If there is a reward in heaven for the bachelor who showed the most hospitality, Bill will easily win it.

Beyond the kitchen you would see a small table pushed against the wall, a chair on either end, two chairs down the long side. A woodworking class had made it for him. Above it hung a large calendar and a glass Scottish thistle. Though born in Massachusetts, Bill’s heart was in Scotland, his parent’s birthplace. He had spent a memorable year there on the Isle of Lewis as a youth.

On the kitchen table, you would see a small stack of cards. If you examined them, you would find a Bible text on one side and its reference on the other. After serving dinner, Bill enjoyed inviting his guests to select a card, read the text, and try to identify the book, chapter, and verse from memory. Of course, he knew them all.

The Living Room

Passing into his living room, you would see that it was divided into two spaces, each about seven feet long and ten feet wide. The one nearest to the kitchen was furnished with three chairs, two bookcases, and a small electronic keyboard. Bill would serve you tea and you could talk about the things of the Lord. When alone at night, he liked to spend a few minutes playing hymns unto God. He played by ear and knew the lyrics to hundreds of songs. In later years, a tremor in his hand put an end to it.

On the two bookcases, you could check out his personal library. He limited it to those few shelves. This meant that as new books came in others went out, usually to be passed on to an eager young Christian. He liked to joke about earlier days when he owned a smartly bound edition of the complete works of John Nelson Darby. They made him feel spiritual and intelligent, he liked to tell others, until a young disciple asked him if had read them. He admitted that he had not. Darby was good, but difficult to follow. He sold them soon after, putting the money into the work of the Lord.

You would notice that the second half of the room was configured in a square. The room’s only window was on the back wall. It looked out to a parking lot. Nothing much of interest there. On the other side of the building was the town’s fire department. Bill said the sirens didn’t bother him. He had learned the art of not letting small things get under his skin. He had something more important to do.

Three desks completed the square, two long ones lining either wall and a shorter one across the front of the workspace, leaving enough room to pass. Bill spent most of his waking hours there when at home. He used the desk on the right (a door blank supported by two file cabinets) for Bible study. On a shelf for reference books above it, you could count seven or eight translations of the Bible. Bill’s favorite translation was the King James Version, but for many years he taught from the New American Standard Bible. One year he exclusively used the New International Version to familiarize himself with it. In his latter years, he settled on the New King James Version. He could explain the strengths and weaknesses of each translation and would warn young disciples to stay out of the controversies over which one was best. Throughout his life, Bill strove to maintain balance. When someone took issue with his interpretation of Scripture, he would listen politely and then quote Harry Ironside, saying, “Well, dear brother, when we get to heaven, one of us is going to be wrong, and perhaps it will be me.”

Bill knew little Hebrew or Greek. He had set a goal as a young man to master the English Bible and that kept him busy enough. He knew it as well as any scholar. He could quote Scripture at length, a God-given ability. After completing a study of a passage, he usually had it memorized without drills or review.

On the same desk where he studied, Bill kept his phone and fax machine. You wouldn’t be there long before a call would interrupt your visit. They came in from around the world. Usually the caller was an elder, asking advice on a difficult problem in his assembly.

You would find a second long desk of the same design on the left with a computer monitor and printer on it. Bill did his writing there. By the age of eighty, he had completed eighty books. “One for every year of my life,” he would say with a smile, “though I didn’t start when I was one.” He finished his eighty-forth book a few weeks before going to be with Christ and just short of his ninety-first birthday. It was a new commentary on the book of Proverbs.

Bill was an early adapter. He had been given his first computer in 1982 at the age of sixty-five. He never really understood how the thing worked. The difference between a computer file and computer folder, for example, baffled him. He didn’t let it stop him. He knew this new technology could advance his work for the Lord, and so decided to use it. With help from others and an array of Post-It notes and instructions on cards, he got the job done.

On the third desk, an aluminum folding table, you would find Bill’s typewriter and a stack of correspondence. In a typical week, Bill would answer ten to twenty letters. He found it taxing, especially in his latter years, but he couldn’t rest until every letter was answered and every gift acknowledged.

Bill filled the hours in his apartment with study and writing. “Most of my Christian life has been hard work,” he writes in an unpublished memoir, “steady plodding, routine duties and lonely hours. There have been times when I have wondered if anything was being accomplished. If I ever thought of turning in my commission, the Lord would drop some little handful of encouragement that would nerve me to go on a little longer.” Nothing encouraged him more than receiving in the mail a copy of his commentary freshly translated into a foreign language. A fund has been set up with CMML to continue the work.

The Bedroom

Leaving the living room and entering Bill’s bedroom. The furniture is cheap and dated—a bed, two small bookcases holding an assortment of his books and tracts to give to people, a dresser, a small television, and a bedside stand with a book on it. He read himself to sleep most of his life. In the last two or three years his eyes wouldn’t allow it. “The tent is coming down,” he would say.

Bill liked to watch the news. He never went to a movie theater or to a theatrical play, mostly out of deference to his mother, he would explain, who saw no good in them. He occasionally watched a movie with a Christian theme on DVD. His favorite was Chariots of Fire, the story of a Christian athlete, a Scotsman, as one might expect.

In the bedroom closet, you wouldn’t find much. Bill was always well groomed, but he spent little on clothes. There you would find his suitcase. He had used the same one for over fifty years. It looked something like an oversized bowling bag. It was all he needed. He traveled light, but he traveled far, circling the globe teaching the Bible.

Of course, if you were to visit apartment number seven now, you wouldn’t find Bill there. On Christmas Day, 2007, Bill went home to be with Jesus. He left little of earthly value. The former investment analyst, you see, had no stock portfolio, no property, no investments of any kind on this earth. Everything he received beyond what was necessary for his basic needs, he gave away. We still have the books he wrote. We can thank God for that. We still have precious memories of the example he left us. But Bill is no longer with us, and we already miss him terribly. He reminded us so of Jesus.

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Sir Robert Anderson

On leaving school he was given a good opening for a business career in a large brewery; but after eighteen months he turned away from this, and entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated B.A. in 1862 with Moderatorship and medal, receiving the LL.D, of his Alma Mater in 1875.

After studying at Boulogne and Paris he entered Trinity College, Dublin, and in due course was called to the Irish Bar. In 1865 he assisted the Irish Government in treason charges. His special knowledge of the ways of conspirators led to his appointment as Irish Agent at the Home Office, and to his becoming Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, Scotland Yard, at a time when London was in the midst of the “Jack-the-Ripper” scare. He directed this work till 1901, when he was made K.C.B. on his retiral. The colleague or friend of Lord Guthrie, Lord Salisbury, Lord Wolseley, Lord Blythswood, Sir Wm. Harcourt, Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, and many celebrities of days gone by. His story told in “The Lighter Side of My Official Life,” touching incidentally on most of his work during his thirty-five years of public service, forms in­teresting reading.

W. H. Smith, on the floor of the House of Commons, stated that Sir Robert “had discharged his duties with great ability and perfect faithfulness to the public.” Raymond Blathwayt, in Great Thoughts, wrote: “Sir Robert Ander­son is one of the men to whom the country, without knowing it, owes a great debt. “

As an author his name will go down to generations yet unborn. His general books: “Criminals and Crime,” “Sidelights on the Home Rule Movement,” and “The Lighter Side of My Official Life,” dealing mainly with “things present,” may not survive, but his theological volumes, dealing with “things eternal,” will remain.

Among his many books, “The Gospel and Its Ministry” is the best known; “Human Destiny,” which C. H. Spur­geon describes as “the most valuable contribution on the subject I have seen;” “The Silence of God,” the “book which astounded religious Europe” and helped many during the Great War; “The Coming Prince,” which deals with the 70 weeks of Daniel; “In Defence,” “Daniel in the Critics’ Den,” “The Hebrew Epistle,” “The Honour of His Name,” “The Bible and Modern Criticism,” “Misunder­stood Texts,” and other volumes, indicate how prolific his pen and industrious his life. Almost his latest, and cer­tainly his sweetest volume, “The Lord from Heaven,” was highly commended by the Bishop of Durham, Dr. Griffith Thomas, Miss Catherine Marsh, and many others.

The two main points in Sir Robert Anderson’s books which made then readable and profitable were the strength and certainty of his own beliefs and the clearness of their expression. “Amidst all the weakness and mystifying,” said Sir Hugh Gilzean Reid, “it gives one hope to read your strong words.” “Your writings are specially helpful to me,” wrote a very old friend, Mrs. Pery-Knox-Gore; “there is always in every chapter that which you must either accept or reject. You must stop and think, and not pass on un­heeding.”

When in Dublin he attended Merrion Hall. For some time in London he assembled with believers in Camberwell and other parts. A few months before his death he ex­plained to the writer that he would have been much more with “brethren” in later years but for the question of minis­try. The “open meeting,” with its many abuses, did not naturally appeal to such an orderly mind. Yet his heart was ever there. His ministry at the Half-Yearly Meetings in Glasgow was greatly appreciated.

In 1873 he married Lady Agnes Moore, sister of the Earl of Drogheda, a true help-meet in every good work, and a leader in many branches of women’s work in London.

Now, what was the secret spring of this mighty man of valour? Here it is as given by himself not long before his Home-call:

He had been brought up in a Christian home, and had led what is known as a religious life, with occasional transient fits of penitence and anxiety; but in 1860 the conversion of one of his sisters through services held in Dublin by J. Denham Smith awakened new spiritual longings. He was persuaded to accompany her to one of these meetings; but the light came the following Sunday evening through a sermon in his own Church. The preacher was the Rev. John Hall (afterwards of New York), who “boldly pro­claimed forgiveness of sins, and eternal life as God’s gift in grace, unreserved and unconditional, to be received by us as we sat in the pews. His sermon thrilled me,” Sir Robert said when describing the event, “and yet I deemed his doctrine to be unscriptural. So I waylaid him as he left the vestry, and on our homeward walk I tackled him about his heresies . . . At last he let go my arm, and, facing me as we stood upon the pavement, he repeated with great solemnity his Gospel message and appeal: ‘I tell you,’ he said, ‘as a minister of Christ, and in His Name, that there is life for you here and now if you will accept Him. Will you accept Christ, or will you reject Him?’ After a pause – how prolonged I know not – I exclaimed, ‘In God’s Name I will accept Christ.’ Not another word passed between us; but after another pause he wrung my hand and left me. And I turned homewards with the peace of God filling my heart.”

After an attack of influenza, he in measure recovered, sat working till 10.30, retired to rest, and at 11 quietly passed into the presence of the Master whom he loved on November 15th, 1918, in his 77th year.

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Alfred P Gibbs

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Who was F.F. Bruce and why was he important?

His importance comes from the fact that in a time when the academic community looked down upon Evangelicals, Bruce demonstrated that worthwhile academic work could be done by a scholar holding evangelical views. At the same time, Bruce persuaded Evangelicals that they should not turn their backs on academic methods of Bible study, even if the results might differ from traditional evangelical views.

“He was by all accounts,” said Dr. David Capes, “the most significant evangelical scholar of his age and continues to influence the church today in quiet, understated ways.”

Known worldwide as the “Dean of Evangelical Scholarship,” F.F. Bruce (1910-1990) was a biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. Trained in classics at the University of Aberdeen and Cambridge University, he taught at the universities of Edinburgh, Leeds, and Sheffield, and was for almost twenty years the Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester.

F.F. Bruce was charitable, gentle, and respected those with whom he disagreed and those who disagreed with him. He seemed to be genuinely humble, teachable, and diplomatic. J.I. Packer said, “No Christian was ever more free of narrow bigotry, prejudice and eccentricity in the views he held and the way he held them; no man did more to demonstrate how evangelical faith and total academic integrity may walk hand in hand.”

“The issues which, for Bruce, were non-negotiable,” said Bruce’s biographer Tim Grass, “may be summarized as the reliability of the New Testament, the person and work of Christ, the Christian life as one of forgiveness and liberty as befits those who are being led by the Spirit, and the right and duty of every believer to use whatever gifts God has given them.”

F.F. Bruce belonged to a group of independent Christian congregations called the Brethren, a group that gives prominence to Scripture and to the Lord’s Supper and that has influenced the broader evangelical church far out of proportion to its small size. Bruce wrote a paper on “Who are the Brethren” and contributed to an article on “Why I Have Stayed with the Brethren.” In 1979 he founded the Christian Brethren Archive at the University of Manchester.

The purpose of this website, then, is to encourage an understanding of these “non-negotiables,” to encourage a spirit of humility in approaching the Bible, and to encourage academic scholarship among today’s evangelical students and leaders.

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John Foxe

The Book of Martyrs

After studying at the University of Oxford and holding a fellowship for seven years, Foxe fell under suspicion of harbouring Protestant views more extreme than the authorities of his college would allow. He resigned and in 1547 moved to London, where he became tutor to the grandchildren of the duke of Norfolk. He was ordained a deacon of the Church of England. Foxe worked for the Reformation, writing several tracts. He also began his account of martyrs but had carried it no further than 1500 when the accession of the Roman Catholic queen Mary I in 1553 forced him to flee overseas. In Strasbourg, France, he published his partly completed martyrology in Latin as Commentarii rerum in ecclesia gestarum (1554; “Commentaries on Affairs Within the Church”). He then went to Frankfurt, where he lent a moderating support to the Calvinistic party of John Knox, and thence to Basel, Switz., where he wrote a burning appeal to the English nobility to restrain the queen from persecuting Protestants: Ad inclytos ac praepotentes Angliae proceres (“To the Renowned and Powerful Nobles of England,” 1557). With the aid of manuscripts sent to him from England, he carried his account of the martyrs up to 1556 and had it printed in 1559, the year following the accession to the throne of the Protestant queen, Elizabeth I.

Foxe returned to London and devoted himself to the completion of his great work. Perusing official registers and using the memories of eyewitnesses, he enlarged his story. His English translation was printed in March 1563 under the title Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Dayes. It immediately acquired the popular name The Book of Martyrs. In 1570 he produced his greatly improved second edition. This was the crown of his achievement; he made few changes in his third (1576) and fourth (1583) editions.

Foxe was ordained an Anglican priest in 1560, but having Puritan scruples he refused all offices, obtaining two church stipends that required no duties. He often preached, however, and a sermon delivered at Paul’s Cross (A Sermon, Of Christ Crucified [1570]) had a wide sale. In the plague of 1563 he ministered to the victims and wrote a moving tract of consolation. When Anabaptists in 1575 and Jesuits in 1581 were condemned to death, Foxe wrote vehement letters to Queen Elizabeth and her councilors, begging reprieves.

Foxe’s monument is his book. It has been criticized as prolix, carelessly edited, one-sided, sometimes credulous, but it is factually detailed and preserves much firsthand material on the English Reformation unobtainable elsewhere.

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Walter Frederic Adeney

Wailand Groenendyk
CCEL Staff Writer

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Carl Armerding

Carl Armerding was born June 16, 1883, in Jersey City, New Jersey, as one of ten children of bi-lingual German-American parents. Early interest in South America and mission work was stimulated during high school years by night school classes in Spanish and reading the magazine Missionary Gleanings. He was baptized and became a member of a Plymouth Brethren congregation at age fourteen or fifteen after hearing a sermon preached by George Mackenzie. A Plymouth Brethren member, knowing of his interest in Latin America, offered to finance him to join a senior missionary in Honduras in 1912. When he nearly died from malaria, he was forced to return from Honduras to a different climate, and he was subsequently invited to preach to Plymouth Brethren Assemblies in the British West Indies. This he did with great success for the following two years. He returned a second time for a year-long itinerant ministry in Honduras, but recurrence of malaria required a return to the United States, this time to St. Louis.

While attending a Bible conference in Manitoba, Canada, he met Eva May Taylor. They were married a year and a half later. The Armerdings moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he entered the University of New Mexico. He graduated in 1926. After 10 years of preaching, teaching, and working with Christian groups in New Mexico, some of them Spanish-American, Armerding was invited by President H. A. Ironside to join the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary, then called the Evangelical Theological Seminary.

Because of his experiences with missions, and Spanish-speaking people, and as a resident of Dallas where Central American Mission had its headquarters, he was asked to become a director of the mission in 1943. In 1954 he became president of the mission, continuing in that post until 1970. During this period, he served for ten years on both the extension and resident faculty of Moody Bible Institute, living in Wheaton, Illinois, where his son Hudson was attending Wheaton College. Hudson later became president of the College in 1965. After the death of Moody’s President Houghton, Carl Armerding resigned his teaching duties and returned to Dallas Seminary to teach homiletics for a year. In 1945, Dr. Raymond V. Edman, President of Wheaton College, asked him to teach Bible and theology at the College. He became a full professor in 1956, and taught there (with the exception of a leave of absence in 1954-1955) until retirement in 1962. He returned for special appointment in 1969-1970.

Armerding also served on the North American Council of China Inland Mission, sponsored the Spanish Christian Mission with headquarters in Toronto, and was a member of the German Evangelical Society in Dallas. He preached at many conferences in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. Among his written works are Signs of Christ’s Coming, Conquest and Victory, and Esther.

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William Henry Westcott

1865-1936Author Index

By that time a railway had been commenced, but the brothers had 100 miles to walk, and both suffered severely from fever. They were given permission to settle about 12 miles below Lusambo, at a place called Inkongo. They reached that place on May 18th, 1897, and began to learn the language, which had never been put in writing, and as the natives knew no language but their own, one can imagine the difficulty of acquiring it. The rules of grammar were gradually puzzled out by Mr. W. H. Westcott, so that now it would be possible to learn the language before going to Africa. The translation of the Bible was commenced, blank spaces being left for words which in some cases were not discovered until long afterwards, and a few simple hymns written, while the boys and young men working on the place were given lessons in reading and writing, a thing altogether new to them.

In 1900 Mr. W. H. Westcott visited England, married Miss A. Pudney, of Port Elisabeth, South Africa, and returned with her to Inkongo. His brother then came home and married Miss Edith Anning, of Leeds, in 1902, but they had to return home next year as Mr. Upton Westcott was seriously ill and his life was only saved by an operation. The outlook early in 1904 was not a bright one. It was doubtful if Mr. Upton Westcott would be able to return, and Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Westcott at Inkongo suffered severely from malaria. No natives had been baptized, though a few were undoubtedly converted, had given up their fetishes, and were seeking to follow the Lord.

On the 1st April, 1904, Mr. H. Wilson, of Stratford-on-Avon, left England and arrived at Inkongo nine weeks later. Mr. and Mrs. Upton Westcott followed later in the year, and Mr. W. H. Westcott was able to give more time to language work and translation. As the new worker was an expert typist, he was able to save Mr. Westcott much time by copying for him two dictionaries of more than 500 pages each, most of the Bible as it was translated, and a hymn book. Most of the 145 hymns now in the hymn book were written by Mr. W. H. Westcott. Numbers increased in school, and all the five missionaries helped in the teaching. An extract from a diary dated 4th January, 1905, reads as follows: “Mrs. Upton Westcott had a few girls to school. We hope it will be the beginning of a girls´ school and much besides.” A huge school work has been carried on over the century since this time, all with the object of enabling the people to read the Bible themselves.

In March of that year the first baptism took place, and a great crowd assembled at the river as two young men, Kimpanga and Kandolo confessed their faith in Christ and their desire to be identified with Him. (These devoted workers had worked for seven years before they saw this fruit for their labours — marvellous persistence — now we can say that the Lord has saved, and established in the truth of Scripture, tens of thousands of Congolese people through this work of faith.) In July Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Westcott left for a furlough, and both badly needed it after all the fevers and hardships they had suffered. Mrs. Westcott was indeed brave to go to Inkongo as things were in those days. No ladies had been in that district before, and conditions were such as can hardly be realized in these days. The three who remained suffered from much fever, and it seems strange now to read such entries as these: “Temperature 104, but went to school.” “No salt for a long time; boiled some dirty old sacks and managed to get a little for cooking.” The following extract will show what travelling was like: “Wretched road and filthy mud; both slept badly at night on account of thousands of fleas. Arrived half dead; Mr. Westcott´s clothes were torn and he staggered like a drunken man.“

Many well-populated towns were visited where the Gospel had never been heard, Mrs. Upton Westcott decided to go with her husband. She returned very tired with the hard journey, had a bad attack of malaria and then Blackwater fever or Haematuria, and passed away on 6th August, to the sorrow of all. She was a devoted worker, a splendid teacher and organiser, and was loved by everyone who knew her.

In 1910 Mr. W. H. Westcott, with Mrs. Westcott and two children — Bryan and Minnie, went home (two other children died in the Congo), and the following year the New Testament was printed. No praise could be too high for Mr. Westcott´s skill as a translator. In 1912 Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Westcott went out again, leaving their two children at home. In 1916 they returned to England, they then stayed at home to complete the Old Testament, and neither he nor Mrs. Westcott went to the Congo again. His brother Upton, who went blind in 1918, continued in the Congo until 1929 where he died, he was knighted by the King of Belgium.

(Some think that he was one of the four missionary sons of the Bishop of Durham, Brooke Foss Westcott, but this is not the case.)

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David Dunlap Biography

David Dunlap is the president of Bible and Life Ministries and editor of Bible and Life Newsletter. Bible and Life is a literature and Bible teaching ministry. Bible and Life newsletter has been in publication for over 25 years. He is also the President of Cornerstone Magazine, Inc. He has authored six books. He has been in full-time Christian ministry since 1983. He is a graduate of Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ  and has attended Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY. He serves and preaches regularly at Land O’ Lakes Bible Chapel, in Lutz, Florida.  He and his wife live in Land O’ Lakes, Florida.

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Ernest Baker

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H.P. Barker, 1869-1952.

For a number of years Mr. Barker served the Lord in the West Indies and many souls were blessed as a result of his service. He went with another brother and when they were both ill they were nursed by Creole ladies whom they married eventually. Mr. and Mrs Barker had a large family and their eldest son, Eric, worked in Northern Portugal as a missionary for many years. Unfortunately all of Eric’s family but one, were lost when a submarine torpedoed the boat in which they were returning to Britain. Eric married again, and the Lord gave him another large family.

Mr. Barker’s hymn in ‘Spiritual Songs’ is no. 30 and was a dual effort. He wrote some verses and Mr. A. Cutting the others. The hymn was an exposition of a book that Mr. Barker wrote which was called “The Vicar of Christ”— an excellent book which expounds most of the references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

The hymn was “We praise Thee for Thy Spirit, Lord”. Mr. Barker wrote verses 1, 3, 4 and 7. Mr. A. Cutting wrote verses 2, 5 and 6.

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David Johnstone Beattie

The beautiful town of Langholm in the Reiver country of the Scottish Borders is nicknamed ‘The Muckle Toun’ and is perhaps best known as the birthplace of poet and Scots language activist Hugh MacDiarmid (real name Christopher Murray Grieve). The last time I drove through there were some large entrance signs commemorating this connection. Langholm is also the southernmost point of one of the most beautiful driving routes in the British Isles – the A7 through the Borders to Edinburgh, which has some stretches which are just as spectacular as the famous Skyline Drive in Virginia.

A lesser-known Langholm man, David J Beattie, first came to my attention when I was sent photocopies of a small gospel song book entitled “Songs of the King’s Highway”, a collection of 77 songs he had written which was published by Pickering and Inglis. It was undated but from the typographic style it looked to be from around the late 1920s or early 1930s – the same era when Pickering & Inglis first published the mighty hymnbook Redemption Songs, and also Duncan McNeill’s Hymn Book. Seven of the pieces in Beattie’s book were in light Scots rather than standard English, and I have posted them over at Sacred Scotch Solos.

I picked up an original copy of the book a few years ago, and to my surprise inside was a pencil inscription “Author’s copy, Beattie lived in Carlisle”, along with Beattie’s signature. In the introduction Beattie describes the American hymnwriter Charles H Gabriel as his ‘intimate friend’, to whom Beattie ‘owed much for help and encouragement during many years of close friendship’. Gabriel wrote three melodies for the book.

There’s an article here entitled ‘Langholm’s Forgotten Son’ which summarises Beattie’s life. He and his brother joined the family stonemason/monumental sculptors business in 1898; during and after the two World Wars the firm was responsible for many war memorials in the south of Scotland.

He belonged to the (Plymouth) Brethren and wrote occasionally for the Brethren publication The Believer’s Magazine, including articles about Scotland’s 1859 Revival. Even though Brethren assemblies/halls had begun in Plymouth and Dublin among (affluent) disaffected Anglicans in the early 1800s, it was post-1859 Revival working-class Scotland and Ulster that was a seedbed in which they really flourished. Beattie’s historical account of the growth of the Brethren movement, entitled Brethren – The Story of a Great Recovery (published by Brethren publisher John Ritchie of Kilmarnock in 1939, who also printed some of my grandfather’s poetry, is freely available online here), carefully details the intimate connections between the halls of Scotland and Ulster. It tells the stories of men like Jeremiah Meneely, so closely associated with the initial Kells and Connor epicentre of the Ulster 1859 revival and who later led evangelical missions in Ayrshire and Glasgow, where his Antrim voice must have preached the hamely message of his own self-penned hymn “There’s a gran’ time comin, o brither dear, whun Jesus will tak us hame’.

In between times Beattie wrote six other books which spanned his interests of local history, language, music, the stories of hymnwriters, as well as the history of the “wee halls” – Oor Gate En’ (1915), Psalm Singing Among the Scottish Covenanters: A Lecture (pamphlet, 9 pages, Steel Bros. Carlisle 1915), Prince Charlie and the Borderland (1928), Oor Ain Folk (1933), Stories and Sketches of our Hymns and Their Writers (1934; the frontispiece photo of which is Ayrshire hymnwriter Anne Ross Cousin), The Romance of Sacred Song (1935; in the Preface of which he wrote that ‘my bookshelves already groaned under the weight of volumes on this engrossing subject’) and Lang Syne in Eskdale (1950).

For those of you with an interest in gospel music, his chapter How We Got our Popular Gospel Song is a fascinating read – available here. In it Beattie rhymes off a “Premier League” list of hymnwriters of his time:

“…Among writers who laid the foundation of American Gospel hymnody the following names are familiar: W. B. Bradbury, P. P. Bliss, Philip Phillips, Ira D. Sankey, James McGranahan, W. J. Kirkpatrick, Robert Lowry, George C. Stebbins, H. R. Palmer, D. W. Whittle, T. C. O’Kane, J. R. Sweney, W. H. Doane, Fanny Crosby, E. O. Excell and Charles H. Gabriel. Of this group of sweet singers, whose songs have been carried to the ends of the earth, Mr. Stebbins and Mr. Gabriel alone remain….” – it’s significant that of the 16 he listed, a quarter of them (the ones I’ve marked in bold) all had Ulster connections.

Beattie also contributed a hymn to The Believer’s Hymnbook – ‘Assembled, Lord, at Thy Behest’ (no 367), a book which is still used in the simple Sunday morning ‘Breaking of Bread’ meetings in Brethren-minded gatherings around the world; Beattie is named in the acknowledgements section at the front of the book.

Beattie died in July 1964 and his funeral service was held in Hebron Hall in Botchergate, Carlisle. The stonemasonry business still operates from the same building, now under different management, but is still called Beattie & Co, shown below.

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John Gifford Bellett

Born in Dublin, in the year 1795, he was of an Anglo-Irish family connected with the Irish Established Church, which lost its status in 1869. He was educated at the Grammar School, Exeter, where he had as a school-fellow William Follett, who afterwards as an eloquent advocate distinguished himself at the English Bar; and from there Bellett proceeded to Trinity College, Dublin, now making the acquaintance — ripening into life-long friendship — of John Nelson Darby. Both were strong in classical scholarship, both read for the Bar — Bellett in London, and Darby in Dublin. Each was “called” in Dublin, and practised but for a short time, Darby relinquishing that profession when he “took Orders” whilst Bellett, who had become a decided Christian during his teens, devoted himself as a layman not only to increased spiritual self-culture but to participation in whatever religious service in those days presented itself to him as a “layman.”

By the year 1827 each of these two earnest Souls was attending the meetings for the study of prophecy at Powerscourt House, in Co. Wicklow, and becoming detached from the conventional religion of Protestants around them as they advanced in knowledge of spiritual truth. In 1828 we find Bellett “breaking bread” with some friends like-minded — Francis Hutchinson and Edward Cronin, besides J. N. Darby, and, it would seem, Anthony Norris Groves, who had brought with him from England similar, yet independent, convictions. To the end of 1829 their meeting-place was a private house in Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, but in the year following a public meeting-room was engaged in Aungier Street of that city. John Vesey Parnell (afterwards Lord Congleton) is now found in their company. As between the various names mentioned, the actual priority in giving effect to their common belief is difficult to determine.

When others were called away for active promulgation of their views elsewhere, Bellett remained in Ireland, and Dublin in particular, where his residence was fixed for some fifteen years longer.

In 1846-1848 we find him residing at Bath, and he was not again settled at Dublin until about the year 1854, but thenceforth retained his home there to the time of his passing away in 1864. In 1859 he interested himself in the Great Revival which took place in the North of Ireland. During all these years he exhibited a notable example of lovable Christian tenderness, oft times assuaging the bitterness of conflict in ecclesiastical matters by his counsel and attitude.

Bellett’s public ministry, as described by one who had the privilege of enjoying it during his residence at Bath, was that of one who “talked poetry” so sweet and chaste were the sentiment and expression. The late R. Govett, of Norwich, a very good judge, who had read all the published writings of the leaders of the movement, gave as his opinion that Bellett was the most spiritual. His best known books are those on the “Patriarchs”, the “Evangelists”, the “Son of God”, and the “Moral Glory of the Lord Jesus”.

His name is dear to those who now experience exercise over the continuance of strained relations between brethren confessing common truth. J. G. Bellett’s influence was all exerted in the direction of minimising alienation, and fulfilling the injunction, “be at peace among yourselves”. Happy is the memory of any with such a reputation as his, of whom it can be said that, so far as is known, nothing said or left behind has been productive of or has aided dissension, but that all has tended towards removal of man-made barriers and the restoration of fellowship of heart in the fear of the Lord.

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John Bloore

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Andrew Borland

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John Bramhall

April 23, 1899 – February 8, 2001

Philippians 1:21 expresses in one sentence the life of this man of God. “To live is Christ…to die is gain.”

To Live

Brother Bramhall lived in three centuries and two millennia. Very few will experience this. And he lived life. By this I mean, he enjoyed life. He had a wonderful sense of humor and joy that was contagious.

Born in Sheffield, England, on April 23, 1899, he moved to Rochester, New York with his parents in 1911. He was saved at the age of 14 and began preaching at 16. He ministered itinerantly throughout North America and the West Indies and had a radio ministry in the southern part of the U. S. He preached until he was 101 years old.

He authored many booklets and several books. Living His Life, a wonderful book on the fundamentals of the Christian life, has also been translated into Spanish and other languages. I Am My Beloved’s and My Beloved Is Mine are compilations of monthly ministry letters that many of us enjoyed over the years. He also contributed to Counsel, Uplook, and the Choice Gleanings.

On our last visit together, his repeated testimony was, “Not by works of righteousness…but according to His mercy He saved us!” He really enjoyed living His life!

Is Christ

Some people preach a sermon; others live a sermon. Brother Bramhall did both! He was occupied with Christ and practiced the presence of God along life’s way. His conversation, like his ministry, was always Christ-centered. He would exhort brethren to fill their messages with more of Him.

To young children and seasoned saints alike, spending time with brother Bramhall made us think of Christ. The children knew he carried candy in his pocket for them and some were bold enough to reach right in with no fear of retribution. We, who were older, knew there was a blessing for us, too, through our visits with him.

He often quoted “It Shows In Your Face.”  The last stanza says:

If your life is unselfish, if for others you live,
For not what you get, but how much you give;
If you live close to God in His infinite grace,
You don’t have to tell it, it shows in your face.

To Die

He was ready and longing to be with Christ! On one occasion, he was asked which way he would rather go to be with the Lord, by death or by rapture. Many were surprised to hear him say he would be glad to go by way of death. He went on to explain that only then could he experience the Lord’s comfort in death and he would not miss the rapture. “You see,” he responded, “the dead in Christ shall rise first!”

Is Gain

In his message on Psalm 84, brother Bramhall explained the phrase, “the Lord will give grace and glory” saying, “There is grace for each step of the journey, and at the end there is glory.” The apostle Paul expressed it this way, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith…there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Tim. 4:7-8). We rejoice for our beloved brother who has experienced grace for every step of his journey and is now with the Lord he loved in glory.

Brother Bramhall’s ministry was extensive. Everywhere I’ve traveled I’ve met people that remember him and his Christ-filled ministry. On one occasion, reminiscing with some who knew of his ministry, a sister recalled the first time she heard him in a conference at Greenwood Hills, PA. She couldn’t remember his name but described him as “the happy preacher.” Her friends responded, “Oh, you mean brother Bramhall!” “Happy is the man who trusts in You!” That’s brother Bramhall!

May these remembrances bring glory to the Lord Jesus and challenge us to go on to know the Lord better and serve Him with all our heart. The exhortation in Hebrews 13:7 concludes with the application that we’d do well to heed, “whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”

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William Burness

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PAUL D. BRAMSEN,

ROCK International President

Bramsen writes for an international audience of all ages, creating multi-media resources that tell the stories and explain the message of the biblical prophets in chronological order from creation to Christ to new creation. His projects include The Way of Righteousness (radio programs), One God One Message (a book designed to help truth-seeking skeptics over their obstacles and into a clear understanding of the gospel), and KING of GLORY (a 70-scene picture book/curriculum and a 15-episode movie for all ages and cultures). The movie is in 60+ languages with more in production. He and his wife live in South Carolina. They have nine grandkids and lead full lives investing into people and projects. Working remotely with ROCK coworkers and media partners around the world, Paul oversees ROCK International and it’s global multi-language media ministry. To find other resources: https://rockintl.org/resources

Special Note: Paul donated cases of his book, “The Way of Righteousness” to our chapel. We loaded them in a shipping container which we sent to Nigeria Africa.

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Richard Edwin Burson

Cars

According to his son Dan, Richard didn’t own a car prior to 1950, but in that year acquired a 1950 Studebaker which he put 200k miles on traveling to minister at conferences. In 1957, Grant Engle collected monies from various KS brethren to purchase him a 1957 Chevy 210, which it is remembered that when Richard visited Abilene to minister at Grace and Truth Gospel Chapel, Grant hid the car inside his barn, and then rallied many brethren out to Kansas Bible Camp a couple weeks later to present the surprise gift.

Five years later, Richard acquired a 1962 Ford Galaxy from a Christian car dealer somewhere in eastern KS that gave him a good deal, and allowed him to trade the car in every two years (1964, 1966 & 1968) for a new one, until after 1968 when the dealer’s business failed. His last car from this dealer was a Rambler.

Publications

• The Word devotional 1943-1953+
• Dan Burson 2022

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