Seven Leaders: Pastors and Teachers HB

Spiritual leaders lead people to heaven. Here in Seven Leaders are accounts of seven such men, together with the distinctive features of their lives—in John Elias, the necessity of the power of the Holy Spirit; in Andrew Bonar, the reality of communion with Christ; in Archie Brown, the irresistibility of love; in Kenneth MacRae, the need for faithfulness to death; in Martyn Lloyd-Jones, theology and doctrine; in W. J. Grier, passing on the ‘sacred deposit’; and in John MacArthur, the governing authority of the word of God. An Old Testament miracle once took place at a burial. We are told that when the deceased was ‘let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet’ (2 Kings 13:21). Through books, the past can be touched, and the consequence may be as much of God as when Martin Luther handled the old writings of Jan Huss. Records of faithful servants of Christ still speak and can bring new life today.

 

 

Table of Contents

 

  Introduction xi
1 John Elias and Revival 1
  Youth, Anglesey and Marriage 3
  An Evangelist in Times of Awakening 9
  Wider Ministry 17
  Elias as a Watchman 19
  Calvinistic Belief Challenged 27
2 Andrew A. Bonar: Fellowship with Christ 43
  The Years of Preparation 46
  The Glasgow Ministry, 1856–1892 52
  M‘Cheyne Dies and the Biography Lives 55
  Times of Revival 56
  Isabella Bonar 60
  Godliness and Usefulness 61
  What Follows from Communion with God 63
  Why Are We Impoverished? 70
3 The Rediscovery of Archie Brown 73
  Called to Christ and to Preach 76
  The Awakening at Stepney 79
  Deaths and Sorrows 82
  The Enlarged Work 85
  The Man and the Message 87
  The Place of the Holy Spirit 92
  Note: C. H. Spurgeon on How to Obtain and Retain the Attention of our Hearers 96
4 Kenneth A. MacRae: Preacher and Pastor 99
  Lessons from the Diaries of Fifty Years 101
  The Preparation 104
  Governing Principles of Ministry 110
  The Preparation of Sermons 115
  The Holy Spirit in Preaching 126
5 Understanding Martyn Lloyd-Jones 131
  Start with Theology 133
  Life-Changing Experience 136
  Controversy over the Preaching of the Gospel 139
  Public Worship 144
  Doctrine and Revival 145
  The Imprint of Faith on Life 149
  Six Rules for Preachers 150
  Note: Was Lloyd-Jones an Amyraldian? 154
6 W. J. Grier: Against Frittering Life Away 169
  Princeton Theological Seminary 176
  Presbyterians in Turmoil 180
  The Irish Evangelical Church 188
  Personal Trials 190
  The Decades which Followed 195
  Correspondence on Books and Authors 203
  The Last Years of Work 206
  Note: The Recovery of the Old Princeton Seminary Authors 211
7 John MacArthur: Preaching and Scripture 213
  Biography 216
  Faith in the Word of God 220
  Without Scripture the Knowledge of God Is Lost 222
  Without Scripture a Sense of Sin Is Lost 224
  Where the Bible is not Upheld the Church Turns to Other Means to Promote Her Influence 225
  Where Scripture Is not Honoured Doctrine Is Discounted 228
  Scripture and Unity 230
  Note: The Inerrant Word 234
  Endnotes 237
  General Index 269
  Index of Authors and Works Cited 277