Duncan Campbell (revivalist)
Encyclopedia
Duncan Campbell was a fiery Scottish
preacher
, whose main claim to fame is that he was a leader in the Lewis Awakening or Hebrides Revival, a mid-20th century religious revival
in the Scottish Hebrides
.
in the parish of Ardchattan
in the Scottish Highlands, and came to faith through "Pilgrims" of the Faith Mission
in 1913. After military service during the First World War, he trained with the Faith Mission and served with them, mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
, including on the island of Skye
. He was particularly equipped for this as a native Gaelic speaker.
In 1925, he resigned from the Faith Mission and married Shona Gray, whom he had long known. She had just returned for health reasons from two years service with Algiers Mission Band. He served as a missionary at the United Free Church at Ardvassar on Skye, but dissented from that church's union with the Church of Scotland
with the result that he had to give up his post.
His next post was ministering to a church at Balintore
in Fearns which had also dissented from the union, building a new church for the continuing United Free Church where he ministered until he accepted the call to the United Free Church at Falkirk
. In 1942, during his work there, he was ordained
as a minister. He later described this period as 'years of backsliding ... a barren spiritual wilderness'.
, which provided him with a house in Edinburgh
. However, his ministry took him back to Skye
, where he had worked 25 years before, travelling to and from Edinburgh by motorcycle. This work was successful, leading to people being converted to Christ. He was thoroughly engaged in that work when he received the call to go to the island
of Lewis
in the Outer Hebrides
. He initially resisted this call, but doors closed in Skye, opening the opportunity for him to go.
The call came from the Reverend James Murray MacKay, at the prompting of two Gaelic-speaking sisters in their eighties, who had been praying for revival
. It was only at the third invitation that he accepted. Almost immediately on his arrival, a move of God began with men and women calling on God and turning to him. Over the following years he travelled from village to village preaching with many people being converted.
On one occasion he was the main preacher at the Faith Mission Convention at Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church in Bangor, Northern Ireland, when he suddenly felt that he must leave at once, despite being engaged to speak at the closing meeting there the next day. He went (according to the call) to the island of Berneray
off Harris, where he met an elder of the local church (then without a minister), who was so convinced that Campbell was coming that he had already announced the meetings at which Campbell was to preach. After several days of meetings, suddenly the island was gripped with a new awareness of God.
After unreliable reports of events on Lewis, he published a booklet, The Lewis Awakening, as an official account of this revival
.
's Training Home and Bible College in Edinburgh
, where he served for a number of years, before retiring. During his retirement, he was a regular preacher at conventions in Great Britain
, Ireland
, South Africa
, the United States
and elsewhere, including the Stornaway Convention, which he had founded. He was also a visiting lecturer at colleges, such as Youth With A Mission
's School of Evangelism at Lausanne
in Switzerland
, and died while lecturing there.
His practice in evangelistic meetings was not to make the usual altar call
, but to invite people to come to another room to pray and seek God. In his ministry in Lewis, he sought to transcend denominational boundaries, but this was at times difficult.
Duncan Campbell was, before everything else, a man of prayer and almost invariably started the day with a period of prayer and study of the Bible
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
, whose main claim to fame is that he was a leader in the Lewis Awakening or Hebrides Revival, a mid-20th century religious revival
Religious revival
Religious revival may refer to:* Christian Revivalism* Revival meeting* Islamic revival...
in the Scottish Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
.
Early life
Campbell was born at Blackcrofts at BenderlochBenderloch
Benderloch is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Benderloch lies on the A828 road in the coastal area of Appin, Argyll, Scotland. Its railway station closed in 1966.Benderloch forms part of the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland....
in the parish of Ardchattan
Ardchattan
Ardchattan and Muckairn is a civil parish within Argyll and Bute in Scotland. It lies north of Oban, bordering Loch Etive and includes Glen Ure, Glen Creran, Barcaldine, Benderloch, Connel, Bonawe and Glen Etive. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 2,443...
in the Scottish Highlands, and came to faith through "Pilgrims" of the Faith Mission
Faith mission
Faith mission is a term used most frequently among evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary organization with an approach to evangelism that encourages its missionaries to "trust in God to provide the necessary resources" These missionaries are said to "live by faith."Most faith...
in 1913. After military service during the First World War, he trained with the Faith Mission and served with them, mainly in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, including on the island of Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
. He was particularly equipped for this as a native Gaelic speaker.
In 1925, he resigned from the Faith Mission and married Shona Gray, whom he had long known. She had just returned for health reasons from two years service with Algiers Mission Band. He served as a missionary at the United Free Church at Ardvassar on Skye, but dissented from that church's union with the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
with the result that he had to give up his post.
His next post was ministering to a church at Balintore
Balintore
Balintore is a village near Tain in Easter Ross, Scotland.It is one of three villages on this northern stretch of the Moray Firth coastline - Hilton, Balintore, and Shandwick are known collectively as the Seaboard Villages. Local employment has long been based on fishing, but this is now only a...
in Fearns which had also dissented from the union, building a new church for the continuing United Free Church where he ministered until he accepted the call to the United Free Church at Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
. In 1942, during his work there, he was ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
as a minister. He later described this period as 'years of backsliding ... a barren spiritual wilderness'.
Lewis Awakening
In 1949, he felt called to rejoin the Faith MissionFaith mission
Faith mission is a term used most frequently among evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary organization with an approach to evangelism that encourages its missionaries to "trust in God to provide the necessary resources" These missionaries are said to "live by faith."Most faith...
, which provided him with a house in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. However, his ministry took him back to Skye
Skye
Skye or the Isle of Skye is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate out from a mountainous centre dominated by the Cuillin hills...
, where he had worked 25 years before, travelling to and from Edinburgh by motorcycle. This work was successful, leading to people being converted to Christ. He was thoroughly engaged in that work when he received the call to go to the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
of Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
in the Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. He initially resisted this call, but doors closed in Skye, opening the opportunity for him to go.
The call came from the Reverend James Murray MacKay, at the prompting of two Gaelic-speaking sisters in their eighties, who had been praying for revival
Religious revival
Religious revival may refer to:* Christian Revivalism* Revival meeting* Islamic revival...
. It was only at the third invitation that he accepted. Almost immediately on his arrival, a move of God began with men and women calling on God and turning to him. Over the following years he travelled from village to village preaching with many people being converted.
On one occasion he was the main preacher at the Faith Mission Convention at Hamilton Road Presbyterian Church in Bangor, Northern Ireland, when he suddenly felt that he must leave at once, despite being engaged to speak at the closing meeting there the next day. He went (according to the call) to the island of Berneray
Berneray, North Uist
Berneray is an island and community in the Sound of Harris, Scotland. It is one of fifteen inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. It is famed for its rich and colourful history which has attracted much tourism....
off Harris, where he met an elder of the local church (then without a minister), who was so convinced that Campbell was coming that he had already announced the meetings at which Campbell was to preach. After several days of meetings, suddenly the island was gripped with a new awareness of God.
After unreliable reports of events on Lewis, he published a booklet, The Lewis Awakening, as an official account of this revival
Religious revival
Religious revival may refer to:* Christian Revivalism* Revival meeting* Islamic revival...
.
Later Ministry
In 1958, Campbell was called to become principal of the Faith MissionFaith mission
Faith mission is a term used most frequently among evangelical Christians to refer to a missionary organization with an approach to evangelism that encourages its missionaries to "trust in God to provide the necessary resources" These missionaries are said to "live by faith."Most faith...
's Training Home and Bible College in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he served for a number of years, before retiring. During his retirement, he was a regular preacher at conventions in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and elsewhere, including the Stornaway Convention, which he had founded. He was also a visiting lecturer at colleges, such as Youth With A Mission
Youth With A Mission
Youth With A Mission is an international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization...
's School of Evangelism at Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and died while lecturing there.
Theological Position
Campbell was outspoken about two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit. The first was that, in his view, a true revival was a move of God that affected, not only church members, but the surrounding community in a way that was visible to all parties concerned (work stopping, bars closing, crime ceasing, etc.). The second was the definite and profound experience of the baptism of the Holy Ghost subsequent to conversion.His practice in evangelistic meetings was not to make the usual altar call
Altar call
An altar call is a practice in some evangelical churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building. In the Old Testament, an...
, but to invite people to come to another room to pray and seek God. In his ministry in Lewis, he sought to transcend denominational boundaries, but this was at times difficult.
Duncan Campbell was, before everything else, a man of prayer and almost invariably started the day with a period of prayer and study of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
In Film
The story of Duncan Campbell during the Hebridean Revival is told in the 2008 documentary film Great Christian Revivals. An extract from the film: 'Duncan Campbell said, "Revival is a community saturated with God." Campbell witnessed first hand the Spirit of God descending upon a community and learned to let the Holy Spirit have His way. In his own words, "Seventy-five percent (of the people) were gloriously saved before they came near a meeting...the power of God was moving!" 'Further reading
- Andrew Woolsey, Duncan Campbell: a biography: the Sound of Battle (Hodder and Stoughton, London 1974)