G. Campbell Morgan
Encyclopedia
Reverend Doctor George Campbell Morgan D.D.
(9 December 1863 – 16 May 1945) was a British
evangelist
, preacher
and a leading Bible
scholar. A contemporary of Rodney "Gipsy" Smith, Morgan was the pastor
of Westminster Chapel
in London from 1904 to 1919, and from 1933 to 1943.
, England
, the son of Welshman
George Morgan, a strict Plymouth Brethren
who resigned and became a Baptist minister, and Elizabeth Fawn Brittan. He was very sickly as a child, could not attend school, and so was tutored. When Campbell was 10 years old, D. L. Moody came to England for the first time, and the effect of his ministry, combined with the dedication of his parents, made such an impression on young Morgan that at the age of 13 he preached his first sermon. Two years later he was preaching regularly in country chapels during his Sundays and holidays.
In 1883 he was teaching in Birmingham
, but in 1886, at the age of 23, he left the teaching profession and devoted himself to preaching and Bible exposition. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry in 1890. He had no formal training for the ministry, but his devotion to studying of the Bible made him one of the leading Bible teachers in his day. His reputation as preacher and Bible expositor grew throughout Britain and spread to the United States.
In 1896 D. L. Moody invited him to lecture to the students at the Moody Bible Institute
. This was the first of his 54 crossings of the Atlantic to preach and teach. After the death of Moody in 1899 Morgan assumed the position of director of the Northfield Bible Conference. He was ordained by the Congregationalists in London, and given a Doctor of Divinity
degree by the Chicago Theological Seminary
in 1902. After five successful years in this capacity, he returned to England in 1904 and became pastor of Westminster Chapel
in London. During two years of this ministry he was President of Cheshunt College
in Cambridge
. His preaching and weekly Friday night Bible classes were attended by thousands. In 1910 Morgan contributed an essay
entitled The Purposes of the Incarnation to the first volume of The Fundamentals
, 90 essays which are widely considered to be the foundation of the modern Fundamentalist movement. Leaving Westminster Chapel in 1919, he once again returned to the United States, where he conducted an itinerant preaching/teaching ministry for 14 years. Finally, in 1933, he returned to England, where he again became pastor of Westminster Chapel and remained there until his retirement in 1943. He was instrumental in bringing Martyn Lloyd-Jones
to Westminster in 1939 to share the pulpit and become his successor. Morgan was a friend of F. B. Meyer, Charles Spurgeon
, and many other great preachers of his day.
Morgan died on 16 May 1945, at the age of 81.
Some content comes from Theopedia.com (http://www.theopedia.com/G._Campbell_Morgan G. Campbell Morgan), and is under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. More information on this license is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
(9 December 1863 – 16 May 1945) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
evangelist
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, preacher
Sermon
A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
and a leading 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...
scholar. A contemporary of Rodney "Gipsy" Smith, Morgan was the pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of Westminster Chapel
Westminster Chapel
Westminster Chapel is an evangelical church that has been based in central London since 1840. Situated in Buckingham Gate, just from Buckingham Palace and just off Victoria Street, the chapel has long been a popular place of worship for Evangelical Christians. The current building, seating around...
in London from 1904 to 1919, and from 1933 to 1943.
Biography
Morgan was born on a farm in TetburyTetbury
Tetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of Welshman
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
George Morgan, a strict Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
who resigned and became a Baptist minister, and Elizabeth Fawn Brittan. He was very sickly as a child, could not attend school, and so was tutored. When Campbell was 10 years old, D. L. Moody came to England for the first time, and the effect of his ministry, combined with the dedication of his parents, made such an impression on young Morgan that at the age of 13 he preached his first sermon. Two years later he was preaching regularly in country chapels during his Sundays and holidays.
In 1883 he was teaching in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, but in 1886, at the age of 23, he left the teaching profession and devoted himself to preaching and Bible exposition. He was ordained to the Congregational ministry in 1890. He had no formal training for the ministry, but his devotion to studying of the Bible made him one of the leading Bible teachers in his day. His reputation as preacher and Bible expositor grew throughout Britain and spread to the United States.
In 1896 D. L. Moody invited him to lecture to the students at the Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute
Moody Bible Institute is a Christian institution of higher education and related ministries that was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Since its founding, MBI's main campus has been located in the Near North Side of Chicago. MBI's primary ministries are education,...
. This was the first of his 54 crossings of the Atlantic to preach and teach. After the death of Moody in 1899 Morgan assumed the position of director of the Northfield Bible Conference. He was ordained by the Congregationalists in London, and given a Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree by the Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago Theological Seminary
The Chicago Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ. It prepares women and men for leadership in the church and society through Master of Divinity , Master of Arts in Religious Studies , Master of Sacred Theology , Doctor of Ministry , and Doctor of Philosophy programs...
in 1902. After five successful years in this capacity, he returned to England in 1904 and became pastor of Westminster Chapel
Westminster Chapel
Westminster Chapel is an evangelical church that has been based in central London since 1840. Situated in Buckingham Gate, just from Buckingham Palace and just off Victoria Street, the chapel has long been a popular place of worship for Evangelical Christians. The current building, seating around...
in London. During two years of this ministry he was President of Cheshunt College
Westminster College, Cambridge
Westminster College in Cambridge is a theological college of the United Reformed Church, formerly the Presbyterian Church of England. Its principal purpose is the training of clergy for ordination, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
. His preaching and weekly Friday night Bible classes were attended by thousands. In 1910 Morgan contributed an essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
entitled The Purposes of the Incarnation to the first volume of The Fundamentals
The Fundamentals
The Fundamentals or The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth edited by A. C. Dixon and later by Reuben Archer Torrey is a set of 90 essays in 12 volumes published from 1910 to 1915 by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. They were designed to affirm orthodox Protestant beliefs and defend against...
, 90 essays which are widely considered to be the foundation of the modern Fundamentalist movement. Leaving Westminster Chapel in 1919, he once again returned to the United States, where he conducted an itinerant preaching/teaching ministry for 14 years. Finally, in 1933, he returned to England, where he again became pastor of Westminster Chapel and remained there until his retirement in 1943. He was instrumental in bringing Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a Welsh Protestant minister, preacher and medical doctor who was influential in the Reformed wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he was the minister of Westminster Chapel in London...
to Westminster in 1939 to share the pulpit and become his successor. Morgan was a friend of F. B. Meyer, Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was a large British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers"...
, and many other great preachers of his day.
Morgan died on 16 May 1945, at the age of 81.
Publications
- The Teaching of Christ. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-59244-803-8
- God's Last Word to Man. Emerald House Group, 1997. ISBN 1-898787-90-5
- The Westminster Pulpit: the Preaching of G. Campbell Morgan. Baker Book House. ISBN 0-8010-6155-5
- The Practice of Prayer. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-59244-804-6
- God's Perfect Will. Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-59244-801-1
- An Exposition of the Whole Bible. HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. ISBN 0-551-02413-5
- "The Crises of the Christ ". Originally Published : New York : F.H. Revell. 1903 -ISBN 0-8007-5307-0
Resources
- Murray, Harold. G. Campbell Morgan: Bible Teacher. Ambassador-Emerald International, 1999. ISBN 1-84030-046-9
External links
Some content comes from Theopedia.com (http://www.theopedia.com/G._Campbell_Morgan G. Campbell Morgan), and is under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. More information on this license is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/