An appreciation of Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones
EALING, LONDON, UK
(ANS) -- Dr. Martyn
Lloyd-Jones was possibly the greatest
British preacher of the twentieth
century. His ministry at Westminster
Chapel, close to Buckingham Palace, and
his writings earned him respect and
affection throughout the world. He had a
decisive influence on many individuals
and on evangelicalism as a whole. He was
born in Cardiff, South Wales, on
December 20, 1899 and then lived for a
time in small villages in Mid-Wales.
After attending a London grammar school
between 1914 and 1916, he then went on
to train at St Bartholomew's Hospital as
a medical student. In 1921 he started
work as an assistant to the Royal
Physician, Sir Thomas Horder.
An illustration of "The
Doctor" at Westminster Chapel
After struggling over the call to
preach for two years, in 1927 he
returned to Wales, having married
Bethan Phillips, and accepting a
call to minister at a church in
Aberafan (Port Talbot).
Then, after a decade ministering in
Aberafan, he went back to London, to
Westminster Chapel, where he co-pastored
with Dr. Campbell Morgan. The day
before he was officially to be
accepted into his new position, war
broke out in Europe. During the same
year (1939) he became the president
of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of
Students (known today as the
Universities and Colleges Christian
Fellowship (UK). During the war he
and his family moved to Haslemere,
Surrey. In 1943 Dr. Morgan retired,
leaving Jones as the sole Pastor of
Westminster Chapel.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones was well-known for his
expository style of preaching, and the
Sunday morning and evening meetings at
which he officiated drew crowds of
several hundred, as did the Friday
evening Bible studies – which were, in
effect, sermons in the same style. He
would take many months – even years – to
expound a chapter of the Bible verse by
verse. His sermons would often be around
fifty minutes to an hour in length,
attracting many students from
universities and colleges in London. His
sermons were also transcribed and
printed (virtually verbatim) in the
weekly Westminster Record, which was
read avidly by those who enjoyed his
preaching.
"Big Daddy", the English pro
wrestler
Lloyd-Jones continued his ministry
at Westminster Chapel until 1968,
when he had a major operation and
decided to retire.
Christopher Catherwood
It was shortly after this that I first
met the man called “The Doctor” by all
who knew him. He was living in Ealing,
West London, I was invited to his home
by his grandson, Christopher Catherwood,
who later went on to edit many of
Lloyd-Jones sermons into books.
Shortly after meeting “The Doctor”
who was a small man with a powerful
presence, Christopher confided that
his grandfather had one rather
endearing habit that he shared with
his grandchildren.
“He would love to gather his
grandkids on his lap and watch
professional wrestling on the
television,” Christopher told me.
“It was the only time that I would
see him really excited.”
I discovered later that one of the
favorites of “The Doctor” was an
English professional wrestler called
“Big Daddy”, who was known for his
record-breaking 62 inch chest, stood
6’ 6” tall and weighed 375 lbs.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached for
the last time on June 8, 1980 at
Barcombe Baptist Chapel. After a
lifetime of work, he died peacefully
in his sleep at his home in Ealing
on March 1, 1981, St David's Day. He
was buried at Newcastle Emlyn, near
Cardigan, west Wales. A well
attended thanksgiving service was
held at Westminster Chapel on April
6.
It seems to me that his enjoyment of
wrestling was derived from the fact
that he was always wrestling with
difficult passages from the Bible.
And, unlike the pro wrestlers on TV,
he was doing this for real, and his
congregation always appreciated his
conclusions.
Dan Wooding, 68, is an award winning
British journalist now living in
Southern California with his wife Norma
of 45 years. He is the founder and
international director of ASSIST (Aid to
Special Saints in Strategic Times) and
the ASSIST News Service (ANS); and US
Bureau Chief for the Missionaries News
Service (www.missionariesnews.tv)
and Safe Worlds IPTV’s Faith, Hope and
Charity channel. He was, for ten years,
a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network
in Washington, DC., and now hosts the
weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE
in Southern California and which is also
carried on the Calvary Radio Network
throughout the United States. The
program is also aired in Great Britain
on UCB UK and Calvary Chapel Radio UK.
Wooding is the author of some 42 books,
the latest of which is his
autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth",
which is published by Theatron Books. To
order a copy, go to
www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. E-mail:
danjuma1@aol.com.
