Now there’s a name to conjure with. Back in my younger days he was an exemplar of all that true Christianity was about. When Simeon’s followers were a dispirited group living in the past and all at sixes and sevens, the reputation of HT was as high as you could go. Growing up in suburban London, I was, like many in those days, inspired by many from Baptist and (open) Brethren circles. Godfrey Robinson and Stephen Winward were guiding lights. Oswald Chambers supplied the depth. The C of E was seen by some of my contemporaries in the Church of England as a lack-lustre organisation needing an injection of pure uncontaminated biblical teaching.
Later, as a curate, having absent-mindedly placed a collection plate at the back of a meeting to which I had invited a quite senior CIM (China Inland Mission) speaker, I found him briskly removing the plate and reminding me of the CIM policy of not soliciting funds. The ‘living by faith’ policy advocated by HT was not of course confined to HT and the CIM; it was shared by, notably, George Muller in Bristol and by other stalwarts such as A.N. Groves and A.T. Pierson. It succeeded in generating an inferiority complex in C of E people who saw themselves as compromised by worldly standards compared with the stance of the Brethren.
This state of mind persisted until there came about a resurgence of vitality after WW2, with Billy Graham changing the mind-set of Simeon’s followers and later the charismatic movement making even more fundamental shifts of outlook. Willow Creek and Toronto brought more transatlantic influence to bear on the Old World. USA Evangelicals found themselves influential along with right-wing politicians. A prosperity Gospel found favour.
Brethren, children of J.N. Darby, continued to have influence on other Christian believers. Like HT, they seemed to embody all that was good in the NT Church. ‘The Fundamentals’ and Cyrus Scofield were guiding lights. Such people had no truck with serious biblical studies. This was their strength and this was their weakness. They found themselves disabled in terms of current thought and interest. Their minds were made up. Outstanding issues were settled. There was one true faith and it belonged to them. They have now virtually disappeared.
HT was a man of deep convictions. He was also dedicated to bringing the light of the gospel to darkest China, just as William Booth had the same approach to his fellow-Englishmen. He recognised the membership duties of Churches that joined him in the Chinese venture and allowed ghettos to by-pass embarrassing possible rifts. He avoided the weight of history, as he could well do in a vast country with no complicated religious heritage of the European kind. He inspired C.T. Studd and recruits from high and low society. There is much to respect in his single-minded drive to put himself at the service of the Chinese. He did not patronise. He did not colonise. He could not be accused of imperialism or commercialism. He would not dream of asking the UK Government to get him out of any trouble. He did, however, pay a price for this stance. Just as new presbyter proved to be old priest writ large, he achieved a striking record of church-planting but at the cost of running a one-man show. The ‘living by faith’ policy epitomises this. It was an isolating practice that gave other believers second-rate status. It remains as the OMF International (Overseas Mission Fellowship) gold standard but it is hardly compatible with a mortgage or Stock Exchange shares or a settled salary. It is a singular interpretation of Gospel principles that cannot be regarded as generally applicable.
‘Call no man master,’ said Bishop J.C. Ryle. We have to beware of elevating any human being to saintly perfection or dominance. We are all flawed. We all see in a glass darkly. We gladly turn to Augustine, Luther, Bunyan and Temple, etc but we recognise that they had their blind-spots, just as we do. We have to accept differences with good humour and stand on their shoulders, even as we tremble. Hudson Taylor remains an outstanding missionary (to use that now outmoded word) pioneer. He has something to give to a generation of Christians at a time when institutional reform is dominating the agenda and determining the categories of thought.
OMF now has nearly 1400 workers from 40 nations working mostly in East Asia.
An escape from lockdown is an opportunity. We’re venturing into new territory. We can help each other. As far as this blog is concerned, we invite you to share ideas. Humpty and I welcome contributions to our letters page. It hasn’t been crowded so far. Does that mean all our readers agree with us? It can’t be. We’re also inviting you to send a picture of a project or event that is or will be coming into play in your church. (Be careful about safeguarding issues. Be sure subjects of photographs know what is happening.) Send photos to the email address on page one.
The strength of the C of E is to be found in the parishes. And as Humpty might say, better to build a wall than fall off one. Let’s hear about your post-lockdown initiatives.
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