History Maker
6 total works
God's ways are not our ways.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the lives of some of his servants; Newton changed from slave-trader to abolitionist, R. A. Torrey, the great bible teacher, was a student on the virge of suicide, the polished Earl of Shaftesbury became someone who changed the forunes of the less well off.
We shouldn't be surprised when we have the examples in the bible of David and Saul of Tarsus!
John Pollock's deft biographical pen sweeps over great reformers, liberators and evangelists of the 18th and 19th centuries. He shows their spiritual development, often from unpromising beginnings, and encourages us to believe that God can use us too.
Harold Schofield, a brilliant Oxford doctor who had laboured as a missionary in China for many years, was on his knees praying, 'Lord, give me missionaries from British Universities to help in China'.
The day he died, D. E. Hoste applied to Hudson Taylor for mission work in the China Inland Mission (Now Overseas Missionary Fellowship). Schofield's prayer was answered as seven Cambridge students volunteered to leave behind cosy lives of wealth and privilege to serve God in whatever way they were led.
These seven inspired thousands of others to think seriously of missionary service. Included among them was C.T. Studd, captain of England and the finest cricketer of his day - if he could give all that up, then so could anyone!
The story of these seven are an inspiration that God can take people and use them in incredible ways - if they are willing to serve.
As Pollock says in his book 'Theirs is the story of ordinary men, and thus may be repeated'. Will it be repeated in your life?
The story of Hudson Taylor is one of adventure and excitement - of improbable answers to prayer, opposition from the establishment and triumphs of faith. Even more interesting is the story of the relationship at the heart of it all - the story of Hudson and Maria Taylor.
There are few love stories as enchanting as that of Hudson Taylor, the pioneering missionary, and Maria Dyer. Their relationship and short marriage flourished in the bitterest of circumstances because their lives were firmly rooted in their devotion to God, as well as to each other.
They were a perfect match, (though not perfect people), a couple who show us how to share our lives at the deepest level.
John Pollock draws his material extensively from original letters and papers. What unfolds is a picture of courage and adventure in Imperial China, a lost world of pigtails, Mandarins and dragon-roofed temples. It also shows how Maria played a crucial role in shaping the ministry of a Yorkshire lad who, against oriental and western opposition, changed the way that missionaries work.
More than a century after his death D. L. Moody remains a towering figure whose influence of his evangelism is still felt; the institutions he founded in America continue to flourish; his place in history is secure. But it is his personality that commands attention: rugged, delightful, compassionate, a man of total integrity, with a supreme gift for bringing Christianity before a whole range of contemporary hearers and putting them to work for God. Dwight Lyman Moody (even his wife called him D. L.) was the outstanding evangelist of his time - in his pioneering endeavour and fervour Moody has become an enduring figure of stature and inspiration. He landed at Liverpool, England, unknown and unexpected but when he left Britain -Scotland, Ireland and England were at his feet, he was contagious! John Pollock captures this infectiousness in his classic biography.
Charles George Gordon gained universal respect and affection in the slums of urban Victorian Britain fighting on spiritual battlegrounds.
Later, he obtained the same reputation as he commanded in battle Chinese, Egyptian, and African (but never British) troops, to become a British military hero. General Gordon died while trying to save Khartoum from fire and sword in 1885, the mourning from a grateful nation was only surpassed by the death's of Henry Havelock at Lucknow and Nelson at Trafalgar.
Gladstone, Britain's Prime Minister at the time feared it would bring down his government. He is now known as one of Britain's greatest military heroes in the line of Wellington, Nelson, Havelock, Harris and Montgomery.
There are 4 parts to this well researched and exciting biography:
- Part One: 'Yellow Jacket', 1833-1864.
- Part Two: 'The Liberator' 1865-1879.
- Part Three: 'The Pillar of Cloud' 1880-1883.
- Part Four: 'Too Late' 1884-1885.
John Pollock, author of other highly praised biographies (including Havelock's), draws on extensive, but little used, manuscript sources to vividly retell a fascinating and colourful true story of an extraordinary figure.
John Pollock vividly portrays George Whitefield and his times - George's long search for peace with God, his joy at being forgiven and justified through Christ's atoning death and then his enthusiastic sharing of the Gospel. Often facing misunderstanding and even opposition from the established Church, he started to preach in the open air, beginning among the mining community and those who normally wouldn't come into Church. The story is told of how God worked in a remarkable way through George in Britain and also in the Colonies of America. Travelling many miles by horseback, crossing the Atlantic on countless occasions, sometimes experiencing illness and fatigue, countless people were drawn to Christ through this man - the "Billy Graham" of his time. Come and catch the drama and also the passion and commitment George Whitefield had for the Gospel.