Gordon, James M. Evangelical Spirituality: From the Wesleys to John Stott. London: SPCK, 1991. 340 pp.
James Gordon (part-time lecturer in church history and systematic theology at Scottish Baptist Church in Paisley, Scotland, where he formerly served as principal) is focused on Christian spirituality as seen through transatlantic evangelicalism. His aim is “to provide an appreciative exposition of Evangelical spirituality, with some evaluative comment” (viii). Gordon laments that when it comes to the evangelical tradition, it remains “largely unexplored, its riches often unused and perhaps undervalued” (vii). In particular, he focuses upon “new life through grace,” which he rightly understands to be a central theme of evangelical spirituality, despite all of its variations.
Gordon’s strategy is to pair, compare, and contrast twenty-two leaders—two of them women—from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries. Grouping contemporary figures through a combination of date, theology, denomination, interaction, or geography, Gordon provides narrative summary and theological analysis of the following figures:
- John (1703-91) and Charles Wesley (1707-88);
- Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) and George Whitefield (1714-70);
- John Newton (1725-1807) and William Cowper (1731-1800);
- Charles Simeon (1759-1836) and Hannah More (1745-1833);
- Horatius Bonar (1808-89) and Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-43);
- Robert W. Dale (1829-95) and Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-92);
- Dwight L. Moody (1837-99) and Frances R. Havergal (1836-79);
- Handley C. G. Moule (1841-1920) and J. C. Ryle (1816-1900);
- P. T. Forsyth (1848-1921) and Alexander Whyte (1836-1921);
- Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) and G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945);
- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) and John R. W. Stott (1921-2011).
Gordon demonstrates both unity and diversity within this Anglo-American evangelical tradition. For all of them, he claims, “the cardinal verities of Evangelicalism have exerted decisive control” (329). In particular he points to “the experience of conversion in response to the divine grace, the centrality of the cross, the primary authority of the Bible, and the imperative to service for Christ’s sake” (329). He also highlights some of the broad intra-evangelical differences—or in some cases, difference of emphasis—on issues such as conversion, the theory of the atonement, the nature of biblical authority, sanctification, the relationship of historical context and spiritual tradition, the issues of individualism, subjectivism, and guilt, the Lord’s Supper, and the relationship between church and culture. It is a testimony to Gordon’s care and skill that his approach does not leave one with a despairing feeling of relativism by highlighting evangelicalism’s “pervasive interpretive pluralism” (to use Christian Smith’s charge). Rather, each chapter is a defined unit, where the comparisons and contrasts are contained and illuminating.
Gordon suggests that an exploration of the lives, ministry, and theological emphases of these exemplars leads to several broad conclusions: (1) there is considerable diversity within evangelical unity; (2) this diversity can be accounted for by different historical and cultural contexts, individual temperaments, and literary expressions preferred; (3) there are both strengths and weaknesses within the evangelical tradition; and (4) the evangelical tradition offers emphases that can be useful to the wider Christian tradition.
By choosing and pairing these figures, and by wisely limiting the geography and timeframe covered, Gordon has provided us with an ingenious and fruitful entry into the heart of the evangelical tradition of spirituality. He has an enviable gift for summarizing the heart of a matter, skillfully constructing a narrative, and choosing the emphases to highlight in a way that is helpful. He also does the reader a service by copious quotations from original sources. As Harold Rowdon notes, “The strength of the book lies in its close engagement with the sources, coupled with the ability to quote the apt and striking phrase—and to coin others in large numbers.” As an introduction to the key figures of evangelical spirituality, I know no other resource quite like this.
