G. Campbell Morgan

George Campbell Morgan was born on December 9, 1863, in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. His father was a Baptist minister who later left the denomination to join a congregation of Brethren. His home was devout, and the Bible was at the center of family life. Young George was a bright boy who loved books. At the age of thirteen, he began to read the Bible on his own, and at fifteen he preached his first sermon. He was a gifted speaker even as a boy.

He became a teacher in Birmingham and also took on work as a lay preacher. At the age of twenty-two, he went through a time of deep doubt. He read the works of skeptics and was shaken in his faith. He wrestled with his questions for months. In the end, he took up the Bible again and read it with the question of whether it was true. He decided that it was the Word of God, and he said that he would stand for it for the rest of his life. He also said that he would no longer try to defend it by argument but would preach it.

He applied to the Wesleyan Methodist ministry, and he was rejected. At the entrance examination, the examiners found him unsatisfactory. His wife recalled that he sent a telegram to his father with two words, Rejected, and then he wrote a short message in reply to his father's encouragement. He did not give up. He went on to preach independently and was ordained as a Congregational minister in 1891. He served at a church in Stamford, then in Rugby, then in Birmingham. His preaching drew attention, and he began to be invited to larger pulpits.

In 1897 he was invited by D. L. Moody to speak at the Northfield Conference in Massachusetts. He made a great impression. He returned to Northfield many times and developed a strong reputation in America. He was a friend and colleague of Moody, who valued his teaching. He took on the work of directing Moody's Bible schools in the early 1900s. In 1904 he became pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, where he remained until 1917, and then served again from 1933 to 1943. The church grew under his preaching, and it became one of the most important in London.

He was known as a Bible expositor. His method was to go through the Scriptures with great thoroughness and to bring out their meaning. He spoke to large crowds in a clear and measured voice. He did not use dramatic effects. He relied on the Word and on the power of the Spirit. He wrote more than sixty books, among them The Analyzed Bible, The Crises of the Christ and The Gospel According to Mark. His commentaries and sermons were widely read. He also took part in the Keswick Convention.

He had four sons who all became ministers, and the family was prominent in the church. He was married to Annie Morgan for many years. He was known as a man of strong will and also a gentle one. In his early years, there was a rivalry with F. B. Meyer, a well-known preacher of the time, but they later became friends. He was a good father and a faithful pastor.

He had weaknesses. He was a perfectionist and often discouraged. Some thought that he was too cautious in his dealings with controversial matters. He also did not like to be challenged. He kept his own counsel. In the final years, he suffered from the effects of age and of the stress of the war years in London. When he left Westminster Chapel in 1943, his successor was Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

He died on May 16, 1945, in London, at the age of eighty-one. His life shows what can be done by a man who is rejected by the church and who goes on to serve it. A young man who failed an examination became the prince of expositors.