Biography
Roy Hession was an English evangelist and author, who wrote one of the best-loved short books of the twentieth century. He was born in 1908, in England, in a family of the middle class. He was educated at a good school and trained as a teacher. As a young man, he was a member of the Church of England. He had a religious upbringing and a sense of duty but was without a living faith. In his youth, he was converted through the ministry of a Christian worker. He was drawn into the work of evangelism and became a lay preacher.
He served in the Second World War and then took up evangelistic work. In the late 1940s, he came into contact with the revival that had begun in East Africa, among the Balokole, the saved ones. He met the African and European leaders of the revival, among them Joe Church and William Nagenda. He was deeply moved by what he saw. The revival taught the importance of brokenness, confession of sin and walking in the light. He saw in it a way of life that he had not known.
He took up the message and began to preach it in Britain. His message was that the Christian life is a matter of continual repentance and of fresh trust in the blood of Christ. He said that the way of revival is the way of the cross, in which we are broken of pride and self and we come to Christ as sinners. He stressed that the revived life is one in which we walk in the light with God and with others, confessing our sins and receiving cleansing. It was a message of humility.
In 1950, he wrote down his thoughts in a short book, The Calvary Road. It was only about a hundred pages. It set out the way of brokenness in a clear and simple style. It dealt with the themes of pride, self-defense and the need to be willing to take the low place. It spoke to many who were weary of failure in the Christian life. It was published by the Christian Literature Crusade and sold in vast numbers. It has been translated into more than fifty languages and has sold millions of copies. He followed it with a number of other books, including We Would See Jesus, published in 1958, and Our Nearest Relationship.
He and his wife, Revel, traveled widely and held meetings across Britain, the United States and other countries. He was a quiet and gentle man, who spoke with great humility. He gave himself to the service of the church in a hidden way. He lived simply and was not interested in fame. He was also a man who suffered from poor health and from periods of depression.
He was criticized by some who thought that his teaching was too negative and that it dwelt too much on sin. Others thought that it did not take enough account of the joy of the Christian life. He did not make a claim to be a theologian. He held that the best way is to be honest with God. He died in 1992. The record of his life is limited, and the details here should be checked against fuller sources. His life shows the effect of a short book on the Christian life and a man who passed on the lesson of revival.