Cross Reference
New member
This is an very interesting read; little long and can be rewarding to our understanding, if we allow it, into his life and a contribution to how the Christian world in general came to recognize his work as being of the greatest since the Apostles:
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Oswald’s first Irish mission took him to Donegal Square Church, Belfast, the Mother Church of Methodism in the capital of Northern Ireland. The Rev. James Alley, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Circuit and of the church itself, had invited Oswald, praying that the congregation would be lifted into “newness of life” and empowered for service. In characteristic fashion, Oswald assured the Rev. Alley that if they allowed the Lord to help Himself to them, a good time was in store.
From Belfast, he wrote to Biddy [his wife] on November 22:
This boarding-house I am in is conducted by the widow of one of my fellow students at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington. So I am in the awakening of the old days.
The boarding-house held three permanent residents, two of whom were dead-set against a “missioner” staying as a guest in the house. A recent visit by a man “who made preaching his trade” had left them weary of hollow-sounding religious talk and shallow thinking.
They voiced their dismay before Oswald arrived. James Anderson, a rising barrister decided to ignore the preacher, certain they could have nothing in common. What knowledge would a missioner of some prayer group have of anything legal or parliamentary?
The other strenuous objector, forty-three-year-old Katherine Ashe, was more vocal. She was horrified at the prospect of another preacher coming. Rising from the breakfast table to her full five feet, ten inches, she said with an upturned nose: “Fancy having an ignorant evangelist in the house for ten days! We won’t have any conversation at meals and nothing to talk about. He’ll be absolutely appalling.”
Miss Ashe, as she was always known, came from an old aristocratic Irish family on her mother’s side. Although her father, Weldon Ashe, was a clergyman in the Church of England, Katherine was an entrenched agnostic—cultured, learned, musical, and extremely strong-willed, with no use for a God whose representatives seemed so uneducated and ill-bred.
Oswald accepted his house-mates’ aloofness and focused table conversation on them and their interests. They found it difficult to avoid talking about themselves and what they believed. Then, after expressing themselves at length, common courtesy moved them to ask his views.
Oswald later wrote to Biddy of their exchange:
There are aching lives here and He is working. Last night we had a glorious ‘clash.’ They did not know Him and I did. I told them that I knew nothing of God apart from Jesus Christ, He was God to me; apart from Him, God was a mere mental abstraction.
The hearts of these people are hungry, but their intellects seem satisfied with the worship of abstractions which is so modern, and to me so absurdly insufficient.
As the week progressed, Miss Ashe was surprised to find that her “ignorant evangelist” played Mendelssohn and knew the plays of Henrik Ibsen. James Anderson wanted to know more about Reader Harris, a man at the top of the legal profession, and his commitment to Christ. The third member of the household, whose name is not known, was drawn by Oswald’s genuine interest and the unmistakable reality of what he said. All three were deeply touched by his love for the beauty of Ireland and his understanding of its subtle expressions, seldom noticed by a visitor.
Within a few days, Oswald won their hearts simply by being himself and caring for them. Their conversations became, in the words of Miss Ashe, “delightful excursions of talk upon every subject under the sun.”
Before the mission ended, Katherine felt she should at least show Oswald the courtesy of attending one meeting. She came expecting nothing and was arrested by his message on abundant life in Christ. At the close of the meeting, in an unusual departure from his normal ways, Oswald gave an altar call, inviting those who wished to give themselves to Jesus Christ to come to the front of the church. Katherine stood up and began to walk forward, her pride and self-aufficiency melted by the love of Christ for her. She described the event as “a wholly supernatural conversion, a very agonizing birth from above,” followed by “an intensely painful period of readjustment of every point of view ... to honourably accept the New Testament standard.” Tall, imposing, aristocratic Katherine Ashe had turned around in mid-stream and would never be the same.
I couldn’t help but notice that Oswald’s normal ways were the absence of alter calls. No “repeat after me” or “just accept Christ into your heart” easy-believeism. Note how Katherine described the event: “wholly supernatural, agonizing, an intensely painful period of readjustment of every point of view”. This is the new birth!
Excerpted from Chambers, O. (1996). Biblical psychology: a treasure chest for Christian counselors. London: Simpkin Marshall.
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Oswald’s first Irish mission took him to Donegal Square Church, Belfast, the Mother Church of Methodism in the capital of Northern Ireland. The Rev. James Alley, Superintendent Minister of the Methodist Circuit and of the church itself, had invited Oswald, praying that the congregation would be lifted into “newness of life” and empowered for service. In characteristic fashion, Oswald assured the Rev. Alley that if they allowed the Lord to help Himself to them, a good time was in store.
From Belfast, he wrote to Biddy [his wife] on November 22:
This boarding-house I am in is conducted by the widow of one of my fellow students at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington. So I am in the awakening of the old days.
The boarding-house held three permanent residents, two of whom were dead-set against a “missioner” staying as a guest in the house. A recent visit by a man “who made preaching his trade” had left them weary of hollow-sounding religious talk and shallow thinking.
They voiced their dismay before Oswald arrived. James Anderson, a rising barrister decided to ignore the preacher, certain they could have nothing in common. What knowledge would a missioner of some prayer group have of anything legal or parliamentary?
The other strenuous objector, forty-three-year-old Katherine Ashe, was more vocal. She was horrified at the prospect of another preacher coming. Rising from the breakfast table to her full five feet, ten inches, she said with an upturned nose: “Fancy having an ignorant evangelist in the house for ten days! We won’t have any conversation at meals and nothing to talk about. He’ll be absolutely appalling.”
Miss Ashe, as she was always known, came from an old aristocratic Irish family on her mother’s side. Although her father, Weldon Ashe, was a clergyman in the Church of England, Katherine was an entrenched agnostic—cultured, learned, musical, and extremely strong-willed, with no use for a God whose representatives seemed so uneducated and ill-bred.
Oswald accepted his house-mates’ aloofness and focused table conversation on them and their interests. They found it difficult to avoid talking about themselves and what they believed. Then, after expressing themselves at length, common courtesy moved them to ask his views.
Oswald later wrote to Biddy of their exchange:
There are aching lives here and He is working. Last night we had a glorious ‘clash.’ They did not know Him and I did. I told them that I knew nothing of God apart from Jesus Christ, He was God to me; apart from Him, God was a mere mental abstraction.
The hearts of these people are hungry, but their intellects seem satisfied with the worship of abstractions which is so modern, and to me so absurdly insufficient.
As the week progressed, Miss Ashe was surprised to find that her “ignorant evangelist” played Mendelssohn and knew the plays of Henrik Ibsen. James Anderson wanted to know more about Reader Harris, a man at the top of the legal profession, and his commitment to Christ. The third member of the household, whose name is not known, was drawn by Oswald’s genuine interest and the unmistakable reality of what he said. All three were deeply touched by his love for the beauty of Ireland and his understanding of its subtle expressions, seldom noticed by a visitor.
Within a few days, Oswald won their hearts simply by being himself and caring for them. Their conversations became, in the words of Miss Ashe, “delightful excursions of talk upon every subject under the sun.”
Before the mission ended, Katherine felt she should at least show Oswald the courtesy of attending one meeting. She came expecting nothing and was arrested by his message on abundant life in Christ. At the close of the meeting, in an unusual departure from his normal ways, Oswald gave an altar call, inviting those who wished to give themselves to Jesus Christ to come to the front of the church. Katherine stood up and began to walk forward, her pride and self-aufficiency melted by the love of Christ for her. She described the event as “a wholly supernatural conversion, a very agonizing birth from above,” followed by “an intensely painful period of readjustment of every point of view ... to honourably accept the New Testament standard.” Tall, imposing, aristocratic Katherine Ashe had turned around in mid-stream and would never be the same.
I couldn’t help but notice that Oswald’s normal ways were the absence of alter calls. No “repeat after me” or “just accept Christ into your heart” easy-believeism. Note how Katherine described the event: “wholly supernatural, agonizing, an intensely painful period of readjustment of every point of view”. This is the new birth!
Excerpted from Chambers, O. (1996). Biblical psychology: a treasure chest for Christian counselors. London: Simpkin Marshall.