John Howe – Puritan Preacher

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This is the day that … John Howe was born in Leicestershire, England, in 1630.

His father was a Church of England clergyman who was later ejected from his parish because of his non-conformity.  He had “espoused the cause of the Puritans” and thereby the wrath of Archbishop Laud.

Young John was but 5 years of age at this time.

Returning to England some years later, John Howe was seen by Oliver Cromwell, who was impressed by “his fine appearance”.  The Protector invited Howe to preach the following Sunday. Howe “pleads one excuse after another not to do so”, but finally “much against his private preferences” became one of the chaplains to the Cromwellian army (Schaff Herzog Encyclopaedia, page 1027).

We read that he was “a ready off-hand preacher” who never used notes,  despite the fact that he was “famous for the unusual length of his sermons and prayers” (Dictionary of Literary Biography, page 340).   An example of this is given by Edward Calamy, his biographer:  On fast-days he would begin the service at 9.00 a.m., pray for a quarter of an hour, read and expound a chapter for three-quarters of an hour, pray for about an hour, preach for another hour, and then pray for half an hour.  Then, whilst the people sang for fifteen minutes, he would “take some refreshments” before returning to the pulpit.  He would pray for an hour, preach for an hour and conclude the service around 4.00 p.m., with a final prayer “of about a half an hour or more” (History of Preaching, by E. Dargan, page 147).

A member of his flock is reported to have commented that Mr Howe “is a dear good man but he spends so much time in laying the cloth that I lose my appetite for the dinner” (page 180).

After King Charles II came to the throne, Howe “wandered from place to place, preaching in secret,” and devoting himself to writing.  The Living Temple is probably his best-known work.

Robert Hall speaks of him as “the greatest of the Puritan Divines”, although he admits that his sentences are often “long and cumbersome” (page 181).

John Howe died on 2 April, 1705.

Warren Wiersbe

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This is the day that … Warren Wiersbe was born in Chicago, in 1929.

As a lad he dabbled in stage magic (rabbits out of hats and all that sort of thing), and “the greatest literary event” was when he was introduced to the “Sherlock Holmes” stories and developed “a life-long interest in good detective fiction” (Be Myself, by W. Wiersbe, pages 26-27).

On 12 May, 1946, we find him handing out hymn-books at a Youth for Christ rally.  A relatively unknown Billy Graham preached. 

“Right where I stood I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and save me, and He did.  I didn’t raise my hand for prayer, I didn’t fill out a card.  I didn’t even go forward when the crowd sang “Just as I am”, but I did trust Christ and became a child of God” (page 56).

Later Warren Wiersbe was to become a staff worker for Youth for Christ (1958-61), then pastor of various churches including the Moody Memorial Church, Chicago (1971-78).  After some years of itinerant Bible teaching, he accepted a position as General Director of the Back to the Bible Broadcast (1982-1990).

Weirsbe has devoted much of his life to writing – including his “Be…” series, which form a commentary on the Old and New Testament.  The Old Testament “Be” Series runs to 27 volumes. 
Billy Graham wrote of him that, “He is one of the great Bible expositors of our generation.”

Dan Crawford – Missionary to Africa

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This is the day that … Dan Crawford was converted in 1887.

Born in Scotland on 7 December, 1870, he was only four years old when his father died, and a meagre education followed.  He grew up a “guid laddie”(good boy), became a member of the local kirk, and then became a Sunday-School teacher.

At the age of 17, as he taught Sunday-School, the influence of another teacher gave him uneasiness of soul.  “For some weeks he was in great anxiety.  One evening he attended a mission hall and heard a plain working man, out of a full heart, tell of a Saviour’s love …”  Convicted by the preaching but still unwilling to yield to the Saviour, Dan now found himself confronted by his friend’s final plea.

“Dan,” said Mr Storer as he drew a line on the floor with a carpenter’s pencil, “you’ll not step over that line until you have trusted Christ.  Will you trust Him now?”

There was “a minute’s dead silence,” says the biographer.  Then Dan Crawford said:  “I will” and strode across the line.  And, adds E. Enock, “he never faltered from that moment.”

“Dan started right away to tell all around of his new found Saviour.  He would preach anywhere.  In the street he would stop, doff his cap, and start to tell out the Gospel …” (Gathered Sheaves, page 2).

He threw in his lot with the Brethren, took to open air preaching, fell in love with Grace Tilsley … but declined to propose as he was going to Africa as a missionary.  And because he had developed such a “bad cough” in his street preaching days – in all kinds of inclement weather – the doctor did not expect him to live more than 12 months.

On 23 March, 1889, Dan Crawford sailed for Africa, in the company of F.S. Arnot, and there as a missionary sent out by the Brethren Assemblies, he served his Lord for the next 37 years.  In 1898 Grace Tilsley joined him, and they were married on 14 September.

He “relied upon unsolicited gifts and preferred to work alone.”  He translated the Scriptures into a native tongue, and wrote Thinking Black, a classic missionary volume that anticipated “modern cultural anthropology” (Who’s Who in Christian History), and “became a valuable contribution in the field of missionary practices and principles.”

Bishop Stephen Neill, in his History of Christian Missions, devotes three pages to Dan Crawford and the impact he made, not only on the African peoples he evangelised, but on missionary strategy.

On 29 May, 1926, during a restless sleep, he knocked his hand on a raw-edged shelf beside his bed.  Blood poisoning set in and he died five days later.