Thursday, December 22, 2022

It is the 22nd of December 2022. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Another show, another giant in the history of the church that we have yet to tell the story of on this show (the deeper we get into this show, the bigger church history seems).

He is perhaps the most famous evangelist of the 19th century, and his name has endured as a byword in Christian education and publishing- He was Dwight Lyman Moody, and he died on this the 22nd of December in 1899.

Dwight or D.L. Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts1837- one of 9 children to parents Edwin and Betsey- his father died when he was 4, and his mother raised all of the children in poverty. The family attended the local unitarian church. When Dwight was 17, he moved to Boston to work as a shoe salesman with his uncle. His uncle’s requirement for Dwight was to attend his church- the congregational church of Mt. Vernon. It was there that he recounts his conversion, but he was not initially granted membership at the church- he had a 5th-grade education, and both spoke and spelled in a way that was described as inadequate.

He moved to Chicago, where he worked for the YMCA, sold shoes, and started a Sunday school where he sought out the roughest of children. Despite being poor unkempt, and unruly, he would never turn a child away or send them home.

When the Civil War broke out, Moody claimed that he was, in the matter of war, aligned with the Quakers- he would nonetheless serve as a chaplain preaching to troops at various battlefields.

He was a gifted speaker, and his wife teaching him would remediate his inadequacies from his unfinished education. He spoke on the YMCA circuit and eventually made his way to England, where he was first treated like a celebrity.

The Great Chicago fire of 1871 destroyed his church, and while it was eventually rebuilt, this put D.L. into full itinerant mode. In 1873 he returned to the UK, where he stayed for 2 years with his family and song leader Ira Sankey- his use of Sankey and music- playing music during the service, under his preaching, and at the altar call revolutionized evangelism services and eventually the American evangelical church.

His notoriety in the UK led to his becoming a celebrity once he returned to America. He traveled from city to city- with the zeal that made him a successful shoe salesman, he rented out halls, passed out tracts, sent advance teams ahead of him, and relied on a network of wealthy donors that supported his cause. He is the link between the age of revivals and evangelicalism. His lack of training did not stop him from setting up schools. In fact, it led him to start schools for children of any background- these were the Northfield School for Girls (where you might remember Ida Scudder was a student) and the Mount Hermon School for Boys. In 1886 he opened the school that would soon take the name of the Moody Bible Institute. In 1893 he was an attraction at the Chicago World’s Fair.

He worked and traveled tirelessly, even against the advice of his doctors- his son remembers him as a bearded Peter Pan, and it is estimated that he communicated with over 100 million people in his career. With his upbringing what it was, he could speak with the blue-collar worker, even if he could convince millionaires to support his ministry. He had no denominational ties- he is truly one of the first “nondenominational” figures in American history. His theology was shockingly simple- he called them the “3 R’s”: Ruined by the Fall, redeemed by the blood, and regenerated by the Spirit.  He was premillennial in his eschatology- but outside of that, he was surprisingly broad in his associations to the chagrin of conservatives and liberals alike. But it was this that made up part of his appeal to the common person of the gilded age. His use of lay participation and his concern for the poor led to societies popping up in the towns he would visit for the propagation of the gospel and for the poor.

This poor and simple farm boy from Northfield, Mass, would become synonymous with Evangelism and Christian education- Dwight Lyman Moody died on this the 22nd of December in 1899- he was 62 years old.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary- the Magnificat from Luke 1:

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,

    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful

to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 22nd of December 2022, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose “3 R’s” are recording, roasting, and, uh… well… he’s got two. He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who will skip “Little Drummer Boy” on just about every Christmas album- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.