The Holy Spirit: Or, Power from On High. an Unfolding of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, Volume 2
(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)
This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.
(Albert Benjamin Simpson was a Canadian preacher and theol...)
Albert Benjamin Simpson was a Canadian preacher and theologian who founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance which placed an emphasis on global evangelism. Simpson was raised a Calvinist and converted in 1859. Simpson would later leave Canada and go to the United States for Presbyterian churches in Louisville, Kentucky and New York City. After just two years in New York City, Simpson resigned from the Church to begin a gospel ministry targeted for new immigrants and the poor and uneducated people of New York City. Simpson was considered a very effective communicator and his writing is very Christ-centered.
Albert Benjamin Simpson was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, an evangelical denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism.
Background
Simpson was born on December 15, 1843, in Cavendish, Canada, the son of James and Jane (Clark) Simpson. The father, a miller, shipbuilder, and exporter at Bayview and, after 1847, an Ontario farmer, was a Presbyterian elder deeply interested in foreign missions.
Education
Sensitive and imaginative, Albert was early molded by the religious training of his home, nine miles from Chatham, Ontario, and at fourteen he determined to enter the ministry. After a few months in the Chatham high school and of study under tutors, he taught for a term, and in 1861 entered Knox College, Toronto, graduating in 1865. On September 12 of that year he was ordained by the Hamilton Presbytery as pastor of Knox Church, Hamilton.
Career
In 1874 Simpson accepted a call to the Chestnut Street Church, Louisville, Kenutucky. In this city he led a united evangelistic campaign and later conducted Sunday evening services of his own in public halls. A deepening of his own spiritual life led to his emphasizing sanctification in his preaching. Dissatisfaction in his congregation followed, and this, together with his desire to reach a larger number with his message, resulted, late in 1879, in his undertaking the pastorate of the Thirteenth Street Church, New York City. For two years he endeavored to lead his new congregation into evangelistic work for neglected people, but in November 1881 he asked to be released, and soon embarked on the independent movement which he was to carry on until his death.
He first held meetings in a hall, preceding his evening services with street preaching. Growing attendance soon compelled him to utilize a theatre and later, Steinway Hall. Within eight years twelve places of worship were used until, in 1889, a tabernacle, with which were connected a book store, the six-story Berachah Home of divine healing, and quarters for his missionary training college, was opened at Eighth Avenue and Fourteenth Street. Here he continued an increasing work until the end of his life, at which time five additional buildings were also in use, at Nyack, New York. In 1882 he organized an independent church, especially for people of the middle class who had no church connection; later he added many rescue mission activities to his work.
His outstanding achievement was the founding, in 1887, of the Christian Alliance, which, in 1897, was combined with the International Missionary Alliance, under the name Christian and Missionary Alliance. Of this organization Simpson became president and general superintendent. At his death it reported between 300 and 400 branches and connected churches in the United States and Canada, with about 200 pastors and local superintendents and twenty-five evangelists. In the foreign mission field it was active in sixteen countries. More than 1, 000 missionaries had been sent out, who had been educated, with nearly 3, 000 other Christian workers, at the Bible and missionary training schools of the Alliance. A feature of Simpson's ministry was the conducting of conventions, with the aid of numerous associates, throughout the United States and in several foreign lands. These combined characteristics of camp meeting, Bible conference, evangelistic campaign, Second Coming retreats, and missionary conventions.
In 1871 he visited Europe for his health; in 1885 he attended a conference in Great Britain on the spiritual life; and beginning in 1893 made many tours which took him to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America, to visit mission fields and recruit new supporters. Literary work consumed much of his energy. He published more than seventy religious books, including poems, some of which have had wide and continued circulation. He also composed words and music of many hymns. Periodicals which he founded and edited included The Gospel in All Lands (1881-1903), a pioneer illustrated missionary monthly, and The Word, Work and World, a monthly first issued in 1882, which later became The Alliance Weekly.
Having voluntarily surrendered all his business affairs to others in 1918, he lived on an allowance from the Alliance. Simpson died on 29 Oct 1919, aged 75, in Nyack, New York.
Simpson was no extremist, whatever follies or fanaticisms some of his followers may have fallen into. Though a believer in divine healing, he gave first place to his evangelistic message. He was a man of commanding personality, and his resonant voice and gracious manner gave added force to the intellectual and spiritual power of his preaching and of his spoken prayers. He took little sleep, usually working from twelve to fifteen hours a day.
Connections
On September 13, 1865, Simpson married Margaret, daughter of John Henry of Toronto, by whom he had six children.