Issue 4 | D.L. Moody, From Poverty to Heaven's Hope

Find yourself in an idyllic space uniquely designed for you to enjoy God’s creation. Explore the rich spiritual legacy of D.L. Moody and New England.

The Moody Center is situated on a beautiful, historic property in Western Massachusetts. Moody Center offers tours, prayer walks, individual and corporate retreat spaces, and event space.

PLAN A VISIT TODAY...

WWW.MOODYCENTER.ORG

2

MOODY CENTER IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION BASED IN NORTHFIELD, MA, DEDICATED TO HONORING THE LEGACY OF D.L. MOODY.

Contents Letter from the Editor

4

by James Spencer

From Poverty to Heaven’s Hope

6

From the Archives of D.L. Moody

12

by Kevin Belmonte

by Daniel J. Koehler

Reading Moody’s Mail:

The Value of the D.L. Moody Archives

16

by James Spencer

The Least of These:

How D.L. Moody Thought about Social Action and the Gospel

18

by Greg Quiggle

D.L. Moody, A Theologian

22

by James Spencer

Preserving a Legacy: An Interview with D.L. Moody’s Great Grandson Dave Powell

24

Walking in the Footsteps of D.L. Moody

28

by Paul Kim

Moody’s Northfield, A Theologian’s Space

30

by James Spencer

The Proclamation of the Word: What Can Today’s Preacher Learn from D.L. Moody?

by Mark H. Ballard

34

Letter from the Editor

BY JAMES SPENCER

D

.L. Moody offers us theological insight informed not by a career spent in academic study of the word, but by a life spent yielding to the movement of the

Spirit of God. Moody’s theology is largely written without pen and paper. It was inscribed through the life of a man overshadowed by God for the sake of the gospel. His earnest, sincere passion to see the gospel proclaimed in its fullness through the words

worked hard to preserve by spearheading the archives project with his late son Tim and as a member of the Moody Center’s board of directors.

As I read through the various articles in this issue, my heart is full as I am once again reminded that theology is not intended to be a dry academic discipline that never leaves the classroom or the library. Instead, it is intended to change the way we live in the world. While Moody speaks in a

and deeds of the church.

simple, straightforward manner, we cannot miss

With the launch of the D.L. Moody Digital Archives

as “He who kneels the most, stands the best” or

project by Moody Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in Northfield, MA, we have been re-introduced to Mr. Moody. The archive combines materials from Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, Yale University in New Haven, CT, and Northfield Mount Hermon School in Gill, MA, as well as letters and other materials from the Powell

the profound theology conveyed in statements such “Real true faith is man’s weakness leaning on God’s strength.”

Lord, make us earnest to pursue your will, to take the opportunities this world affords to “perform works of mercy and religion,” and to “do little things” for you as we pray for the coming of your

family, who are descendants of D.L. Moody.

Kingdom. Let us move in step with your Spirit

Beyond the scholarly analysis of D.L. Moody by

to walk with Christ in a world that needs to know

several of the contributors, David Powell, the

and to be theologians who proclaim what it means Him.

great grandson of Mr. Moody, offers some personal insights and reflections about the digital archives project, the significance of Northfield, MA, and his own insights into Moody’s life and thought.

Powell’s interview provides a personal, heartfelt take on Moody whose legacy David Powell has

J A M E S S P E N C E R, P H D, is Vice President and COO of Moody Center, an independent non-profit organization based in Northfield, MA, and author of Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind. He also writes a regular blog at nextgenchristians.com.

4

“I am wondering if you all are really aware of the many movements that now exist throughout the world that flowed from the ministry of Dwight Moody.”

– Billy Graham personal correspondence with Emma Moody.

The Moody Center is situated on a beautiful, historic property in Western Massachusetts. Moody Center offers tours, prayer walks, individual and corporate retreat spaces, and event space.

PLAN A VISIT TODAY...

WWW.MOODYCENTER.ORG

MOODY CENTER IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION BASED IN NORTHFIELD, MA, DEDICATED TO HONORING THE LEGACY OF D.L. MOODY.

From Poverty to Heaven’s Hope

BY KEVIN BELMONTE

6

The President, at eight o’clock [In the evening] went to the auditorium. Here he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, which packed the building.

- The Record of Christian Word Magazine (October 1902)

1

BY KEVIN BELMONTE 1 7 years ago, in the closing days of summer, President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Northfield, Massachusetts, D.L. Moody’s birthplace, to give an eloquent tribute to

Moody’s memory and faith.

And Northfield Auditorium had never seen the like of it.

To hear “T.R.” speak, a capacity audience of 3,000 had gathered. Many had “driven into the town from miles around.” This was something not to be missed. But there was a quiet, moving moment before it all began.

W.R. Moody, D.L. Moody’s eldest son, introduced Roosevelt to his mother, Emma. Taking her hand, and with caring words, America’s Chief Executive told her “what a great respect” he had for her late husband.

Those words, and a president’s smile, must have meant so much. Then, with courtly courtesy, he bid her farewell, and walked to his lectern.

“My fellow citizens,” T.R. commenced, in the crisp, expressive way he had of speaking, “I naturally speak on a subject suggested to me by the life of Mr. Moody.” For him, this subject was “the desire for the rule of righteousness,” and “the power to give actual effect to that desire.” That caught people’s attention, and held it.

7

How

For it was just here, speaking of this, that lines from the Bible held the key. And Roosevelt looked to verses from the New Testament:

it seems to me [he said,] there are two texts specially worthy of emphasis: One is, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only”; and the other is—

“Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.”

(James 1:22 & Romans 12:11) Other moments in T.R.’s historic speech captured telling themes. Mindful of Moody’s legacy, and the ways it went out into the world, Roosevelt keenly rejected any idea of “cloistered virtue,” contending rather that followers of Christ should be guided by “the root of righteousness” in every facet of life.

That was striking.

Indeed, this was a remarkable address—unique among T.R.’s public talks. And yet...

To look back on Roosevelt’s tribute, just three years after Moody’s passing, it seems so unlikely in retrospect, given Moody’s earliest years. That his life would ever call forth a president’s praise was something no one could have foreseen.

In poverty, and growing up without a father When D.L. Moody was born, on February 5th, 1837, the writer Mark Twain was a little over one year old; and Queen Victoria was some four months away from beginning her long and famous reign on the throne of England.

Young Dwight Moody was the sixth child of Edwin and Betsy Moody. When he began attending school in 1841, there were seven children, and his mother was expecting again. But in May 1841 tragedy struck. Edwin Moody, who was in his early forties, died suddenly of what appeared to be a massive heart attack. “It brings the tears to my eyes every time I think of it,” Moody said later— My father died [and] twins came after his death.

[Now there were] nine of us...He died a bankrupt, and the creditors came in and took everything—as far as the law allowed. We had a hard struggle.

Thank God for my mother! She never lost hope.

Betsy Moody was an extraordinary woman. When people told her she would have to break up her family, and send her children out among various relatives, she refused. Till the time when young Dwight struck out for Boston to make his way in

8

life, she kept to that promise. Her son always deeply admired her fortitude.

In Boston, though young D.L., as he now liked to be called, had many rough edges, he flourished as salesman in his uncle’s shoe store. And here, he came to faith. A bronze historical marker, at the site of the store, has this inscription— D.L. Moody Christian Evangelist, Friend Of Man, Founder Of The Northfield Schools, Was Converted to God In A Shoe Store On This Site, April 21, 1855 By the close of the 1850s, Moody had moved to Chicago, and was well on the way to marked success as a businessman. But he had also been working among the poor, immigrant communities of Chicago’s slums, notably in a neighborhood so destitute, and dangerous, that it was called “Little Hell.”

A messenger of heaven’s hope By 1860 Moody and his co-workers had a Sunday School ministry that served hundreds of young people, who always reminded him of the hardship he’d known as a child. To be their friend—providing food, clothes, and firewood from his own life savings—and to tell them of the faith that had so transformed his life, this became a passion and calling. He resolved to give his life to work like this.

As time allowed, he began to speak about things of faith publicly. Sermons followed, and the Moody known to history began to emerge, speaking before crowds of ever increasing size. By 1875, Moody completed a two-year gospel mission tour of the U.K. that culminated in a final five months, when he spoke to over two and half million people in gatherings held in the greater London area.

He’d become a figure of international fame, and royalties from the incredibly popular Gospel Hymns that he had published were so considerable that four schools, and hospitals and orphanages, were funded. The Chicago Avenue Church, which had grown out of Moody’s Sunday School ministry, was also aided from this source. Moreover, Moody and his famous song leader, Ira Sankey, refused to touch a penny of this great income (several millions in today’s currency).

It all went to charitable work.

Moody became a philanthropist and educator.

Today, the Northfield Mount Hermon school and Moody Bible Institute reflect this sterling legacy.

God had done incredible things in life of a young man who knew poverty, hardship, and had only a grade school education. He never ceased to marvel at the Lord’s good purposes in his life. Each day, rising early for prayer and the study of God’s Word, he strove to follow the Lord closely, so as to make the best return for the many opportunities entrusted to him. He became a great student of Scripture.

God’s love and presence in his life were a living reality. And so he would say things like: “Hear the words of this loving King, who calls you to Himself.”

The place of theology in Moody’s life Though he had no training as a theologian, there were hallmarks nonetheless or recurring themes in the way Moody voiced and lived out things of faith.

These were tenets of his Christian belief, or in a word, his theology.

To begin with, Moody believed that to share the gospel, or God’s good news, was to point others to “the way home,” the phrase he chose as the title for a book of Christian reflections published not long after his death.

And nowhere in his sermons does this theme come home more memorably than in a passage from his book, Heaven, published in 1880— Perhaps nothing but the shortness of our range of sight keeps us from seeing the celestial gates all open to us, and nothing but the deafness of our ears prevents our hearing the bells of heaven. There are constant sounds around us that we cannot hear, and the sky is studded with bright worlds that our eyes have never seen. Little as we know about this bright and radiant land, there are glimpses of its beauty that come to us now and then...

I have read that on the shores of the Adriatic sea, the wives of fishermen, whose husbands have gone far out upon the deep, are in the habit of going down to the sea-shore at night, and singing with their sweet voices the first verse of some beautiful hymn. After they have sung it, they listen until they hear brought on the wind, across the sea, the second verse sung by their brave husbands — and both are happy.

Luke 19:10.

John 3:16 was a key verse for Moody’s “Christology,” or the facet of theology relating to “the person, nature, and role of Christ.” Luke 19:10 was the passage of Scripture that spoke most meaningfully of the deep commitment to conversion in his ministry, or the crucial need for a personal faith in Christ’s gift of redemption.

A passage from his book, Twelve Select Sermons, captured this— To me [Luke 19:10] is one of the sweetest verses in the whole Bible. In this one little short sentence we are told what Christ came into this world for. He came for a purpose; He came to do a work, and in this little verse the whole story is told. He came not to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved.

Building on this, in his book The Way Home, Moody looked to the parable of the Good Samaritan, who, when traveling through Jericho, saw a man beaten by thieves, and had compassion. He got off his donkey, and took oil and poured it into the man’s wounds, and bound them up. He took him out of the ditch, helpless as he was, placed him on his donkey, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

“That good Samaritan,” [Moody concluded], “represents your Christ and mine. He came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost.”

This telling of the parable brings images of brokenness and compassion, of a Savior seeking us when we are lost, and hope of our salvation resting in Him. Such a message drew people to the place of faith, and little wonder; for, as Moody said: “Christ is the great and mighty King, who finds our souls in the wilderness.”

Perhaps, if we would listen, we too might hear on this sea-tossed world of ours, some sound, some whisper, borne from afar, to tell us there is a heaven which is our home...

The parable of the Good Samaritan also guided Moody’s commitment to the poor and the destitute—in the slums of Chicago—and the underserved in education: for the four schools he founded, what is now Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and three schools in Northfield, Massachusetts, which survive in the Northfield Mount Hermon school, were “to help young men and women, of very limited means, to get an education such as would have done me good when I was their age.”

Tied closely to Moody’s understanding of the gospel were two other pillars of belief, the “one-sentence gospel,” found in John 3:16, and “the Great Invitation,” a kindred, concise phrase with its basis in

Moody’s devotion to Scripture’s authority, or “Biblicism,” as theologians call it, was profound and far reaching. A widely published photo of Psalm 91, from Moody’s Bible, reveals handwritten, insightful

9

margin notes, and how carefully he underlined key words. Each day, he rose between four and five in the morning for two hours of study, often guided by books from writers like C.H. Spurgeon. Such books were his university, and he read all of Spurgeon’s works, cover to cover.

Moody’s morning hours of study were always seasoned with prayer, and his love for this spiritual discipline was shown when he said: “Some men grow smaller and smaller on an intimate acquaintance; but my experience is that the more and more you know of Christ the larger He becomes.” This led to hours of intercessory prayer, personal petition, but also, crucially, to prayer as a catalyst for renewal. The prayerfulness of God’s people, or “concerts of prayer,” as we might say, prepared the way for Moody’s gospel mission tours. Blessing for them flowed from prayer.

The idea of concerts of prayer goes also to Moody’s great belief in networking for good across denominational lines, or “mere Christianity.” With the schools he founded, the famous summer conferences for collegians in Northfield (where the Student Volunteer Movement began), or books from the Colportage Association, the Chicago Avenue Church, or the gospel mission tours he embarked on—all these were, as Moody said, “undenominational, or better, interdenominational.”

Talk not of this sect and that sect, [he said,] of this party and that party, but solely and exclusively of the great, comprehensive cause of Christ...There should be one faith, one mind, one spirit—and let us…actualize this glorious truth...Let us contend for Christ only...O that God may so fill us with His love, and the love of souls, that no thought of sectarian parties can come in...[May] the Spirit of God give us one mind, and one spirit, to glorify His holy name...

Last of all, one cannot talk of Moody’s theology without understanding how the love of God was central to it all. As he would say in the great halls where he brought tidings of salvation to thousands: “O my friends, come under the banner of heaven tonight. This banner is a banner of love. May it float over every soul here, [that] is the prayer of my heart.” And then, he would tell them of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Final thoughts and lessons from Moody’s legacy Perhaps no one story can better illustrate the far reaching impact of Moody’s legacy, or its continuing importance and lessons for us, than a story that centers on Dr. Billy Graham’s pilgrimage to the hill

10

that is called “Round Top,” D.L. Moody’s final resting place. The archives of the Billy Graham Center, at Wheaton College, reveal that in April 1950, he traveled there with a small group of friends—to pray in that hallowed place, and thank God for all that D.L. Moody meant to the cause of Christ. This visit to pay respect was also a telling symbol—for there has been no ministry in modern times more greatly influenced by Moody’s legacy than that of Dr. Graham. Everything that has been said of Moody’s life and legacy above held meaning for him, and that quiet visit in April 1950 was a passing of the mantle in its way from one great soul to another.

Moody and Graham were also much alike in that faithful stewardship and consecration were touchstones of their faith walk.

And what meaning and lessons does that hold?

There is an enduring appeal woven in the idea of Christians who resolve to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, seeking God’s help to discern and make the most of opportunities to commend the faith—in word, and deed, and Christian character. Given this, with all that has been touched on earlier, Moody’s legacy is evergreen in its importance.

We’ve much to learn from him, to explore in his legacy, and carry forward.

K E V I N G B E L M O N T E is an award-winning author and haswritten literary lives of John Bunyan and G.K. Chesterton, and he received the John Pollock Award for Christian Biography for his book, William Wilberforce. For six years, he was the lead script and historical consultant for the film, Amazing Grace. His biography, D.L. Moody: A Life, was published in 2014, and in 2018 a companion text, 365 Days with D.L. Moody, was published in the U.K.

Meet D.L. Moody, a figure in the faith who had a huge impact on Christianity. Moody sought to preach the gospel, teach young people, and humbly serve his God. Explore the Moody archives at Moody Center where you can learn more about how one man reached 100 million plus souls with the gospel. He was a man from Northfield who cared deeply for his community, his family, and his neighbors.

ACCESS THE D.L. MOODY ARCHIVES...

WWW.MOODYCENTER.ORG

MOODY CENTER IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION BASED IN NORTHFIELD, MA, DEDICATED TO HONORING THE LEGACY OF D.L. MOODY.

The D.L. Moody Digital Archives and Historical Theology

D

B Y DA N I E L J. KO E H L E R

thoughts to paper, albeit in a script that borders on

wight Lyman Moody (1837-1899) counts

indecipherable. We believe this corpus captures

among the best-known religious figures

Moody’s personality, influence and thought world

of 19th century American history, and

in ways that complement and push far beyond

certainly among the most influential

his published works. While full of insight, these

evangelicals. Part of this celebrity is a familiar set

are almost wholly devotional in nature and could

of impressions: he was a man of action, movement,

suggest that Moody’s horizons were limited to

orthodox convictions, a master of organization

spiritual matters, and closed to other aspects

and planning, a minister to children, and above all

of human experience. The unpublished texts

a pathbreaking urban evangelist. We might also

reveal a man who divided his attention and his

add that he espoused premillennialism, addressed

correspondents into purposeful silos, with little

his speech to the common urban dweller, and

bleeding of content or tone. Moody was a figure

mostly avoided the doctrinal fights that engaged his

who often wrote phonetically, was deeply aware

contemporaries. Nowhere in this picture is Moody

of his own educational deficits, was impulsive and

credited with the kind of theological reflection that

informal – to the point of disorganization – in his

would illuminate the mind of the Church.

thought, and could direct enormous energies to get things done. Because of their difficulty of use and

The D.L. Moody Digital Archives begins with a

location in private hands or modest archives, many

different approach to Moody’s written work. It

of these sources have never received the public

is true that he was not a systematic thinker, and

attention they deserve.

even his published devotional texts don’t capture

12

his innovations in a linear way. Rather, Moody

It has been well worth the effort to locate, scan,

expressed himself in thousands of letters, sermon

transcribe and edit these materials for the Digital

notes, diary entries, dictations and other genres

Archives, which will contain, when completed,

that display an awe-inspiring range of activities and

roughly 4,000 digital objects. When seen

relationships. A constant traveler, he committed

collectively, this collection of primary sources offers

some of his most intimate and imaginative

a rich, three-dimensional view of Moody’s life and

19th century. These decades mark the transition to a modern, urban-industrial society with social problems, conflicts and disparities of wealth unknown in earlier years. For conservative Protestants, social and economic changes and cultural pluralism (connected with immigration) brought pressures to accommodate a world where Evangelicalism had lost its clean, though still formidable, application to matters of public life. It is a matter of great importance how evangelicals responded to the challenges of Moody’s day, for these choices strongly influenced habits and cultural patterns that have endured to the present.

The Digital Archives shows that Moody not only inhabited this society, but engaged it with a resourcefulness and concern for variations of human experience that do not fit well with most narratives of religion in 20th century America.

His passion for souls utilized the new structures of civil society. For example, he founded or helped to found several secondary schools for disadvantaged children, including minorities, orphans and immigrants, between the late 1870s and the mid 1880s. Each of these schools combined general education with Christian formation and training and a heavily subsidized tuition. Moody’s correspondence shows that he dedicated significant time, especially in the last years of his life, to fundraising for the schools and to monitoring the spiritual and social welfare and composition of its student body. his engagements in evangelism, education, social

Philanthropy is another theme. Moody was

reform, civic life, philanthropy, family relationships

acquainted with the leading names in American

and other domains. They open up the world of a

commerce, industry and civic life – especially in

figure who steadfastly turned the focus of the public

New York, Chicago and Boston – and knew how to

from himself to the redeeming work of his Lord and

speak to their convictions and generosity. His list of

Savior.

benefactors included Cyrus and Nettie McCormick, Marshall Field, George Armor, Cornelius Vanderbilt,

This world has much to say to the contemporary

John Rockefeller, and John Wanamaker. These

church in the United States, especially if we

patrons sponsored a range of initiatives – from

place Moody in a genealogy of the present. We

the Bible Institute in Chicago to the Y.M.C.A. to

can start with historical placement. The bulk of

the publication of tracts – as investments in social

Moody’s work unfolded in the Gilded Age, the

progress, as defenses against political radicalism,

period between the Civil War and the end of the

and as encouragements to the spread of the gospel

13

in urban centers. Moody’s approach to wealth and power is a topic that warrants careful reflection and additional research.

Finally, the place of Evangelicalism in 19th century discussions of race and ethnicity will also feature in the Digital Archives. Here Moody shows a broad space for maneuver and bridge-building that was collapsing even during his lifetime, which overlapped with the Civil War, Reconstruction and the enactment of Jim Crow laws. A moderate abolitionist in his youth, he had clear, emancipatory messages in his sermons in the 1860s and early 1870s, and formed close relationships with black church leaders in the South. Black and Jewish students at his schools recall them as places of tolerance and racial enlightenment. Yet he also welcomed support from segregationists and former Confederate politicians.

It is our hope that the D.L. Moody Digital Archives will surprise and challenge its users: not by demystifying his legacy, but by illustrating the range of applications and the Christ-centered humanity that sprang from his faith. Visitors will find reflections on poverty, mourning and loss, broken families, global travel and tourism, sectarian disputes, the meaning of home, the growth of higher education, and other topics. We can learn a great deal about the forces and attitudes that have produced modern Evangelicalism, as well as its lost opportunities, by exploring D.L. Moody’s life through these documents.

Dan i el J. Ko e hl e r, PhD is Associate Dean of the College for Academic Affairs at the University of Chicago and Editor of the D.L. Moody Digital Archives. A historian of modern Europe and the modern Church, he explored Moody’s reception in continental Europe in his Ph.D. dissertation (University of Chicago, 2010), and has been involved in archiving and editing Moody’s works since 2012.

14

Allow us to re-introduce you to D.L. Moody. More than a preacher, Moody practiced a very hands-on approach in addressing the many social issues that plagued his time.

Through the D.L. Moody Digital Archives project, we now have the ability to be re-introduced to one of the most influential Christian figures in the history of the United States. We can reap the benefits of exploring the occasional thoughts from a man faced with a complex, changing world, yet deeply committed to the gospel.

ACCESS THE D.L. MOODY ARCHIVES...

WWW.MOODYCENTER.ORG

MOODY CENTER IS AN INDEPENDENT, NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION BASED IN NORTHFIELD, MA, DEDICATED TO HONORING THE LEGACY OF D.L. MOODY.

Reading Mr. Moody’s Mail: The Value of the D.L. Moody Digital Archives

W

BY JAMES SPENCER JAMES EAEY hile poking around in my fire box looking for my passport last year, I found a letter that my wife had written to me

while we were dating. It was still folded neatly in the envelope in which it was delivered. The stamp postmarked on the front and the handwritten address taking me back to the late 90’s. As I opened up the letter to read it again, I was reminded of the hard, good years my wife and I spent together in college and then early on in our marriage. There is nothing quite like a personal letter to convey emotion. The act of sitting down to put pen to paper is an expression of intimacy. It implies a desire to communicate one’s mind and heart despite the challenges of time and distance. They are effortful expressions.

When the D.L. Moody Digital Archives launched in late 2019, I was able to take some time to read through many of the documents. I was struck by the ease with which Moody seemed to write theologically. He expressed his faith, particularly in his letters to his family, so naturally and with

such authenticity that I spent hours reading and re-reading them considering just how a letter from me to my children might read. There is surely more to the D.L. Moody Archives than Moody’s letters.

Yet his letters are uniquely captivating because in them we remember that Mr. Moody was a man from Northfield. He was a husband, father, friend, and neighbor. He took time out of what must have been an exhausting schedule to cultivate relationships…to convey his thoughts and prayers to those he loved.

In the following excerpt, D.L. Moody is writing to his son William after the death of William’s son Dwight. In it Mr. Moody offers comfort to his son reminding William that little Dwight is now with the Lord. The excerpt takes some liberties for ease of reading by adding punctuation where it seems to make sense and correcting spelling errors. The transcription in the archives follows the written letters more precisely.

“I could not wish him [Dwight] back if he could have all earth could give him and then the thought the dear savior will take so good care of him…no going astray,

16

no sickness and no death. Dear, dear little fellow, I

even when dealing with topics as challenging as the

love to think of him…and then we can all thank God

death of a loved one. Perhaps even more impressive

for the one year we did have and that we all done

is that Moody’s words do not seem bold. It does

what we could for his comfort and happiness. And

not feel like Moody is mustering up his courage to

he did what he could in return. His life was not only

write from a theological perspective. Instead, his

blameless but faultless and if his life here was so sweet

words seem commonplace…normal. His letters are

what will it be up there. I believe the only thing he

genuine expressions of the way he saw the world.

took away from earth was that sweet smile and I have

Moody’s letters offer a glimpse into the mind of a

no doubt but when he saw the savior he smiled as he

man who was overwhelmed by God for the sake of

did when he saw you. But I must close and I have let

gospel. He was surely not perfect, yet Mr. Moody

my pen run on as thoughts came in to my mind, but

approached life with a single-minded desire to

my heart goes up to God often for you and May and

follow God’s will. In fact, in a letter to his son

the word that keeps running in my mind is this: It

William, Moody wrote, “I am sure the happiest days

is well with the child…only think of his translation

of my life have been when I have tried to the the will

and the end of poor Elliot Lyman. Thank God Dwight

of God as far as I know it to do his will.”

is safe at home and we will all of us see him soon.”

Lord, may you give us the grace to confront the In another letter, D.L. Moody writes to his brother

challenges of life knowing that you have saved us

George after the death of George’s first wife during

and continue with us. Help us to cultivate and

the first year of their marriage. Similar liberties

demonstrate a vibrant, compelling faith and hope

have been taken as above for ease of reading.

in you. Give us the desire to share our hearts and minds with those around us. Amen.

“My Dear Brother George, I have just received news from home that you have met with a great affliction, one that was nearer you than any other living person on earth has been called to her rest, but all is well. I have thought often how I should like to have the death messenger come for me. When I think that there is rest on the other side of Jordan for the weary in the sweet fields of Eden where the tree of life is blooming oh what a beautiful thought to contemplate. The world has no charms for me when I look up, but the trouble with God’s children is they do not look up enough. But now you have something to look up for in Heaven. Your sweet wife is beckoning you on to higher and holier life. George, you have my sympathy and prayer and shall continue to pray for you and I hope you will look to Jesus for comfort.

Go to your closet in secret prayer and there you will find peace to your soul. It is a beautiful thought to think we have friends in heaven awaiting us…”

What is striking about Moody’s letters is the effortless way he conveys his perspective on God

17

J A M E S S P E N C E R , P H D is Vice President and COO of Moody Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in Northfield, MA, and author of Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind. He also writes a regular blog at nextgenchristians.com.

The Least of These: How D.L. Moody Thought about Social Action and the Gospel

S

BY GREG QUIGGLE hould you take a moment to type “Dwight Moody” into the search engine of your computer, what you are likely to find is a variety of articles describing

Mr. Moody as an “American Evangelist.” That description is true, as far as it goes, however, it fails to adequately encompass Moody’s work. In terms of social action, Moody has often been dismissed as someone only concerned about evangelism. In fact, in some circles Moody has been accused of turning evangelicals away from addressing social needs.

These scholars have argued Moody championed a point of view that saw the destruction of society as inevitable and therefore emphasized personal conversion rather than stressing both personal salvation and social action.1 However, this is simply not true. In fact, Moody never separated Gospel preaching from addressing human suffering. In fact, Moody believed Christian conversion drove a person to serve the physical needs of others. Moody believed true Christians love and care for other people. In an 1884 collection of 1 David Moberg, The Great Reversal (New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1972), 28-31

18

his sermons, Moody made the following statement, “I want to give you a motto that has been a great help to me. It was a Quaker’s motto: ‘I expect to pass through this world but once. If, therefore, there be any kindness I can show or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being let me do it now; let me not defer nor neglect it, for I will not pass this way again.’”2 This statement was not merely rhetorical for Moody, it reflected how he lived his life.

Gospel proclamation and humanitarian work typified Moody throughout his Christian life. Moody became a follower of Christ at the age of seventeen in Boston. Moody had moved to Boston in 1854

2 D. L. Moody, To The Work! To The Work! (Chicago: Revell, 1884), 28

seeking to build a fortune. While there he was

as a new convert, Moody not only pursued success

introduced to the Gospel by a kindly Sunday School

in business, he threw himself into ministry. Moody

teacher named Edward Kimball. It was also during

founded a Sunday School and worked with the

his stay in Boston he listened frequently to noted

YMCA. Both these ministries blended aggressive

anti-slavery speakers such orators as William Lloyd

evangelism with addressing social needs. A story

Garrison, Wendell Phillips, and Elijah P. Lovejoy.

from the Sunday School illustrates this approach.

A staunch abolitionist, he was part of a mob that

His daughter recalled hearing of a particular family

attempted to liberate a fugitive slave being held in

with “a giant father habitually drunk, a tiny wife

Boston. Both his conversion and his involvement

who supported the family and six illbred children.”

with abolitionists would have a lasting impression

Moody almost daily took the family food, coal or

on Moody.

firewood.4

Two years later, Moody continued his pursuit

The same is true of the YMCA. The 1867 annual

of fortune by moving to the bustling western

report of the Chicago YMCA similarly stated,

metropolis of Chicago. Arriving in the fall of 1856

“Earnest working Christianity is apt to be

3 William R. Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), 71, 72

4 Document entitled “By Emma Moody Fitt,” n. d. Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library, D.L. Moody Papers.

3

19

comprehensive, and to care for both soul and body.

were progressive. Specifically, Moody’s schools for

No harm ordinarily comes from doing good in both

women were innovative in the field of women’s

simultaneously... It was the same Jesus who first

education. Additionally, all his schools were racially

preached the gospel all day to multitudes, that then

integrated, and open to all Christian denominations.

fed them miraculously.”5 In an 1862 letter to one of his brothers, Moody told of his work with the

Space does not permit a full account of Moody’s

YMCA:

social activity. A cursory survey of Moody’s life reveals he spearheaded the formation of

I am very sorry I have not answered you 3 last letters

orphanages, soup kitchens, safe houses for women,

but I have so much to do I could not find time…I

work with drug addicts, temperance movements,

take care of the poore of the city. I have some 500

work with wounded soldiers and prisoners during

hundred or 800 people that are dependent on me for

the Civil War, job fairs and provision of funerals for

their daily food & new ones coming all of the time.

paupers.

I make my headquarters at the rooms of the Young Mens Christian Association & [I have three meetings

It is absolutely true Dwight Moody was an

to attend each day] besides calling on the sick & that

evangelist. One biographer noted that A. T.

is not all [I] have to go into the countrey about every

Pierson’s assertion that Moody presented his brand

week to buy wood and provisions for the poore also

of the gospel by pen or voice to 100 million people is

coal wheet meal & corn then I have to go to hold meetings.6

actually a conservative figure.7 Besides preaching, Moody had a commitment to personally present the Gospel to at least one person every day. But, Moody

As his career unfolded, perhaps the most significant

was not a man who divorced social action from

illustration of Moody’s commitment to the Quaker

evangelism. In a day and age where evangelism and

maxim was his foray into education. As the letter

social action are being pitted against each other,

cited above clearly indicates, Moody was poorly

Dwight Moody shows us that a deep commitment to

educated. In fact, he only received around five

both is absolutely possible and necessary.

years of formal education. Consequently, he knew the impact of the lack education. In his Sunday School he saw first-hand the connection between education and poverty. During the course of his life, Moody would be instrumental in the formation of five different schools. In chronological order; The Northfield Seminary for Women (1879), Mount Hermon Boys’ School (1881), Moody Bible Institute (1886), Northfield Bible Training School for Women (1890) and Bible Training Institute in Glasgow (1892). These schools proclaimed the Gospel and provided educational opportunities for

G reg Quig g le is the D. L. Moody professor of Historical Theology at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. He holds a PhD from the Open University in The United Kingdom, an MA in Historical Theology from Marquette University, an MA in Church History from Wheaton College and a BA in Psychology from Wheaton College. He has lectured and written on Dwight Moody and the History of Moody Bible Institute.

the poor. Moody was constantly raising funds in order to keep costs low. In addition to serving the poor; the curriculum also often included practical instructions on how to help the poor. Besides serving the poor, Moody’s educational endeavors 5 Fourth Annual Report, Chicago YMCA, 9; Advance, 1 (November 7, 1867): 4.

6 D. L. Moody, letter to brother Samuel, January 13, 1862, Moody Bible Institute Archives, Chicago, IL.

20

7 Stanley Gundry, Love Them In: The Proclamation Theology of D. L. Moody (Chicago: Moody Press, 1976), 10. Gundry cites Will H. Houghton and Chas. T. Cook, Tell Me About Moody (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1936), 117. For similar statistical estimates see John Pollock, Moody: A Biographical Portrait of the Pacesetter in Modern Mass Evangelism (New York: Macmillan, 1963), 166, 242, 283-84.

“ THE VOICE OF SIN IS LOUD, BUT THE VOICE OF FORGIVENESS IS LOUDER.”

Discover the man God used to call a nation to repentance and whose legacy continues to reach the world for Christ.

buy now at moodypublishers.com

D.L. Moody, A Theologian

BY JAMES SPENCER

A

fter his conversion in Boston,

a theologian meant being overwhelmed by God…

Moody would spend his life

overshadowed by God for the sake of Christ and His

seeking, speaking, and showing an

gospel.

understanding of God, His gospel, and

His ongoing work in the world. Thinking of Moody

For Moody, seeking an understanding of God and

as only an evangelist limits what we can learn from

His work in the world was of crucial importance.

his life and ministry. This man, who preached

Moody knew that following God required discern-

the gospel around the world, was more than an

ment. His life was a quest to discover the will of

evangelist…he was a man uniquely gifted “to seek,

God. In a personal correspondence with his son

speak, and show understanding of what God was

William, Moody wrote, “…I am shure [sic] the hap-

doing in Christ for the sake of the world.”1 D.L.

piest days of my life have ben [sic] when I have tried

Moody was a theologian.

[sic] to do the will of God as far as I know it to do his will…” Moody elevated the pursuit of God’s will to

Seeking

an art form.

Rather than simply remembering Moody’s impact on the world, we must remember how he made

Speaking

that impact. In Secret Power, Moody writes, “…if

Moody did not simply seek…he spoke. Perhaps

we are full of pride and conceit, and ambition and

Moody’s greatest strengths were his earnestness and

self-seeking, and pleasure and the world, there is

relatability. He was tireless in his work. Describing

no room for the Spirit of God…Before we pray that

Moody’s ministry to the men at Fort Douglas during

God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him

the Civil War, Samuel Moody notes, “…Dwight is on

to empty us.” This sort of insight runs through-

a run from morning till night he hardley [sic] gits

out Moody’s work. Moody recognized that being

[sic] time to eat…he holds meetings down ther [sic] most every night…” His earnestness was evident to

1 Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015), 17.

22

those who interacted with him. Moody’s passion was infectious. William R. Moody records the

impressions of Dr. H. C. Mabie who admits that he

live for God. Moody cared for people. Whether it be

“had never seen a layman so dead in earnest; but I

his work with underprivileged young women and

liked it.”2 He goes on to say he was “simply set on

men of all ethnic backgrounds, his service to sol-

fire by the contagion of such earnest lives…”

diers and prisoners, those who had lost everything

3

in the Chicago fire, or his neighbors in Northfield, D.L. was also a relatable speaker. His use of imagery

Moody reached out to others with the love of God.

and illustrations allowed him to convey the gos-

It would be hard to find a better endorsement of

pel message in a manner that was compelling and

the way Moody lived and the reputation he had

free of jargon. Commenting on his use of imagery,

amongst those who knew him than is found in All

a writer in “The Edinburgh Daily Review” notes,

About Northfield. Labeled “Northfield’s Greatest

“His descriptions are characterized by a remarkable

Son” Moody is described in glowing terms: “…His

vividness and graphic power. He has a great wealth

townsmen have been proud of him as a citizen, as a

of illustration, and his illustrations are always appo-

man, and as a religious worker. Although not all of

site, bringing into the clearest light the point which

them have endorsed his religious beliefs they have

he intends to illustrate, and fixing it forever into

thoroughly believed in his honesty of purpose and

the memory.”

sincerity, and are convinced that the results of his

4

Despite the obstacles he faced (or

perhaps because of them), Moody never lost touch

life work will be lasting and of inestimable value to

with the common man…he conveyed a compelling

future generations.”5 Surely Moody was a man who

message simply and challenged all those who lis-

demonstrated his understanding of God in the way

tened to come to a decision about Christ and to give

he lived.

their lives over to Him. Conclusion Moody was not only a theologian in public, but in

To paraphrase D.L. himself, the theology that this

his private life. Moody’s private correspondence

world needs most is the theology in the shoes that

with his family members demonstrate his theo-

are walking with Jesus Christ. Moody was a layman

logical perspective on the world. In one letter to

with an uncommon willingness to be overshadowed

William, D.L. closes his letter with the following

by God for the sake of the gospel. He was not the

line: “…may the blessing of God rest on you day and

sort of theologian who would impress with his aca-

night is the earnest prayer of your father who loves

demic prowess. He was the sort of theologian who

you more then [sic] any one on earth except it may

wrote his theological treatise through a life lived in

be your mother.” When Dwight Moody, D.L.’s

pursuit of God.

grandson and namesake died, Moody offers hopeful words to William and May writing, “…I could not wish him back if he could have all earth could give him…my heart goes up to God often for you and May and the word that keeps running in my mind is this: it is well with the child.” If one’s everyday speech is a test of one’s theology, D.L. Moody passed that test with flying colors.

J A M E S S P E N C E R , P H D is Vice President and COO of Moody Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in Northfield, MA, and author of Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind. He also writes a regular blog at nextgenchristians.com.

Showing While seeking God’s will and proclaiming God’s word, Moody also demonstrated what it means to 2 William Revell Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1900), 79.

3 Ibid., 80.

4 Ibid., 183.

5 Arthur Percy Fitt, All About Northfield: A Brief History and Guide (Northfield: Northfield, 1910), 55.

23

Q: Dave, you’ve been passionate about preserving

Moody’s memory: the collection of textual archives.

D.L. Moody’s legacy…and for good reason. Can you

Tim and I visited those places with close associations

describe why you came to feel it was important to

with D.L., to see if they would be partners with us

take steps to make sure Moody isn’t forgotten?

to preserve and make accessible letters, sermons, reports, meeting minutes, notes and anything else

A: Moody’s memory is alive around the world.

bearing his signature. The D. L. Moody Digital

Even with the Northfield Seminary for girls

Archives are now on-line and ready to serve the

established in 1879 and the Mt Hermon School

world!

for boys established in 1881, Moody hasn’t always been remembered in Northfield, MA. In 2005

Q: Do you have a story that stands out as

the schools consolidated on the Hermon campus.

particularly significant to you?

The Northfield campus was vacant from 2005 to 2017 with little capability to preserve the Moody

A: At age 17, Moody decided Boston would provide

legacy. In 2017, we were blessed when Emmitt

a better life than he had in Northfield. Being

Mitchell, who is now president of the Moody Center

unsuccessful in securing employment, he ended up

negotiated to have the Thomas Aquinas College

working in his uncle’s shoe store. His uncle agreed

from California accept three-fourths of the campus,

to hire Moody on the condition that Dwight attend

which left a quarter for creation of Moody Center.

Sunday School. The Sunday School teacher, Edward

The part of the campus Moody Center received

Kimball, took a liking to Dwight. He thought

included those places closest to Mr. Moody’s

Dwight needed to know something, but wasn’t

personal life, such as the Birthplace, the Homestead,

sure on how to tell him. Mr. Kimball got his nerve

Round Top, Martyrs Grove, and the Auditorium.

up and marched down to the shoe store. He was so

We set out to preserve Mr. Moody’s memory in

concerned about how exactly to approach Dwight

Northfield.

and whether Dwight would be free when he arrived that he walked right past the shoe store. Returning

My son Tim suggested an important way to preserve

24

and composing himself, he entered the store and

learned Dwight was in the back room packing shoe boxes. Mr. Kimball didn’t remember the

Q: If he was still alive and in his prime, what would

exact words he said, but he conveyed this thought:

he be doing?

“Dwight, the Lord loves you and in return he wants you to love Him.” Moody had been a fatherless,

A: Moody would make sure he changed with the

impoverished, love-lacking boy. This young man

times without abandoning his convictions. Moody

was just ready for the light that broke upon him…

would have looked at changes as a new generation

the sun shone brighter and the birds were prettier

grabbing hold of the gospel in their own way. He

as he walked across the Boston Common…the future

would have been wherever he felt God’s Spirit

great evangelist gave himself and his life to Christ

moving and he could make a unique contribution.

thereafter.

He’d be leading the next great awakening. It was just in his DNA to do the basics…prayer, study,

Q: Aside from the gospel what message would D.L.

worship…with earnestness and urgency. That is a

Moody want people to hear today?

big reason that God used him so powerfully.

A: I tend to summarize what Moody did in three

Q: Last question…Why is Northfield important?

words: learn, love, live. He wasn’t educated, but he was a learner. He would wade into some area and

A: Moody wasn’t isolated in Northfield. Northfield

pick up enough to understand what needed to be

was his home. He would get up early in the

done and why. Moody didn’t learn for learning’s

morning, pick up my 6-month old mother, and

sake…he did it so that he could love others. He

with her in his lap ride through town in his carriage

genuinely cared for and wanted to help others. He

talking with folks and sharing produce from his

didn’t just stop with love or compassion, but carried

garden. He loved Northfield and the people who

it out in the way that he lived. Love wasn’t love

lived there.

without some action. Moody sought to learn, came to love other people through that learning, and

I think the Moody Center property in Northfield

could do little else than live it out.

is special. I’ve had a deep relationship with the property since I was a boy. I’ve work on the

Q: When you consider the challenges he must have

property since I was 16. There is something more

faced, there is obviously a lesson there as well.

than nostalgic about the space. It isn’t sentiment… it’s the experience that it provides that really can’t

A: He would say that life isn’t easy, but you can’t

be replicated. Stand on Round-Top where Mr.

quit. It goes back to his difficult childhood. He

Moody and Emma are buried and look over the

could have decided to give in, but he pushed

beauty of God’s creation and it is hard not to think

forward. If you look at his life after his conversion,

about who God is and what he wants you to do.

you see something similar. Once he decided to serve Christ, he wouldn’t stop. His life became

Q: Any last thoughts Dave?

about the gospel. One thing people may not know about Moody is that he ministered to soldiers in

A: Moody needs to be remembered. There was a

the Civil War…not Northern or Southern soldiers,

time in Northfield where he really was forgotten.

but Northern and Southern soldiers. He wanted to

Even with the property there, Moody and what

make sure everyone heard the message of Christ…

God did through him was lost somehow. My hope

not just high society, but everyone.

is that Moody will impact many future generations through the preservation of the property and the digital archives. I hope a whole new generation will learn to love God and others, to live out that love,

25

There are certain books everyone should read… Available at moodypublishers.com

MOODY CLASSICS

E V E R Y P R O P H E C Y. R I C H T H E O L O G Y.

ONE MESSIAH.

Available at moodypublishers.com

Walking in the Footsteps of D.L. Moody

W

3. A deep and practical student of the Bible

B Y PA U L K I M

hen I entertain guests in Boston,

4. A humble man

I often take them on a tour of the

5. His entire freedom from the love of money

“Freedom Trail” and for many

6. His consuming passion for the salvation of the

the highlight is seeing a special

plaque on the wall of the old shoe store where

lost 7. Anointed with power from on high

Dwight Lyman Moody worked as a young man. It reads: “D.L. Moody - Christian Evangelist, Friend

The lesson is clear: God can use anyone whose

of Man, Founder of the Northfield Schools, was

heart has been completely transformed by

converted to God in a shoe store on this site. April

Christ. Moody’s education did not go beyond 5th

21, 1855.”

grade, as he grew up in poverty being raised by a single mother with eight siblings in Northfield,

On that fateful day in Spring, an 17-year old Moody was working at the shoe store in downtown Boston when his Sunday school teacher, Mr. Edward Kimball, visited to pray for the salvation of his soul. The Holy Spirit touched Moody’s heart and he made the decision to surrender his life to Christ. He became God’s chosen instrument to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to countless thousands of

continue his schooling, for when he became a world-renowned evangelist, what was laid in his heart was a desire to educate the poor boys and girls in his hometown, which was realized through the establishment of the Northfield schools. Moody was not the most educated or talented, but he had an abiding sense of mission to bring sinners to Christ.

people.

As Moody’s famous saying attests: “the world

What can we learn from Moody’s life as the greatest

consecrated to him—I aim to be that man.”

Christian evangelist of his generation?

In an article, “Why God Used D.L. Moody,” by his long-time friend and co-laborer for Christ, R.A. Torrey listed seven reasons why God was able to use

has yet to see what God will do with a man fully

Moody became fully consecrated to the Lord and it was his singular joy to spread the Good News of God’s salvation to the world. As though he was reminded of his time selling shoes, Moody was

Mr. Moody.

always a man afoot, willing to go anywhere and

1.

that one more precious soul would hear the truth of

A fully surrendered man

2. A man of prayer

28

Massachusetts. How he must have longed to

everywhere, even to the ends of the earth if it meant the Gospel. Indeed, how beautiful on the mountain are the feet of him who brings good news!

In early May, 2018, I took a group of pastors and

simple, child-like faith and obedience. He left an

missionaries on a pilgrimage to visit the birth

evangelistic legacy and ministry footprint that is

and burial place of D.L. Moody in Northfield,

worthy of following very closely. May we honor,

Massachusetts. The day was especially meaningful

learn from, and imitate D.L. Moody by walking in

because we were welcomed by Mr. David Powell,

his footsteps.

the grandson of Mr. Moody’s eldest daughter. He, along with Ms. Julia Wiggin, Director of the Moody Center, gave us a tour of the historical area. Mr. Powell, over 90 years young, still had a sprightly step and with sparkling wit he shared with us stories and anecdotes from his childhood memories of growing up at a time when Northfield was a

Pa ul K im is pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is currently serving as the Asian-American Relations

center of spirituality and revival in New England.

Consultant of the Executive Committee, SBC. He is

D.L. Moody may have done more to build up the

Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the father of

kingdom of God in America than any figure in the nineteenth century. But as we toured the beautiful campus, I realized that the most enduring fruit of his legacy lies not in the Moody institutions—the Northfield schools, the Moody Bible Institute, Moody Publishers, the Moody Church, and the

also a trustee of Southwestern Baptist Theological two grownup adult children, Pauline and Philip.

His wife, Dr. Rebekah Kim, is a Southern Baptist chaplain at Harvard University. They have two grandchildren living in Philadelphia area where their son-in-law is a violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Moody Center. It is in the people he touched and continues to touch. That’s what had brought us pastors and missionaries to visit the place of his birth and death. We wanted to spiritually follow in his footsteps. D.L. Moody invested his life in the business of transformed lives and it was manifested in the countless people who came to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior through his preaching and the many men and women he influenced to become preachers, evangelists, and missionaries. We are his spiritual heritage. Moody’s life showed that like the first disciples of Jesus after Pentecost, people who are fully consecrated to the Lord can turn the world upside down!

As our group gathered at the gravesite where D.L. Moody and his faithful wife, Emma, are buried side by side, I was reminded of the great Apostle Paul when he challenged the Corinthian church: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV). I led a prayer thanking Mr. Moody for fighting the good fight and faithfully finishing the race. Although he became known the world over, his greatest life example was in walking humbly with God and obeying the Great Commission with

29

Moody’s Northfield: A Theologian’s Space

W

highlights the Northfield property’s capacity to

BY JAMES SPENCER

30

hen I first began working for

impact conference goers: “I got a blessing at that

Moody Center in 2018, I heard a

Northfield Conference that has followed me through

lot of talk about the Northfield

all the years. I think everybody that comes to

property. I listened, but I didn’t

Northfield with an open mind and a hungry heart

get it. I couldn’t quite grasp how this place was

goes away with a great blessing. I know nothing

different from any other. Sure, it has historic

better for a young student, especially for young

buildings and a compelling story. D.L. Moody

theological students, than to come to Northfield for

started three schools in Northfield and held summer

a conference.” Those who come to Northfield, MA,

conferences in an impressive 2300 seat auditorium

are genuinely challenged to consider who God is. It

that is still in use today. But it is still just a place,

is a place uniquely capable of inspiring prayerful,

right?

thoughtful reflection.

It wasn’t until I finally made it to Northfield that I

For instance, regardless of the weather or time of

understood what was different about the space. It

year, it is difficult to stand on Round Top (a small

wasn’t just about historic character or legacy. It

hill in the middle of the Northfield property which

was about what the space cultivates within those

was Moody’s favorite place in life and burial place

who visit. Dr. James Vance’s words recorded

in death) and look out on the beauty of God’s

in William R. Moody’s biography of D.L. Moody

creation without being confronted with the reality

of God’s existence. It is no surprise, that Round

mission field and never came home. The Martyrs

Top was a place of decision for many young people

Grove points to the cost often required of those who

who attended Moody’s summer conferences. As

respond to the gospel. Remembering these women

Wilbur Chapman notes, “There each evening, when

and discovering more about who they were and

the conferences are in session, as the day is dying

where they went is a theological exercise. These

out of the sky, Bible students gather to talk of the

women have joined the cloud of witnesses in the

things concerning the kingdom. At this point

midst of which we seek to live faithfully. Martyrs

many of the young men and women of various

Grove is a tangible way for us to contemplate what it

students’ gatherings, which have been so intimately

means to live for Christ and to thank God for raising

associated with Northfield, have decided their life

up faithful women and men to take His gospel

work, and forth from this point they have gone to

around the world regardless of the cost.

the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel.”

Moody’s efforts in evangelism, education, and There is perhaps no better testament to the sort of

caring for the needs of others are well known. Yet

decisions made by those influenced by Moody’s

as impactful as his outreach efforts were, Moody’s

ministry in Northfield than the Martyrs Grove. The

efforts to make a place for people to find rest, to

Martyrs Grove is a grouping of twenty-six trees near

be together in prayer and worship, and to discern

Round-Top memorializing twenty-six women from

where and how the Spirit of God was leading is an

the Northfield region who went into the foreign

aspect of his ministry that cannot be discounted.

31

Moody’s placemaking efforts continue to inspire

move away from the distractions of daily life to

those who visit the Northfield property. As one

engage in the urgently needed activities of prayer

recent visitor noted, “There is an impressive sense

and worship. Perhaps most of all, it is a place of

of reflection on the past and of inspiration for the

remembrance in so much as it reminds all of us

future… Moody designed a spacious grounds in

what God can do with people, like D.L. Moody and

Northfield. There is a tremendous amount of peace

the women of Martyrs Grove, who place the whole

there… a tremendous amount of tranquility.”

of their lives in His caring hands.

As a trained theologian and academic, I have spent much of my career reading. Words and books have been and continue to be vital to helping me develop a Christian mind. As I have taken on my role as COO at Moody Center, it has been a welcome theological and creative challenge to work with a team of people dedicated to designing compelling spaces that convey the gospel. This year we will be enhancing the Martyrs Grove. The trees in the grove are dying. Rather than simply replacing the trees, Moody Center will be creating a space in which visitors can immerse themselves in the grove. They can sit, pray, and consider how God is prompting them to give up their lives for the sake of the gospel. It will be a space for remembrance and contemplation.

Space isn’t just the location in which activities happen. Different spaces shape our experiences in different ways. We need to be mindful of the spaces we create because they speak to our priorities and convey our understanding of who God is. Spaces help to structure and order our interactions with God and the world. The spaces we design, create, and sustain are theological expressions testifying to the God we serve and underscoring who we are as individuals and communities.

In Thinking Christian, I suggest, “We need a space to have the sort of slow, deliberate dialogues that that reflect our deep conviction that discerning the Spirit is crucial to offering faithful testimony.”

Moody’s property in Northfield is such as space.

It is a space where God’s word is preached and His gospel proclaimed. It is a place where weary Christian workers come for rest and reflection and where men and women seek out the Holy Spirit. It is a slow, simple, idyllic space where people can

32

J A M E S S P E N C E R , P H D is Vice President and COO of Moody Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in Northfield, MA, and author of Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind. He also writes a regular blog at nextgenchristians.com.

Made for churches.

Meet Pod, the new oering basket.

Choose a side

Insert your card

Learn more at podgiving.com/theology

Pass it along

D.L. Moody and the Proclamation of the Word: What Can Today’s Preacher Learn from Moody?

T

B Y M A R K H . BA L L A R D

is, if another book of the Acts of Christ’s faithful

he impact of Dwight Lyman Moody

Apostles were to be written, probably the largest

remains clear 120 years after his

space in the record of the nineteenth century

death. Moody influenced nearly

would be given to the soul-saving work of Charles

every aspect of evangelicalism. He

H. Spurgeon and Dwight L. Moody.”1 Moody’s

impacted evangelism, children’s ministry, Christian

contemporaries recognized that, long before his

education, Christian publishing and more. The

death on December 22, 1899, God was using him in a

fact that books, dissertations, and articles are still

myriad of ways. Despite this recognition, many have

written about Moody, demonstrates his lasting

criticized Moody’s preaching.

influence. Even Moody’s contemporaries recognized the extraordinary ways God used him.

According to Moody’s son, William, Dr. Cuyler of Brooklyn said, “Of one thing I feel sure, and that

1 William R. Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1900), 258.

34

Criticism of Moody’s Preaching

R. A. Torrey, a close friend of Moody, credited Moody’s absolute trust in the truthfulness and

Since D. L. Moody’s preaching received extensive

authority of Scripture. Torrey also noted Moody’s

criticism, is it possible we can learn something

complete reliance on the Holy Spirit as crucial

valuable from it today? Moody’s friend, C. I.

to Moody’s success.5 More recently Lyle Dorsett

Scofield, spoke of the enigma of analyzing Moody’s

echoed these same contributions to Moody’s

preaching.

influence.6 There is no question that an examination of Moody’s preaching yields much fruit. Yet, there

As a preacher D. L. Moody was much criticized

remains one element of Moody’s preaching that is

from the standpoint of academic homiletics…But

often overlooked.

the fact that for thirty-five continuous years, in centers of culture and active practical thought in the

Growth in Moody’s Preaching Content

English-speaking world, this self-taught preacher drew the greatest audiences which have faced any

Moody grew in his preaching content. This

modern speaker on any theme-this fact, one would

fact, however, has gone largely unnoticed by

say, should suggest to teachers of homiletics that

evangelicals. Elsewhere, this author has traced the

possibly they might learn something from him.2

shifts in Moody’s sermon content.7 Suffice it to say, in the early days Moody preached topical sermons

Indeed, there is no question that God used Moody’s

with few Scripture quotations. After an encounter

preaching to bring countless individuals to Jesus.

with Henry Moorehouse Moody began to fill his

His preaching also led many to forego all earthly

sermons with Biblical content. An encounter at one

pursuits and give themselves fully to serving the

of his Northfield Conferences in the 1890s caused

Lord. As Scofield noted, homileticians would do

Moody to adjust his approach to sermon content

well to consider his preaching and see what can be

once again.

learned.

Moody’s younger son, Paul, told of the event.

Moody’s Preaching Revisited

Moody invited Dr. Henry Weston to speak at a conference. As Weston began to preach Moody

Careful consideration reveals much can be learned

carried a chair off the platform and sat at the

from Moody’s preaching. Despite not having

speaker’s feet. Weston was an expositor. Early

formal training, he was a master of two major

into his first exposition, Moody was heard to say,

rhetorical concerns: pathos and ethos. Other areas

“There goes one of my sermons.” Shocked, Weston

contributed to his success as well. Moody’s ability to

asked Moody what he meant. The world-famous

4

tell a story is often noted. His illustrations captured

preacher stood before his conference and declared

both the heart and mind of his hearers. A fresh look

that he had been mis-using the text and needed to

at his sermons reveal that while his grammar may

throw away one of his sermons. Paul reports, that

have been lacking, his passion, his credibility, and

later Moody spoke up again. “There goes another.”8

his stories caused countless millions to overlook his

Moody was at the height of his popularity. His name

grammatical faults.

was known in nearly every home in the United

3

States and much of England. Yet, he was willing to

2 Harry J. Albus, A Treasury of Dwight L. Moody (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1949), 39.

3 Rollin Walker Quimbly, “Dwight L. Moody: An Examination of the Historical Conditions and Rhetorical Factors which Contributed to His Effectiveness as a Speaker” Master’s Thesis, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1951.

4 James F. Findley, Jr., Dwight L. Moody: American Evangelist (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969), 223.

35

5 R.A. Torrey, Why God Used D. L. Moody (Kindle Edition).

6 Lyle W. Dorsett, A Passion For Souls, The Life of D. L. Moody (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1997), 392-394.

7 Ballard, Mark H. “An Examination of Movement Toward Text-Driven Preaching In The Sermon Content of Dwight L. Moody.” PhD Diss., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, NC 2017.

8 Paul D. Moody, My Father: An Intimate Portrait of Dwight Moody (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1938), 184-185.

learn. He wanted to grow.

Moody desired to be the best preacher possible. He loved the Lord and His Word. He wanted to preach it accurately. He was willing to learn and grow in his preaching accuracy. A careful study of Moody’s preaching during the last decade of his life reveals that he indeed began a move toward text-driven preaching. He even preached sermons that have been classified as expositional.9 Conclusion Much can be learned from the preaching of D. L. Moody. Preachers today would do well to consider the areas mentioned earlier in this article. However, every preacher and teacher of God’s Word should follow Moody’s example and strive to grow in presenting text-driven messages.

Mar k H. B al l a d, P H D is the Founding President of Northeastern Baptist College. He is the author four books and numerous articles. Ballard’s PhD research focused on the preaching of D. L. Moody.

Re-examining the Preaching of D. L. Moody is an academic monograph scheduled for release in the fall of 2020. Ballard is currently working on a trade book about Moody’s preaching. In addition, he regularly fills the pulpit for churches and conferences across the nation.

9 In addition to the dissertation mentioned previously in this article, the author is currently working on a trade book about Moody’s preaching. The work will demonstrate this growth in a format that is more accessible to the evangelical world at large.

36