Tuesday, June 3, 2025

It is the 3rd of May 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You might not know the name Arthur Tappan Pierson, but you certainly know of his legacy and many of the people he worked with. Arthur was born in 1837 in New York City- he was born in a house across the street from Charles Finney’s Broadway Tabernacle- this would not be the last time Pierson’s name would be associated with famous evangelists of the 19th century, either by proximity and place or by friendship and common ministry.

He went to college at Hamilton College- the old academy founded with Alexander Hamilton as an early trustee. From here he went on to Union Theological Seminary in New York, graduated in 1860, was ordained as an “evangelist” in the Presbyterian church, and began working at a Congregational church in Binghampton, New York. This seems par for the course for the ecumenical Pierson- he was saved at a Methodist revival, was ordained by the Presbyterians, and first worked with the Congregationalists.

IN 1869, he received a call to the prestigious Fort Street Presbyterian church in Detroit- an affluent church that took to his literary preaching style.

But in 1874, a revival held by Whittle and Bliss convinced him that he needed to redouble his efforts at reaching the lost. He began preaching simply and extemporaneously and held prayer meetings to hear from God about their desire to evangelize the masses.

On one evening in 1876, as they prayed, the church burned down. Seeing this as a sign, they rented the local opera house and held evangelistic services there for over a year.

He would take pastorates in Indianapolis and Philadelphia before his attendance at the Northfield Bible Conference, under the auspices of Dwight Moody, in 1885 changed everything.

Pierson decided to put together an ecumenical council for a missionary campaign- he included Moody, A.J. Gordon, J.E.K. Studd, all of whom have had an episode on this show.

His speaking and preaching inspired the “Mount Hermon 100,” who would help form the Student Volunteer movement. And it was Pierson’s quotes which would become the watchwords for this new explosion in the world's missions- “All Shall Go and Shall Go To All” and “the Evangelization of the World in this Generation”.

Along with Gordon and Moody, he became an associate of Hudson Taylor and was, among other things, invited to the Metropolitan Tabernacle to preach for the ailing Charles Spurgeon. This was controversial as he was an ordained Presbyterian, and Spurgeon was a Baptist. Later in life, Pierson would be re-baptized and excommunicated, but by then his circle of contacts was so broad it didn’t hinder his work.

He also had a chance encounter with George Müller, the famed evangelist and director of an orphanage. Through this, he would cement his eschatology (thoughts about the end times) as Premillennial. This was another step too far for some- the dominant eschatology, especially in evangelism, was one of “post-millennialism,” wherein the kingdom of God is ushered in by the saints instead of a decline leading to catastrophe and Jesus’ return amidst chaos to usher in his kingdom. At first, he was quiet about his eschatology, knowing it seemed “defeatist” to the postmillennial crowd. However, towards the end of his life, he would become an editor for the Scofield Reference Bible- the study bible that popularized pre-millennial eschatology for the early 20th-century Evangelicals, making it the dominant eschatology of the last century.

After the death of his good friend A.J. Gordon, Pierson would take over Gordon’s Missionary Training School, the school that would become Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. From Spurgeon and Moody, to Gordon and Müller, Hudson and the crowd that would form the backbone of the YMCA, Arthur Pierson was a giant in his age, urging the “evangelization of the world in this generation,” but setting the foundation for many generations of mission work in his wake. He would write a standard biography of his friend Müller, “George Müller of Bristol in Jesus Christ” and “The Acts of the Holy Spirit”. Arthur Tappan Pierson  would die in Brooklyn on this, the 3rd of June in 1911. Born in 1837, he was 74 years old.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary- from Acts 16 and right after Paul’s defense of his faith before King Agrippa and his counselors.

24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”

25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

29 Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 3rd of June 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who is just a regular millennial- he is  Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who is actually receiving ceviche recipes; it was a throwaway line because it’s fun to say…but not bad! 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.