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Some men seem to be born with the bright promise of a smiling Providence beaming down on them from the very moment of their first infant cry. The family that surrounds the new child is an imposing council of the wise and godly. Their education is, though always tempered with love, strong and measured for success in whatever the Lord has planned. The mind, shaped by the kindness of God, is ready and quick to learn. The religion of the family is living and vibrant, but sober, anchored in the bedrock of ancient scriptural truth. The heart of the youngster is touched early and so preserved from growing into the iniquity that inevitably gains strength with most through each passing year. Family connections with eminent men and women make way for the best education, the most earnest spiritual influences and early prominence in whatever field the heart is turned toward. But such is the happy path of precious few.

The Divine smile was not so apparent in the life of John Angell James. The great favor and kindness afforded those born into godly, earnest and comfortable homes should not be diminished or despised, and we all wish it for our own children. But it does not necessarily afford the brightest hope to those favored differently of God. Thanks be to God that tax-collectors and Timothys make equally excellent disciples! James' parents were not all that one would hope, something he is very candid about in his autobiography. His father worshiped at the local Independent Chapel and was a nominal professor. It was unclear to James until near his father's death whether he was truly a believer. His mother, on the other hand, was an earnest Christian. Coming from a family associated with the General Baptists, she seems to have continued in those views, though dutifully worshiping with her husband so as to prevent any rift in the family. By all accounts, her vibrant faith was somewhat crippled by her decided lack of both education and natural intellect. With great simplicity, she loved both God and her children. Tears would stream down her face as she pleaded with God to save her dear ones. Holding them so tightly they could scarcely breathe, her cries would make their way out of the window and into the neighbor's homes. James noted that his mother's prayer life hardly qualified as entering the closet.

James was very keenly aware, possibly too much so, of how his rearing affected him. The home, while at least containing one example of true, if slightly awkward, piety, did nothing to cultivate anything other than mediocrity and ignorance in nearly all aspects of life. Teachers thought him a dullard and a brawler, but neither they nor his parents seemed interested or capable of testing their theories. At the age of thirteen his formal education came to a close when his father obtained an apprenticeship for him in Poole. It was hoped this would prepare him to take over his father's drapery and button store and provide a comfortable retirement for his parents. The spiritual situation in Poole was equally unsuited to James' needs. The gentleman under whom he worked was a nominal professor, as his father. His new employer's wife was a blasphemer and quite a wicked woman. At this point, James seems to have becoming increasingly aware that he lacked 'vital' religion. As if answering the unuttered cry of his heart, he was introduced to a godly cobbler who not only was able to demonstrate for him the great provision of the gospel of Christ, but also the life of love, devotion and service that should flow out of the hearts of those who had received the precious gift. Immediately he set to work in the local Sunday School and, with time, his conviction of a genuine call to shepherd the flock of God became more and more clear, both to others and himself. Out of sorts and out of pocket [James' father had to pay to acquire the apprenticeship and also to purchase him an early release], his father reluctantly agreed to buy his way out and enroll him in Dr. David Bogue's ministerial training school. He was able to afford the fees only with the aid of a scholarship from Robert Haldane.

What James' expectations were we do not know. However, his feelings in hindsight of the preparation he received there are clear. Dr. David Bogue was a very godly man and very thorough in his knowledge, especially of the puritan divines. It seems however, if we read James rightly, he may have been an example of how one may be well-read but still somewhat unlearned. The course was one year in length, meeting five or six days per week for somewhere around 8 hours per day of lectures. The school consisted of one large classroom with a library-style table surrounded by chairs. All of the lectures, some forty to fifty hours per week, were taught by Dr. Bogue and largely consisted of his outlines of Jonathan Edwards on redemption, Owen on Hebrews and so-forth. I am well aware that some will consider this to be the nearly perfect seminary. Unfortunately, it did nothing to encourage the students to grapple with the Scriptures themselves and taught them little about the practical side of pastoral work. Consequently, when James left he knew what Edwards thought and was well versed in the standard puritan divines, but was quite in the dark about how to translate it all to the people around him in a way that would be genuinely helpful. When his brother decided to train for the ministry, John was adamant that he receive the very best possible academic training to be had while still in an environment that was spiritual and lively. To the reader of his autobiography, it becomes clear that he felt, even if exaggerated in his own mind, very much limited and stunted by both his early education and his scanty ministerial training.

Knowing the end of the story, it's nearly humorous to think of his entering his first, and only, pastorate. In 1805, he was asked to fill the pulpit at Carrs Lane in Birmingham. He was but 20 years old, ill-educated and novice in almost every conceivable way. The previous pastor, Jehoiada Brewer, had taken a large portion of the congregation with him to start a church just down the road. Probably with no hope of a 'better' candidate, the struggling congregation asked James to be their pastor. The deacons were wise and godly men. They recognized real earnestness and piety in James, but were also experienced enough to know he was young, unprepared and bound to struggle. Rebounding from a vicious split and in the barely competent hands of a pastor still wet behind the ears, the shepherd and flock did the only thing they were sure would help . . . they had lots and lots of prayer meetings. It would be thrilling to record that weeks later the crowds, in earnest to be saved, began pressing into the chapel daily at 6:00am, but I'm afraid it just wasn't the case. The church records are very clear. From 1805 to 1813 there were no visible signs of growth at the chapel. It is very moving to read James' letters to the leadership of the church during this time. Their honest affection for each other, bound together in hope, is both precious and rare. James himself believed the reason for this long delay in real progress was due to his insufficient preparation. Instead of coming in with the proper skills, he was learning on the job and early success would have prevented his acquisition of many invaluable lessons and skills, both of a spiritual and practical nature. But grace and growth did come. By 1820, the church had doubled itself and planted six new chapels in the surrounding areas.  By 1850 it numbered some 900 active Christian members and had been the birthplace of numerous other works. All told, James was pastor at his only place of ministry for 54 years. He was offered countless other positions, spoke at the most important missionary and ministerial gatherings, authored works selling hundreds of thousands of copies, but always considered it his highest privilege to feed the flock of God and to assume no position higher than that given him by the Lord.

Taken as a companion to James' previous work, An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times, the pair serve as a manual for personal and corporate revival. Revival, as an idea, follows an almost predictable cycle. At the moment, it seems to be out of vogue again with the sturdy old Evangelical stock, ruined by enthusiasts and unscrupulous purveyors of something that is entirely too fleshly to merit the term. It will lie dormant and inevitably be rediscovered, only to be stained once more. Too often, revival enthusiasts seem to revel in the idea that chaos, quackery, and a state of mind bordering on a nervous disorder are the hallmarks of a genuine work of God. While there were very few more outspoken advocates for revival than James, his life adds weight and credence to the following work. James knows what he is after when he pleads with the believer. He wants a revival that has a slow fire, a steady flame, plenty of fuel and is safely contained by robust Scriptural teaching so that it can be useful and beneficial as it was intended. His examples are of the healthiest kind. His arguments are ordered, logical and leave no room for the mind and heart to wiggle from beneath their weight. His emphasis on action is judiciously balanced with a continual call to the real source of life found in fellowship with Christ, in prayer and in the intelligent study of His Word. Read as the work of a pastor of over 40 years, known for his gravity, irreproachable integrity, zeal for the gospel of Christ and overflowing affection for all that name the name of Christ, its force grows and it is a volume to be commended to all believers.

As a final word, I hope the readers will be pleased at the arrangement of the text. James possessed a very adequate vocabulary which can be further complicated by some expressions that have been obscured by time. To accomplish the sometimes opposing goals of preserving a historically accurate text as well as rendering works accessible to the modern reader, the text has been left essentially untouched and difficult terms and passages explained in notes at the end of each chapter. The only alterations to text involve updated spellings.

-Jon Dorsey