A Great Blessing to Me: John Newton Encounters George Whitefield

by Grant Gordon

George Whitefield, regarded as the preaching wonder of his day, and John Newton, one of the leading spiritual guides of the movement that Whitefield had a significant hand in creating, Evangelicalism, are perennially interesting figures. These lives, intertwined as this study of a portion of those lives reveals, speak across the centuries to our day. These two marvelous characters have much to teach contemporary Christians. A great read for both the professional historian and the thoughtful Christian.

Genres: Biography

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2016

About the author

Dr. Grant Gordon is an experienced pastor, active church consultant, and a recognised specialist in 18th century British church history. He earned his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Seminary near Bosto,n and afterwards completed M.Th. and D.Min. degrees at Princeton Theological Seminary. After being a pastor for eighteen years with the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada, he served as Director of Supervised Ministries and Lecturer in Baptist History at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto.

Reviews

[David Dunlap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, accessible treatment of the relationship between George Whitefield and John Newton. The respective biographies of the two men up to the time of their paths crossing were well-done; better, even, than those to be found in the two volumes of the 'Bitesize Biography' series. Upon Whitefield's death, however, the book truncates Newton's final years in a rather frustrating manner. (Of course, one could contend this was outside the central theme of the book.) Superb use of diary extracts and letters to flesh out the material. Concludes with chapters evaluating Whitefield's impact on Newton and his ministry, as well as comparisons/contrasts between the two men. Very informative!

[Ruthe Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is extremely informative concerning the lives and ministry of several great Christian ministers in the 1700’s, including John Newton, George Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley and William Cowper. The author was very thorough with his notes at the bottom of each page, which were in themselves very interesting.

The story of the conversion of John Newton is mentioned, and his famous song “Amazing Grace” testifies to God’s grace reaching down to a wretch like him, John having been quite a wicked young man until God got his attention during a violent storm at sea.

After his conversion, followed by more years at sea with little Christian fellowship, John was more than thrilled to settle in England, where he often went to hear many great ministers preach, one of them being George Whitfield. Over time, they developed a dear friendship through visits and letters. It is very uplifting and motivating to read of their lives and their great commitment to Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

[Jonathan Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content of this book grabbed my attention. I love this era in Christian history. I have read Arnold Dallimore's biography on George Whitfield and Jonathan Aitken's biography on John Newton. I am thankful for Grant Gordon and the research and work of these two men and their relationship with one another.