Table Of ContentTHE ECCENTRIC VICAR OF EVERTON:
JOHN BERRIDGE, THE CAMBRIDGESHIRE REVIVAL,
AND THE LIFE OF PASTORAL MINISTRY
A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
GORDON-CONWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY
BY
DAVID T. WOOD
MAY, 2012
Copyright ©2012 by David T. Wood. All rights reserved.
To Karen, Matthew, Hannah, and Rachel
CONTENTS
FIGURES
PREFACE vi
ABSTRACT
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Background to the Evangelical Revival in England
Chapter 3. The Evangelical Revival in England 19
Chapter 4. Early Days, Cambridge, and Conversion 35
Chapter 5. Revival Breaks Out 43
Chapter 6. Interpreting the Cambridgeshire Revival 54
Chapter 7. The Role of Itinerant Preaching 66
Chapter 8. Pastoral Life on the Other Side of the Revival 73
Chapter 9. Writings 80
Chapter 10. Berridge and Controversy 94
Chapter 11. Berridge and Friendship 106
Chapter 12. Eccentricity and Humour 121
Chapter 13. Sickness, Aging, and Death 126
Chapter 14. Conclusion 133
BIBLIOGRAPHY 155
VITA 161
FIGURES
Figure Page
1. “John Berridge of Everton, 1716-1793”
2. William Hogarth, “Gin Lane”, 1751 11
3. William Hogarth, “Marriage ala Mode”, 1745-1747 12
4. William Hogarth, “The Sleeping Congregation”, 1736 13
PREFACE
This study is a product of a long-term fascination | have had with the rise of the
Evangelical movement on both sides of the Atlantic in the eighteenth-century. Regent
College’s Bruce Hindmarsh has argued that evangelicalism is best understood not in
ecclesiastical terms or even theological terms, but rather as a form of spirituality.’ With
its fourfold emphasis on the Bible as the Word of God, the centrality of the Cross, the
need for conversion, and the call to mission, early evangelicalism served to spiritually
reinvigorate a moribund post-Reformational tradition. One expression of this
reinvigoration was a rediscovery of the importance of fived-out faith or to put it in the
language of the period, a rediscovery of a “lively experience of faith”. In evangelicalism,
the combination of Reformational doctrine and a concomitant emphasis on experience
created a highly energetic movement whose impact is still being felt globally today.”
Early evangelicalism emerged out of revival. In North America, this revival was
known as the Great Awakening, in Britain, it has been labelled, The Evangelical Revival.
Beginning in the mid-1730s, revival figured significantly in the rise of the evangelical
movement and has remained part of the movement throughout the nineteenth-century
right through the twentieth-century.
* Bruce Hindmarsh, “I am a sort of Middle-Man’: The Politically Correct Evangelicalism of John Newton” in
George A. Rawlyk and Mark A. Noll, eds., Amazing Grace: Evangelicalism in Australia, Britain, Canada and
the United States (Grand Rapids, Mt: Baker Books, 1994), 29-55.
* See David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (Grand
Rapids, Mi: Baker Book House, 1989), 1-17. For the connection between evangelicalism and global
Pentecostalism, see David Martin, Tongues of Fire: the explosion of Protestantism in Latin America
(Edinburgh: Blackwell Publishing, 1993).
3 See Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge, A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories that Stretch and Stir (Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 2010).
vi
Standing in the midst of these revivals, however, were ordinary pastors. Two
pastors whose lives have always fascinated me and whose lives | had studied while
attending Regent College, Vancouver, BC have been John Newton (1725-1807) and
Henry Venn (1724-1797). In their correspondence, | had also frequently come across the
name of John Berridge (1716-1793) and learned of this pastor’s shared friendship with
the two men. Reading Berridge’s epitaph only added to an ever-increasing curiosity to
know more about this pastor. | was struck by the honesty of Berridge who described
how he pastored for six years before coming to faith! How could this happen? What
effect did his conversion have upon his practical day-to-day pastoring? Even more
intriguing was the revival that broke out shortly after his conversion. Were the two
events related? If so, how? How did Berridge pastor in the midst of a revival? Perhaps
the most intriguing element of Berridge’s life was his willingness to remain a rural pastor
after the extraordinary events of the Cambridgeshire Revival. How does one pastor
faithfully on the other side of a revival? If these questions did not capture my attention
enough, there also was the fact that John Berridge of Everton remains one of the most
interesting and eccentric personalities of the eighteenth-century.
Having personally lived out the calling as pastor for 12 years, | have always been
fascinated by the lives of pastors who lived before me especially those who ministered
during turbulent times. What would it be like to pastor in the midst of a revival? How
could one continue to minister after experiencing the extraordinary phenomena
associated with revivals? What are the ingredients to a sustained life in ministry? These
vii
are some of the questions that my research on John Berridge have helped me to
personally wrestle with.
| am deeply concerned, however, with seeing so many young pastors today
giving up the call to minister and choosing to walk away from the pastorate. Again, | will
argue that learning from the life and ministry of John Berridge can be of some help here.
Berridge’s experience offers much that can help pastors maintain an evangelical vision
throughout their ministry. Further, Berridge’s spirituality can teach us how to love the
Lord deeply and fervently even when one experiences difficulty. Most importantly,
Berridge’s life and example can teach pastors how to have a sustained ministry, and to
faithfully serve Jesus Christ all of one’s days.
There have been many people who have been of immeasurable help in carrying
out this project. | would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Dr. Don Lewis, Dr.
Bruce Hindmarsh, and Bill Reimer at Regent College for cultivating in me a love for the
eighteenth-century evangelicals. Also, | would like to thank Dr. Garth Rosell and Dr. Bob
Mayer for their mentorship and encouragement during my Doctor of Ministry at
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Sincere gratitude also needs to go to the Elders
and Staff at Coquitlam Alliance Church where | currently serve, Peter Cheung, Sumi
Kinoshita, and my mom and dad, Tom and Donna Wood. The greatest appreciation,
gratitude, and love need to go towards my loving wife, Karen, and my three wonderful
children, Matthew, Hannah, and Rachel, who gave me all the necessary space and time
to finish this labour of love.
viii
Figure 1: John Berridge of Everton, 1716-1793"
1 Semper Reformata, http://semper-reformata.com/2011/10/29/266/ [accessed October 10, 2011].
ABSTRACT
This dissertation will analyze the life and ministry of the evangelical pastor, John
Berridge of Everton (1716-1793) who stood as the central figure in the Cambridgeshire
Revival (1759), the Calvinist Controversy (1773), and whose life intersected with most of
the key figures in the English Evangelical Revival.
The purpose of this study is first, to re-introduce the figure of John Berridge to a
contemporary readership. Second, it will argue that it is John Berridge's appropriation of
the post-Reformational experiential tradition with its re-discovery of justification by
faith that is foundational to his conversion, surrounds his experience in the
Cambridgeshire Revival, and sustains his ministry in Everton. Finally, using Berridge’s life
and ministry as an example, this study will reflect on the key issues facing pastors in the
current cultural milieu: the need to re-cover the doctrine of justification by faith in
pastoral preaching and ministry, understanding the context and nature of revival, the
challenge of pastoring in and through revival, the prerequisites of a sustained ministry,
and finishing well.
