Ian Shaw (2)

As the author suggests, I am one of those folks who knew of William Gadsby only from his 1814 hymnal compilation. This short biography fills in the facts of the life of the man behind the hymnal -- and an interesting and praiseworthy man he was! An uneducated handloom weaver in pre-industrial England, Gadsby became a prominent early 19th century Baptist clergyman. I was especially impressed by accounts of his preaching -- interlaced as it was (to the complaint of many) with bits of humor -- and by the marvelous way he balanced the claims of the Gospel with the social tensions industrialization and the aftereffects of the French Revolution were creating in England at the time. However political he may have been at times, Gadsby was always governed first and foremost by the Gospel he preached (although, as a strict Calvinist, he did not invite his hearers to accept Christ, considering this a gift from the Holy Spirit) and his pastoral concerns. He also never forgot his humble roots. -- This slim volume brings Gadsby to life as the inspirational figure he appeared to his contemporaries -- and a much-needed exemplar of Christian living for our own times as well.… (mer)