Canon Michael Green has died: An evangelical giant has fallen
Canon Michael Green has died: An evangelical giant has fallen
The evangelical world mourns the loss of the 20th Century's most powerful Anglican evangelist
By David W. Virtue with Chris Sugden
www.virtueonline.org
February 7, 2019
Canon Michael Green was still preaching the gospel to students in his late 80's. In February 2018, he was the main speaker at Mission events at the Universities of Lancaster and East Anglia. He was a remarkable man, whose contribution to world mission, and particularly Anglican evangelicalism, ranks alongside that of David Watson, Dick Lucas, Jim Packer, even John Stott.
Canon Michael Green died peacefully on February 6th in Oxford after a short period of hospitalization in Oxford, at the age of 88, writes Chris Sugden, a close friend and Oxford resident where canon Green lived a large portion of his life.
The evangelical world mourns the loss of the 20th Century's most powerful Anglican evangelist
By David W. Virtue with Chris Sugden
www.virtueonline.org
February 7, 2019
Canon Michael Green was still preaching the gospel to students in his late 80's. In February 2018, he was the main speaker at Mission events at the Universities of Lancaster and East Anglia. He was a remarkable man, whose contribution to world mission, and particularly Anglican evangelicalism, ranks alongside that of David Watson, Dick Lucas, Jim Packer, even John Stott.
Canon Michael Green died peacefully on February 6th in Oxford after a short period of hospitalization in Oxford, at the age of 88, writes Chris Sugden, a close friend and Oxford resident where canon Green lived a large portion of his life.
"In many ways Oxford was Michael's city. He studied at Exeter College where he was President of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, and married Rosemary, the lady vice-president. They went on to have four children. In the evangelistic ministry for which he was renowned he was a frequent speaker at the OICCU and led some of its University Missions. His book "Choose Freedom" became a standard evangelistic book for its time and was followed by others published by his good friend Edward England at Hodder and Stoughton.
"He did ordination training at Ridley Hall Cambridge where he also completed a post-graduate degree in New Testament studies on salvation. Following a curacy at Holy Trinity Eastbourne he began a long association from 1960-75 with the London College of Divinity, then in Northwood, Middlesex, first as lecturer, and then as principal 'when he was not yet forty', according to the college's publicity.
"It was the era when theological colleges were encouraged to make links with universities, so Michael oversaw the move from Northwood to Nottingham where LCD became St John's College Nottingham.
"He drew together an exciting staff of young lecturers, many of whom, like him, exercised wider ministries, including George Carey, Colin Buchanan, Julian Charley, (for whom St John's students rejoiced to know Michael was 'fag' at school at Clifton College, Bristol) Anne Long, and Stephen and Pat Travis, to battle with the mud and breeze blocks of the new site at Bramcote.
"In 1975 he announced to the college community in the common room that he had accepted a call to become the Rector of St Aldate's Church, a major student ministry in Oxford, following the revered Keith de Berry.
"In 1987 he moved to Canada to become Professor of Evangelism of the recently founded Regent College, Vancouver, the first graduate school of theology in North America to focus on the laity, a brainchild of Oxford don James Houston.
"While in North America he became rector of a church in Raleigh, South Carolina and knew all about the struggles for orthodoxy in the Episcopal Church.
"He retired to Oxford in 1996 and became senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall Oxford, taking up his calling of teaching, training and above all enthusing others in the service of and spreading the good news of his Lord and Master, Jesus."
Bishop John Ellison, former Bishop of Paraguay writes, "Many of us owe so much to him for a missionary vision that took us to the ends of the earth." John Bowen, Professor Emeritus at Wycliffe College, Toronto writes: "He spoke at my first OICCU meeting in October 1966, on 1 Corinthians 1! Never forgot it!".
He went on to be awarded the Cambridge BD (1966), a DD (honorary) from University of Toronto, and a DD from Lambeth (1996). This scholarship combined with his love of his Lord, led Green to pen well over 50 books. He is especially known for Evangelism in the Early Church (1970) and Evangelism Through the Local Church (1990), which have served to shape a generation's thinking about evangelism.
I have known Canon Michael for more than a quarter of a century and had the privilege of meeting him in his home in Oxford in the company of Dr. Os Guinness, a Christian apologist and sociologist. Michael had a winsomeness about him that was compelling. He drew people to Jesus. He was unashamed in his preaching and his books; some 50, will, I believe, be read years from now in seminaries and theological colleges around the world. I saw him as part of triad of great Anglicans that included the late John R.W. Stott and J.I. Packer.
Only a few days ago we were emailing back and forth about the state of the Church of England and he bemoaned the sorry state of theological compromise going on in the CofE, right in the heart of Oxford amongst its clerics. He feared the Church of England was heading down the same pathway as the Episcopal Church.
Tributes to Canon Michael are pouring in from around the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said Green had been a 'compelling and consummate evangelist' and 'an example and model to all of the joy and energy that living and loving the gospel bring to proclaimer and listener'.
'He served the church locally, nationally and internationally through his ministry of communication in speech and writing,' he said.
'As the church we are deeply grateful for his tenacious ministry. Beyond telling, however, will be the gratitude of all those that Michael introduced to Jesus Christ -- the Lord in whose presence he now knows joy beyond our imagination.' Visit the Source for full details
"He did ordination training at Ridley Hall Cambridge where he also completed a post-graduate degree in New Testament studies on salvation. Following a curacy at Holy Trinity Eastbourne he began a long association from 1960-75 with the London College of Divinity, then in Northwood, Middlesex, first as lecturer, and then as principal 'when he was not yet forty', according to the college's publicity.
"It was the era when theological colleges were encouraged to make links with universities, so Michael oversaw the move from Northwood to Nottingham where LCD became St John's College Nottingham.
"He drew together an exciting staff of young lecturers, many of whom, like him, exercised wider ministries, including George Carey, Colin Buchanan, Julian Charley, (for whom St John's students rejoiced to know Michael was 'fag' at school at Clifton College, Bristol) Anne Long, and Stephen and Pat Travis, to battle with the mud and breeze blocks of the new site at Bramcote.
"In 1975 he announced to the college community in the common room that he had accepted a call to become the Rector of St Aldate's Church, a major student ministry in Oxford, following the revered Keith de Berry.
"In 1987 he moved to Canada to become Professor of Evangelism of the recently founded Regent College, Vancouver, the first graduate school of theology in North America to focus on the laity, a brainchild of Oxford don James Houston.
"While in North America he became rector of a church in Raleigh, South Carolina and knew all about the struggles for orthodoxy in the Episcopal Church.
"He retired to Oxford in 1996 and became senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall Oxford, taking up his calling of teaching, training and above all enthusing others in the service of and spreading the good news of his Lord and Master, Jesus."
Bishop John Ellison, former Bishop of Paraguay writes, "Many of us owe so much to him for a missionary vision that took us to the ends of the earth." John Bowen, Professor Emeritus at Wycliffe College, Toronto writes: "He spoke at my first OICCU meeting in October 1966, on 1 Corinthians 1! Never forgot it!".
He went on to be awarded the Cambridge BD (1966), a DD (honorary) from University of Toronto, and a DD from Lambeth (1996). This scholarship combined with his love of his Lord, led Green to pen well over 50 books. He is especially known for Evangelism in the Early Church (1970) and Evangelism Through the Local Church (1990), which have served to shape a generation's thinking about evangelism.
I have known Canon Michael for more than a quarter of a century and had the privilege of meeting him in his home in Oxford in the company of Dr. Os Guinness, a Christian apologist and sociologist. Michael had a winsomeness about him that was compelling. He drew people to Jesus. He was unashamed in his preaching and his books; some 50, will, I believe, be read years from now in seminaries and theological colleges around the world. I saw him as part of triad of great Anglicans that included the late John R.W. Stott and J.I. Packer.
Only a few days ago we were emailing back and forth about the state of the Church of England and he bemoaned the sorry state of theological compromise going on in the CofE, right in the heart of Oxford amongst its clerics. He feared the Church of England was heading down the same pathway as the Episcopal Church.
Tributes to Canon Michael are pouring in from around the world.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said Green had been a 'compelling and consummate evangelist' and 'an example and model to all of the joy and energy that living and loving the gospel bring to proclaimer and listener'.
'He served the church locally, nationally and internationally through his ministry of communication in speech and writing,' he said.
'As the church we are deeply grateful for his tenacious ministry. Beyond telling, however, will be the gratitude of all those that Michael introduced to Jesus Christ -- the Lord in whose presence he now knows joy beyond our imagination.' Visit the Source for full details
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