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E. Stanley Jones
Eli Stanley Jones (1884–1973). Born on January 3, 1884, in Clarksville, Maryland, to George Washington and Lydia Jones, E. Stanley Jones was an American Methodist missionary, evangelist, and author renowned for his global ministry and interfaith dialogue. Raised in a devout Methodist family, he converted at 17 during a revival meeting, sensing a call to preach. He graduated from Asbury College in Kentucky (1907), where he honed his oratorical skills, and briefly studied law before committing to ministry. Ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church, he sailed to India in 1907 as a missionary under the Methodist Board of Missions, pastoring an English-speaking church in Lucknow and later focusing on evangelism among India’s intellectual and low-caste communities. His “round table conferences” fostered open discussions with Hindus and Muslims, earning respect from figures like Mahatma Gandhi. Jones authored 28 books, including The Christ of the Indian Road (1925), a bestseller translated into 30 languages, Christ at the Round Table (1928), Victorious Living (1936), and The Divine Yes (1975, posthumous), emphasizing Christ’s universal appeal. A global preacher, he spoke in over 40 countries, advocating Christian unity and social justice, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 and 1963. Married to Mabel Lossing in 1911, a missionary educator, they had one daughter, Eunice, who became a missionary. Despite health struggles, including a stroke in 1971, Jones died on January 25, 1973, in Bareilly, India, saying, “The way to God is Christ, and He is open to all.”
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E. Stanley Jones emphasizes the importance of stillness and receptivity in preaching, highlighting the need to quiet the mind and repeat the verse 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you' to become receptive to God's message. Preaching is not about striving but about being a channel for God's unlimited resources, allowing His grace to fill and sustain us. By being still and connecting with God, we tap into His abundant fullness and receive His life.
Be Still and Be Filled
Whenever I am about to speak I ask the audience to bow their heads in silent prayer. In that silence I always repeat my verse. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." The stilling of the mind by the repetition of that verse makes it receptive. I am living in the passive voice. Preaching then is not eager straining, it is receptivity ending in release. The speaker is no longer a reservoir with just so much to give; he is a channel attached to unlimited resources. The stilling of the mind reminds you not of your pitiful little store, but of the fact that you are now harnessing yourself to God's illimitable fullness. Prayer is like the fastening of the cup to the wounded side of a pine tree to allow the resin to pour into it. You are now nestling up into the side of God -- the wounded side, if you will -- and you allow his grace to fill your cup. You are taking in the very life of God. "Be still and know," and you will be full. Be unstill and you will not know; you will remain empty.
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Eli Stanley Jones (1884–1973). Born on January 3, 1884, in Clarksville, Maryland, to George Washington and Lydia Jones, E. Stanley Jones was an American Methodist missionary, evangelist, and author renowned for his global ministry and interfaith dialogue. Raised in a devout Methodist family, he converted at 17 during a revival meeting, sensing a call to preach. He graduated from Asbury College in Kentucky (1907), where he honed his oratorical skills, and briefly studied law before committing to ministry. Ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church, he sailed to India in 1907 as a missionary under the Methodist Board of Missions, pastoring an English-speaking church in Lucknow and later focusing on evangelism among India’s intellectual and low-caste communities. His “round table conferences” fostered open discussions with Hindus and Muslims, earning respect from figures like Mahatma Gandhi. Jones authored 28 books, including The Christ of the Indian Road (1925), a bestseller translated into 30 languages, Christ at the Round Table (1928), Victorious Living (1936), and The Divine Yes (1975, posthumous), emphasizing Christ’s universal appeal. A global preacher, he spoke in over 40 countries, advocating Christian unity and social justice, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 and 1963. Married to Mabel Lossing in 1911, a missionary educator, they had one daughter, Eunice, who became a missionary. Despite health struggles, including a stroke in 1971, Jones died on January 25, 1973, in Bareilly, India, saying, “The way to God is Christ, and He is open to all.”