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A.T. Pierson
Arthur Tappan Pierson (March 6, 1837 – June 3, 1911) was an American preacher, missionary advocate, and author whose transatlantic ministry and prolific writings elevated him to prominence in evangelical circles during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in New York City, the ninth of ten children to Stephen and Sallie Pierson, a family with abolitionist roots, he was named after Arthur Tappan, a noted abolitionist. Raised in a Presbyterian home, he joined the church at 15, graduated from Hamilton College in 1857, and completed Union Theological Seminary in 1860. Ordained that year, he began pastoring in Binghamton, New York, before serving churches in Detroit (1869–1882) and Philadelphia’s Bethany Presbyterian (1883–1889), where he launched a missionary training school. Pierson’s preaching career soared as he championed foreign missions, authoring The Crisis of Missions (1886) and inspiring the Student Volunteer Movement with the motto “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” He preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over 50 books—including In Christ Jesus (1898)—and edited the Missionary Review of the World (1888–1911). Succeeding Charles Spurgeon at London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle (1891–1893), he later embraced believer’s baptism in 1896, baptized by Spurgeon’s brother. Married to Sarah Frances Benedict in 1860, with whom he had seven children, he traveled globally, influencing figures like Robert Speer and John Mott. After retiring, he visited Korea in 1910, aiding the founding of Pierson Memorial Union Bible Institute, and died in Brooklyn in 1911, buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.
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A.T. Pierson grapples with the dilemma of remaining connected with the Society due to various objections. He questions the necessity of ordination for extensive usefulness and the conflict with state churches that deviate from the true standard of the word of God. Pierson also expresses a conscientious objection against being directed by men in his missionary work, emphasizing the guidance of the Spirit over human influence. Despite his love for the Jews, he struggles with the committee's expectation of dedicating most of his time to them, leading him to confront these internal conflicts openly.
C. Separation From the London Society, Etc.
IT became a point of solemn consideration with me, whether I could remain connected with the Society in the usual way. My chief objections were these: 1. If I were sent out by the Society, it was more than probable, yea almost needful, if I were to leave England, that I should labour on the Continent, as I was unfit to be sent to eastern countries on account of my health, which would probably have suffered, both on account of the climate, and of my having to learn other languages. Now, if I did go to the Continent, it was evident that without ordination I could not have any extensive field of usefulness, as unordained ministers are generally prevented from labouring freely there; but I could not conscientiously submit to being ordained by unconverted men, professing to have power to set me apart for the ministry, or to communicate something to me for this work which they do not possess themselves. Besides this, I had other objections to being connected with any state church or national religious establishment, which arose from the increased light which I had obtained through the reception of this truth, that the word of God is our only standard, and the Holy Spirit our only teacher. For as I now began to compare what I knew of the establishment in England and those on the Continent with this only true standard, the word of God, I found that all establishments, even because they are establishments, i.e., the world and the church mixed up together, not only contain in them the principles which necessarily must lead to departure from the word of God; but also, as long as they remain establishments, entirely preclude the acting throughout according to the Holy Scriptures.-- Then again, if I were to stay in England, the Society would not allow me to preach in any place indiscriminately, where the Lord might open a door for me; and to the ordination of English bishops I had still greater objections than to the ordination of a Prussian Consistory. 2. I further had a conscientious objection against being led and directed by men in my missionary labours. As a servant of Christ, it appeared to me I ought to be guided by the Spirit, and not by men, as to time and place; and this I would say, with all deference to others, who may be much more taught and much more spiritually minded than myself. A servant of Christ has but one Master. 3. I had love for the Jews, and I had been enabled to give proofs of it; yet I could not conscientiously say, as the committee would expect from me, that I would spend the greater part of my time only among them. For the scriptural plan seemed to me that, in coming to a place, I should seek out the Jews, and commence my labour particularly among them; but that, if they rejected the gospel, I should go to the nominal Christians.-- The more I weighed these points, the more it appeared to me that I should be acting hypocritically, were I to suffer them to remain in my mind, without making them known to the committee.
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Arthur Tappan Pierson (March 6, 1837 – June 3, 1911) was an American preacher, missionary advocate, and author whose transatlantic ministry and prolific writings elevated him to prominence in evangelical circles during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in New York City, the ninth of ten children to Stephen and Sallie Pierson, a family with abolitionist roots, he was named after Arthur Tappan, a noted abolitionist. Raised in a Presbyterian home, he joined the church at 15, graduated from Hamilton College in 1857, and completed Union Theological Seminary in 1860. Ordained that year, he began pastoring in Binghamton, New York, before serving churches in Detroit (1869–1882) and Philadelphia’s Bethany Presbyterian (1883–1889), where he launched a missionary training school. Pierson’s preaching career soared as he championed foreign missions, authoring The Crisis of Missions (1886) and inspiring the Student Volunteer Movement with the motto “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” He preached over 13,000 sermons, wrote over 50 books—including In Christ Jesus (1898)—and edited the Missionary Review of the World (1888–1911). Succeeding Charles Spurgeon at London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle (1891–1893), he later embraced believer’s baptism in 1896, baptized by Spurgeon’s brother. Married to Sarah Frances Benedict in 1860, with whom he had seven children, he traveled globally, influencing figures like Robert Speer and John Mott. After retiring, he visited Korea in 1910, aiding the founding of Pierson Memorial Union Bible Institute, and died in Brooklyn in 1911, buried in Green-Wood Cemetery.