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John Daniel Jones
John Daniel Jones (1865–1942) was a Welsh preacher, pastor, and author whose ministry within the Congregational Church earned him recognition as one of Britain’s most influential Nonconformist leaders of the early 20th century. Born in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales, to Joseph David Jones, a schoolmaster and lay preacher, he grew up steeped in Welsh Nonconformist culture, excelling academically at Bala Independent College and Owens College, Manchester, before training for ministry at Lancashire Independent College and earning an MA from the University of St Andrews. Ordained in 1889, he began his career at Newland Church in Lincoln, but his defining work came in 1898 when he succeeded Joseph Parker at Richmond Hill Congregational Church in Bournemouth, England, where he served for 39 years. Married to Annie Davies in 1892, with whom he had two daughters, he blended family life with a rigorous pastoral calling. Jones’s ministry at Bournemouth transformed Richmond Hill into a hub of evangelical vitality, drawing thousands with his eloquent, practical sermons—often likened to Charles Spurgeon’s in power—delivered without notes in a conversational style. Known as “J.D. Jones,” he chaired the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1909–1910 and 1925–1926, advocating unity and missions, and served as president of the National Free Church Council in 1916–1917. A prolific author, his works like The Gospel According to St. Mark and The Model Prayer reflected his expository depth, while his leadership during World War I, including hospital visits and war relief efforts, showcased his pastoral heart. Retiring in 1937 due to health issues, he died in 1942, leaving a legacy as a “prince of preachers” whose Welsh fervor and English outreach bridged cultures and inspired generations.
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John Daniel Jones emphasizes the importance of character in wielding moral authority, highlighting that true power for God comes from being a person of God. He stresses that without character, even with official positions, one's influence is empty. Jones underscores that the ultimate source of authority to teach and preach is God Himself, and that human ordination merely ratifies God's ordaining. He acknowledges the value of ordination for orderliness in the Church but emphasizes that the real authority to preach comes from God, who can anoint individuals without human intervention.
Speaking With the Authority of God
"By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?" (Mark 11:28). There is no moral authority without character. "As the man is, so is his strength." Office in itself will never confer moral authority. The sons of Eli had office. But they had not character. What was their influence? Nothing; worse than nothing. Because of them men abhorred the offering of the Lord. If we want to wield power for God, we must first of all be ourselves men of God. To do good we must be good. Without character, though we have all official guarantees, we are no better than sounding-brass or a tinkling cymbal. The ultimate source of authority to teach and preach is God. No man is ordained unless he is ordained of God. Nobody is really "in orders" unless he is placed in them by God. All that men can do is to ratify God's ordaining. No man, called of God, needs human authority to speak for Him. I have no word to say by way of disparagement of human ordination; I have been ordained myself. I have myself been set aside by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. I believe that ordination tends to orderliness in the Church. And yet I would never forget that the real authority to preach comes from a higher source--it comes from God. And He can and does give it to men on whom no human hands have ever been laid. The Spirit bloweth still where He listeth, and the man dowered with the Spirit is the man ordained of God.
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John Daniel Jones (1865–1942) was a Welsh preacher, pastor, and author whose ministry within the Congregational Church earned him recognition as one of Britain’s most influential Nonconformist leaders of the early 20th century. Born in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales, to Joseph David Jones, a schoolmaster and lay preacher, he grew up steeped in Welsh Nonconformist culture, excelling academically at Bala Independent College and Owens College, Manchester, before training for ministry at Lancashire Independent College and earning an MA from the University of St Andrews. Ordained in 1889, he began his career at Newland Church in Lincoln, but his defining work came in 1898 when he succeeded Joseph Parker at Richmond Hill Congregational Church in Bournemouth, England, where he served for 39 years. Married to Annie Davies in 1892, with whom he had two daughters, he blended family life with a rigorous pastoral calling. Jones’s ministry at Bournemouth transformed Richmond Hill into a hub of evangelical vitality, drawing thousands with his eloquent, practical sermons—often likened to Charles Spurgeon’s in power—delivered without notes in a conversational style. Known as “J.D. Jones,” he chaired the Congregational Union of England and Wales in 1909–1910 and 1925–1926, advocating unity and missions, and served as president of the National Free Church Council in 1916–1917. A prolific author, his works like The Gospel According to St. Mark and The Model Prayer reflected his expository depth, while his leadership during World War I, including hospital visits and war relief efforts, showcased his pastoral heart. Retiring in 1937 due to health issues, he died in 1942, leaving a legacy as a “prince of preachers” whose Welsh fervor and English outreach bridged cultures and inspired generations.