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J. Stuart Holden
John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.
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J. Stuart Holden preaches about the Christian believer being a self-made man in a unique sense, choosing to follow the Model of Christ who first chose him. This believer humbly, resolutely, and prayerfully determines the degree of fidelity in pursuing Christ's example, continually shaping his soul through various tasks and challenges, even those unrelated to his spiritual goals. Despite engaging in tasks that may seem mundane or unrewarding, the Christian believer is constantly fashioning himself through them, with no discharge from this ongoing process of self-improvement.
Self-Made Man
"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). For, in the truest sense of that frequently misused term, every Christian believer is a self-made man. That description is, I know, usually applied to a man who has made a fortune and has in many cases been so busy over the making of it that he has never thought of making himself. He has made money but has all the time been letting his money make him or rather unmake him. Most often when so applied it points to an example which is a terrible warning. But in an entirely different sense from its common misuse in this connection the Christian believer is a self-made man. He chooses his Model because he is aware that his Model has first chosen him. And he humbly, resolutely and prayerfully determines the degree of fidelity with which he pursues its living lineaments. His soul is continually in his hand. Which is not to say that he is always thinking of his soul. That would be quite as injurious, and quite as complete a denial of his Christian faith, as always to be thinking of his body. No! His hand has to work at the tasks it finds to do, tasks that often seem to have no relation whatever to his spiritual aims and hopes, tasks that in themselves may be altogether uncongenial and yield not the slightest satisfaction beyond their economic value--or rather recompense, tasks that promise nothing beyond the inexorable necessity of their own endless repetition. For such are many of the tasks of modern industry. Yet all the time, while engaged upon them, the Christian man is actually fashioning himself. From this supreme task, in which all others are embraced, which is in point of fact carried out through them, he has no discharge.
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John Stuart Holden (1874–1934) was an English preacher and Anglican minister whose vibrant sermons and leadership in evangelical circles made him a prominent figure in the early 20th century. Born in Liverpool, England, he was educated at Liverpool College and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, earning a BA in 1899 and an MA in 1902. Ordained in 1899 as curate of Walcot, he served as a mission preacher with the Parochial Missionary Society from 1901 to 1905 before becoming vicar of St. Paul’s, Portman Square, London, in 1905, a position he held for nearly 30 years until his death. Married to Georgina “Ina” Searle, Holden was a key figure at the Keswick Convention, chairing it from 1925 to 1929, and traveled to China in 1904 with the China Inland Mission, reflecting his missionary zeal. Holden’s preaching ministry was renowned for its imaginative power and spiritual depth, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like F.B. Meyer and G. Campbell Morgan, though he often surpassed them in popularity. His sermons, such as “But If Not…” preached in 1914 on Daniel 3:18, were prophetic and widely circulated, especially during World War I, and his creative sermon titles captivated North American audiences during frequent visits. Author of works like Redeeming Vision (1908) and The Preeminent Lord (1932), he narrowly escaped disaster when he and Ina canceled their booking on the Titanic’s 1912 maiden voyage due to her illness. Holden died on August 10, 1934, at Malvern, Worcestershire, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose Keswick-inspired messages and missionary advocacy inspired generations, commemorated by his surviving Titanic ticket, now a museum artifact.