Funeral for Gary Benfold

I made my way down to Bournemouth yesterday for the funeral of Gary Benfold. The actual burial was a family affair beforehand but a large number gathered in Lansdowne Evangelical Church for the memorial service. Refreshments were served afterwards. Gary's good friend Chris Kelly led the service and did so very well. Gary had planned most of the service - the hymns (mostly traditional) and the text Chris was to preach on (Job 19:25). Tributes were given (and done very well) by his two children. I did not know most of the people there but it was good to chat with my old friends from London Seminary days Bernard and Linda Lewis and Chris and Serena Durrant. Chris is a pastor in Bournemouth and was contemporary with my oldest son at the seminary. Also Peter Baker, pastor at Lansdowne, Chris and Jim Sayers who first knew Gary when both were in Aylesbury. I also spoke to Gary's son-in-law. Others I would like to have spoken to but did not get to do so.

I first met Gary when he was beginning his second year in London Seminary and I my first. He had already taken up the pastorate and had a young family. Much of the time he spent in Aylesbury but sometimes he was back to the single life in seminary and one fond memory is being driven in his car with others to MacDonalds in Golders Green (no longer there). That was my first experience of such delights. Although I did not keep up a proper friendsip with Gary (he was always ahead of me in everything at first - marriage, driving, pastorate, theological thinking, etc) I always appreciated speaking with him in person or by other means and admired his solidity, down to earth approach and friendliness. People would sometimes confuse us I understand merely because we're both Gary B.

Gary was not 70 and it is amazing to think that he has been taken from us so soon. Great for him but hard for Elaine and the family.

His son shared with us that the last sermon that he heard on the Sunday before he went to hospital the last time was Geoff Thomas on YouTube asking "Are you satisfied with what Jesus has done for you?" Apparently every time my father-in-law asked the question, Gary was enthusiastically saying 'Yes!'. It was apparently powerful stuff and it deeply moved Gary. Andy said "On that morning, let me tell you, dad was satisfied with what Jesus had done for him."

(There seem to be two versions of that sermon on YouTube. Not sure which one Gary heard but this is one of them.)

Gary - Extinction looms

Apparently there were only 28 Garys born in England and Wales last year. Most of us are in our fifties and sixties. Extinction is predicted. See this article here. They are discussing it today on the Jeremy Vine Show (Radio 2). See here.

Also see here.

Aber Conference 2014 Gary Benfold

This is Gary Benfold's opening sermon at the Aber Conference this year reminding us of what preaching is and does and what it can do under God. A great start to the week. Based on Jonah 3 it was called Aber's Vital Ingredient.

10 famous people with sons called Gary

1. Racing driver Jack Brabham
2. Comedian Eric Morecambe
3. Golfer Jack Nicklaus
4. Entertainer Bing Crosby
5. Comedian and actor Jerry Lewis
6. Criminal Charlie Kray
7. Comedian Bob Monkhouse
8. Banjo player Earl Scruggs
9. Soccer player Ian Bowyer
10. Actress Julie Goodyear 

10 Famous people called Gary

1. Gary Brooker
2. Gary Moore
3. Gary Numan (born Gary Webb)
4. Gary Lightbody
5. Rev Gary Davis
6. Gary Lineker
7. Gary Neville
8. Gary Player
9. Gary McAllister
10. Gary Wilmot

Westminster Conference 2013 Day 2

Apologies for the delay with this. It was not borne of false modesty, given my own part in the proceedings, rather it was being busy with other things (the Christmas icons were programmed in a while ago). Day 2 began with a  paper on evangelistic preaching by Gary Benfold. This was chiefly on Dr Lloyd-Jones but included several helpful references to C H Spurgeon, which made for some useful comparison and contrast. Gary was faithful to his historical task but his concern shone through to see more evangelistic preaching to the end that people may be saved. A good discussion followed.

Next we looked at Edward Irving with Nick Tucker from Oak Hill. Like many others I first became aware of Edward Irving thanks to Arnold Dallimore's paperback of many years ago. At the time the Charismatic wars were in full swing and it was difficult to ignore the polemic embedded in the book. By this stage one feels more able to take a cool look and see Irving with his many undoubted faults and consider him more dispassionately. Nick Tucker certainly did this well and we had another good discussion. Unusually we ended up discussing briefly whether the subject of the paper was a Christian (we had done this with C S Lewis). This is not the usual pattern at the Westminster Conference.

We began the final session, therefore that Isaac Ambrose was a Christian and a Puritan to boot (uniquely at this conference). I felt I managed to make such a good start that it was difficult to sustain as we filled in some of the detail of the life of this interesting man whose main claim to fame was his commitment to meditating on the Lord. Tradition dictates that the last paper is not discussed and I did not want to complain about that. The papers will be published in due time.
The chairmen were Stephen Clark, Jeremy Walker and Robert Oliver.

Next year it is very much an 18th century and 17th century affair with papers the first day on Calvinistic Methodism, dualism and its remedy and Thomas Charles and the second, Knox, Baxter and Antinomianism (with Mark Jones). It will be at the same place on December 2 and 3, God willing.

June Edition of the Banner

On May 17 the electronic edition of the Banner Mag for June quietly dropped into my mailbox. It's come so early that I didn't even look at it at first. Having done so I see it's full of interesting things.

We kick off with a brief bit of T V Moore on Christ's intercession (an appetiser for my book, perhaps). Then we have part 2 of Gary Benfold's helpful call to evangelistic preaching. Next comes the 1953 Evangelical Library Lecture by John Murray on Reformation Principles (not in the collected works). Another subject close to my heart is that of conscience. Joel Beeke has been researching this from a Puritan point of view and here we have part one of two instalments that will eventually appear, I believe, in a big book on Puritan Theology due out in August.

The piece de resistance is a brief but rapier like review of the book Engaging with Lloyd-Jones by Iain Murray. worth the price of the magazine by itself. He ends with this

We wish attention had been given to the words of Professor F. F. Bruce who was hardly a natural ally but was often with Lloyd-Jones. He wrote: ‘He was a thoroughly humble man. Those who charged him with arrogance were wildly mistaken. His confidence was based on the message he was commissioned to proclaim  ...  He was a man of prayer, a powerful evangelist, an expository preacher of rare quality, in the fullest sense a servant of the Word of God, verbi divini minister.' (Evangelical Quarterly 1991, 71).

PS The cherry on the cake is that they have put the news pages in single column so that when it goes on my kindle I'll still be able to read it. I think that's the first time they've done it. I wrote to them about it a month or two back and promptly forgot all about it. What good people they are  up at the Banner!

GBA 2011 09

Our very final session was led by Gary Benfold (no not me but Gary Benfold as he pointed out). He took us to John 17:24  (Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world). He had three points and used lots of helpful illustrations. The points were

1. There is such a place as heaven - where believers  are with Christ and share in his (mediatorial) glory

2. What happens in heaven? See 1 John 3:1-3. It is a place where there is no more sorrow or sin. more than that we will be clothed with the glory that is his.

3. What Christ wants is what he has or is about to earn for his people. The Godhead is united in wanting to bring his children home. When believers die that is why they are admitted to heaven - because Christ wants it and has done what is necessary.

Unbelievers need to trust and those who already believe ought to tell the Lord they are glad they have trusted in him.

So an excellent conference and assembly all told. God is good.

Grace Assembly 2011

The Grace Assembly begins today in Swanwick includes messages from Howard Sayers, Stuart Olyott, Barry King, Michael Harley and Gary Benfold.

Banner blogged

Sadly, I had to leave before the final session at Banner, when Mark Johnston preached. I understand he was looking at trembling at God's Word. I'm sure it was fine. I also missed the question session yesterday which was a pity.
It has been a very good conference. Garry Williams two contributions were outstanding. It has all been pretty good, although some wouldn't have liked certain elements. I stayed up rather late each night (with Martin Downes, Jeremy Walker and others), which made getting to the morning prayer meetings rather difficult. It's lovely to chat though at night and through the day. On Wednesday afternoon I forsook the football field and headed off to nearby Bosworth Field in Gary Benfold's car. Brian Ellis from the Philippines, Mark Fisher from the Heath and Phil Arthur were with us. After a little drive into the countryside we came to the site, which is fairly well marked out but not as well as in the past according to Phil, the expert on all this. Anyway when we got back to the Visitor Centre a very helpful guide explained that archaeologists have been at work and major doubts had now been cast on the traditional site of Richard III's death. There are basically three theories and the jury is still out. Things are often more complicated than they appear at first.
On Wednesday night there was a gathering of the Taffia and co. There were so many crammed into Guy Davies' room that some sadly decided the heat was too much. Geoff was interviewing Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson. It was mostly an update on the great man's current very encouraging situation. He has just begun preaching through Romans in the ARP church he pastors in S Carolina (this a man who owns over a hundred Romans commentaries - he's currently on Origen which he's reading along with the letters of Ronald Reagan). Fascinating time.
My early departure was because I wanted to get down to South Wales. A bonus feature was meeting up with John Nicholls heading north to Cumbria for the weekend. He bought me a coffee (have I ever paid for my own?) and we had a nice half hour before parting.

LTS at Banner

While at Banner Philip Eveson was keen to snap the many LTSers there together. This one shows over 30 former students, two present students and Robert Oliver (Bradford) and Mostyn Roberts (Welwyn) who are currently lecturers there. Robert Strivens is the Principal designate. Bernard Lewis (Brodgened) was my exact contemporary and Gary Benfold (Bournemouth) was a year ahead of us. Mark Rowcroft (Darlington), Andrew Rowell (Carlisle), Robin Asgher (later my assistant and now in Cranford) and Luke Jenner (Welwyn) attended here while in LTS. Four of us are Aberystwyth graduates (me, Mark, Luke and Ed Collier, now in Sheffield)