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About the Individual |
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Oswald Chambers was born in Aberdeen,
Scotland, on July 24th, 1874, to Clarence and Hannah Chambers, the seventh
of seven children. Years earlier, Hannah converted to Christ under the dynamic
preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. In fact, both she and Clarence were
baptized by the great London pastor; and Clarence was one of the first students
to enroll at Spurgeon’s Pastor’s College at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.
Also in 1874, the Moody-Sankey campaigns swept triumphantly across Scotland,
stirring complacent congregations. However, this “fresh breeze” created discontent
among parishioners toward the comparatively underpowered pulpit abilities
of their own pastors. As a result, Clarence Chambers, an uninspiring speaker
but theologically orthodox, was forced to resign his pastorate and remove
his family to Fenton, England, where he assumed the position of Home Missions
Evangelist for the North Staffordshire Baptist Association.
Soon the Chambers family returned to Perth, Scotland, where Oswald played
contentedly among the rivers, hills and fields, all the while demonstrating
an uncommonly focused piety. In school, he exhibited extraordinary artistic
abilities, particularly in music and chalk drawing. Otherwise his early academic
career was undistinguished, not reflecting his later gifts as preacher, teacher
and author.
In 1889, Clarence was appointed Traveling Secretary of the Baptist Total
Abstinence Association, which meant another move, now to London. There the
family attended Rye Lane Baptist Chapel, pastored by J.T. Briscoe, an aggressive
leader who stressed the necessity for personal consecration, especially among
youth.
After accompanying his father to hear C.H. Spurgeon preach, Oswald surrendered
his life to Christ, and was duly baptized by Rev. Briscoe. At Rye Lane Baptist,
he faithfully attended Bible classes and prayer meetings. Anxious to apply
his newly-acquired knowledge, he engaged in street evangelism and preached
at missions.
Although his parents desired that he pursue a “practical” course of studies,
Oswald’s desires prevailed; and in 1895 he received an Art’s Master’s Certificate.
Thereafter he pursued his education at the University of Edinburgh, where
he excelled in rigorous classwork as well as successfully maintaining a balanced
devotional life.
In the city, Chambers attended various churches, enjoying the pulpit ministries
of Walter C. Smith, author of the hymn “Immortal, Invisible”; George Matheson,
the blind poet-preacher, author of “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go”; and Alexander
Whyte, who introduced Chambers to the depth and variety of classic Christian
literature.
Shortly before graduating, Chambers posed inquiries into the metropolitan
workforce, seeking employment as an illustrator; however, he found door after
door closed. Was God calling him elsewhere? “I shall never go into the ministry
until God takes me by the scruff of the neck and throws me in,” he wrote a
friend. Attending a gathering of the Christian Union, he heard Hudson Taylor,
founder of China Inland Mission, preach winningly on the faithfulness of God,
nudging Chambers yet further toward ministry. After much prayer, he surrendered
to missionary service, enrolling at Dunoon College to train under its founder,
Duncan Macgregor, a beloved friend and an immeasurable influence.
At Dunoon, Chambers sat beneath the penetrating preaching of saintly F.B.
Meyer. Convicted, he entered another heart-crisis, outwardly calm but inwardly
miserable without a thorough comprehension of the Holy Spirit’s enabling power.
After prayerful struggle, he claimed the promise offered in Luke 11:13: If
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much
more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask of
him?
Relating the experience, he writes: “…Like a flash something happened inside
me, and I saw that I had been wanting power in my own hand…The power and the
tyranny of sin is gone and the radiant, unspeakable emancipation of the indwelling
Christ has come.” Now he was free to minister in the freedom of the Spirit
rather than his own feeble ability.
After attending the famed Keswick Conference, where he heard G. Campbell
Morgan, W.H. Griffith Thomas and J. Stuart Holden, Chambers determined to
visit the United States, opening his ministry to wider spheres. Arriving in
1906, he taught for a season at God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, laboring
closely with the developing Holiness movement. Finishing his U.S. tour, Chambers
ventured to Japan and Ceylon, then Africa and Arabia. En route to the U.S.
for a second visit in 1908, he met Gertrude “Biddy” Hobbs, whom he married.
Their only child, Kathleen, was born in 1913.
Oswald and Biddy ministered in the United Kingdom and America, advancing
their ministry under the simple philosophy: “Trust God and do the next thing.”
As the next thing, they founded the Bible Training College in Manchester,
England, where Biddy recorded in shorthand her husband’s lectures, later transcribing
the notes into his many books, including My Utmost for His Highest. At the
time, Biddy entertained no thought of publishing the material; her goal was
to simply stay attentive during his preaching.
The Bible Training College lasted four years, but profoundly influenced
its students, equipping many for the mission field. The college proceeded
successfully until closing on the advent of World War I, when Chambers joined
the YMCA in Egypt, serving as chaplain to the British forces. He acted as
counselor, pastor and teacher.
On October 29th, 1917, Chambers, suffering severe pains in his abdomen,
was rushed to a Red Cross hospital in Cairo where an emergency appendectomy
was performed. Recovering somewhat, he relapsed from a blood clot, and died
on November 15th, 1917.
The shattering news was cabled to England: “Oswald in his presence.” Biddy
preferred a simple burial, but the soldiers requested full military honors
to commemorate their fallen comrade. Samuel Zwemer, missionary to Muslims,
spoke at the graveside service; and the hymn, “O Love What Will Not Let Me
Go,” by George Matheson, was sung.
The Oswald Chambers collection, the bulk of which is the gift of David MacCasland,
author of Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God, includes Oswald’s Bible, Biddy’s
typewriter, published and unpublished work, and original artwork, is maintained
at the Archives and Special Collections at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. It
is available to researchers.
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About the Individual 
