E J H Nash

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Eric John Hewitson Nash (Bash) (1898-1982), was a Church of England clergyman who began to work for Scripture Union in 1932. He began a camp ministry at Iwerne Minster which survives today. He considered R A Torrey to be his theological mentor.[1] He made it his business to preach an Evangelical gospel at the top thirty public schools. His influence also stretched to University Christian Unions under IVF, a particularly good example being the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union "where between 1935 and 1939 all CICCU's presidents were 'Bash' campers, and the union was marked by his methods: a very simple evangelical gospel; meticulous preparation; a wariness of emotions or intellect and assiduous “personal work” before and after conversion." [2] Alister McGrath, in his book Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity quotes Bash as one of the sources of the post-war Evangelical renaissance: "E J H Nash organised Christian camps at Iwerne Minster aimed at "top boys from top schools," which laid the nucleus for a new generation of Evangelical thinkers and leaders."[3]

Contents

[edit] Associated with his ministry

Through him many influential people became converted to Christianity, including the clergymen John Stott,[4] David Sheppard, Michael Green[5] and R C Lucas.[6] David Watson[7] and Sir Fred Catherwood[8] also participated.

[edit] Alpha course

Another notable product of his ministry is the Alpha course founder Nicky Gumbel.[citation needed] It has been said of the Alpha course (an introductory course to the Christian faith) that its scheme of talks rather resembles that used on a Iwerne Minster summer camp. Rob Warner says: "Alpha can therefore be summed up as Bash camp rationalistic conservatism combined with Wimberist charismatic expressivism... this is a highly unusual, even paradoxical hybrid."[9]

[edit] See also

  • John Eddison (ed) "A Study in Spiritual Power; An Appreciation of E J H Nash (Bash) (Highland; Crowborough, 1992)
  • Evangelical Times story

[edit] References

  1. ^ Harriet A. Harris Fundamentalism and Evangelicals (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)
  2. ^ David Goodhew The Rise of the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, 1910-1971 Journal of Ecclesiastical History (2003) 70
  3. ^ Alister McGrath Evangelicalism and the Future of Christianity (Leicester: IVP, 1005) 45
  4. ^ John Eddison (ed) A Study in Spiritual Power; An Appreciation of E J H Nash (Bash) (Highland; Crowborough, 1992) 83
  5. ^ Michael Green Thirty Years That Changed the World: The Book of Acts for Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004) 178
  6. ^ John Eddison (ed) A Study in Spiritual Power; An Appreciation of E J H Nash (Bash) (Highland; Crowborough, 1992) 49
  7. ^ Rob Warner Reinventing English Evangelicalism 1966-2001 (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007) 122
  8. ^ Timothy Dudley-Smith John Stott: The Making of a Leader: A Biography: The Early Years (Downer's Grove: IVP, 1999) 142
  9. ^ Rob Warner Reinventing English Evangelicalism 1966-2001 (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2007) 122