Lloyd Jones has had the greatest influence on me than any other person that I have met, and I only spoke to him on one occasion. I was first taken to the Westminster Chapel in London where the "Doctor" was the minister,  by an Irishman from  Northern Island, when we were both training to be Salvation Army Officers at the William Booth Memorial College. I shall ever be grateful to him, as it was the start of a process that changed my whole outlook on life. When I first entered the Chapel in 1967 it was not the preaching that impressed me so much as the singing. The congregation it seemed to me were in earnest and their singing demonstrated that. The serious thoughtful and reverent singing was a pleasant change from the superficial hand clapping, and  thoughtless professional singing that was the hallmark of the worship of most Salvationist.

Due to my own commitments I was only able to visit the Chapel on Friday my half-day off,  but my planned visits were something I would never miss and I attended for all his expositions on the book of Romans until the time the Doctor took ill, and from which he took as the leading of God to resign as the Minister of that large and influential  congregation at Westminster. His preaching was spell bounding, and his great spiritual gifts brought me to the conclusion that my own Christianity was very weak at its best. His exposition on Romans 14, along with my own reading of his book recommendations made me a much stronger believer and caused me to "Contend earnestly for the faith that was once and forever delivered to the Saints"

My first meeting with the Doctor was when a group of students from the Salvation Army's International Training College met him at the Chapel in his vestry. The Doctor agreed to meet us as we were very concerned at the systematic undermining of historical Christianity that was taken place in the college by the tutors,  aided and abetted by the International Leader of the Salvation Army, General Frederick Coutts. He gave us some very good advice and allowed us to use a room in the Chapel to meet and plan our response to the teaching that we were being subjected to at the College. On that occasion the Doctor also informed us that at the insistence of the Deacons at Westminster Chapel,  he had to write to the Army officials withdrawing the Chapel's invitation to collect money on the church steps in aid of the "Self Denial Appeal". This  was due solely to the Salvation Army's ecumenical involvement and their public association with less than Biblical groups.

I would also attend the Westminster Fellowship, a fellowship for ministers of the Gospel who had pastoral responsibilities  held each month at the Westminster Chapel. On leaving the meeting I had to pass close to the Chairman of the Fellowship,  Dr Lloyd Jones. He took me by the hand and seemed to anticipate that I wanted to speak with him,  and the warmth of his welcome made it so much easier for me to converse with him. I raised with him my own reservations about staying in a movement like the Salvation Army who had moved so far away from the Biblical ideal. His advice to me was remain in it until they threw me out, along with the rider that I be  "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves".

Westminster Chapel London

The books listed below should serve as a good introduction to the wisdom of Doctor Lloyd Jones.

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