ALEXANDER MOODY STUART: A MEMOIR

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KENNETH MOODY STUART

Many are familiar with the likes of Robert Murray M’Cheyne and the Bonar brothers. Fewer are aware of their mutual friend and colleague, Alexander Moody Stuart (1809-1898), who was nonetheless an esteemed and influential minister, standing firmly, like his friends, in the Reformed tradition of his forebears. He was, among other things: – a pioneer rural missioner; – a clear and searching preacher; – a capable church planter; – a much-loved pastor; – a caring husband and father; – a committed advocate for overseas missionary endeavour Born in Paisley on the west coast of Scotland in 1809, and living until the age of eighty-nine, Alexander Moody Stuart’s life and ministry encompassed many of the defining events and debates in the Scottish Church in the middle and later nineteenth century. But far from being defined by these important debates, his ministry was principally marked by contemporaries for its overarching spirituality. He was, according to Principal John Macleod, ‘an expert in case divinity, and the experimental and searching element entered largely into his message.’ This well-paced and engaging memoir, partly autobiographical and completed by his son, covers the life, work, friendships, and challenges of one who was fully engaged with the people under his spiritual care, and also a willing defender of orthodox belief in an age of rapid change in approaches to Scripture. Moody Stuart is here presented by his son as a man of his times, and yet as one whose diligence, spiritual maturity, and pastoral wisdom has much to say to today’s Christians. Pastors will especially benefit from reflecting on Moody Stuart’s approach to ministry. First published in 1899, and not reprinted in the meantime, this fresh edition of the Memoir includes a new Introduction, and an appendix containing several of Moody Stuart’s sermons and addresses.