Reprint of the original, first published in 1875.

Excerpt from The Christian Ambassador: And Other Addresses About the year 1860, Mr. Varley became specially interested in the Kensington Potteries School, of which he became Superintendent. His preaching there on Sunday evenings, led finally to the building of the West London Tabernacle, at St. James' Square, Nottinghill, which, from the time of its opening, was regularly filled by people anxious to listen to his interpretations of the Word of God. The church that grew out of these labors, is a practical embodiment of his belief, that true spiritual union is not the result of any denominational code, ritual, or polity, but rather the result of the Holy Spirit's work in every living member of Christ's body. Mr. Varley evidently believes in the unity of the Spirit, as maintained by the power and grace of God in the hearts of Christians, and cares but little for the minor diversities that characterize the real Church of Christ. His labors have been remarkable in two important respects. First, they have been the labors of a lay evangelist. He has presented himself to men as a Christian business man, too solicitous for their welfare in the life to come, to be selfishly and wholly absorbed in his own concerns in this. His well-known probity and simplicity in secular affairs, has emphasized his influence upon the platform. The hundreds of invitations that have poured in upon him from different parts of England during the last five years, are significant of a general need as well as of a popular demand. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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In God's Ambassadors E. Brooks Holifield masterfully traces the history of America's Christian clergy from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, analyzing the changes in practice and authority that have transformed the clerical profession. Challenging one-sided depictions of decline in clerical authority, Holifield locates the complex story of the clergy within the context not only of changing theologies but also of transitions in American culture and society. The result is a thorough social history of the profession that also takes seriously the theological presuppositions that have informed clerical activity. With alternating chapters on Protestant and Catholic clergy, the book permits sustained comparisons between the two dominant Christian traditions in American history. At the same time, God's Ambassadors depicts a vocation that has remained deeply ambivalent regarding the professional status marking the other traditional learned callings in the American workplace. Changing expectations about clerical education, as well as enduring theological questions, have engendered a debate about the professional ideal that has distinguished the clerical vocation from such fields as law and medicine. The American clergy from the past four centuries constitute a colorful, diverse cast of characters who have, in ways both obvious and obscure, helped to shape the tone of American culture. For a well-rounded narrative of their story told by a master historian, God's Ambassadors is the book to read.