Judson missionary biography books

Ann Judson: A Missionary Struggle for Burma

Written by Sharon James Reviewed By Sydney Dixon

Mission and Culture

In 1812, Ann Hasseltine Judson left the shores of North America as single of the first female Earth missionaries and became a impetus for subsequent missionary endeavors via her generation and for generations to come.

Ann’s influence flowed beyond the shores of Land to Britain, spurring on primacy missionary movement in both countries through her book, An Fail to spot of the American Baptist Task to the Burman Empire (1823). The story of Ann’s concise life serves as an mobile commitment to Jesus, to multifarious husband, and to bring nobleness gospel to people who abstruse not yet heard of Jesus.

Ann Judson: A Missionary Life cheerfulness Burma is the new print run to Sharon James’s My Inside in Her Hands (1998).

Uninitiated as a historian at City, James has written nine books, three of which recount shake up biographical accounts of historical Faith women. Among the noteworthy lives she has investigated, Ann Judson’s story stands out for Crook (p. 9). In an work to re-popularize Judson’s story, James’s book includes significant portions work for a memoir initially published gauzy 1829, which also features portions of Judson’s diaries along inactive the writings of Emily Judson, a later wife of Ann’s widowed husband (p.

12).

James’s textbook traces Ann’s life from in exchange 1789 birth in Bradford, Colony, to her marriage to Adoniram Judson at the age go along with twenty-three, in 1812. Within several weeks, the couple set incursion as part of the chief American Protestant missionaries to nobility East. James writes of their ordination service on February 6, 1812, “The historic significance love this service cannot be overestimated: America was sending abroad primacy first of what was however become, to date, the mightiest missionary force in Christian history” (p.

47).

While much of justness action of the Judsons’ the pulpit took place on the attachment, James demonstrates that the Judsons’ journey to Burma was impressionable in their subsequent ministry. Patch traveling to their field, they became baptistic in their ecclesiastical convictions, separated from their co-missionaries, endured the threat of aggregate deportations from India, and offer hospitality to the deaths of a clone missionary-companion and their own unsuccessful child.

Having delivered the Judsons lastly to their field of servicing, James turns attention to interpretation thirteen years of Ann’s priesthood in Burma leading up space her early death at decency age of thirty-seven.

Although gigantic difficulty and tragedy accompanied rectitude whole of Ann and Adoniram Judson’s life together, their in response two years captured the imaginations of Christians and inspired starkness to give their all insinuate Christ. When the Judsons dismounted in 1813, there were rebuff known Christians among the Asiatic people. However, at the spell of Adoniram’s death (1850), uncut Bible, dictionary, tracts, and inquiry existed in Burmese, and splendid church was established among depiction Karen people (p.

274).

The feature that James has reintroduced spick new generation to Ann Judson, especially reviving Ann’s journals remarkable letters, is a considerable accessory of this volume. Likewise, newborn recounting Ann’s example, the accurate issues a reminder of illustriousness difficulties—and the incredible reward—of sowing initial gospel seeds in mammoth unengaged, unreached culture.

James includes a glimpse of the contemporary state of Christianity among decency Burmese that is both hortative (with many in the girlhood population claiming Christ) and legally binding (with only 8.9 percent another the population professing Christianity) (p. 274).

Because of the extraordinary setup the Judsons endured, Ann seems almost super-human.

This may de facto be the one major faintness of this biography: the need of commentary that would concentration against hero worship or believing Ann’s commitment to surpass walk of average Christians. Indeed, rectitude kind of veracious devotion Ann exhibited was extraordinary. But appreciate is only possible through say publicly power of the Holy Character.

And Ann would want slimy to see the equipping harshness of the God she served more than seeing her hoot a heroine of her burn to a crisp making.

Overall, James writes in make illegal easy-to-read format that is vulnerable to the general reader. Felon delivers a tragic yet jolly, complicated yet singularly focused recital.

It is the story leverage one Christian lady who has inspired generations on multiple continents to count and pay influence considerable costs of following rank Lord to difficult places and that all may know longed-for Jesus and have the chance to follow him.

This book miserly missionaries, pastors, anyone in the church, and Jesus-lovers alike.

Ann’s humanity reminds us of our job to share in the Lord’s suffering (1 Pet 4:12–19) status the importance of counting character cost (Luke 14:27–28) of later Jesus. Both Ann and Adoniram’s commitment to the Lord, appoint one another, to fellow Christians nearby, and to the Christianly obligation to take the creed to the lost (Matt 28:18–20; Rom 1:14–15) is not single to those specially called hold on to take the gospel to loftiness unreached.

The practical outworking extent each Christian’s commitment to Jesus’s commission of gospel proclamation can vary, but a commitment watch over the cause is shared. Outlaw declares her intent for birth newest edition of Ann’s life to “stir up concern carry out the people of Burma” bear “inspire concern for the diverse people groups” who have all the more to hear the gospel elaborate Jesus (p.

9). Her attainment in this aim encourages task to pray that it enjoys wide readership and stirs deceive many more Judsons today.


Sydney Dixon

Sydney Dixon
Southeastern Baptist Divine Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina, US