Donald Gee
Encyclopedia
Donald Gee was an English Pentecostal
Bible Teacher. Donald wrote the book Wind and Flame, which is the story of Pentecostalism in Europe in the 20th century. He was called "The Apostle of Balance."
In October 1905, Seth Joshua
, the Welsh revival preacher, was invited to Donald’s church to hold a mission. Seth Joshua
had a great influence upon the young Evan Roberts
and the Welsh Revival, but from the mission in London only three were saved, Donald Gee being one of them. He then became a member of the same Congregational church. Later his mother joined the Baptist church.
At Pentecostal prayer meetings he met a Baptist minister who was pastoring a divided church. Half wanted to go the way of Pentecost and half resisted this strongly. When the organist resigned hoping to cause problems, Donald offered his services and so joined this divided church. Soon those preferring a Pentecostal experience followed Pastor Saxby out into a new Church. Of this man’s ministry Gee says “the first seven years of my Pentecostal experience were spent under the powerful influence of a pastor who was a shining example of his office.” It was under this ministry that he made his first attempts at testifying and preaching. The First World War had started in 1914, but in 1916 conscription
was introduced. Gee registered immediately as a conscientious objector
, and went to work on a dairy farm in Buckinghamshire
. The next three years prepared him for ministry. He was a social outcast; most often he worked to the point of utter physical exhaustion, and the Gees continued tithing with little to live on. After a year they moved to a second farm where the farmer was a believer. Nearby was a small mission hall with simple earnest believers. The Gees joined this group, with Donald often preaching on Sunday nights concerning the coming of the Lord and Pentecostal experience. Their home was used for ‘Tarrying’ meetings, where believers sought and received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit
. When the War ended in 1918, he returned to London, now twenty-seven years old, with his wife and two children.
At odd times he had opportunities to preach in some Pentecostal fellowship in London, sometimes cycling ten miles. One such weekend Saxby asked him if he would consider going to preach in Edinburgh as a church was seeking a pastor. In June 1920 he made his first journey there. At the first service a dozen troubled believers gathered, and he would spend the next twelve years as pastor of this church. In 1921 he attended the international Pentecostal convention in Amsterdam. Additionally, he played the organ while Stephen Jeffreys preached at the Kingsway Convention. That same year at the Swanwick convention it came to light that his old pastor, Saxby, had embraced the ‘ultimate reconciliation’ teaching, that hell would but last a short time and that finally all would be saved—even Judas. This was rejected by others. Elim’s
statement of faith included “We believe in the…eternal conscious punishment of all Christ rejecters”; later, the Assemblies of God
’s statement referred to “The everlasting punishment of all who are not written in the Book of Life”. Gee published articles in the magazines of both groups concerning the scriptural teaching on ‘Eternal Punishment’.
After his first anniversary the conditions and pressures against him in the fellowship and outside were so great that he ran off to London in despair. After two weeks, however, he returned ready to battle through. Next came the shocking news that the biggest financial giver in the church was moving to Australia, but God provided and they continued. In 1922 the church bought a new building called ‘Bonnington Toll Hall’; over the next years men like Jeffreys, Burton, A. H. Carter and Smith Wigglesworth
ministered there. Gee brought correction to the abuses of Spiritual Gifts
and systematically taught the people the Word. During these years he gave himself to study and personal writing. In 1923 he considered joining Elim but finally decided not to as he would have to hand over the deeds of the building. In 1924 Gee was one of a small group who met together to bring about the formation of Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Ireland. From 1925 to 1963 he sat on the executive presbytery, his calmness and wisdom were always valued.
His ministry in Edinburgh prospered and he was set in heart for a life long ministry in this church. But in 1928 he received a telegram from Australia inviting him to come there for a period of ministry. Donald Gee and his wife both fell on their knees in prayer and received the witness that this was of the Lord. This trip turned out to last ten months including New Zealand, America and Canada. On the journey to Australia he wrote his first book Concerning Spiritual Gifts which had a great effect across many nations. It was in 1929 that he resigned from ‘Bonnington Toll Hall’ and now used it as a base. This was the beginning of twenty-three years of international ministry trips covering all five continents. Invitations poured in from across the world. He ministered much to a Bible School in Danzig (Gdansk
) and helped with their publishing. The years 1931-33 saw him travel to twelve countries annually. Then he became joint editor of the magazine Redemption Tidings. This had been a critical time in the whole movement: the 1920s had seen the fiery ministry of travelling evangelists, but the 1930s needed the steadying ministry of someone with the 'gifting' of the teacher to keep things on course (the distinction being in reference to Ephesians 4:11).
In 1939 at the outbreak of war he gave himself to constant travel in Britain encouraging the fellowships. After the war at the Pentecostal World Convention in Zurich in 1947, Gee was chosen to become the editor of the magazine World Pentecost of which he produced 76 issues himself. Again he continued his international travels over these years keeping abreast of the Pentecostal Movement worldwide. He helped to advance the cause of the incipient charismatic movement by drawing attention to new spiritual developments in the mainline churches and he tracked the career of Donald du Plessis in Pentecost. In 1949 he updated and published his book the Pentecostal Movement later called Wind and Flame. In 1951 he was approached by the board of Governors for the newly acquired Assemblies of God college at Kenley to become Principal, he accepted. After years of travel and now sixty years old he settled down to this task for the next thirteen years, during which he took no salary. He was able to leave a mark upon the students who were setting out to serve God drawing on years of Pastoring and travel. No doubt a number of students must have been drawn because of such a man at the helm. In 1962 he retired from all his positions and responsibilities but continued writing for magazines. Over the years he had written over twenty books and numberless articles. He had done much in getting recognition for and establishing the ministry gift of Teacher amongst Pentecostals. In 1964, while travelling in a taxi, Donald Gee, the ‘Apostle of Balance’, died of a heart attack.
John Carter, his friend for over forty years said the following at the funeral, “A gifted writer has laid down his pen. An eminent Bible expositor will teach no more. A distinguished editor has vacated his chair. A renowned author has concluded his last volume. A veteran leader has left our ranks. A great warrior has fought his last battle. Our friend Donald Gee has fallen asleep.”
college, England
, is the Donald Gee Centre, which contains a library dedicated to Pentecostal and Charismatic research.
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
Bible Teacher. Donald wrote the book Wind and Flame, which is the story of Pentecostalism in Europe in the 20th century. He was called "The Apostle of Balance."
Biography
Donald Gee was born in London in 1891. His father died of tuberculosis when he was nine.In October 1905, Seth Joshua
Seth Joshua
Seth Joshua , was a Welsh Presbyterian minister and Evangelist who was noted for his influence before during and after the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival as well as for being a direct influence on the ministry of Evan Roberts, one of the leading figures of that revival...
, the Welsh revival preacher, was invited to Donald’s church to hold a mission. Seth Joshua
Seth Joshua
Seth Joshua , was a Welsh Presbyterian minister and Evangelist who was noted for his influence before during and after the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival as well as for being a direct influence on the ministry of Evan Roberts, one of the leading figures of that revival...
had a great influence upon the young Evan Roberts
Evan Roberts (minister)
Evan John Roberts , was a leading figure of the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival who suffered many setbacks in his later life.His obituary in The Western Mail summed up his career thus:- Early life :...
and the Welsh Revival, but from the mission in London only three were saved, Donald Gee being one of them. He then became a member of the same Congregational church. Later his mother joined the Baptist church.
At Pentecostal prayer meetings he met a Baptist minister who was pastoring a divided church. Half wanted to go the way of Pentecost and half resisted this strongly. When the organist resigned hoping to cause problems, Donald offered his services and so joined this divided church. Soon those preferring a Pentecostal experience followed Pastor Saxby out into a new Church. Of this man’s ministry Gee says “the first seven years of my Pentecostal experience were spent under the powerful influence of a pastor who was a shining example of his office.” It was under this ministry that he made his first attempts at testifying and preaching. The First World War had started in 1914, but in 1916 conscription
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
was introduced. Gee registered immediately as a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, and went to work on a dairy farm in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The next three years prepared him for ministry. He was a social outcast; most often he worked to the point of utter physical exhaustion, and the Gees continued tithing with little to live on. After a year they moved to a second farm where the farmer was a believer. Nearby was a small mission hall with simple earnest believers. The Gees joined this group, with Donald often preaching on Sunday nights concerning the coming of the Lord and Pentecostal experience. Their home was used for ‘Tarrying’ meetings, where believers sought and received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Baptism with the Holy Spirit in Christian theology is a term describing baptism in or with the Spirit of God...
. When the War ended in 1918, he returned to London, now twenty-seven years old, with his wife and two children.
At odd times he had opportunities to preach in some Pentecostal fellowship in London, sometimes cycling ten miles. One such weekend Saxby asked him if he would consider going to preach in Edinburgh as a church was seeking a pastor. In June 1920 he made his first journey there. At the first service a dozen troubled believers gathered, and he would spend the next twelve years as pastor of this church. In 1921 he attended the international Pentecostal convention in Amsterdam. Additionally, he played the organ while Stephen Jeffreys preached at the Kingsway Convention. That same year at the Swanwick convention it came to light that his old pastor, Saxby, had embraced the ‘ultimate reconciliation’ teaching, that hell would but last a short time and that finally all would be saved—even Judas. This was rejected by others. Elim’s
Elim Pentecostal Church
The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination.-History:George Jeffreys , a Welshman, founded the Elim Pentecostal Church in Monaghan, Ireland in 1915. Jeffreys was an evangelist with a Welsh Congregational church background. He was converted at age 15 during the...
statement of faith included “We believe in the…eternal conscious punishment of all Christ rejecters”; later, the Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
’s statement referred to “The everlasting punishment of all who are not written in the Book of Life”. Gee published articles in the magazines of both groups concerning the scriptural teaching on ‘Eternal Punishment’.
After his first anniversary the conditions and pressures against him in the fellowship and outside were so great that he ran off to London in despair. After two weeks, however, he returned ready to battle through. Next came the shocking news that the biggest financial giver in the church was moving to Australia, but God provided and they continued. In 1922 the church bought a new building called ‘Bonnington Toll Hall’; over the next years men like Jeffreys, Burton, A. H. Carter and Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth , was a British evangelist who was important in the early history of Pentecostalism.- Early life :...
ministered there. Gee brought correction to the abuses of Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gift
In Christianity, spiritual gifts are endowments given by the Holy Spirit. These are the supernatural graces which individual Christians need to fulfill the mission of the church. They are described in the New Testament, primarily in , , and . also touches on the spiritual gifts...
and systematically taught the people the Word. During these years he gave himself to study and personal writing. In 1923 he considered joining Elim but finally decided not to as he would have to hand over the deeds of the building. In 1924 Gee was one of a small group who met together to bring about the formation of Assemblies of God in Great Britain and Ireland. From 1925 to 1963 he sat on the executive presbytery, his calmness and wisdom were always valued.
His ministry in Edinburgh prospered and he was set in heart for a life long ministry in this church. But in 1928 he received a telegram from Australia inviting him to come there for a period of ministry. Donald Gee and his wife both fell on their knees in prayer and received the witness that this was of the Lord. This trip turned out to last ten months including New Zealand, America and Canada. On the journey to Australia he wrote his first book Concerning Spiritual Gifts which had a great effect across many nations. It was in 1929 that he resigned from ‘Bonnington Toll Hall’ and now used it as a base. This was the beginning of twenty-three years of international ministry trips covering all five continents. Invitations poured in from across the world. He ministered much to a Bible School in Danzig (Gdansk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) and helped with their publishing. The years 1931-33 saw him travel to twelve countries annually. Then he became joint editor of the magazine Redemption Tidings. This had been a critical time in the whole movement: the 1920s had seen the fiery ministry of travelling evangelists, but the 1930s needed the steadying ministry of someone with the 'gifting' of the teacher to keep things on course (the distinction being in reference to Ephesians 4:11).
In 1939 at the outbreak of war he gave himself to constant travel in Britain encouraging the fellowships. After the war at the Pentecostal World Convention in Zurich in 1947, Gee was chosen to become the editor of the magazine World Pentecost of which he produced 76 issues himself. Again he continued his international travels over these years keeping abreast of the Pentecostal Movement worldwide. He helped to advance the cause of the incipient charismatic movement by drawing attention to new spiritual developments in the mainline churches and he tracked the career of Donald du Plessis in Pentecost. In 1949 he updated and published his book the Pentecostal Movement later called Wind and Flame. In 1951 he was approached by the board of Governors for the newly acquired Assemblies of God college at Kenley to become Principal, he accepted. After years of travel and now sixty years old he settled down to this task for the next thirteen years, during which he took no salary. He was able to leave a mark upon the students who were setting out to serve God drawing on years of Pastoring and travel. No doubt a number of students must have been drawn because of such a man at the helm. In 1962 he retired from all his positions and responsibilities but continued writing for magazines. Over the years he had written over twenty books and numberless articles. He had done much in getting recognition for and establishing the ministry gift of Teacher amongst Pentecostals. In 1964, while travelling in a taxi, Donald Gee, the ‘Apostle of Balance’, died of a heart attack.
John Carter, his friend for over forty years said the following at the funeral, “A gifted writer has laid down his pen. An eminent Bible expositor will teach no more. A distinguished editor has vacated his chair. A renowned author has concluded his last volume. A veteran leader has left our ranks. A great warrior has fought his last battle. Our friend Donald Gee has fallen asleep.”
Donald Gee Centre
In Mattersey HallMattersey Hall
Mattersey Hall is a ministry training college and the main training centre for the Assemblies of God in the United Kingdom. It is located in Mattersey, near Doncaster, in Nottinghamshire, England. It was founded in 1919 in London....
college, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, is the Donald Gee Centre, which contains a library dedicated to Pentecostal and Charismatic research.