John Clayton Doggett, 1917-2006

We are rightly warned of worldly ambition that blights spiritual growth. But when one of God’s children reaches a high place in society and at the same time walks humbly with the Lord, the angels learn something more, to their amazement, of the power of God’s grace.

This is the best explanation of the life of John Doggett, who died at the age of 89 on Sunday May 7. No surprise then that the funeral service at St. Peter’s Church, Ugley, Essex, on May 15 ended with ‘Amazing grace! How sweet the sound’.

He was made a barrister in 1941. In WW2 he was a major in the Royal Signals and was mentioned in despatches. The secular powers recognised his worth by appointing him CBE upon his retirement in 1977. But when, later, he wrote about these things he said: ‘I have little enthusiasm for this. I have always viewed qualifications in the world as secondary’.

Balanced approach

Perhaps one of John Doggett’s most outstanding characteristics was his balanced approach to unity among Christians. This was clearly demonstrated in an address he gave as a senior officer to servicemen about to return home after the war. ‘We’ve been together here, and now we are going home. I trust I shall be serving the Lord in my Strict Baptist regiment. I know some of you belong to other regiments, but the vital thing is that you don’t lose sight of the unity of the Spirit the Lord has been pleased to give us here.’

This same spirit was evident some years later when John became a magazine editor. Referring to himself he wrote: ‘He is himself a Particular (or Calvinistic) Baptist by conviction . . . He appreciates that among the churches of the Reformed tradition, some find themselves unable to accept the Baptist tenet of immersion as a profession of faith. The editor hopes, however, that such friends may from time to time, find something of profit in this little magazine, and indeed that, on occasion, articles from the pen of some of them may appear in these pages.’ It is no surprise, then, that, as well as serving on bodies such as the Trust Corporation and Strict Baptist Trust, he was also on the churches’ main committee for the British Evangelical Council and the Evangelical Library, of which he followed Dr. M. Lloyd-Jones as chairman for many years.

For 54 years he was a trustee of Pilgrim Homes and chairman from 1977-91. The Society was represented at the funeral by John Denman, who said: ‘It was a time of increasing government regulation in all our work. Throughout it John kept a firm hand on the tiller and steered a steady course with consummate skill.’

Brought up by Christian parents, John gradually came to know the Lord, greatly helped in teenage years by conversations with George Rose, the pastor of Tamworth Road Strict Baptist Church in Croydon, which he attended, and by reading and re-reading Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. In those days, people were very hesitant to offer themselves for baptism, so John had been an outgoing witness for Christ for some time before he was baptised in Bethel Chapel, St. Albans, by Stanley Delves in 1950. During that time he had been a great help to soldiers, for some of their parents had written to thank him.

Calvinist by experience

His early experience was steeped in the writings of John Gill and J.C. Philpott. However, he soon became identified with what he described as ‘a radical return to the beliefs of the founding fathers — men like Bunyan, and a decided repudiation of the hyper-Calvinism of the 18th and 19th centuries. Referring to his CBE, he called himself a ‘Calvinist By Experience’! So John was involved in the tremendous changes that marked the 1960s. He became editor of the influential quarterly Free Church Record (1955-70), during which time he was instrumental in republishing the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. He went on to edit the first issues of Grace Magazine until 1983, and he served on the panel that produced the 1966 Affirmation of Faith which he described as ‘a wonderful job’.

Our brother was a clear, incisive preacher, as one would expect from a barrister. He never felt it right to accept any of a number of pastorates, but he was a great encourager of others, such as Frank Ellis. who later became Secretary of the Strict Baptist Mission, leading it back to its theological and church-based roots. John was also instrumental in Hazel, Frank’s wife, being converted.

John was married to Margaret Bond in 1942 and she went to glory only a few months before him. They had four children, who each paid tribute to him at his funeral, and 12 grandchildren who will also greatly miss him. John and Margaret were a united and devoted couple, and, after her death, his daughter Judy said: ‘My father felt his work was done and he longed for heaven.’

His life had been spared during the war, and he felt this had been for ‘a good purpose’. This surely proved to be so.

Clifford Pond,
Ipswich

© Evangelicals Now - July 2006
Please consider supporting this ministry by subscribing.