Ken Brownell is the retired Senior Pastor of East London Tabernacle Baptist Church in Mile End, London.
How did you become a Christian?
I was brought up in a Christian home in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. I very clearly remember a conversation when I was seven with my parents about the gospel that led to me later that evening asking Christ to forgive me my sins. Ever since then I have known that I was a Christian. I was baptised at 13 in the Brethren assembly my family attended.
What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
I would say ‘Be patient’. Youth wants everything done fast when the kingdom in its personal and corporate expressions most often works slowly. The younger me needed to trust God’s sovereignty over the long haul more. The older me is still learning.
How would you describe your prayer life?
Groaning. When it comes to prayer the verses I treasure are Romans 8:22-27. At their best and when I feel most freedom in prayer, my prayers share in the groaning of this fallen creation. But the Holy Spirit, the intercessor within, takes and brings them to the Father through the Lord Jesus, the intercessor in heaven. So, some days my prayers seem to connect with God better than other days, but because of the two intercessors I am confident that even when there seems to be no connection, they are effective. Having said that, taking a clue from George Muller, I do try to “get my soul into a happy state” through whatever I am reading in the Bible.
Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
There are so many. The Institutes of John Calvin, especially the third book on the Christian life, has had a huge impact. Contrary to what many think the Institutes is not a dull tome of arid theology, but a rich and warm guide to the evangelical faith. Iain Murray’s The Puritan Hope has also been very important. While I don’t go all the way with the postmillennialism of many Puritans and their heirs (I am an optimistic amillennialist), their passion for the kingdom and bigness of vision of what God will do in history is inspiring. One other book was Edmund Clowney’s The Unfolding Mystery which helped me to understand the story of salvation in the Bible. Three Presbyterians and I am still a credo-baptist!
Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
One was Peter Haile, an Englishman who taught at my school in the US and recently died at 100. As an undergraduate at Oxford he ran in the race in which Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile record. He helped to found Inter Varsity in the US. Quietly he introduced me to British evangelicalism. John Crighton was another. He also was a Brit who worked with students in the Boston area and later became a Congregationalist minister. He introduced me to expository preaching, the Banner of Truth and the writings of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Last and not least, were the wonderful people at East London Tabernacle who it was such a joy for me serve as their pastor. I think they taught me as much as I taught them.
What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
Years ago, I heard the great Scottish preacher William Still preach on Revelation 13 with a focus on verse 13, part of which reads: “This calls for endurance and faithfulness from the saints” (CSB). In our increasingly challenging times Christians need to faithfully and joyfully endure whatever happens. This requires churches in which there is God-centred public worship, preaching and discipleship. Without becoming weird, quaint or hard, as too many Reformed churches can, the challenge is for churches to be winsomely attractive even as they display something profoundly different from the world.
What encourages and what discourages you?
I am encouraged by the quiet way God is at work in the lives of people and churches all over the United Kingdom. That doesn’t hit the headlines, which are so often discouraging as far as Christianity is concerned, but that is where the real action is. I am also encouraged by some very fine younger preachers, but we need many more of them. But gospel Christianity is still very weak. We must pray for revival.
What makes you laugh?
I always laugh at reading the short stories of Saki or HR Munro or watching Fawlty Towers. But there is so much to laugh or at least smile about in the ordinary course of life.
What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
Make sure the gospel is connecting with everything in our lives and churches. Too often there is a gospel disconnect. When that happens Christians and churches begin to malfunction. Otherwise orthodox Christians begin to behave in ungodly ways, especially in personal relationships. We need to constantly take to heart Paul’s words in Romans 15v7 in the context of the whole letter – “Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God” (CSB).
Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
I would like to meet Titus and find out what happened on Crete in the aftermath of Paul’s letter to him.
