Oliver Barclay (1919-2013) made an immense contribution to evangelical Christianity worldwide

Oliver Barclay, the second General Secretary of what is now known as the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), was promoted to glory this week. 

Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF), for which I work, grew out of IVF/UCCF in 1949 and was founded by Oliver’s immediate predecessor Douglas Johnson (DJ), who features in this obituary abridged from the UCCF website.

Both Oliver and Douglas made an immense contribution to the growth of evangelical Christianity worldwide.

Oliver Barclay, a scion of the banking family and second General Secretary of IVF/UCCF, died at his home in Leicester yesterday, 12 September 2013, aged 94.

He was born in Kobe, Japan, on 22 February 1919, the son of Joseph Gurney Barclay (who served with what is now the Church Mission Society). His great grandfather was the MP Thomas Fowell Buxton who campaigned with William Wilberforce as part of the influential Clapham Sect.

Oliver first joined the small IVF team in 1945, having completed a doctorate in zoology.  His original hope was to teach in one of China’s newer universities, but Douglas Johnson, IVF founding General Secretary (always known as DJ), persuaded him to defer his departure by two years. It soon became clear that the universities of Britain and Ireland would instead be his life’s work.

Oliver Barclay served for two years as a wartime President of the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU) and as Chairman of the students’ national IVF Executive Committee.  From his days in Trinity College, Cambridge, he formed a lifelong friendship with John Stott, also at Trinity, and two years his junior. Both men would serve as lifetime Honorary Vice-Presidents of the CICCU.

As Chair of the student national IVF Executive, Oliver was privy to DJ’s plans that the IVF should found a Centre for Biblical Research in a university town, to strengthen the roots of the church in the then very liberal Theology faculties of the universities. What would soon become Tyndale House, Cambridge (secured in 1944 and opened in 1945) had originally belonged to a member of the Barclay family. It now hosts one of the finest libraries for biblical research in the world.

In 1953, Oliver became the first IVF Universities Secretary, supporting the IVF travelling secretaries [now UCCF staff workers] around the four nations. The liberal hold in the university theology faculties, and in the churches, created much opposition to evangelical influences among students.

In 1964 Oliver Barclay succeeded Douglas Johnson as IVF General Secretary. This was the same year his first wife, Dorothy, a consultant surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital (whom he had married in 1949) died of cancer, leaving four children. The following year, Oliver married Daisy Hickey, a family friend.

Oliver Barclay steered the Inter-Varsity Fellowship through its own significant expansion to engage with the times, as new universities and colleges were founded, and as a surge of change swept through societal norms.  In 1975 the movement’s name was changed to the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) to reflect the growing work in the polytechnics and colleges of education. Its publishing wing, by then known as Inter-Varsity Press (IVP), was the UK’s leading evangelical publishing house.

Oliver Barclay urged clear-thinking evangelical graduates to consider two major directions: to pursue an academic career; or if ordained to apply for vacant churches in university towns.  Gradually the tide of liberalism began to turn. Oliver was succeeded in 1980 by Robin Wells under whom from the mid-late 1980s the regional teams would be formed, opening the way for the appointment, under Bob Horn’s leadership, of the first relay workers.

In retirement, Dr Barclay continued to serve on the IVP long-range planning group, and was instrumental in the founding of the UCCF Research Council to oversee the work of Tyndale House in Cambridge and the new Whitefield Institute in Oxford. He was co-founder in 1989 of the journal Science and Christian Belief, joint organ of the Victoria Institute and of Christians in Science.

Oliver served on the Executive Committee of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) from 1959-1983, and as its chair from 1971-79. He served as an Honorary Vice-President from 1983-91, and was always particularly thrilled to see its pioneering work pass into the hands of national leaders. This global movement now has presence in over 150 nations.

Oliver Barclay wrote several books including Evangelicalism in Britain 1935-1995 (IVP, 1997) and in the 1980s he edited a book series entitled When Christians Disagree. He had no formal theological training but developed in himself – and cultivated in his staff – the ability to ‘think theologically’. He read through Calvin’s Institutes each year and prayed daily for a deeper understanding of the meaning of the death of Christ. He never lost sight of his dual task, to strengthen a witness to Christ both in the student world and among faculty.

We thank God for Oliver Barclay’s tenacity and far-sightedness, his shrewd judgment and his passion for the gospel; and we commend his widow Daisy and his four children to your prayers.

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Do you know what happened to the girl in this iconic Pulitzer prize winning photo from the Vietnam War?

On 8 June 1972, a plane bombed the village of Trang Bang, near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in South Vietnam after the South Vietnamese pilot mistook a group of civilians leaving the temple for enemy troops.

The bombs contained napalm, a highly flammable fuel, which killed and badly burned the people on the ground.

The iconic black-and-white image taken of children fleeing the scene won the Pulitzer Prize and was chosen as the World Press Photo of the Year in 1972.

It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words never could, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history and later becoming a symbol of the cruelty of all wars for children and civilian victims.

In the centre of the photo was a nine year old girl, who ran naked down the highway after stripping off her burning clothes.

Kim Phuc Phan Thi was with her family at the pagoda attending a religious celebration when the plane struck and lost several relatives in the attack. The children running with herwere her own brothers and sisters.

I had the privilege of hearing Kim speak at a meeting in New Zealand a few years ago and the 40^th anniversary of the bombing was commemoratedlast year.

She said, looking back, that three miracles happened on that dreadful day.

The first was that, despite suffering extensive third degree burns to her left arm, back and side, the soles of her feet were not burnt and she could run.

The second was that after she collapsed and lost consciousness the photographer, Nick Ut, took her to Barsky Hospital in Saigon.

The third was that her own mother found her there later that day whilst searching for her children.

Kim remained hospitalized for 14 months, and underwent 17 surgical procedures, until she recovered from the burns.

Grateful for the care she had received she later decided to study medicine but struggled to come to terms with her deep physical and psychological scars.

‘My heart was exactly like a black coffee cup,’ she said. ‘I wished I died in that attack with my cousin. I wish I died at that time so I won’t suffer like that anymore ... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and bitterness.’

But it was as a second year medical student in Saigon that she discovered a New Testament in the university library, committed her life to following Jesus Christ, and realised that God had a plan for her life.

 
Kim never finished medical school as the communist government of Vietnam realised the value of the ‘napalm girl’ value as a propaganda symbol.

She believed that no man could ever love her with her disfigurement but later studied in Cuba where she met Bui Huy Toan, another Vietnamese student whom she married in 1992.  

Kim and Toan went on their honeymoon in Moscow. During a refuelling stop in Gander, Newfoundland, they left the plane and asked for political asylum in Canada, which was granted. 

In 1994, UNESCO designated her a Goodwill Ambassador for Peace.

In 1997 she established the first Kim Phuc Foundation in the US, with the aim of providing medical and psychological assistance to child victims of war. Later, other foundations were set up, with the same name, under an umbrella organization, Kim Foundation International.

Her biography, The Girl in the Picture, written by Denise Chong was published in 1999.

 

In 2004, Kim spoke at the University of Connecticut about her life and experience, learning how to be ‘strong in the face of pain’ and how compassion and love helped her heal.

On 28 December 2009, National Public Radio broadcast her spoken essay, ‘The Long Road to Forgiveness’.

Kim Phuc, now 50, lives near Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two children, Thomas and Stephen.

She has dedicated her life to promoting peace and providing medical and psychological support to help children who are victims of war in Uganda, East Timor, Romania, Tajikistan, Kenya, Ghana and Afghanistan.

‘Forgiveness made me free from hatred. I still have many scars on my body and severe pain most days but my heart is cleansed. Napalm is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness, and love are much more powerful. We would not have war at all if everyone could learn how to live with true love, hope, and forgiveness. If that little girl in the picture can do it, ask yourself: Can you?’ (Kim Phuc, 2008)

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

References

1. Kim Phuc: ‘The girl in the picture’ forty years later

2. I've never escaped from that moment: Girl in napalm photograph that defined the Vietnam War 40 years on

3. Phan Thi Kim Phuc

Reposts 

1. CMF Blog

2. Perdana Global Peace Foundation 

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Springbok rugby hero Joost van der Westhuizen, dying from motor neurone disease, speaks of his Christian faith

 Joost van der Westhuizen is a name well known to rugby fans the world over.

It was the scrum half’s try saving tackle on the towering All Black wing Jonah Lomu in the World Cup rugby final in 1995 which arguably won the tournament for South Africa.

He went on to win the Tri Nations in 1998 and captained the Boks at the 1999 World Cup, when they were beaten in extra time in the semi-finals by eventual winners Australia.

The 42 year old is now dying of motor neurone disease (MND) which he contracted in 2011. Progressive muscular weakness has now left him in a wheelchair and barely able to speak.

This last week the BBC and Daily Mail have both run articles about which give testimony to his strong Christian faith.

Van der Westhuizen scored 38 tries in 89 Tests for the Springboks after making his international debut against Argentina in Buenos Aires in 1993.

He played his last match in the Green and Gold against New Zealand in Melbourne in November in 2003, retiring as South Africa’s most-capped player.

Since being diagnosed with MND, he has set up the J9 Foundation, which is a charity that raises awareness about the disease.

Despite his personal plight, van der Westhuizen said he’s made peace with his situation.

‘I realise every day could be my last’, he told BBC Sport.

‘I led my life at a hundred miles an hour. I’ve learnt that there are too many things that we take for granted in life and it’s only when you lose them that you realise what it is all about.’

‘It’s been a rollercoaster from day one and I know I’m on a deathbed from now on. I’ve had my highs and I have had my lows, but no more. I’m a firm believer that there’s a bigger purpose in my life and I am very positive, very happy,’ he said.

‘I know that God is alive in my life and with experience you do learn. I can now talk openly about the mistakes I made because I know my faith won’t give up and it won’t diminish. It’s only when you go through what I am going through that you understand that life is generous.’

For Van der Westhuizen, life is now chiefly about spending time with his family. He has two children, Jordan, seven, and a five-year-old daughter, Kylie.

This testimony makes a welcome change for the BBC which usually highlights motor neurone disease in the context of the debate around legalising assisted suicide debate. But van der Westhuizen’s testimony opens a window into what is the more usual reality for most sufferers.

There are in fact 5,000 people in the UK with MND, of whom around 1,000 will die from the disease each year, three each day.

The vast majority do not want help to end their lives but assistance to live as comfortably as possible in the days they have left.

I have already drawn attention on this blog to Alistair Banks’ inspiring story of courage. Dubbed ‘the incurable optimist’ (right) he finally passed away on 9 January this year but a tribute site, and his blog are still available along with a statement from the Motor Neurone Disease Association for which he did so much.

His family speak of being ‘so very proud of the way that despite the disease he inspired so many people and left such an incredible legacy for his children and others’.

His optimism was not unusual, he maintained.

'Everyone I know with MND is trying to do positive things, otherwise they would sink into despair. It’s a coping mechanism. Doing things means that you can pull in friends and family to share something both fun and rewarding.'

Earlier this year the inspirational film ‘I am Breathing’ was promoted as part of motor neurone disease awareness.

It follows the last few months of Neil Platt’s life, seeing him go from being a healthy 30 something to becoming completely paralyzed from the neck down from MND. As his body gets weaker, his perspective on life changes. His humour remains, but a new wisdom emerges:

‘It's amazing how adaptable we are when we have to be. It's what separates us and defines us as human beings.’

Another Briton with MND, Rev Michael Wenham, has told the Independent about his determination to keep on living life. Diagnosed in 2002 with a rare, slower form of Motor Neurone Disease, Michael has always intended on not giving up.

In his book, 'My Donkey Body' he clearly and compassionately describes the process of being diagnosed with the terminal disease, and the struggle of living with the condition. He also deals eloquently with these issues on his blog.

A few years ago on a visit to South Africa I was able to link him with another South African Christian with MND, Jozanne Moss,  with whom he later co-authored ‘I choose everything’. The book is available on Amazon, has its own face book page and is recommended by the Motor Neurone Disease Association. 

Jozanne died in February 2012 and there is a beautiful tribute to her on Michael’s blog, which ends with a quotation he believes would fit Jozanne from Charles Dickens:

‘Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.’

We all will one day die, unless Christ’s return comes first, but for most the dying process will be far easier than for those with MND. 

This is precisely why these stories of triumph over adversity from those facing death with this frightening disease should get more column inches and air time. They give strength to others and are a refreshing balance to the negative images we often get of the dying process from the media.

Stories of hope in the face of suffering can bring reality, courage and hope to a society that so desperately needs them. Let’s please have more of them. 

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Mum beats lung tumour after refusing to sacrifice her baby to save her own life

There is an inspiring story in the Daily Mail this morning about a 21 year old mother who beat cancer after refusing to sacrifice her unborn child.

Daniella Jackson was diagnosed with a tumour in her left lung shortly before discovering she was pregnant and refused doctors' advice to abort her child so they could operate on her.

After a difficult pregnancy she gave birth to healthy girl and then had an operation to remove the tumour along with half her lung. According to the Metro report, the tumour was a carcinoid, a slow-growing tumour with a good outcome relative to other lung tumours.

Carcinoid lung tumors generally have a better outlook than other forms of lung cancer. Persons with carcinoid lung tumors have an overall 5-year survival rate of 78%-95% and a 10-year survival rate of 77%-90%.

A year on, she is the proud mother of Rennae – her second child – and has been told that she is free of disease.

A devout Roman Catholic, Miss Jackson has said that aborting her child was never an option because of her strong faith: ‘I was always determined to have my baby. I felt such a close bond with her, I couldn’t let her go.’

Abortion to save the life of the mother makes up a miniscule fraction of the 200,000 abortions carried out each year.

In the UK it was reported in 1992 that in the first 25 years of the operation of the Abortion Act 1967 only 0.013% of all abortions were performed 'to save the life of the mother' and it is even questionable whether many of these required such radical action. The 2009 Abortion Statistics for England and Wales do not record any on these grounds.

Usually when the mother's life is at risk from an ongoing pregnancy, the baby is at a viable age and so can be saved simply by bringing forward the time of delivery. However on very rare occasions doctors may say it is necessary to terminate an early mid-trimester pregnancy (13-22 weeks) in an emergency in order to save the life of the mother.

But it is so rare that many obstetricians will not see a case personally in a lifetime of practice.

Even Alan Guttmacher, former President of the pro-abortion US Planned Parenthood Federation said as long ago as 1967:

'Today it is possible for almost any patient to be brought through pregnancy alive, unless she suffers from a fatal illness such as cancer or leukemia, and if so, abortion would be unlikely to prolong, much less save life'.

In fact, women with cancer will often forgo chemotherapy, and in this case surgery, for the sake of the baby.

Daniella did not know whether she would survive from her illness, but such was her love for her baby that she was willing to take the risk and if necessary lay down her life for her. Now she has the joy of caring for and treasuring her daughter and seeing her grow up. One day maybe, at the other end of life, it will be Rennae caring for Daniella.

I wish Daniella and Rennae all the best in their life together and pray that the strong faith in God and self-giving love that has led both to Rennae’s birth and Daniella’s survival will continue to grow.

Reading their story has encouraged me and I hope that by sharing it this testimony will be equally an encouragement to others to rejoice at how precious human life is and to thank God for his faithfulness and self-giving love in sending Jesus to lay down his life for us because he couldn't let us go.

Jesus said, ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’. And he demonstrated that love by going to the cross to pay the price for our sins, so that he could share not just this life, but all eternity with us. He loved us that much.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

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The big interview from Evangelical Times

I gave an interview last month for the October Evangelical Times ‘big interview’ column. It is posted on their website but I have also pasted it below.

The big interview – October 2011

Peter Saunders is Chief Executive of the Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organisation with 4,500 UK doctors and 1,000 medical students as members. His role includes leadership training, teaching evangelism and ethics, medical mission, writing, editing and media work. Peter took some time out to answer questions from Sheila Marshall.

SM Which TV drama series — Holby City, Casualty or ER?

PS Definitely ER. As a general surgeon I loved the challenge of assessing and treating critically ill patients. Holby City and Casualty are just too ‘soapy’ and too slow-moving for me.

SM What drives your work with CMF?

PS Luke the physician tells us that Jesus sent his followers out ‘to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick’ (Luke 9:2). This means, to attend to the spiritual and physical needs of a suffering world. Christian doctors motivated by Jesus’ teaching and example have been profoundly influential in shaping healthcare’s history. A significant number of medicine’s pioneers were people of faith — Paré, Pasteur, Lister, Paget, Barnado, Jenner, Simpson, Sydenham, Osler, Skudder, Livingstone and many more. The CMF exists to help doctors continue in the steps of Jesus, the Great Physician. What drives me is a desire to help doctors fully integrate their faith and practice, to be witnesses to the gospel, and instruments of God’s grace and compassion.

SM Why does CMF need to promote Christian values in the church?

PS CMF’s fourth aim (after evangelism, discipleship and healthcare mission) is ‘to promote Christian values, especially in bioethics and healthcare, among doctors and medical students, in the church and in society’. As Christian doctors, rooted in Scripture and dealing daily with a host of physical, psychological and spiritual needs, we are uniquely placed to bring medicine and the Christian faith together. Members are often asked by Christian friends for guidance on end-of-life care, abortion, infertility, contraception and a host of other lifestyle and healthcare issues. Many pastors feel they lack the expertise to apply the Bible to contemporary issues of healthcare and medical ethics. Christian doctors can help fill that gap. We want to help Christians make wise decisions about their own healthcare and want to equip Christians to engage in the wider national debate on issues that have a significant effect on the most vulnerable people in our society.

SM Can Christian values be promoted in a secular society?

PS As Christians we are called to proclaim the gospel and live to honour Christ in every way. This involves bringing a Christian mind to the many issues that plague our society, and being salt and light. As citizens of a democracy, we have a responsibility both to choose our political leaders and to do what we can to ensure that the laws in our statute books are just and fair. We have a special responsibility to stand up for those who have no voice, like those who are poor, marginalised, elderly, unborn, sick and disabled. There is a growing hostility amongst some quarters of our country towards Christian faith and values. This needs to be challenged.

SM Are Christian values too expensive for our welfare system?

PS The current crisis in healthcare has complex causes. Much of the rising burden of disease is a consequence of poor lifestyle choices, such as people literally eating, smoking, drinking and drugging themselves to death. There is little money free to invest in care, because we are spending our financial resources on the wrong things or living way beyond our means. This is compounded by the breakdown of the family. I believe that the root cause is that as a society we are increasingly turning our back on God, so the supports of family, church and community are no longer there. Christian faith has huge benefits for health, because it has a huge impact on lifestyle choices; people are more likely to avoid or delay many of the diseases that are costly to our health service. If more people in Britain lived according to Christian values, there would be less medical need and much more money available to care for the sick and dependent.

SM What issue did you take with Terry Prachett’s recent BBC documentary on assisted suicide?

PS The BBC has become something of a cheer-leader for assisted suicide. This was the fifth BBC documentary in three years that portrayed assisted suicide or euthanasia in a positive light. We are disturbed by the bias of our national broadcaster, which has an obligation to remain impartial. The programme also breached both national and international guidelines on suicide portrayal and posed a great risk to vulnerable people by fuelling the well-documented phenomena of suicide contagion and copycat suicide.

SM How should the media approach this subject?

PS The BBC’s own editorial guidelines on portrayal of suicide are very clear. They call for, ‘great sensitivity’; ‘factual reporting and fictional portrayal of suicide, attempted suicide and self-harm have the potential to make such actions appear possible, and even appropriate, to the vulnerable’. The World Health Organisation’s guidance is equally unambiguous: ‘Don’t publish photographs or suicide notes. Don’t report specific details of the method used. Don’t give simplistic reasons. Don’t glorify or sensationalise suicide’.

SM Can you give examples?

PS Media stories about how people coped positively with suicidal feelings lead to a decrease in levels of suicide in the general population. Researchers have named this protective effect the ‘Papageno effect’, in honour of the character in Mozart’s opera The magic flute. When Papageno fears that he has lost his love, Papagena, he prepares to kill himself. But three boys save him at the last minute by helping him to find purpose in his suffering.

SM Are euthanasia, abortion and bioethics matters of conscience?

PS The Bible teaches us that human beings are made in the image of God and infinitely precious — meaning worthy of respect, protection, empathy and compassion. The sixth commandment ‘You shall not kill’ is based on this idea and forbids taking the lives of innocent human beings, even if they request us. For centuries the laws of our country have been based on these biblical concepts. Moral issues are not simply matters of individual conscience. It takes a huge amount of grace, courage and character to obey God in tough, costly decisions, but that doesn’t mean that it should not be clearly and unambiguously taught. That is why there is so much moral teaching throughout Scripture.

SM How can everyday believers make a difference?

PS God uses weak and ordinary people to do great things. The smallest step of faithful obedience by God’s grace can turn the course of history. God can use day-to-day decisions to advance his kingdom in and through us. Nothing done in his service is ever in vain and our job is to be faithful to him where he has placed us and trust the results to him.

SM What verses inspire you?

PS Too many to mention really, but here are just a few: Luke 4:18-19 — the Nazareth manifesto; 1 Corinthians 15:58 — never give up; 2 Corinthians 8:9 — Jesus our model; 2 Corinthians 12:9 — strength in weakness; Proverbs 31:8 -9 — speaking up for the weak.

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