Arthur W. Pink: Born to Write

By Bernard R. DeRemer

Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) was born in England and grew up in a nonconformist (a term once used in Britain to apply to non-Anglican Protestants) Christian home.

Though his education was extensive, he never became a believer in his early life. By age 22, he was a successful businessman and “a rising leader in the Theosophy Society (a New-Age group)...being considered for leadership in the movement.”

Pink’s father quoted to him Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” The Holy Spirit used this truth to bring him to conviction resulting in his conversion. Later in life, he would preach the Gospel to members of that same society.

Promptly upon coming to faith, he plunged into a study of Scripture, but he rejected formal training, “being convinced that the theological colleges were teaching error.”

In 1910, he came to the United States for study at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, but stayed only for a short time. He was a strong individualist with disciplined study habits and an avid reader of the Puritans and other expositional writers.

In the U.S., he pastored churches in Colorado, California, and Kentucky (where he met and married Vera E. Russell in 1916). Later, while pastoring a Baptist church in South Carolina, he wrote what some consider his most influential book, The Sovereignty of God, a “strong Calvinistic work [that] caused problems in his church and with friends, publishers, and readers.” Later, he served in other areas of the U.S. In California he teamed up with an evangelist to teach large numbers of new converts. His travels also took him to Australia, but eventually he returned to England in 1934.

In 1921, he began what later became his entire ministry: a monthly periodical, Studies in the Scriptures. This circulated among English-speaking Christians around the world, though only to a small mailing list of roughly 1,000. After his return to Britain, he spent the remainder of his years devoted to publishing exegetical studies and devotional material.

Not all of his 26 books can be listed here, but some deserve special mention. The Attributes of God has greatly blessed and enriched many lives over the years. So have Gleanings in Genesis, Gleanings from Paul, Exposition of Hebrews, The Life of Elijah, and The Holy Spirit. After pink’s death, his works were republished by the Banner of Truth Trust, “and reached a much larger audience as a result.”

Biographer Iain Murray observes, “the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the 20^th century.” His writing is credited with sparking a “revival of expository preaching while it focused readers on biblical living.” He became a strong bridge between the Puritans of the past and 20^th century believers.

Strangely enough, Pink in later years did not attend any church, but spent Sundays ministering by letters to his readers. For 12 years, he lived in isolation in Scotland, leaving home only for a daily walk. When people came to meet him, “he usually refused to receive them!”

He died in 1952 at the age of 67 and was buried in an unmarked grave. Pink was committed to knowing and doing the will of God and, for the most part, used his pen rather than his tongue to minister to others. Hundreds of thousands of his books have been circulated since his death, so that “he, being dead, yet speaketh” (Heb. 11:4).

Pink’s life is proof that God calls each man for a purpose to which he is specially equipped, and that He can be glorified greatly even by those who some view as “strange characters”. There is no one model for ministry other than to follow Christ with all one’s heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Bernard R. DeRemer has chronicled the lives of dozens of God's choice leaders,
across recent centuries, in more than a decade of writing for Pulpit Helps.

Pulpit Helps Magazine, a ministry of AMG International, was a monthly publication which ran from 1975-2009. Founded by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, Pulpit Helps was dedicated to the mission of equipping pastors, Bible teachers, and students of the Word for preaching, teaching, and living God's Truth. Each month, Pulpit Helps provided sermon starters, bulletin inserts, illustrations and quality articles on preaching, counseling, Christian living, and more. The ministry goals of Pulpit Helps continue today in the form of Disciple Magazine online.