Donald Gee (1891—1966)
Country of Origin
-
United Kingdom
Countries/Regions of Ministry
- United Kingdom
Traditions
- Pentecostal
Ministries
- pastor
- ecumenical leader and author
Donald Gee gave his heart to Christ at fourteen years old in a London church. The guest preacher that day was a Methodist who had been effective during the Welsh Revival. On this occasion, only three hearers responded to his salvation call, but young Donald was one of them. He had lost his father five years earlier to tuberculosis; now he sought a Heavenly Father to guide him. Only God knew what was in mind for this future influential churchman, respected author, and educator who would write more than thirty books and hundreds of articles imparting vision, fire, and common sense direction to the Spirit-empowered movement.
Gee was Spirit-baptized in his early twenties under the ministry of a Baptist-turned-Pentecostal pastor. His daily employment was sign-painting, like his father, but he soon began testifying, then preaching. He proceeded to go with his wife and two young children to pastor a start-up church in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its growth over the next twelve years put him in contact with such leaders as Smith Wigglesworth and the Jeffreys brothers, who founded Elim Pentecostal Church.
At age thirty, Gee ventured across the English Channel to attend the International Pentecostal Conference in Amsterdam, where his circle of acquaintances widened. Three years later, he was invited to teach in Australia and New Zealand. On the long voyage there, he wrote his first book, Concerning Spiritual Gifts. He played a leading role at the European Pentecostal Conference in Stockholm (1939) and, after World War II, organized a similar gathering in Zurich with his South African friend David du Plessis. It was at this meeting, in 1947, that he was appointed editor of Pentecost magazine, which became his lifelong platform.
Not everyone in Pentecostal ranks was thrilled with Gee's ecumenical spirit. He received criticism for cooperating with the 1954 Billy Graham crusade in London’s Harringay Arena. He also was chided for attending a World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission meeting in Scotland in 1960. Not intimidated, however, Gee saw the Holy Spirit as a gift to the whole church rather than a segment of it. Neither skepticism from inside nor outside the movement deterred him.
When the Charismatic renewal began to permeate Europe and North America, Gee encouraged it and offered wise counsel. People on both continents began to call him “the apostle of balance.” His nuanced approach is evident in an editorial entitled “Pentecost Is for All,” where he opens with a clever back-and-forth:
“It’s all right for your type of personality, but not for me.” That remark, carrying a rather dubious compliment in its tone, was given as a reason why a fellow-Christian should take no interest in the baptism in the Holy Spirit or any matters classed under the heading “Pentecostal.” His idea was that such matters involve a certain kind of emotionalism, and he prided himself as being one to whom that is foreign. He may not have been entirely to blame for his mistaken idea; perhaps we have stressed the emotional side a bit heavily. And admittedly some folk do go to extremes—even good ones.
Of course, the truth is that in the very nature of the case the baptism in the Holy Spirit must be for every Christian, irrespective of temperament or upbringing or culture or any incident of personality…. A significantly recurrent word in the Bible story of Pentecost is all. “They were all in one accord.” “They were all filled.” “The promise is unto all” (Acts 2:1, 4, 39). There were no exceptions….Rightly understood, it [the baptism of the Spirit] involves far more than anything temperamental or denominational or sectarian or parochial… It is God coming into life in a fuller way.
Donald Gee also was the kind of leader who made room for Holy Spirit's surprises along the way. Despite his British reserve and careful thought processing, he was not afraid of bold strokes if they were God-ordained. He cautioned the hesitant:
We rightly extol the importance of balance; we correctly affirm that the way of truth will not be found in extremes; we justly point out that persistent extremism is suicidal both for men and movements—but we desperately need to recognize that revivals are never launched without someone going to an extreme. Passionate intercession is positively unbalanced; so is much fasting; so is fervent preaching that makes sinners tremble….
There has to be an extremism to move things….We need the extremist to start things moving, but we need the balanced teacher to keep them moving in the right direction…. Only a wisdom from above can reveal the perfect synthesis.
Donald Gee made his mark as an ecumenical and Pentecostal leader, teacher, and mentor well into the 1960s. A main component of his legacy was helping enthusiasts stay true to the Word without quenching the Spirit.
Further Reading
- Concerning Spiritual Gifts.