David Christopher Knight Watson (7 March 1933 – 18 February 1984) was an English

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

priest, evangelist and author.

Early life and education

David Watson was born on 7 March 1933 at

Catterick Camp Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres (about ...

, Scotton, Yorkshire to Godfrey Charles Knight Watson, a captain in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, and his wife Margaret Sara Winifred. He was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English ind ...

(1940-1946) and

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: * Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New ...

(1946-1951). He was

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

of Wellington College. Watson studied the Moral Sciences

Tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mat ...

(ie

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

) at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree in 1957. While at Cambridge, he converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and attended the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union. He became involved with the ministry of the Revd E. J. H. Nash by the invitation of David Sheppard, later to become Bishop of Liverpool. Watson noted: "Undoubtedly the most formative influence on my faith during the five years at Cambridge was my involvement with the boys' houseparties, or 'Bash camps.' It was the best possible training I could receive.": 'Bash' was a nickname of Revd E. J. H. Nash. From 1957 to 1959, he studied theology and trained for ordination at

Ridley Hall, Cambridge Ridley Hall is a theological college located on the corner of Sidgwick Avenue and Ridley Hall Road in Cambridge (United Kingdom), which trains men and women intending to take Holy Orders as deacon or priest of the Church of England, and membe ...

, an

evangelical Anglican Evangelical Anglicanism or evangelical Episcopalianism is a tradition or church party within Anglicanism that shares affinity with broader evangelicalism. Evangelical Anglicans share with other evangelicals the attributes of "conversionism, a ...

theological college.

Ordained ministry

Watson was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

in 1959 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1960. He started his ordained ministry among dock workers in the parish of St Marks,

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in t ...

. Watson's second curacy took him to the

Round Church A round church is a church construction with a completely circular plan. There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the 11th and early 12th centuries ...

in Cambridge where the vicar was Mark Ruston. Around the same time, encouraged by Martyn Lloyd Jones, Watson sought the religious experience known as

baptism in the Holy Spirit In Christian theology, baptism with the Holy Spirit, also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or baptism in the Holy Ghost, has been interpreted by different Christian denominations and traditions in a variety of ways due to differences in the doctr ...

and began to speak in tongues. Watson became curate-in-charge of St Cuthbert's Church, York in 1965, which was attended by no more than twelve at any service and was twelve months away from redundancy. Eight years later the congregation had out-grown St Cuthbert's and an array of annexes resulting in a move to St Michael le Belfrey, York. Subsequently, the congregation grew to many hundreds in only a few years. As his ministry progressed, Watson was involved with missionary enterprises throughout the world and was a high-profile advocate of reconciliation and ecumenism in Northern Ireland. He met the

Vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

Leader

John Wimber John Richard Wimber (February 25, 1934 – November 17, 1997) was an American pastor, Christian author and musician. Initially ordained as a Quaker minister, he became an early, pioneering pastor of charismatic congregations, and a popular thou ...

in 1980, and was one of the first people to welcome him to the UK. This encouraged the connection between Wimber and

Terry Virgo Terry Virgo (born 20 February 1940) is a prominent leader in the British New Church Movement, formerly known as the House Church Movement. He is the founder of the Newfrontiers family of neocharismatic evangelical churches, which has grown into ...

Newfrontiers Newfrontiers (previously New Frontiers International) is a neo-charismatic church network of evangelical, charismatic churches founded by Terry Virgo. It forms part of the British New Church Movement, which began in the late 1950s and 1960s ...

that ensued. He left St Michael le Belfrey in 1982 for London. Watson was a regular contributor to '' Renewal'' magazine, a publication of the interdenominational charismatic movement which started in the 1960s. Watson was diagnosed with cancer in April 1983, and believed he was being healed through prayer. He died of cancer on 18 February 1984 after recording his fight with the disease in a book, ''Fear No Evil''. "Born c. 1934; died of cancer, February 18, 1984, in London, England. Clergyman and author. One of the best known evangelists of the Church of England, Watson was a leading figure in Britain's Charismatic Renewal movement. He was also an advocate of Christian unity, leading numerous ecumenical missions throughout the world. Among Watson's many books are ''Discipleship'', an autobiography entitled ''You Are My Lord'', and an account of his struggle against cancer entitled ''Fear No Evil''." Obituary Notice, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', 21 February 1984 John Gunstone remarked of Watson that "It is doubtful whether any other English Christian leader has had greater influence on this side of the Atlantic since the Second World War."

J. I. Packer James Innell Packer (22 July 192617 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions. He was considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North Amer ...

called him "one of the best-known clergymen in England".

in the foreword to David Watson's ''Discipleship'' (London: Hodder, 1981) p. 6.

Views

David Watson originally questioned aspects of Catholicism. However, he was later involved in

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

promotion of

charismatic renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...

via the Fountain Trust, and marched alongside Catholic leaders in peace marches in Northern Ireland during

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. He championed charismatic evangelicalism within the Church of England, and, unlike some other evangelicals of the time, was convinced of remaining in mainstream denominations.

Works

Bibliography

*''Christian Myth and Spiritual Reality'' (1967) *''My God Is Real'' (1971) *''God's Freedom Fighters'' (US ''How to Win the War'') (1972) *''One in the Spirit'' (1973) *''I Believe in Evangelism'' (1976) *''In Search of God'' (1974) *''Live a New Life'' (1978) *''I Believe in the Church'' (1978) *''Is Anyone There?'' (1979) *''Discipleship'' (in US ''Called and Committed'') (1981) *''Jesus, Then and Now'' (1983) *''You Are My God : An Autobiography'' (1983) *''Fear No Evil - A Personal Struggle with Cancer'' (1984) *''Hidden Warfare'' (1987)

Video works

*''Jesus Then and Now - V. 1 - Beginnings and Temptation'' (1983) *''Jesus Then and Now - V. 2 - Disciples and Miracles'' (1983) *''Jesus Then and Now - V. 3 - Lifestyle and Prayer'' (1983) *''Jesus Then and Now - V. 4 - The Man and Opposition'' (1983) *''Jesus Then and Now - V. 5 - Crucifixion and Resurrection'' (1983) *''Jesus Then and Now - V. 6 - The Spirit and the New Age'' (1983)

Biographical

*Teddy Saunders and Hugh Sansom ''David Watson, A Biography'' (Sevenoaks: Hodder, 1992) *Edward England (Ed) ''A Portrait by his Friends'' (Godalming: Highland, 1985) *Porter, Matthew. ''David Watson: Evangelism, Renewal, Reconciliation'' (Cambridge: Grove Books, 2003)

Footnotes

External links

David Watson: A Legacy by Thomas Marshall

David Watson: A Legacy by Thomas Marshall - alternative link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, David C K 1933 births 1984 deaths English Charismatics English evangelists People educated at Bedford School People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire 20th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Ridley Hall, Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Evangelical Anglican clergy