Charles Studd

Charles Thomas Studd, often known as C. T. Studd (2 December 1860 – 16 July 1931), was a British missionary, a contributor to The Fundamentals, and a cricketer.

As a British Anglican Christian missionary to China he was part of the Cambridge Seven and was responsible for setting up the Heart of Africa Mission which became the Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade (now WEC International). As a cricketer, he played for England in the 1882 match won by Australia, which was the origins of The Ashes. A poem he wrote, "Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past", has become famous to many who are unaware of its author.

Faith

thumb|left|Three Studd brothers, Charles in the middle|alt=

Studd was a son of retired merchant Edward Studd. Edward became a Christian during a Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey revival meeting in England, and a visiting preacher to the Studd home, Tedworth House in Wiltshire, converted Charles and two of his brothers to the faith while they were students at Eton. According to his conversion narrative, the preacher asked him if he believed God's promises to give believers eternal life, and as Charles would only go so far as to profess he believed Jesus Christ died, the guest pressed the point, and Charles then believed on the Lord Jesus for salvation. Charles later recalled the moment:

"I got down on my knees and I did say 'thank you' to God. And right then and there joy and peace came into my soul. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible which had been so dry to me before, became everything."

Studd continued from Eton to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1883. In 1884 after his brother George was taken seriously ill Charles was confronted by the question, "What is all the fame and flattery worth ... when a man comes to face eternity?" He had to admit that since his conversion six years earlier he had been in "an unhappy backslidden state". As a result of the experience he said, "I know that cricket would not last, and honour would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come."

Studd emphasised the life of faith, believing that God would provide for a Christian's needs. His father died while he was in China, and he gave away his inheritance of £29,000, specifying £5,000 to be used for the Moody Bible Institute, £5,000 for George Müller mission work and his orphans, £5,000 for George Holland's work with England's poor in Whitechapel, and £5,000 to Commissioner Frederick Booth-Tucker for the Salvation Army in India. For the rest of his life, he lived as a ‘faith missionary’, with no fundraising. By the time he was 16 he had started to excel at cricket and at 19 was captain of his team at Eton College; after school he went to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was also recognised as an outstanding cricketer.

Ashes, 1882

Studd played in the original Test against Australia where The Ashes were first named and was one of the last two batsman in. When Studd went in, England needed 10 runs to win, but an eccentric performance by his batting partner Ted Peate led to the match being lost.

A week later, the relevant edition of the Sporting Times included a mock obituary which has assumed iconic status:

:IN AFFECTIONATE REMEMBRANCE

:OF ENGLISH CRICKET

:WHICH DIED AT THE OVAL, 29 August 1882,

:DEEPLY LAMENTED BY A LARGE CIRCLE OF

:SORROWING FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES

::R.I.P.

:N.B.-THE BODY WILL BE CREMATED AND THE

:ASHES TAKEN TO AUSTRALIA.

Studd's fame lives on though through the inscription preserved on the Ashes urn to this day, which reads,

:When Ivo goes back with the urn, the urn;

:Studds, Steel, Read and Tylecote return, return;

:The welkin will ring loud,

:The great crowd will feel proud,

:Seeing Barlow and Bates with the urn, the urn;

:And the rest coming home with the urn.

Soon after, some lady supporters in Melbourne jokingly presented the English captain with an urn which they said contained the ashes of a cricket bail; this gave rise to the name of 'The Ashes'.

Missionary work

Studd became an evangelist, and among those he influenced were Wilfred Grenfell and Frederick Brotherton Meyer. As a result of his brother's illness and the effect it had upon him, he decided to pursue his faith through missionary work in China. Of his missionary work, he said: "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell". However, he decided to go against medical advice and work abroad again.

In 1910 he went to the Sudan with Churhc Missionary Society missionary Llewellyn Gwynne

Christ's Etceteras (1915)
Quaint Rhymes for the Battlefield
Fool or Fanatic (contributor)

Studd's essay "The Personal Testimony of Charles T. Studd" became part of the historic collection The Fundamentals: A Testimony To The Truth, R. A. Torrey and A. C. Dixon. Studd continues to be best remembered by some for the poem, "Only One Life, 'Twill Soon Be Past". Its memorable verse states:

This poem inspired the song "Only One Life" written by Lanny Wolfe in 1973.

Influence

To this day, his name remains linked with the evangelisation of the Congo Basin, and in 1930 he was made a Chevalier of the Royal Order of the Lion by Albert I, King of the Belgians. His biography by Norman Grubb was exceptionally popular, and some of his own writings are still in print. A song, Fearless (by Building 429) was created in memory of C.T. Studd's work as a missionary.

References

External links

The Personal Testimony of Charles T. Studd – Studd's essay that became part of The Fundamentals