A Word About Oswald Chambers - Chambers, Oswald

Oswald Chambers was not famous during his lifetime. At the time of his death in 1917 at the age of forty-three, only three books bearing his name had been pub-lished. Among a relatively small circle of Christians in Britain and the U.S., Chambers was much appreciated as a teacher of rare insight and expression, but he was not widely known.

Chambers was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1874, the youngest son of a Baptist minister. He spent his boyhood years in Perth, then his family moved to London when Oswald was fifteen. Shortly after themove to London, Oswald made his public profession of faith in Christ and became a member of Rye LaneBaptist Church. This marked a period of rapid spiritual growth, along with an intense struggle to find God’s will and way for his life. A gifted artist and musician, Chambers trained at  London’s Royal Academy of Art, sensing God’s direc-tion to be an ambassador for Christ in the world of art and aesthetics. While studying at the University of Edinburgh (1895–96), he decided, after an agonizing internal battle, to study for the ministry. He left the university and entered Dunoon College, near Glasgow,  where he remained as a student, then a tutor for nine years. In 1906, he traveled to the United States, spending six months teaching at God’s Bible School in Cincin-nati, Ohio. From there, he went to Japan, visiting theTokyo Bible School, founded by Mr. and Mrs.Charles
Cowman. This journey around the world in 1906–7 marked his transition from Dunoon College to full- time work with the Pentecostal League of Prayer.
During the last decade of his life, Chambers served
as:
• Traveling speaker and representative of the League
of Prayer, 1907–10
• Principal and main teacher of the Bible Training
College, London, 1911–15

• Y.M.C.A. chaplain to British Commonwealth sol-
diers in Egypt, 1915–17
He died in Cairo on November 15, 1917, of compli- cations following an emergency appendectomy. The complete story of his life is told in Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God (1993), available from Discovery
House Publishers.
During the seven years of their marriage, his wife, Gertrude (Biddy) Hobbs, took verbatim shorthand notes of nearly all his lectures and sermons. After his death, she spent the rest of her life publishing her
husband’s spoken words. His best-known book, My Utmost for His Highest, has been continuously in print since it was first published in 1927. From the earliest days of publication following
World War I, Mrs. Chambers was advised and assisted by a small group of personal friends. In later years, this group became known as the Oswald Chambers Publi- cations Association, which was incorporated in 1942, and exists today as a Registered British Charity. It oversees the publication and distribution of Oswald Chambers’ material around the world. Through the years, one of the Association’s goals has been to keep all of Oswald Chambers’ books in print. This has often meant the amalgamation of smaller books and booklets into single volumes for greater cost efficiency. The publication of this volume fulfills a goal held by Mrs. Chambers and the Associa-tion. By presenting the Complete Works in a single volume, it is hoped to preserve Chambers’ words for future generations. We commend this work to the reader with the prayer that you will be spiritually strengthened and encouraged as you encounter the person of Jesus Christ through the words of His servant, Oswald Chambers.