John Richardson, known to many through his writings and his blog, died at the end of last month after a short illness.
I first met John when we started discussing the possibility of taking his self-published books to a wider audience. Get into the Bible was a short book that introduced many people to the idea of biblical theology for the first time, and ran into several printings with us. We went on to publish Revelation Unwrapped a short, accessible commentary on the last book of the Bible, and God, Sex and Marriage, unpacking marriage from 1 Corinthians 7. The latter book was all the more intriguing , as John was at the time of writing a bachelor. He approached the subject of marriage with all the enthusiasm of the non-combatant. All these books are still available from us as e-books.
John trained for ministry at St John’s College Nottingham, and described his early thinking to me as a blend of Anglo-catholicism tinged with charismatic renewal. But through his studies and reading the Bible he became more convinced of the evangelical viewpoint, culminating in spending a year at Moore College in Sydney, Australia. John knew that his ministry would always involve lecturing and writing, and worked as a chaplain at various universities and colleges in London - work which allowed him to pursue these gifts.
John was in great demand as a speaker and lecturer at theological colleges and churches, but it was his blog that most people gravitated to. In later years he was the Vicar of the curiously named village of Ugley in Hertfordshire. His Blog - The Ugley Vicar - was always stimulating to read on matters of Anglican debate, and the latest theological controversies. John was always rigorous in his thinking, but kind and welcoming in his tone, which meant he had followers and friendly discussions with both his theological friends and those who disagreed with him. His line of argument was always fresh, sometimes quirky, but never dull, and often seasoned with witty asides.
John married in later life, and leaves a widow, Alison, to whom our hearts go out in sympathy.
John’s settled faith in Christ and belief in the gospel of grace means we can rejoice that he is with the Lord he worked so hard to serve in his life and ministry.
Tim Thornborough is the founder and Publishing Director of The Good Book Company. He is series editor of Explore Bible-reading notes, the author of The Very Best Bible Stories series, and has contributed to many books published by The Good Book Company and others. Tim is married to Kathy, and they have three adult daughters.
