“Oh be of good comfort, we hold Christ by faith and not by feeling.” – Richard Greenham
Richard Greenham’s (1540—1594) life emphasized the ‘Puritan Work Ethic’ of diligence and hard labor. The details of his birth and upbringing are scarce, but sources say he studied at Pembroke hall, Cambridge as a mature student in 1559. He earned his M.A. degree and spent about twelve years studying and teaching. When he left his comfortable position at university around 1570, he moved to Dry Drayton to be a pastor. Dry Drayton was a poor farming community with less than 200 hundred people, and many were not receptive to the Gospel.
Greenham’s call to the community of Dry Drayton was difficult. Greenham was an educated man in the Scripture, but most of the congregants and people in the town were illiterate (women nearly 100% and men around 70%), and owning a Bible was scarce in Dry Drayton. The challenge for Greenham was steep, and people were not interested in the Bible but were more interested in folk tales and their everyday lives. When people attended Greenham’s church, they were not interested in being there, part of the reason was due to the orders of Elizabeth I. The Act of Uniformity required church attendance on Sundays and “holy days” and imposed fines for absence. Congregants would be fidgeting, coming in late, falling asleep, and leaving early during the service. In his letters, he wrote, “preaching Christ crucified unto myself and country people,” and about his pastoral ministry as “none other thing, but to preach the word of God sincerely, and purely with a care of the glory of God and a desire of the salvation of our brethren.”
Greenham was a disciplined man, he woke up at 4 am every morning for prayer, study, and sermon preparation. During the week, he preached a sermon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday at dawn so the farmers and laborers might attend church before they went to work. After preaching, he had further study. On weekday afternoons, he visited the sick or was out in the fields to speak with his working parishioners. He also preached twice on Sundays, and on Thursday mornings, he catechized the children, which he also did each Sunday evening. Greenham’s goal was to visit all the members of his congregation at least twice a year with an intentional visit. His heart for the people set the pace for future Puritan ministers.
One unique trait of Greenham was his zeal for the Lord. Which came out in his passionate preaching, and at the end of the service, he sweated so profusely that his shirt was so wet it would have appeared to have been soaked in water. Greenham’s messages were counter to the Church of England, he preached about Christ, salvation, and the Christian life. He also wanted people to live holy lives based upon the principles in the Law of God. He described the Lord’s Day as a “feeding day of the soul” and that it was not only a day of knowledge but also for the love of neighbor.
Greenham was a nonconformist pastor, as he stood up to Queen Elizabeth I’s rules of mandatory garb and use of the Book of Common Prayer. He was suspended for some time from his ministry for refusing to adhere to the wearing of habits. Greenham believed that the church’s rites and ceremonies needed to be instructed by Christ, and without the guidance of Scripture, there was no real advantage. He went so bold as to claim Church of England’s force of conformity was superstitious.
Greenham was charitable to the people in Dry Drayton, he gave generously to those in need, and if he heard about someone cheating people in the marketplace, he would expose it. The church had an area that grew grains, which supplemented his income. With that fertile land, he spoke with some of the wealthier people in the area to develop a community granary to sell bread at a fraction of the cost during seasons of need. Greenham wanted to prepare men for the ministry, so he would welcome one man into his home from Cambridge at a time to gain ministry experience in Dry Drayton with his oversight. Some young preachers wanted to take a firm stance against the Church of England as he did, but he challenged the young ministers to preach faith and repentance from sin first. He encouraged other pastors to do the same with mentoring and preaching. Despite all of his giftings and hard work, Greenham’s ministry appeared to be void of any fruit from an earthly perspective. Outside his church, people were blessed through it, but not, it seems, his people.
In 1591 Richard Greenham left his flock, for reasons unknown, for London. Before he left Dry Drayton, he told Richard Warfield, who succeeded him as the minister, “I perceive no good wrought by my ministry on any but one family.” Unfortunately, Greenham was not a good judge of the real impact of his ministry. He had to do much groundbreaking and dig up the fallow ground to prepare for the next generation. His was a season of toiling and breaking fallow ground so that the next would be sowing. As one reads Greenham’s life it would parallel that of A.W. Pink (1886 – 1952), these men labored for the Gospel but did not see the fruit, but were used to bless future generations, Greenham was influential for many faithful Puritans who came after him in theology and practice. Richard Greenham showed people then and today what it means to be a faithful minister.