An illustration of "The Doctor" at Westminster Chapel

After struggling over the call to preach for two years, in 1927 he returned to Wales, having married Bethan Phillips, accepting a call to minister at a church in Aberafan (Port Talbot).

Then, after a decade ministering in Aberafan, he went back to London, to Westminster Chapel, where he co-pastored with Dr. Campbell Morgan. The day before he was officially to be accepted into his new position, war broke out in Europe. During the same year (1939) he became the president of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Students (known today as the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UK)). During the war he and his family moved to Haslemere, Surrey. In 1943 Dr. Morgan retired, leaving Jones as the sole Pastor of Westminster Chapel.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones was well-known for his expository style of preaching, and the Sunday morning and evening meetings at which he officiated Drew crowds of several hundred, as did the Friday evening Bible studies – which were, in effect, sermons in the same style. He would take many months – even years – to expound a chapter of the Bible verse by verse. His sermons would often be around fifty minutes to an hour in length, attracting many students from universities and colleges in London. His sermons were also transcribed and printed (virtually verbatim) in the weekly Westminster Record, which was read avidly by those who enjoyed his preaching.

"Big Daddy", the English pro wrestler

Lloyd-Jones continued his ministry at Westminster Chapel until 1968, when he had a major operation and decided to retire.

Christopher Catherwood

It was shortly after he retired that I first met the man called “The Doctor” by all who knew him. He was living in Ealing, West London, I was invited to his home by his grandson, Christopher Catherwood, who later went on to edit many of Lloyd-Jones sermons into books.

Shortly after meeting “The Doctor” who was a small man with a powerful presence, Christopher confided that his grandfather had one rather endearing habit that he shared with his grandchildren.

“He would love to gather his grandkids on his lap and watch professional wrestling on the television,” Christopher told me. “It was the only time that I would see him really excited.”

I discovered later that one of the favorites of “The Doctor” was an English professional wrestler called “Big Daddy”, who was known for his record-breaking 62 inch chest, stood 6’ 6” tall and weighed 375 lbs.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached for the last time on June 8, 1980 at Barcombe Baptist Chapel. After a lifetime of work, he died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Ealing on March 1, 1981, St David's Day. He was buried at Newcastle Emlyn, near Cardigan, west Wales. A well attended thanksgiving service was held at Westminster Chapel on 6 April.

It seems to me that his enjoyment of wrestling was derived from the fact that he was always wrestling with difficult passages from the Bible. And, unlike the pro wrestlers on TV, he was doing this for real, and his congregation always appreciated his conclusions.

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.