I have just learned of the passing of Eric Delve, a dear and trusted friend for over forty-five years. Eric was a faithful and productive servant of God, and many who came to faith in Christ because of his preaching have cause to give God thanks for him.
Eric was born in 1942. He grew up in a Christian home and felt called by God to serve him but defiantly rebelled. Finally, at three o’clock in the morning, in a horse exercise ring on Epsom Downs, he submitted himself to God. He began expressing his faith publicly and his evangelistic gifts were soon evident.
In the sixties and seventies Eric became a widespread and popular itinerant evangelist with an important and growing reputation. Eventually, he decided to ‘settle down’ and underwent training for the Anglican Church at Trinity College, Bristol, being ordained in 1990. After spending time in Liverpool he became the vicar of the Church of St Luke the Evangelist, Maidstone, in 1996. He stayed there for sixteen years until his retirement in 2013 released him from parish work, allowing him to return to itinerant ministry.
I got to know Eric in the late seventies through a mutual friend, Roger Simpson, a fellow student in theological training, and watched Eric preach. At the time, within the mainstream evangelical world (and certainly that of Anglicanism), there was still a tradition, even an expectation, of preaching being conducted in a restrained and formal way. Eric, however, was utterly and wonderfully different. He spoke with passion and dynamism: he was honest, he was humorous, he was authentic and I found he spoke to me in a compelling way that no other preacher did. I soon realised that part of the secret of Eric’s preaching was that, quite simply, he allowed himself to be himself. I found that idea of being unshackled in preaching incredibly liberating, and I’ve no hesitation in saying that my own ministry would not have been what it is without the gift of liberty I learned from Eric.
Eric was not only a compelling speaker, he was also a creative one. In his preaching and also in his books (many of which are still thankfully available as digital downloads and well worth seeking out), he always sought to put a fresh perspective on an old reality, or a new coat of paint on the most faded truth. He hated saying the same old thing the same old way. Without ever seeking novelty for novelty’s sake or departing from the truth, he put the new into the Good News. Here, too, I’ve tried to learn from him.
Eric, then, was compelling and creative. Yet I think these gifts would have been worthless except for one other gift of his: compassion. Eric cared for people. He had been outside the Christian faith and he knew the poverty and pain there and, in contrast, the riches of a life in Christ. Eric’s care for people showed in actions. Part of that caring was, quite simply, that he took risks. So, as a very inexperienced evangelist, he invited me to join him on a university mission. It was a challenge for us both, but over a hundred university missions later, I think I can say his risk worked out! Eric stretched me, guided me and encouraged me, and I owe him a great debt. Quite frequently I felt myself in the privileged role of Timothy with Paul.
Eric lives on now in eternity with the Lord he served. On earth he now also lives on with those whom he brought to Christ and through those whom he taught to preach.
Eric, I salute and honour you.
