Goodall, Norman (1896-1985)

British missionary statesman and architect of the integration of the International Missionary Council (IMC) with the World Council of Churches (WCC)

Born in Birmingham, Goodall early displayed his administrative gifts as a member of the British civil service during World War I. After the armistice, He graduated from Mansfield College at Oxford, was ordained to the Congregational ministry and in 1936 was appointed member of the staff of the London Missionary Society with secretarial responsibility for India and the South Pacific. On the basis of the wide experience this gave him, Goodall was chosen to succeed William Paton in 1944 as London secretary of the IMC and editor of the International Review of Missions. This placed him at the center of the developing ecumenical movement.

A changed world at the end of World War II demanded fresh thinking about missionary strategy, and Goodall played a leading role. He was instrumental in planning the IMC conferences at Whitby, Ontario (1947), and Willingen, Germany (1952), leading to the integration of the IMC and WCC at New Delhi (1961). He remained on the staff of the WCC for a further two years as assistant secretary, and in a period of semi-retirement was actively involved in the International Congregational Council and the UK Free Church Federal Council. Final retirement in 1968 did not lessen his ecumenical influence, particularly in lectures to Roman Catholics, culminating with visits to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was an outstanding expositor and a master of the English language, but above all, someone with remarkable pastoral gifts. He is chiefly remembered for his gracious Christian character.

Clifford, Paul R., “Goodall, Norman,” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998), 250.

This article is reprinted from Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Macmillan Reference USA, copyright © 1998 Gerald H. Anderson, by permission of Macmillan Reference USA, New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Bibliography

Primary

Goodall, Norman. Christian Missions and Social Ferment. Vol. The Beckly social service lecture, 1964, London: Epworth Press, 1964.

_____. Congregationalism–Plus. London: Published for the International Congregational Council by Independent Press, 1953.

_____. A Decisive Hour for the Christian Mission : The East Asia Christian Conference, 1959 and the John R. Mott Memorial Lectures. London: SCM Press, 1960.

_____. The Ecumenical Movement. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1961.

_____. Ecumenical Progress: A Decade of Change in the Ecumenical Movement, 1961-71. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.

_____. A History of the London Missionary Society, 1895-1945. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1954.

_____. Missions Under the Cross; Addresses Delivered At the Enlarged Meeting of the Committee of the International Missionary Council At Willingen, in Germany, 1952; With Statements Issued By the Meeting. London: Edinburgh House Press, 1953.

_____. One Man’s Testimony. New York: Harper, 1949.

_____. Second Fiddle : Recollections and Reflections. London: S.P.C.K, 1979.

_____. The Uppsala Report 1968; Official Report of the Fourth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Uppsala July 4-20, 1968. Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1968.
A comprehensive collection of Goodall’s numerous articles and pamphlets is included in the archives of the LMS held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

Secondary

Clifford, Paul Rowntree, “Norman Goodall,” in Gerald H. Anderson et al., eds., Mission Legacies (1994), pp. 602-607.

Links

Time magazine story after Goodall’s election as general secretary of the IMC, July 17, 1944.