The Revd Dr Raymond Brown: 1928-2025
Baptist minister and former Spurgeon’s College Principal: ‘grateful disciple, biblical preacher, sensitive pastor, diligent scholar and rounded human being’
Raymond Brown, known to friends and colleagues as Ray, was born on 3 March 1928 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. Soon after, the family moved to Manchester, where Ray spent his early years. His father left home when Ray was three, and his mother, in Ray’s own words, was 'the greatest treasure of my young life'. She sadly passed away when Ray was 17.
Due to the domestic circumstances at home, Ray left school at 14 without any educational qualifications. Ray rarely spoke about his early years, and it never defined him, but spurred him on to become the man he did.
Ray attended the local Methodist Church and, as Secretary of the church’s youth group, helped organise a youth weekend in October 1945, which was led by a small visiting group from the “Methodist Group Fellowship”. Over that weekend, just four months after his mother had passed away, Ray responded to the preaching of the team, recognising that although genuinely religious, he had never asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Saviour. Ray remained forever grateful for the visit of that dear, elderly, team.
Ray served in the Royal Air Force during his national service, and during this time was baptised in Gloucester. After finishing his national service and leaving the RAF he worked as a postman in Gillingham, also serving as a lay pastor at Berachah Free Church in Chatham. He became a member of Rochester Baptist Church, where the Revd Norman Mortimore was the minister. It was during these years that he felt called to Baptist ministry and decided to apply to Spurgeon’s College in London.
Due to his lack of qualifications, Ray, through private study while serving as a postman, achieved the necessary O and A level entrance requirements. He also studied New Testament Greek part-time at the London College of Divinity. He entered Spurgeon’s College in 1952 and spent happy and formative years there, graduating in 1956.
After college, Ray accepted the call to be the minister at Zion Baptist Church in Cambridge. During his time here, he was involved in a number of other activities, speaking at Covenanter camps led by Mr Albert Catton, which led to the publishing of his first little book, a tract for the Covenanter movement entitled: The Life I Now Live.
He left Zion in 1962 to study for a PhD at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, which he was awarded in 1965. He accepted a call to Upton Vale Baptist Church in Torquay, starting in 1964. He left Torquay for Spurgeon’s College in 1972, joining the staff as lecturer in Church History, then becoming Principal of the college two years later, a role he fulfilled diligently, with humility, wisdom and humour, for 13 years.
The Revd Dr David Coffey, in his obituary of Ray produced for the Baptist Quarterly (due to be published in January 2026), writes, 'When Ray’s death was announced, a surge of stories appeared on social media from grateful students whom Ray had mentored as Principal. He was not only admired and respected, but the tone of tributes showed he was deeply loved.
'He was a shepherd-like pastor who built a community rooted in the Christian spiritual practices he had studied thoroughly for many years. He was highly relational and thrived on welcoming students into the College community through his warm friendship and infectious sense of humour. The legendary hospitality of Ray and Christine in their bungalow on the college grounds has left a lasting impression of gratitude.'
Ray left Spurgeon’s in 1986 to become senior minister at Victoria Baptist Church, Eastbourne. It was from here that Ray retired from formal stipended ministry. Entering retirement, Ray and Christine moved to St Neots in Cambridgeshire, becoming members of Perry Baptist Church, before moving into Cambridge itself and becoming members of Barnwell Baptist Church in 2005.
Ray alongside his various ministry roles was a diligent and accomplished scholar (additional to his PhD, he was also awarded a Master of Theology in 1963 and Cambridge BD in 1981) and author and wrote many books. Moving to Cambridge allowed him to have more ready access to the University library, and this was, and remained, one of his ‘happy places’, where he would spend long days gratefully reading of those saints who had gone before.
Ray’s mind remained sharp right to the end (his final book, Gifted Preachers in the Early Church: Their Ministry and Ours, being published at the age of 96!), but over the last couple of years, his body struggled, which led to some long stays in hospital. His poor hearing in later life impacted his ability to communicate on the telephone, but he was delighted with the technological advances that enabled him to keep in touch with former students, colleagues and friends by email. His passing was peaceful, surrounded by those he loved the most, his dear family.
Ray commented that he was 'more grateful than I can possibly say for my own radiantly happy marriage to Christine' who was 'not only the cherished love of my life, but my committed partner in Christ’s work, my kindest critic by far, and of massive support as well as encouragement in my life’s ministry.' They had met at a Baptist holiday on the Adriatic coast of Italy when Ray was speaking, and they married in December 1966.
Ray and Christine were blessed with their two children Kathryn and David, their lives 'enriched beyond anything we could possibly have deserved', and this was further extended with the addition, in time, of the grandchildren Helen, Matthew and Harry. Kathryn and David commented: 'Daddy was a pure, constant, beautiful source of love in our lives and we are forever grateful for him.'
Love and gratitude marked Ray’s life – he was truly grateful for all those who had been a part of his life and spoke so beautifully about how his life had been enriched over the years.
In the notes he left for those planning his thanksgiving service, he highlighted these elements for which he was grateful: his 'personal faith in Christ; Christine; two lovely children in Kathryn and David; Christian ministry; theological education; writing; many hundreds of Christian people who, since my late teens, have enriched, encouraged and helped me in my ongoing Christian life – fellow-Ministers, colleagues, church members, former students, preachers and partners in the work (particular mention of the great Methodist preacher, W.E. Sangster, and an immensely gifted Church Historian, my friend, Geoffrey Nuttall); long and happy retirement; God’s Word.'
He was especially grateful for the care he received at hospital and at home over the last couple of years.
Many will know of Ray through his ministry, whether in one of the churches, at Spurgeon’s College or at the various conventions at which he spoke (Keswick being chief among these – including being a regular speaker at the Japanese and South Korean Keswick conventions); or maybe through his writing – commentaries in the Bible Speaks Today series (The Message of Hebrews being the first, followed by commentaries on Numbers, Deuteronomy and Nehemiah), or books on Church History (including his best-known historical book, The English Baptists of the Eighteenth Century), among many others. But Ray was so much more than this.
Ray was fun-loving, had a wonderful sense of humour, and enjoyed and embraced life and the opportunities it presented. He loved his classical music and attending concerts whether that be Gilbert & Sullivan or The Messiah, a passion and joy he shared with Christine. He enjoyed fell walking and the Lake District was a particularly special place for him.
The famed theologian Karl Barth is attributed with saying: 'We must hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.' This was Ray to the end – his daily Bible reading and The Times were his two must-reads of each day.
In his last few days, he had left his Bible reading notes open at a page with 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 as the passage, the daily notes entitled: 'Enduring Love: Give thanks for all the love you have received'. The notes read: 'The one great carry-over from this life to the next will be love. God’s love for us will be fully revealed and the love that we have had for others and they for us will pass through the veil.' The notes go on to say a passage like this invites us to review how much of our life is driven and constrained by love and that all our loving is a response to Christ’s love for us.
As Ray’s life here on earth came towards its conclusion, he remained inspired by those who had gone before. Some of the last words he wrote were these: 'However warmly they shared this eager anticipation, these early Christian pastors and preachers did not allow their confidence about heaven to degenerate into self-regarding escapism. Those who treasured such a firm hope were given a new dimension to everyday living. Secure in their eternal destiny, they committed themselves wholeheartedly to consistent witness and devoted service. To be numbered with such resourceful people, and share their ideals, is a constantly enriching privilege.'
Ray’s life was marked by wholehearted consistent witness and devoted service shaped by his deep love for, and gratitude to, his loving Heavenly Father. His great friend of 75 years, the Revd Paul Mortimore, speaking at his Thanksgiving Service, captured beautifully Ray’s life under the headings: grateful disciple, biblical preacher, sensitive pastor, diligent scholar and rounded human being.
Ray will be sadly missed by so many of us, not least those closest to him. But he joins the 'great cloud of witnesses' (Hebrews 12:1), cheering us on and encouraging us to keep running the race with perseverance, having our eyes fixed on the prize, that is Jesus.
'For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.' (Phil 1:21). To God be the glory!
The Revd Stuart Wood, minister (Barnwell Baptist Church)
For those unable to attend the Thanksgiving Service for Ray, and who would like to hear the Revd Paul Mortimore’s full personal and beautiful tribute to Ray’s life and ministry, the recording can be accessed here, or downloaded here.
David Coffey’s full and thorough obituary of Ray’s ministry for the Baptist Quarterly, which provides much more detail about his ministry and writings, will be published in January.