John MacArthur would look back on childhood as a time
Youth in California 4
Baptist Church, Hollywood, in 1943, his father took over the
work at Eagle Rock. Jack's work in Hollywood saw notable
conversions, including those of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans,
who became close personal friends.
1. Jack and Irene MacArthur, 1950s.
John MacArthur would look back on childhood as a time
when he was 'loved, affirmed, encouraged and trusted'. The
'trusting' part was not always easy for his parents in his early
years. As a child he was almost incurably inquisitive. On one
occasion his curiosity even led him to slide down into a storm
drain that he wished to explore. Not surprisingly, his mother at
times resorted to tying him with a long rope to their clothes-line
pole. When such measures were no longer possible, his adventur-
ous nature could give his parents further surprises. Once about
8 JoHN MacArTHurR: SERVANT OF THE WORD AND FLOCK
the age of seven or eight, and perhaps 'dared' by school friends,
he stood at the intersection of roads near his home, directing
cars as though he were 'a traffic cop'. This ended abruptly when
a car he sought to stop happened to contain his father.
That was not the only time he felt some 'firm corporal correc-
tion'. Another 'correction' he was to remember had to do with
his trial of swear words he had heard used by older boys. This
was short-lived, for it led to his mouth being washed out with
soap! "To this day', he would say in later years, "when I overhear
someone else using vile language, I start to taste the soap!'
But in the most important area of his life John MacArthur's
parents were spared the concerns of many Christian parents.
He was never to remember a time when his faith was not real:
'T always knew I needed Jesus as my Saviour.' His Christian
experience came slowly with his years; there was no sudden
change and no spiritual rebellion. While he was still young his
father would often take him with him on engagements. One
such outing was for a week of meetings at the church of another
pastor. While Jack MacArthur was otherwise engaged, John
(now about ten) was left with the pastor's son and other boys. They drew the young visitor into an escapade that was new to
him and which involved an element of vandalism. John's con-
science was so smitten that he had no peace until he sat with
his father on the steps of the church, and spoke of his need of
God's forgiveness.
Jack MacArthur gave much time to his son, and was his chief
mentor. Many years later John would recall:
It was my father's preaching that made the greatest impact.
You don't grow up a pastor's son without hearing a few thousand sermons—some more than once. While I may
Youth in California 9
have occasionally nodded off in the pew, much of what I heard stuck. In fact, a few of his sermons stand out clearly
in my mind to this day.
What I found as I watched—and what has most profoundly influenced me—was that my father's life rang true.
His actions and his attitudes didn't change according to
where he was or whom he was with. He lived by the same
standard he encouraged his family and congregation to
embrace, and by doing so, refused to give us an excuse to
compromise. In a word, what he taught me was the value
of integrity.
Until he was ten years old, John also knew the influence and
heard the preaching of his grandfather, Harry MacArthur, who
died of cancer on February 18, 1950. Not long before that event
John had made a last visit to him with his father, and would ever
remember him with admiration. In one of Harry MacArthur's
last sermons, preached in December 1949, his subject had
been "Heavenly Records', with Job 16:19 as his text: And now,
behold, my witness 1s in heaven, and my record is on high.' This
was made available to all who attended the funeral, and in a
Foreword to the publication, his son wrote, 'A dying man was
preaching, a man who knew the record of his life was written,
and that he was to stand soon in the presence of his Saviour.'
In that sermon was the preacher's last testimony:
First of all, I want it to be recorded that Harry MacArthur,
a sinner, accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour and was 'born
again', and made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Some believe that one can be saved by joining a church, but we know from the Word of God that this 1s not so. I was a member of a church in good standing at least two years
before I was saved or even interested 1n salvation... The
10 JOHN MacArTHuR: SERVANT OF THE WORD AND FLOCK
second entry I want recorded is the fact that I have and
do, publicly confess Jesus Christ before men.
In the words that followed, Grandfather MacArthur showed
he was a soul-winner to the last. The Foreword to the published
sermon noted his humility in particular: "He was a magnificent
soldier of the cross, but he never knew it. He was first of all a
preacher of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. He often said
there were others who could preach it better, but they could
never preach a better gospel.'
la is
By 1950, the year of his grandfather's death, John's father
had moved to First Baptist Church in the suburb of Downey. It
was to gain the reputation of being the fastest-growing church
in the denomination. In addition to this ministry, he carried on
his father's weekly radio ministry of 'Voice of Calvary', adding
a television broadcast in 1956.
More memorable to ten-year-old Johnny in 1950 was the
coming of his widowed grandmother, 'Nannie' Fullerton
MacArthur, to live with them. She was to stay for twenty-eight
years. Although it was a squeeze for seven to live in the small Downey manse, Johnny accepted having his single bed in a room
shared with his grandmother. In the company of his mother,
grandmother, and three sisters, feminine influence would play
its Own part in his upbringing. Of his mother and the family
upbringing he was to say:
Mom never worked a day outside the home. We were her
life. The house was always clean and comfortable, and
Youth in California if
she would always be baking cookies or bread or making something special for us to eat. When I went to college
near home, I could count on finding her there, cooking, reading, knitting (needles and yarn were always close by
or in her hands). She made an immense impact on our
family. Along with my father, she raised us four children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We all grew
to know and love God.
Perhaps the most important choice my parents ever made in raising my sisters and me had little to do with us
directly. It didn't concern where we went to school or how
often we received discipline. It didn't hinge on when we went to bed or what we ate for dinner. The most impor-
tant choice they made as parents was their commitment
to pursue a godly marriage.
Close relationships marked the family life. "This may seem
hard to believe', John would say in later life of his parents, 'but
I have never heard them say an unkind word to each other or
argue in an angry manner. They seemed always to overlook
each other's faults."
John's shared bedroom with his grandmother was to continue
for two years until they moved to the Glendale district and a
larger home. (By the time he was seventeen John reckoned he
had lived in seventeen houses.) The reason for the move was
his father's desire to establish a new church at Burbank, which
he named MacArthur Memorial Church in memory of Harry
MacArthur. The church name had soon to be changed to Calvary
2 Brom MS of an interview that Phil Johnson did with John MacArthur in the late 1980s, headed 'What My Parents Did Right', some of which appeared in a book compiled by Gloria Gaither. On the same subject MacArthur said, 'I believe the chief ingredient in a fulfilled family is not the love parents direct at their children, but the love they have for each other. That is the most securing element for children.'