Since Spurgeon was not televised and McLaren did not podcast, does this mean I must leave their beautifully leather bond sermons just to decorate my library shelves? Being personally familiar with a preacher is helpful to benefit from his preaching. Andrew W. Blackwood [1} in his book Preaching from the Bible aids us in getting to know preachers from the past.
Blackwood encouraged preachers to read at least one good biography of a well-known and greatly used preacher
Before getting into his printed sermons.
Next, read any books he has written on preaching and pastoring. Then read his sermons (Andrew W. Blackwood. Preaching from the Bible. New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1941, pages 235 ff.).
I have attempted to implement this suggestion with Charles H. Spurgeon. Two helpful books to facilitate this process by Warren W. Wiersbe are
Walking with the Giants: A Minister’s Guide to Good Reading and Great Preaching and
Living with the Giants: The Lives of Great Men of the Faith. Both of these books have a chapter on Charles H. Spurgeon and thirty-one other pulpit giants.
Walking with the Giants is in two parts. Part 1 is called Great Preachers-Authors. Wiersbe writes the biographies of 18 preachers. What is unique about these biographies is the targeted audience: preachers. At the end of each chapter, there is a helpful bibliography to help the preacher get to know these preachers. The chapter on Spurgeon includes a bibliography necessary to follow Andrew Blackwood’s method of studying a well-known preacher by reading his biographies, sermons, and books on preaching and pastoring.
1. Spurgeon’s Biographies
Here are the biographies you could read before you start reading Spurgeon’s sermons.
Bacon, Ernest W.: Spurgeon: Heir of the Puritans. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968.
Booth, Bramwell: Echoes and Memories. New York: Doran, 1925.
Fullerton, W. Y.: C. H. Spurgeon. London: Williams and Norgate, 1920, Reprinted—Chicago: Moody, 1966. This biography is unique because Fullerton was Spurgeon’s assistant for fourteen years at the Metropolitan Tabernacle and gives personal stories about Spurgeon’s ministry. For example, Fullerton tells how Spurgeon led his Sunday morning worship service (pages 123-128) and how he prepared sermons (page 181).
Murray, Iain. The Forgotten Spurgeon, 2nd ed. London: Banner of Truth, 1973.
Thielicke, Helmut. Encounter with Spurgeon. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1963. Reprinted—Grand Rapids: Baker, 1975.
Wiersbe gives a paragraph annotation on most of these biographies to help you decide which you would like to read before you delve into Spurgeon’s sermons.
In addition to the biographies about Spurgeon, Wiersbe includes Spurgeon’s Autobiography. This two-volume set is over 1000 pages of letters, records, and Spurgeon’s recollections.
2. Spurgeon’s Sermons
Wiersbe next provides the sources of sermons by Spurgeon. There are 56 volumes of The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1863 ff. Reprinted---Pasadena, Tex.: Pilgrim.
In addition, Wiersbe does not mention a shorter eight-volume set of Spurgeon’s sermons arranged in order from Genesis to Revelation. The set is called The Treasury of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
3. Spurgeon’s Pastoral and Preaching Writings
Spurgeon’s An All-Round Ministry is discussed by Wiersbe. An All-Round Ministry is a collection of Spurgeon’s presidential addresses to the students and alumni of the Pastor’s College. I say, ‘enjoy reading,’ but I must confess that these messages have more than once driven me to my knees in confession and prayer.
Here is what Wiersbe writes about Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students: “Get a complete edition of his Lectures to My Students and read it carefully. Granted, some of the material is antiquated, but so much is relevant to our ministry. ‘The Minister’s Fainting Fits’ and ‘The Need of Decision for the Truth’ ought to be required reading for all ministerial students.” I agree.
Since it is impossible to listen to these preachers who powerfully impacted their generation, the next best possibility is to get to know them through reading their biographies, autobiographies, sermons, and lectures on preaching and pasturing.
[1] Andrew Watterson Blackwood (1882-1966) was a pastor, professor, and prolific author. That combination of ministries made his writings helpful to pastors.