C.H. Spurgeon the people’s preacher

160 years ago, in January 1850, a 15 year-old Fenland boy walked into a Primitive Methodist Chapel in Colchester and experienced a life-changing conversion through the preaching of an uneducated Essex man.  Less than two years later, at the age of 17, that same boy became pastor of a Cambridgeshire village chapel.  His ministry had such dramatic effect that he was invited to be minister of a historic London Baptist Church, New Park Street Chapel on Southwark, when he was still only 19.  From there his ministry took off and before long he was preaching to thousands.

An attractively-produced book and powerful DVD on the life of CH Spurgeon, just released by CWR, are available from re:fresh books & christian resources.   The book, C.H. Spurgeon the people’s preacher would make an ideal gift for anybody interested in our Christian heritage, especially members of Baptist and reformed churches.  

In C.H. Spurgeon the people’s preacher, Peter Morden presents an enthusiastic and sympathetic portrait of the great Baptist preacher.  He describes not only the man who moved thousands through his spoken and written sermons but also the vulnerability of a man who was sensitive and even subject to bouts of depression; a man who struggled with ill-health, and a man who passed through “a horror of great darkness” after the Surrey Gardens Music Hall disaster in which seven members of his congregation perished.  

Seeking to show Spurgeon not only as a preacher but as pastor, husband, and innovator Peter Morden briefly traces his early life, conversion and ministry and then goes on to look at Spurgeon the man – his spirituality, his prayer life, his commitment to God’s word and his passion for holiness.  He also devotes chapters to Spurgeon’s writings, the founding of the Pastors’ College (now Spurgeon’s College), The Stockwell Orphanage and the “Colportage Society”.   A chapter on Spurgeon’s later ministry includes his developing health problems from 1869 onwards, and a brief discussion of the Downgrade controversy which led to his resignation from the Baptist Union and almost certainly contributed to his early death at the age of 57.

Peter Morden is tutor in Church History and Spirituality at Spurgeon’s College.  CH Spurgeon the people’s preacher is lavishly illustrated with pictures from newspapers of the time and other sources, photographs of key locations today, and stills from the film.  To help readers apply the book to life today, each chapter ends with sections headed “Digging Deeper” and “Engage”.  These are not just questions for discussion, they often continue the subject of the chapter but with material selected to engage with modern needs.

The associated film C.H. Spurgeon the people’s preacher, is produced as a 75-minute DVD with interspersed commentary and drama.  It effectively portrays the close relationship between Spurgeon and his wife Susannah, Spurgeon’s commitment to Christ, his love for the lost, his passion for God’s truth and his agonies of mind through events such as the Surrey Gardens Music Hall disaster and Downgrade Controversy. 

Christian leaders and anybody really interested in Spurgeon, the man, will find the “bonus material” comprising short analyses by Peter Morden especially helpful.

Christopher Hawes plays
the young Spurgeon in
C.H. Spurgeon the people's preacher

C.H. Spurgeon The People’s Preacher is produced by the Christian Television Association, which also produced the award-winning Robber of the Cruel Streets*, about the life of George Muller.  This is also available from re:fresh books & christian resources along with many other DVDs including Candle in the Dark, the story of another famous Baptist, William Carey.

*For a review of Robber of the Cruel Streets click HERE