Dr. Christian George serves as the curator of the C.H. Spurgeon Library and as assistant professor of historical theology at Midwestern Baptist University. He received his PhD in theology from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where he also served for three years as a doctoral tutor. George received his Master of Divinity degree from Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama, and his bachelor’s degree from Samford University. George’s book, The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon, is the product of a discovery George made while working on the thesis for his PhD.
Key Questions:
What can preachers today learn from great preachers of the past, like Spurgeon?
Among so many other voices, why has Spurgeon’s voice endured?
Do you think Spurgeon would be a celebrity pastor if he were alive today?
What advice do you think Spurgeon would give pastors today facing criticism?
Key Quotes:
“You’d be hard-pressed to find any other preacher in the last 500 years who is so Christo-centric.”
“Think much on grace, Christian, think much on grace.”
“I think he’s relevant today because Jesus Christ is relevant today. I think he’s endured because God has not allowed his word to disintegrate.”
“Here’s somebody who doesn’t need, you might say, 140 characters to get the gospel across. His style matches the simplicity of the gospel message.”
“His mind and his heart were particularly anointed for the gospel ministry.”
“In many ways, he was more popular than Queen Victoria and Abraham Lincoln.”
“He once said: ‘Just because a church is large doesn’t mean it’s healthy; it could just mean it’s swollen.’”
“Depression and suffering really marked his ministry, and in many ways it was the secret sauce of his ministry.”
“His whole ministry was forged on the anvil of affliction.”
“After many years of suffering, Spurgeon said ‘The storm has a bit in its mouth.’”
“Isn’t it amazing how social media has a way of wilting our fruit of the spirit.”
“I think he would be encouraged by what he sees in 21st Century protestant evangelicalism in America. I think he would be brokenhearted to see what’s happening in England right now.”
“There are people in our country who are just so excited to see what the dead have to say to the living.”
