Pastor and People

A great joy in the life of a Christian is to read about the lives of other Christian’s. Biographies are windows into the lives of other Christians who traveled the same road upon which we are now traveling. It is a portrait of someone who experienced the same struggles, the same joys, and the same sanctification process. I have read so many wonderful Christian biographies, many that have have radically changed my life. Therefore, I want to recommend some excellent Christian biographies that will transform your mind and heart as you step from your life into the shoes of someone else. Please click on the title of the book to be redirected for purchase.

Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Murray, Iain H.
ISBN-10: 0851514944 | ISBN-13: 9780851514949

Iain Murray believes that Edwards cannot be understood apart from his faith. Only when seen first and foremost as a Christian do his life and writings make sense. The integrity of this interpretation is confirmed in this study as Edwards is allowed on point after point to speak for himself. The result is a biography which is both factually and theologically reliable. Edwards’ theology is set in the context of his everyday life in public and private. His family relationships punctuate the narrative, adding both interest and pathos. This outstanding study is not only an exceptional biography; it also serves as a classic illustration of how the church today can and should learn from its past history. I have read and re-read my copy of Murray’s Edwards. The cover is worn the pages marked. This is my favorite biography of Edwards and one that has stood the true test of time.

Spurgeon: A New Biography

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Dallimore, Arnold A.
ISBN-10: 0851514510 | ISBN-13: 9780851514512

It is no easy task to depict ‘so tremendous a personality’ as that of Spurgeon in a brief volume, but in 250 pages it is here accomplished, and with a large measure of success. It will meet the need of those completely ignorant of Spurgeon and his vast achievements, but will stir also the interest of all who value a unique ministry, yielding 62 volumes of ‘deathless’ sermons and many other highly valuable publications. With so many biographical sketches and full-length biographies of Spurgeon on the market this is probably, without a doubt, the best biography of Spurgeon I have ever read. Spurgeon comes to life through the well written pages of Dallimore. One can almost hear Spurgeon ascend to the pulpit, open his Bible, and begin some of the greatest sermons that have ever been preached in the English language. I would highly recommend this biography.

Life of Arthur W. Pink

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Murray, Iain
ISBN-10: 0851518834 | ISBN-13: 9780851518831

Pink’s biography, first written by Iain Murray in 1981, is here revised and enlarged with the benefit of new material, including some of Pink’s own re-discovered manuscripts. It is the heart-stirring and compelling story of a strong, complex character - a ‘Mr Valiant-for-truth’ who was also a humble Christian. In 1922 a small magazine - Studies in the Scriptures - began to circulate among Christians in the English-speaking world. It pointed its readership back to an understanding of the gospel that had rarely been heard since the days of C. H. Spurgeon. At the time it seemed as inconsequential as its author, but subsequently Arthur Pink’s writings became a major element in the recovery of expository preaching and biblical living. Born in England in 1886, A. W. Pink was the little-known pastor of churches in the United States and Australia before he finally returned to his homeland in 1934. There he died almost unnoticed in 1952. By that date, however, his magazine was feeding several of the men who were leading a return to doctrinal Christianity, including Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Douglas Johnson (founder of Inter-Varsity) and, in book form after his death, his writing became very widely read across the world.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Fight of Faith 1939-1981

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Murray, Iain H.
ISBN-10: 0851515649 | ISBN-13: 9780851515649

The ministry of Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel which began at the outbreak of World War II was suddenly changed at the point at which this volume begins. His hard work in the difficult War and post-War years became the preparation for his great influence in London in the fifties and sixties. But these pages trace his ministry into wider circles - to the Universities, to Europe, the United States, South Africa and ultimately, in his books, to the whole world. This is the second volume in a set of two. With personal experience as an assistant to Lloyd-Jones, Iain Murray gives a first hand account of one of the greatest ministries in the 20th century. I encourage all pastors, preachers, students, and lovers of the gospel to become acquainted with Martyn Lloyd-Jones. His sermons and life will transform your mind and heart.

George Whitefield: The Life and Times, Vol. 1

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Dallimore, Arnold A.
ISBN-10: 0851510264 | ISBN-13: 9780851510262

Volume 1 brings the story of Whitefield’s life and of the evangelical revival up to the end of the year 1740. Volume 2 follows events onwards until his death in 1770. An outstanding biography, popularly written, and with an urgent message for the present day. Once again Arnold Dallimore out does himself in this wonderful portrait of one of the great preachers and evangelists to ever grace the shores of America. From an outside circuit-riding ministry, Whitefield touched the lives of countless thousands with his eloquent words. His view of God and Christ is unparalleled. Whitefield had a clear vision of the glory, grandeur and magnificence of the holiness of Christ. He shared the gospel in a tireless way and impacted all those he came in contact with. Read this biography for encouragement, read this biography for refreshment.

George Whitefield: The Life and Times, Vol. 2

Publisher: Banner of Truth
Author: Dallimore, Arnold A.
ISBN-10: 085151300X | ISBN-13: 9780851513003

Volume 2 follows events onwards until his death in 1770. An outstanding biography, popularly written, and with an urgent message for the present day. Once again Arnold Dallimore out does himself in this wonderful portrait of one of the great preachers and evangelists to ever grace the shores of America. From an outside circuit-riding ministry, Whitefield touched the lives of countless thousands with his eloquent words. His view of God and Christ is unparalleled. Whitefield had a clear vision of the glory, grandeur and magnificence of the holiness of Christ. He shared the gospel in a tireless way and impacted all those he came in contact with. Read this biography for encouragement, read this biography for refreshment.

John Wyclif: Myth And Reality
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Author: Evans, G. R.
ISBN-10: 0830828354 | ISBN-13: 9780830828357

John Wyclif has alternatively been called hero and heretic, reformer and radical, guardian and gadfly. But the true tale of this most controversial of late-medieval Englishmen is far richer and more complex.

In this first major biography of John Wyclif in nearly a century, G. R. Evans employs recent research to present a fresh, focused portrait of this pivotal historical figure. In doing so, she strips away the layers of legend that have obscured our view of the real Wyclif and places him within the features of his actual historical landscape.

That landscape is the world of fourteenth-century Oxford, where Wyclif spent the majority of his life. Evans, one of today’s leading historians of the era, vividly re-creates the scenery of this great medieval university town with clarity and detail, providing a comprehensive view of life and learning within its walls. It was here that Wyclif earned his reputation as one of the most learned and significant scholars of his day. And it was here that he developed his views regarding the Bible, the sacraments, ecclesiastical authority and political power–views that led to his eventual condemnation by the church.

Informative, dramatic and compelling, this masterful biography of John Wyclif is required reading for all lovers of history–student and scholar alike.

Jonathan Edwards: A Life

Publisher: Triliteral LLC - Yale
Author: Marsden, George M.
ISBN-10: 0300105967 | ISBN-13: 9780300105964

Introduction

Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden is a captivating biography of one of America’s greatest thinkers, theologians, and preachers. Chronicling the life of this New England pastor, Marsden takes the reader into the 18th century making the sights and sounds of the era come alive. Through the eyes of a Northampton pastor, Marsden paints a picture of Edwards’s conversion, ascent to the pulpit, family and home life, and private journey as a child of God. A reader will come away from this book being encouraged and challenged to discipline oneself in matters of spiritual reflection for the sake of the glory of Christ and His kingdom.

Summary

Jonathan Edwards is a fascinating character of Puritan heritage and background. Beginning with his rearing in the godly home of his father Timothy and mother Esther, Edwards learned the disciplines and practices that he would use for the rest of his life. He came to “a new sense of things” early in life and told his father of his experiences. Jonathan recalled that he was “pretty much affected” by this conversation, and when it ended he walked into the fields for contemplation. “And as I was walking there,” he reported, “and looked up on the sky and clouds; there came into my mind, a sweet sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express.” From that point forward Edwards began his journey into the things of Christ.

After his college training at Yale and a brief pastorate at a young Presbyterian congregation in New York, he joined his grandfather Solomon Stoddard in the church of Northampton. Marsden writes, “While grandson and grandfather agreed on most subjects, the most difficult transition for Jonathan was the much-debated question of conversion and communion to working in his grandfather’s domain.” This debate would cause Edwards to loose his pastoral position in years to come. His marriage to Sarah in July 1727 was a step signaling the young assistant’s transition to adult and authoritative status. After his grandfather’s death Jonathan assumed the senior pastor role in the Northampton church giving him many years of ministry and labor among the people.

The years of 1740-41 brought a spiritual awakening in New England that swept from Boston and along the eastern seaboard. Marsden says, “As revival fires were sweeping from Boston throughout New England during the spring, Edwards was enjoying a relatively modest though gratifying awakening among the young people of Northampton.” After the revival years were ended Edwards published one of his greatest works, Religious Affections which appeared in 1746. Affections grew from a sermon series Edwards preached in his own church examining the proper place of affections in the Christian life. This exposition remains the most widely read and admired of his theological works.

After many years of fruitful ministry and labor among the people of Northampton some in the church began to question Edwards regarding who he would admit to the Lord’s Table. Not following his grandfather’s belief that unregenerate and regenerate members may partake of the Lord’s Supper, Edwards was asked to leave the church. In his farewell sermon, preached July 1, 1750, Edwards firmly reminded his congregation of such an eternal perspective, which had been the central motif of his ministry.

After the ‘communion controversy’ ended his pastoral charge in Northampton, Edwards moved his ‘sizable’ family to Stockbridge where he would pastor and minister to the Indians. During that pastorate Edwards was asked to become a college president in Princeton where he would remain until his death on March 22, 1758.

Evaluation

Marsden sets the stage for the reader of this biography by developing the reality of life in the 18th century. He is not afraid to put on display the vulnerabilities, failures, and successes of Edwards as a pastor. In the midst of numerous writing and preaching what one sees at the core of Edwards’ outlook is a rigorously unsentimental view of love. Marsden says, “This attitude is especially difficult to appreciate for those who sensibilities have been shaped by the sentimentality of succeeding eras.” Edwards begins with the premise that the Trinitarian God is essentially loving and creates the universe in order to share that love with others. Yet God permits real and terrible evil in that universe; it is in a state of war because of Satan’s rebellion against God. “Those on the side of evil in this warfare hate true love and what is ultimately good” Marsden says. For the Christian who was to be untied with Christ, life remained a struggle of the deepest contrasts. Edwards resolved the highs and lows of his own spiritual experiences into the lessons of this tough-minded theological heritage that did not flinch at the discomforts of a lifetime of struggles, even for the regenerate. As Edwards expressed in one of the most revealing early entries in his “Shadows of Divine Things” notebook:

“Roses grow upon briers, which is to signify that all temporal sweets are mixed with bitter. But what seems more especially to be meant by it, is that true happiness, the crown of glory, is to be come at in no other way than by bearing Christ’s cross by a life of mortification, self-denial and labor, and bearing all things for Christ.”

This theme of love dominates Edwards life and pastorate as he preaches, writes and thinks on the beauty and love of God in Christ. Through the Great Awakening, communion controversy, and various frontier struggles Edwards kept his mind and heart completely focused on the love of Christ which he would enjoy more completely when he beheld Christ in the beauty of Heaven. The theme of love in Edwards is what dominates Marsden’s biography. This theme is what should dominate the life of any pastor and man of God. It should be the driving force that keeps his mind and heart focused on the glory of Christ.

One of the best and most informative chapters in this biography is entitled, “The Unfinished Masterworks”. As Edwards set off for Princeton in January 1758 he had to resign himself to the reality that it might be God’s will that he not finish the two “great works” he had described in his letters to the college trustees. It continues to be a mystery as to what two “great works” he was referring to in his letter. Marsden outlines the works of Edwards in the chapter giving particular emphasis to his Harmony of the Old and New Testaments as well as his Body of Divinity. The notebooks he carried with him to Princeton would fill many thousand pages when published. The writing side of Edwards consumed his time and energy as he wrote everything down that came to his mind. This is an important aspect that needs to be emphasized in the personal lives of modern pastors. Edwards sets for us the perfect example of a disciplined man devoted to all things concerning Christ.

Marsden shows the modern reader what happens to a man who is truly devoted to kingdom matters. He may be ridiculed by his own family, he may be fired from his own pastorate, and even die an early death but he will have an impact upon history that is unparallel. Marsden begins chapter 30 by saying, “Edwards spent his whole life preparing to die.” Should this not be the focus of every believer of Christ? Edwards shows us how to live, how to preach, how to write and how to be a loving pastor and servant of Christ.

Conclusion

Jonathan Edwards helps to bridge the gap between the Edwards of the students of American culture and the Edwards of the theologians. Marsden takes seriously the thought of Edwards in regards to the larger Christian tradition. This biography will give the reader a wider look at 18th century life and thought. It will answer questions as to what was going on in the intellectual and cultural advance surrounding Jonathan Edwards and his ministry. This author would highly recommend this biography as one not to be overlooked in the study of Jonathan Edwards.