Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)

“Proclaiming the Cross”

Asked once to describe his preaching method, Charles H. Spurgeon said, “I take my text and make a bee-line to the cross”

Few if any preachers in the history of the church have proclaimed the cross with such power and effectiveness as Spurgeon, the great British Baptist preacher of the nineteenth century. Even a century after his death, his sermons and other writings are still widely read and quoted.

Growing up in the home of his grandfather, a Congregational minister who had an extensive library, Spurgeon spent many hours reading classic Puritan writers. Those materials shaped the theological direction of Spurgeon whose preaching demonstrated careful theological thought along with clear presentation and illustrations drawn from everyday life.

Spurgeon’s natural pulpit gifts were recognized early. Before age 20, he was called as pastor of the historic New Park Street Baptist Church in London. The congregation had declined to about 100 before his arrival; soon, Spurgeon’s preaching had filled the 1200—seat sanctuary. Within eighteen months the church was forced to move to accommodate thousands who came to hear the cross proclaimed. In 1861, the congregation shifted to the new Metropolitan Tabernacle where the congregation numbered more than 6,000 per week for the next thirty years.

His magnificent voice and popular preaching style attracted Londoners across class and economic lines. As Helmut Thielicke would later relate, “He worked only through the power of the Word which created its own hearers and changed souls”

Duduit, Michael. Handbook of Contemporary Preaching. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992. Print.