#157 Spurgeon’s Historical Context and Home Life

Pastors at New Park Street Baptist

At New Park Street Baptist many preachers preceded Spurgeon. Benjamin Keach was the founder of the church and the author of many books. Keach taught in opposition to the religious authority of the time. Keach was followed by Benjamin Stinton who was the son in law to Keach. Stinton started ministry young but diligently mastered many languages and he helped “establish the Particular Baptist Fund in 1717 to assist needy pastors” (Earls 2022, 16). When Stinton suddenly died in 1718 he was replaced by John Gill. Gill was also a young minister who while not formally trained mastered Latin and Greek. John Rippon was the next pastor at the church. During Rippons tenure the church was torn down to make way for the London Bridge and he kept the church together until a new site could be found. James Smith eventually came to lead the congregation and he was able to grow the church through his evangelistic efforts. The last preacher at the church before Spurgeon was William Walters who served only for a short time as he was not a good fit for the role. Many observations about the commonalities of these men may be observed. Many of them began ministry at New Park when they were young. It was normal for them to not be higher educated but rather highly learned and diligent in their ministry through their own learning.

The Shema (Deut. 6:4-9)

Spurgeon’s childhood was marked by Christian practices. The way that Spurgeon was raised and many others of his time were marked by principles of the Shema. Such as being taught to love the Lord in practical ways, and he was taught the Word. Spurgeon learned catechism in school, he learned theology from Puritan books, his grandfather, and others. When it comes to the raising of children today the childhood of Spurgeon offers some goalposts and ideas. For example, Spurgeon was taught to catechise his beliefs, while things like church, prayer, and Bible reading were regular parts of his childhood. Another thing that stuck out to me was how Spurgeon in his childhood accompanied his father and grandfather on pastoral calls. He learned from an early age what it meant to live a Christian life. The two things that seemed most useful to young Spurgeon though was the catechism and reading Puritan books. By regularly catechising Spurgeon learned the specifics of the faith and took them to heart. While when he questioned the catechism he read his Bible. The second thing is that there were many Christian books available in Spurgeon's home, there was space for his theological curiosity. 

Bibliography 

Earls, Rod. Spurgeon’s Theology for Multiplying Disciples and Churches. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.