by Christian George
Southern Baptists ranked among Spurgeon’s chief antagonists. The Mississippi Baptist hoped “no Southern Baptist will now purchase any of that incendiary’s books.” The Baptist colporteurs of Virginia were forced to return all copies of his sermons to the publisher. The Alabama Baptist and Mississippi Baptist “gave the Londoner 4,000 miles of an awful raking” and “took the hide off him.” The Southwestern Baptist and other denominational newspapers took the “spoiled child to task and administered due castigation.”
In the midst of this mayhem, Spurgeon attempted to publish several notebooks of sermons from his earliest ministry. His promise to his readers in 1857 would not be fulfilled, however, due to difficult life circumstances in London. How poetic, then, that 157 years after The Nashville Patriot slandered Spurgeon for his “meddlesome spirit,” a publishing house from Nashville would complete the task he failed to accomplish. How symmetrical that Spurgeon’s early sermons would be published not by Passmore & Alabaster in London but by Americans. And not only Americans, but Southern Americans. And not only Southern Americans, but Southern Baptist Americans with all the baggage of their bespeckled beginnings.
Enduring Truth argues that faithfulness to Scripture is the solution to a “crisis” among African American preaching. Though misinterpreting God’s Word is not restricted to one race or culture, author Aaron Lavender identifies three factors that have precipitated the decline of black preaching specifically: racial segregation, black liberation theology, and prosperity theology.
Some years ago one of the authors was invited by the Lutheran bishop of Dusseldorf to come to Germany and speak to his new pastors. The bishop had been converted to Christ long after he had become a Lutheran minister. When asked what he saw as the greatest need of his young, beginning pastors, he replied, “They need to be saved.”
Why do some Christians love theology more than people? After all, from an eternal perspective, people matter more than ideas. It does not matter what you believe as long as you are doing good things in the world. Some people who do not even believe in Jesus are better Jesus-followers than Christians—these people are the real Kingdom of God.
Because of the extraordinary revelations the apostle Paul received, he writes, “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself” (2 Cor 12:7).
In the spirit of end-of-year top 5, 10, and 16 lists, here are the top 5 articles we’ve published at the B&H Academic Blog. Thank you for reading, subscribing, and staying up to date with all-things-B&H Academic.
by Elmer Towns and Ben Gutierrez
Christmas cards frequently proclaim, and Christmas carols echo, the well-known angelic pronouncement at Jesus’ birth of “peace on earth, good will toward men.”
