October 31, 2025

This past Reformation Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at a local PCA church. As a Baptist, it was wonderful to be with those saints and to rejoice in our common Protestant identity and convictions. But, as in previous instances, there was that awkward moment before the service when the pastor asked, “Would you …

October 3, 2025

“Brothers, pray for us.” So Paul wrote to the churches (Eph. 6:19, Col. 4:3, 1 Thess. 5:25, 2 Thess. 3:1). Though he was an apostle, he knew that he needed the prayers of the saints for his perseverance and the spread of the gospel. Likewise, all ministers today need the prayers of their people. This …

July 15, 2025

The years after the Downgrade Controversy were difficult for Spurgeon. His mother passed away in May of 1888. Spurgeon gave the funeral address. The controversy took a physical and emotional toll on him, and he found himself seriously ill, and sometimes bedridden, for months. His deacons urged him to restrict his outside speaking engagements so …

September 26, 2024

Writing in 1889, after the Downgrade Controversy, Spurgeon wrestled with the question of unfaithful ministers and congregational accountability. Under the new modern theology, these ministers were using the language of historic Christianity, but redefining that language in rationalist and anti-supernatural ways. But how are churches to hold them accountable? As a congregationalist, Spurgeon believed that …

September 19, 2024

The following excerpt is taken from my new book, The Army of God: Spurgeon's Vision for the Church (Christian Focus, 2024). Amid these many conflicts, two controversies stand out: the Baptismal Regeneration Controversy in 1864 and the Downgrade Controversy in 1887–1888.[1] In the former conflict, Spurgeon battled the growing ritualism which arose from the Oxford Movement …

September 9, 2024

By the summer of 1856, C. H. Spurgeon's ministry was bearing so much fruit. Church membership was growing. People were being converted under his preaching. Young men were being trained for the ministry. Sermons were being sold by the thousands. And yet all would seemingly come to an end in the Surrey Gardens Music Hall …

August 29, 2024

In partnership with Midwestern Seminary, Reformation Heritage Book has undertaken an ambitious publishing venture: republishing Spurgeon’s sermons. Beginning in 1855, Spurgeon edited and published one weekly sermon, out of his many preached sermons. At the end of the year, all these weekly sermons were collected and published in an annual volume. This continued for 37 …

February 20, 2024

Spurgeon’s vision for the church was of an army engaged in the same fight that he was in, namely, proclaiming the gospel and pushing back the dominion of Satan through the salvation of sinners. But how did Spurgeon mobilize his church for evangelism? How can we build a culture of evangelism in our churches? In …

February 1, 2024

Known as the Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon preached thousands of sermons over forty years of pastoral ministry. But preaching was only one part of his ministry. He also pastored a church of 5,000+ members, led his elders and deacons, performed membership interviews, chaired church meetings, gave oversight to two orphanages and the Pastors’ College, …

January 18, 2024

C. H. Spurgeon, maybe more than any pastor, knew how busy pastoral ministry can be. In addition to preaching four times a week, he led his elders and deacons in caring for a church of five thousand. Together, they visited members, interviewed membership applicants, led prayer meetings, chaired congregational meetings, pursued non-attenders, and much more. …