What Did My Heroes Read?

I preach a historic sermon for our sunrise service every Easter. This year I preached a sermon based on a Charles Spurgeon's sermon on Philippians 3:10 on knowing the power of Christ's resurrection.

When I was reading/studying to prepare, I wondered what made Spurgeon's mind work the way that it did. What did he read and think about that allowed him to see with such uniqueness, power, and clarity?

I understand that he was unique. I don't seek to match Spurgeon's gifts. He was a prodigy as a young man, and God did something special in his life. I don't want to match Martyn Lloyd-Jones' gifts or J.C. Ryle's gifts. But I think it is worth seeking to see the way that they saw.

When I was in seminary, I took at class on C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. We read most of what each of them wrote. I've said before that the biggest value was in learning to think like they think. I can read Spurgeon, Newton, Ryle, Lloyd-Jones, etc., and I do. I now want to go further and wish I knew what each of them read and thought about to form those ways of thinking, writing, and preaching.

I have some ideas where to start. Lloyd-Jones helped start The Banner of Truth to keep alive and spread the books that he loved. He was educated in the Socratic method which shaped much of how he taught and did ministry. Spurgeon reread The Pilgrim's Progress many times, and his library is on display in Kansas City at Midwestern Seminary. Ray Rhodes has written a bit on the books that shaped Spurgeon. When I tour the Spurgeon library next, I plan to ask what makes up most of his library.

I'm currently rereading Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book. I last read it in college. I see and understand much more than I did then. One of the first things that I noticed is that Adler is arguing for a special kind of reading where the reader is seeking to learn to think like the author not just gather information that fit into the mental model the reader already has. That requires the reader looks up to the author and realizes that he or she isn't yet on the same level. 

That's how I feel when I read Spurgeon, Lloyd-Jones, Ryle, Newton, etc.

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