Ready to Read
Have you ever noticed 2 Timothy 4:13?
“Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come — and the books, especially the parchments.”
Although Paul is in prison and apparently cold (that’s why he asks for his cloak), and even expects to die soon (see 2 Tim. 4:6-7), Paul tells Timothy to make sure he brings him “the books, especially the parchments”! One could argue that Paul is practically on his death bed yet he still wants to read.
I don’t know about you but I enjoy reading. I haven’t always been that way – and don’t worry, I’m not a book nerd (I hope I’m not anyway). But my Christian walk has been greatly blessed by reading good books.
One of the first sources of encouragement I received apart from reading the Scriptures was reading Christian biography. Especially missionary biographies! I read books about C.T. Studd, Jim Elliot, David Livingstone, William Carey, Hudson Taylor, and John Paton. These books were full of inspiring stories of conversion, consecration, commitment, sacrifice, hardship, and God’s glory!
As a new believer these accounts mirrored the same passion I had for God. They challenged me to never settle for mediocrity. I had instant heroes who set the spiritual bar for service very high. If I could sum up my general response to reading these books it would be this: “I want to be used by God like these men were!”
I continue to read biographies but not as much as I used to. The reason for this is because of a couple of dangers I need to avoid. One is the tendency to put these heroes on too high of a pedestal. Unfortunately, biographers sometimes tell only the good things about someone but conveniently leave out the bad things. I would often wonder why I seemed to have such great struggles with sin in a certain area and yet the missionaries I was reading about seemed to be trouble free? While these servants should be heroes, I needed to be careful to keep them in their proper perspective – they too were sinners in need of God’s daily grace just like me.
Another danger I needed to avoid was placing too much emphasis on their experience and letting their experience shape my belief. A great example of this tendency can be illustrated from Hudson Taylor. While Taylor was preparing himself for service in China, he worked for a man who would often forget to pay him his wages at the appropriate time. As a result, Taylor would often have little to no money (even though it was owed him) and would struggle with his obligations to give to the Lord’s work, meet the needs of the poor around him, and pay his own bills. Taylor saw as necessary preparation for the mission field the need to “move man by God through prayer alone” which meant he would not speak to his employer about the wages he was owed. Well, as the story turns out, Taylor trusted God alone by only praying for his need and the appropriate money was always there exactly when it was needed – a truly spectacular testimony. As impressive as this story may be, it is important to realize that God does not expect everyone to live this way. It isn’t wrong to speak to those who owe me money and ask them to pay me. But if I’m not careful, I will let Taylor’s experience shape my belief that it would be wrong to do that.
But overall, I am grateful for these books and the great example they set for me. If you have not read many biographies or maybe don’t even consider yourself a reader, try starting with the series, Heroes of Faith (formerly Men of Faith). These are short, inexpensive books that introduce you to some of God’s special servants. (Oh, and be selective with this series – some of the more recent volumes about contemporary “heroes” are a bit of a joke if you ask me. Go for the older ones. They’re better by far!)
Which biographies have you read that you have found helpful and worthy of recommending?
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“Letting their experience shape my belief.”
Very good point. I’ve really noticed that as well. It’s really important to practice critical thinking in this context.
I’ve found the Moody Press brief biography series has some good ones if people are looking for a short overview. I particularly found their D. L. Moody one to be good.
Steve,
If there was one bio you would recommend for young preachers, what would it be?
Rob,
I would probably recommend more than one for starters. Most of my biographies have been on missionaries – any of them would be a blessing and a challenge.
But to answer your question, the one that comes to mind is Arnold Dallimore’s biography on Spurgeon. It’s not too detailed so that you get bogged down and it is jam-packed with stirring and inspiriational material. It’s well worth the expense and the time to read it.
Maybe someone else would suggest another title?
Jason,
Why do you like D.L. Moody so much? What got you interested in him? I’ve noticed you use his pic as part of your profile-thingy or whatever they call it. :)
lol, yeah. I guess it was that particular biography that really impacted me at a very early age.
Even though I have grown to be more wary of some of the early revivalistic thinking, it seems to me that Moody was one of the ones that was more substance than fluff. Just the fact that he left a major academic institution and a printing press in his wake are positive things in my mind though I know both of those institutions probably do not reflect Moody’s theology today.