In fact, it wasn’t all that different from the church’s worship from its earliest days. While other churches of the day experimented with new forms of entertainments, instruments, styles of preaching, and liturgies from other traditions, the worship at the Tabernacle remained the same throughout Spurgeon’s ministry. For Spurgeon, this included prayer, congregational singing, Scripture reading, preaching, and the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.Īs a result, the services at the Metropolitan Tabernacle were marked by simplicity. Like the English Puritans before him, Spurgeon believed that the elements of a church’s worship gathering should only contain what God commands in Scripture. This is what theologians call the Regulative Principle. While Christians worship God in all of life, when it comes to the corporate gathering of the church, God has revealed how He is to be worshiped. This truth is to be seen supremely in the church’s worship. What did this look like for Spurgeon? How did he go about the art of pastoring? Worship GatheringsĪs an heir of the Reformed tradition, Spurgeon believed that Christ alone reigns over the church through his Word. Pastoring is not a mechanical process of following ten steps to success or the latest formula for growth. Likewise, pastors need to be flexible as the needs and circumstances of their congregation change. But within that structure, dancers have a lot of room for creativity and adaptation. Just as a dance has a basic framework or structure, the pastor needs firm convictions about what the church should be and do. In many ways, this dynamic of holding fast to convictions while being flexible to adjust to changing circumstances is like a dance. Even with so many joining, Spurgeon refused to compromise his convictions about what the church or the pastor is to be. And he believed in the pastor’s responsibility to shepherd Christ’s flock. He was a firm believer in congregational polity. Spurgeon believed in the primacy of preaching and the proper administration of the ordinances. The structures for a church of under a hundred were no longer sufficient now that it was over a thousand.īut in making those adjustments, Spurgeon never changed his core pastoral convictions. This meant that Spurgeon had to adapt on the fly and adjust how he would care for so many people. But the church multiplied under his preaching, reaching a membership of over 1,000 in just five years. Spurgeon was a solo pastor working alongside five deacons. When he began pastoring in London, the congregation was only a few dozen people. Of course, the church wasn’t always that large. What was notable is that he did it with such a large church. By all appearances, Spurgeon’s approach to pastoral ministry was not in itself all that unique. They maintained a rigorous membership process. They built an ample meeting space to gather all together weekly for worship and prayer. But despite its size, the Metropolitan Tabernacle operated fundamentally like any historic Baptist church. Glorifying him now? The apostle’s words are, “To him be glory both now andįorever.In the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon pastored the largest church in evangelicalism, reaching a membership of over 5,000 towards the end of his ministry. You shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus but are you Believer, you are anticipating the time when LongĪs immortal spirits live–long as the Father’s throne endures–forever,įorever, unto thee shall be glory. The cross must never be eclipsed the lustre of the grave and of the Was bought with blood deserves to last while immortality endures. “To him be glory forever.” Never shall his praises cease. He not king forever?–King of kings and Lord of lords, the everlasting Father? Heaven will be full of the ceaseless praises of Jesus.Įternity! thine unnumbered years shall speed their everlasting course, butįorever and forever, “to him be glory.” Is he not a “Priestįorever after the order of Melchizedek?” “To him be glory.” Is To Him be the Glory both now and to the Day of Eternity (2 peter 3:18) See my review of Alistair Begg’s revised update of Spurgeon’s devotional HERE. The prayer can be found in his February 15 Morning Devoti o nal. So, I’m not being preachy the prayer below should be one I pray often – not just when I’m wallowing in the Valley of Shadow. Spurgeon understood despair, despondency and backsliding, and knew its remedy – prayer. In fact I find when I skimp on his devotionals I feel a backwards slide in my spiritual life. I don’t offer any apology for bringing Spurgeon up once again. Here is a prayer suggestion from Charles Spurgeon.
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