Spurgeon: A Life (Reformation Heritage, 2024) by Alex DiPrima
Asking, “Do we really need another Spurgeon biography?” is like asking if we need another Bible commentary. As long as the biography is excellent, the answer is yes, and Alex DiPrima’s new work is just that. DiPrima paints a fresh portrait of Charles Haddon Spurgeon — the most well-known minister of the gospel in the 19th century.
The work traces Spurgeon’s life from the famous “boy preacher of the fens” to the mature pastor of later years, readers will marvel at his extraordinary speaking abilities, his genius for administration, and his massive global influence, which set him apart as a leader of rare brilliance.
Like all good historians, the author places Spurgeon in his social, historical, and religious contexts, helping us comprehend the whole of Spurgeon’s almost unbelievable ministry in metropolitan London. At around 270 pages, the biography includes no fat and combines excellent primary source research with a popular writing style that brings the great Spurgeon to life for 21st century Christian laypeople, pastors, and other local church leaders. There was only one man like Spurgeon, and this new biography powerfully shows readers why.
One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon’s Search for Salvation (Eerdmans, 2024) by Daniel Silliman
The night before his resignation, Richard Nixon wept — and prayed. Though his demanding parents had raised him Quaker, he wasn’t a regular churchgoer, nor was he quick to express vulnerability. As Henry Kissinger witnessed Nixon’s loneliness and humiliation that night, he remarked, “Can you imagine what this man would have been had somebody loved him?”
In this riveting biography, Silliman cuts to the heart of Nixon’s tragedy: Nixon wanted to be loved by God but couldn’t figure out how. This profound theological struggle underlay his successes and scandals, his turbulent political career, his history-changing victories, and his ultimate disgrace. As Silliman narrates the arc of his subject’s life and career, he connects Nixon’s character to religious influences in 20th century America — from Cold War Christianity to Chick tracts.
Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age (Crossway, 2023) by Samuel James
With ample advancement in internet technology, people can answer billions of questions instantly, connect with long-distance family and friends, and discover what is happening worldwide in real time. But can something that seems so good lead to corruption for those pursuing godly wisdom? James examines the connection between patterns in technology and human desires. Everyone longs for a glimpse of heaven; James argues they are just looking for it in the wrong place — the internet.
Preaching: A Sermon Collection (B&H, 2024) by C.H. Spurgeon, edited by Jason K. Allen
Jason K. Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has compiled some of Spurgeon’s most poignant sermons on the topic of preaching — and who better than the “Prince of Preachers” to speak to teachers today about the ins and outs of preaching the Word of God.