"The Young Spurgeon" by Peter Jeffery.
This is a good biography, focusing on the early years of Charles H. Spurgeon. There's a lot of good stuff in here, but it's written in somewhat of a dry language. If you're a Spurgeon fan, I really suggest you read this book to get an insight on how his early life may have formed his later life.
One of the things that struck me is that he came from a Reformed background, but some of the things that his family did seemed very Arminian. One example, when Spurgeon was very young, he was staying with his grandfather (a preacher). He would be in the same room while his grandfather was preparing his sermons and would (pretty much) be threatened with, "if you don't be quiet, I might not do a good job preaching and what if (what if?) I don't do a good job preaching and there are some people who might not be saved - so be quiet".
I wondered how much of Spurgeon's emphasis (although not his theology) was formed as a reaction.
A committed Calvinist, Spurgeon took a lot of heat in the town where he preached. The pain of the attacks is evident in his writings, and yet he remained committed to that which he believed was right.
One of the things that I look to Spurgeon for - he never, ever lost his sense of wonder that God saved him - the understanding of how amazing is God's grace for his elect.
Another thing that strikes me is how unusual it would be - how unlikely! that a young man would be allowed to preach and even be the pastor of a church at the age of 16. So few churches would allow a man who had not been through seminary to take the pulpit. Yet Spurgeon's passion for God, for reaching the lost and hurting, for preaching the Gospel - he belonged in the pulpit.
There is more - I invite you all to read more about this great man of the faith.
