The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-27
REV. CHARLES II. STURGEON.
His Character and Career as Preacher and
Man-HiS Church in London.
ohert Lnird CollIcr. in Kansas Ga vimes.


preacher in the Christian world is Mr.. Sturgeon.
He stately breaches to more people on a Sun
| day than any Christian minister has ever done
in the history Of re world; and these sermons,
spoken to an average of ), 600 men and women Of
all classes, are again published in the vernacuar
of all Christian and some pagan nations.
Mr. Sturgeon sprang, full-hodged, at nineteen
years of age, into a cosmopolitan fame, and this
fame has never for day ceased to grow, till it
now fills the earth 1t is most difficult, if not
impossible, to discover the grounds of his world
| wide reputation. Sometimes when listening to
Mr.. Sturgeon, on the platform or in the pulpit
| have been ready to solve and settle the problem
of his success on the spot, and to say that the
career the influence and the unparalleled fame
| of this plain Baptist preacher is a downright &C
cident At times he is so utterly commonplace,
so intellectually dense, and so oratorically dull;
at times he is so extravagant and far fetched in
| statement and ilustration-so grotesquely near
| the boundary of the ldculous-that one is
| forced to believe that the man is the creature
| Of combination Of circumstances purely fortu-
| tous
But such inference would be folly Men are
| not accidents. They may flash up and into IN
slant prominence, and then as suddenly die
| out. Yet this transitory splendor is not acct
|
as that of the coming and going of comet. Mr.
| Spurgeons reputation, his firm hold upon the
| Christian world, has not been meteor like 1t
has been a growing reputation and usefulness
| and seems as fixed as the messy center of the
earth. The fact is, here is whose words
are listened to all over Christendom, and whose
sayings reach to ASIA and far into the heart of
| the dark continent.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was born OF kelve
don, in Essex, England, June 10, 1884 lie was
| first sent to school at Colchester and afterward
| became an usher in a school at Newmarket HIS
family and friends were CongregationalistS, but
young Sturgeon united with the Baptlsts, and
before he was seventeen years Of age began to
preach at village called Taversham near Cam
bridge, under the designation of the Boy
! Preacher" the first of the preaching prodigies
| who have gone forth to sow the gospel seeds sur
rounded by the glamour of doubtful credential
! When Just past seventeen he became pastor of
small Baptist chapel at Westbeach. Here he at
| once became a celebrated character, and crowds
| of country people focked into town TO listen
to the discourses and religious wis
dom of this precocious apostle. Soon
his fame reached London, and his ministerial
favors were courted by metropolitan churches
Mr.. Sturgeon at seventeen was a sensation.
| The non-conformist community of London like
II sensation. They are usually of the lower
middle and lower classes They are the classes
that make up what calledand with no
especial social reproach-''tr trades people and,
perhaps ''shopkeepers."
The sensational pulpiteer made his first ap
pearance before London congregation at New
| Park street. Southwark, in 1853 having been in
vited to settle as IL pastor of that chapel, which
| mad already been made somewhat famous
through the eloquent ministry of DR. Rippon.
IGdifce after edifce became too small for the
congregations that thronged to Mr.. Surgeons
ministry His own chapel was greatly en-
! laTged and was soon outgrown. Then the
| congregation went to Exeter Hall, the famous
headquarters, on the Strand, Of all London
evangelical organizations and inspirations. In
turn the vast auditorium of this famous hall was
| Sunday after Sunday taxed beyond its seating
capacity, and again the congregation moved to
Surrey Music Hall.
The Metropolitan Tabernacle better known as
| 'Spurgeon's Chapel, for two years, while Mr..
| Spurgeon and his vast congregation were niErat-
ing from hall to hall. was beng built and in
neighborhood very rich in historic associations
and traditions. Here, in the old time had been
St. Peters Hospital; here, too, had been HUI
| bert's almshouses and the fshmonger's aims
houses The hospital of Our Lady and St
Catherine remained standing just at this point
up to 1901. At the beginning of the seventeenth
century there was near this same spot a theater
| in which the Lord Chamberlains servants per-
formed, and sometimes it was used by the
players from the Globe in the days of Shaks-
peare Upon the site of the old Globe now
stands the Elephant and Castle Theater. Ad-
| joining this Is the famous tavern of the same
name Nearly opposite these buildings, and on
nart of the ground formally occupied by TIE fish
| Inoneers' almshouses, Sir Morton Peto laid the
| first stone of Surgeons Chapel in August, 1883.
| The ediice was completed in 1851 and then the
famous preacher began a ministry which has
never been matched in the history OF the Christ
tan church or the worlds religion for its vast
numbers of adherents its unbToken prosperity,
! its cumulative interest and its world wide in
! fluence.
The Tabernacle is an enormous building, hav-
| ing seats for $500 persons and | have seen as
many as 1000 gathered within its walls, and yet
| it aid not seem excessively crowded, The length
Of the building is $50 feet and it is go feet wide
| 1t has a Sunday school room for 1000 ahdren
! and it has what in our parlGnce would be called
! all modern conYeniences. The front of the
church rather imposing, being of classic arc hi
| lecture. The principal entrances are beneath Il
noble portico, the entablature and pediment of
which are supported by six lofty corinthian col
umns The inside of the building is plain to
| degree. There is little color to be seen any
where, and suggestions and symbols Of ecclesias-
| tcism really and truly conspicuous by their
absence 1t is great hall, well proportional
| and well appointed and its three all-round gal
| leries are well at the command of the preacher
who stands on platform projecting from the far
| end of the first gallery, and where he is sur
rounded by his deaeons. There is no organ and
no choir 4 precentor leads the hymns which
| are sung fervently and even Justly by the vast
! congregation.
In connection with the wide and useful chart
ties and good works of the Metropolitan Taber-
! nace are some almsEousns and day schools close
| by the Elephant and Castle" railway station; Il
college for training young men for the non con-
| formst ministry, and an orphanage at Stock
well For these institutions and various other
| philanthropies Mr. Spurgeon personally and PER
sistently makes appeals for funds TO carry on
their ever increasing operations, and succeeds in
raising really enormous sums of money.
When first heard Mr. Spurgeon | was solely
and grievously disappointed. | hal supposed he
almost an ideal preacher--bold. lucid and
conventional No sooner had he finished his ser
mon than my idol was shattered. dislIked his
! discourse in its matter and its manner Tho
/ matter dull when it Was not hippant and
the manner was drcarv when it was ROT bulGi-
! tious The sermon was not wanting in illustra-
| tions, but the illustrations were lou:ish when
they were not lurid. His prayer was particular
| ly offensive to me. 1t was vulgarly familiar.
| He took the Almighty into his confidence lie
arranged matters With his Maker FOR carr ,iug