Many pastors have longed for a taste of Charles Spurgeon’s preaching gifts and ministry success, but few have desired the pronounced suffering that accompanied them. Spurgeon’s published sermons show him a master of preaching to distressed souls, but he had to be distressed himself to do so. Sufferings were not coincidental or unfortunate in a pastor’s life; for Spurgeon, ministry and suffering were theologically connected, the pastoral package deal.
Spurgeon argued suffering is necessary for faithful ministry, because of the distinctive relationship pastors have with Christ—they were his conduits of God’s grace to others. In preaching the gospel of Christ’s sufferings, they would become like Christ in his sufferings. Suffering is also necessary for ministers because of its benefits: it makes pastors experience the truths they preach to their people, keeps them humble, and gives them the sympathy necessary for their labors.
All-Out Ministry
Spurgeon’s life was filled with a mix of sufferings that came upon him in his remarkable ministry. For example, he preached more than 10,000 times, sometimes preaching while so sick that he had to be carried from the pulpit. His popularity and growing church created never-ending duties, but he did not skirt or delegate what he believed were key pastoral responsibilities.
Spurgeon insisted ease in ministry is evidence of a false ministry, which will be hard to account for at the judgment seat of Christ: “The man who finds the ministry an easy life will also find that it will bring a hard death.” True ministers would have the marks of “stern labor” upon them; this was necessary, for how else were God’s people—sheep with many spiritual needs and diseases, who often rambled far and caused great trouble to their shepherds—to be adequately cared for? The pastor at ease was usually the one content to let a few sheep die!
Spurgeon insisted ease in ministry is evidence of a false ministry.
Spurgeon’s comments on strain in ministry must be appreciated in light of his practice of rest and renewal. For example, beginning in 1871, Spurgeon took yearly trips to Menton, France, for convalescence and recovery, usually for two months at a time. He taught and practiced rest for the sake of long-term usefulness. His strong remarks about strain in ministry are thus more related to his vision for pastoral identity than a superhuman prescription for pastoral practice.
Blessings of Necessary Sufferings
Aside from embracing strain in ministry, Spurgeon suffered a variety of other trials: various physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sorrows. His gout and other ailments caused him great pain and often took him out of regular pastoral duties for weeks at a time beginning in 1867, with his health steadily deteriorating from 1879 to 1892. His mental sufferings were also deeply challenging, especially his lifelong battle with depression, insomnia, and intense mood swings that came after the Surrey Music Hall disaster.
Spurgeon believed suffering could benefit believers in various ways, and he particularly reflected on the good a variety of evils could produce for pastors. In times of ease and prosperity, pastors might rely on themselves and not look to God’s promises, consider eternity, or lean on the strength that comes from the Spirit. Through suffering, pastors learn to live the truths they preach. Spurgeon asked, “Does a man know any gospel truth aright till he knows it by experience?”
Through suffering, pastors learn to live the truths they preach.
Spurgeon’s theology of ministry ought to be the primary lens through which we see his sufferings, rather than his sufferings being seen as a decisive factor in shaping his ministry. His view of ministry led to his sufferings, motivated him to continue despite them, and was the consistent lens through which he interpreted the trials he patiently bore.
Pastors also had to suffer particularly for their particular people. The pastor was to be the epitome of his people’s lives, undergoing their temptations that he might heal them, feeling their sorrows that he might comfort them. In their spiritual experience, “God’s sheep ramble far, and we have to go after them; and sometimes the shepherds go where they themselves would never roam if they were not in pursuit of lost sheep.” Pastors should interpret their temptations and trials as fitting them for ministry to their particular people.
Spurgeon’s Insights for Today
What does a minister do with his seemingly random physical, mental, and emotional vexations? How should a pastor respond to what appears to be an out-of-nowhere and troubling temptation? Does an intractable group at your church aiming for your resignation mean it’s time to look elsewhere?
Spurgeon wisely directs those undergoing such bewildering trials toward immensely encouraging truths about a pastor’s identity: the pastor’s suffering is fulfilling his likeness to Christ, producing his humility, helping him experience what he preaches, and giving him sympathy for his tempted and tried people. In short, a pastor’s sufferings make him more like the Master he serves and more effective in his service.
The Gospel Coalition