Charles Spurgeon

===New Park Street Chapel===
[[File:CHSat23.jpg|left|thumb|Spurgeon at age 23.]]
In April 1854, after preaching three months on probation and just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 19 years old, was called to the pastorate of London's famed [[New Park Street Chapel]] in [[Southwark]] (formerly pastored by the [[Strict Baptist|Particular Baptist]]s [[Benjamin Keach]], and theologian [[John Gill (theologian)|John Gill]]).  This was the largest Baptist congregation in London at the time, although it had dwindled in numbers for several years. Spurgeon found friends in London among his fellow pastors, such as [[William Garrett Lewis]] of Westballs Grove Church, an older man who along with Spurgeon went on to found the London Baptist Association. 
[[File:Wiki staffs spurgeon.jpg|thumb|[[Staffordshire figurine]], c. 1860]]

Within a few months of Spurgeon's arrival at Park Street, his ability as a preacher made him famous. The following year the first of his sermons in the "New Park Street Pulpit" was published. Spurgeon's sermons were published in printed form every week and had a high circulation. By the time of his death in 1892, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions.

Immediately following his fame was criticism. The first attack in the press appeared in the ''[[Earthen Vessel]]'' in January 1855. His preaching, although not revolutionary in substance, was a plain-spoken and direct appeal to the people, using the Bible to provoke them to consider the teachings of [[Jesus Christ]]. Critical attacks from the media persisted throughout his life. The congregation quickly outgrew their building, and moved to [[Exeter Hall]], then to [[Surrey Music Hall]].  At 22, Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the day.<ref>{{DNB Cite | wstitle=Spurgeon, Charles Haddon}}</ref>
 
On 8 January 1856, Spurgeon married [[Susannah Spurgeon|Susannah]], daughter of Robert Thompson of Falcon Square, London, by whom he had twin sons, Charles and [[Thomas Spurgeon|Thomas]] born on September 20, 1856. At the end of that year, tragedy struck on 19 October 1856, as Spurgeon was preaching at the Surrey Gardens Music Hall for the first time. Someone in the crowd yelled, "FIRE"  The ensuing panic and stampede left several dead. Spurgeon was emotionally impacted by the event and it had a sobering influence on his life. For many years he spoke of being moved to tears for no reason known to himself.
[[File:Spurgeon.png|right|thumb|Spurgeon later in life.]]

[[Walter Thornbury]] later wrote in "Old and New London" (1898) describing a subsequent meeting at Surrey:
{{Blockquote | a congregation consisting of 10,000 souls, streaming into the hall, mounting the galleries, humming, buzzing, and swarming&nbsp;– a mighty hive of bees&nbsp;– eager to secure at first the best places, and, at last, any place at all. After waiting for more than half an hour&nbsp;– for if you wish to have a seat you must be there at least that space of time in advance…  Mr. Spurgeon ascended his tribune. To the hum, rush, and trampling of men, succeeded a low, concentrated thrill and murmur of devotion, which seemed to run at once, like an electric current, through the breast of everyone present, and by this magnetic chain the preacher held us fast bound for about two hours. It is not my purpose to give a summary of his discourse. It is enough to say of his voice, that its power and volume are sufficient to reach everyone in that vast assembly; of his language that it is neither high-flown nor homely; of his style, that it is at times familiar, at times declamatory, but always happy, and often eloquent; of his doctrine, that neither the 'Calvinist' nor the 'Baptist' appears in the forefront of the battle which is waged by Mr. Spurgeon with relentless animosity, and with Gospel weapons, against irreligion, cant, hypocrisy, pride, and those secret bosom-sins which so easily beset a man in daily life; and to sum up all in a word, it is enough to say, of the man himself, that he impresses you with a perfect conviction of his sincerity.}}

[[File:Pastors College.png|thumb|Pastors College 1888]]Spurgeon's work went on. A Pastors' College was founded in 1856 by Spurgeon and was renamed [[Spurgeon's College]] in 1923, when it moved to its present building in South Norwood Hill, London.<ref>George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christian Education, Volume 3'', Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2015, p. 1205</ref> At the [[Fast Day]], 7 October 1857, he preached to his largest crowd ever&nbsp;– 23,654 people&nbsp;– at [[The Crystal Palace]] in London. Spurgeon noted:
{{Blockquote | In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed; and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God. Years after, he told this story to one who visited him on his death-bed.}}