Customer Reviews

50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith

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This book offers fifty short biographical sketches of Christian figures of varying importance, ranging from Katherine von Bora to A.W. Tozer and had its genesis in magazine articles in Moody Monthly and The Good News Broadcaster. It combines two previous books, Living with the Giants and Victorious Christians. As a collection of short biographies it does with excellence exactly what is sets out to do--provide a mere introduction to important Christian figures. There is am emphasis on figures in some way related to Moody, but this hardly detracts from it. It's an excellent choice to read just a few pages at a time.

A. W. Tozer once rightly said, "Next to the Holy Scriptures, the greatest aid to the life of faith may be Christian biographies." Can I supplement this by saying that next to a good Christian biography, the next most helpful aid is a series of brief biographical sketches.

That is what Warren Wiersbe has provided us with here: a set of short yet inspiring and helpful mini-biographies of fifty great saints of God from the past few centuries. It is a great collection of articles about a number of leading Christian evangelists, pastors and preachers.

Some of those featured here include F. B. Meyer, Charles H. Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, D. L. Moody, A. W. Tozer, Fanny Crosby, Oswald Chambers, Amy Carmichael, Jonathan Edwards, James Hudson Taylor, George Whitefield, and R. A. Torrey.

The majority of these figures are Protestant pastors and preachers of the last two centuries. Thus not too many Catholics or women are found here, but there are some of each. The selection of course reflects the ministry of Wiersbe - he is a pastor, preacher and writer who for many years was pastor of Moody Church in Chicago.

He has written numerous books on preaching, and has edited a series of books on great sermons. The 50 biographical sketches offered here first appeared in several Christian magazines. They are arranged by birth date, so Katherine von Bora (b. 1499 - the wife of Martin Luther) is the first, while William Culbertson (b. 1905) is the last.

Reading them in sequences is valuable for various reasons. One can clearly note the way in which one person had a marked influence on others. Indeed, many of those featured here worked with or supported the ministry of others also found in this collection.

Some common themes emerge as one reads all fifty stories. For example, it is interesting to note how many of these great leaders struggled with depression, were filled with self-doubt, or had a low view of their own ministry and success. Many were lonely, and some were tempted to give it all away at times.

One can also see the very important role that reading played in the lives of so many of these spiritual giants. It is a well-known truth that leaders are readers. Many of those mentioned here had a deep love for books, reading, study and theology. Spurgeon of course had a library of some twelve thousand volumes.

Or consider the great Scottish preacher W. Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923). "He read an average of two books a day and edited a weekly journal, three monthly magazines, and a steady stream of scholarly books." Indeed, "he managed to write over forty books of his own, and compile, edit, or supervise the publication of over 250 more titles."

One often gets a laugh out of some of these figures. Wiersbe informs us that during the winter months in Scotland, Nicoll was basically confined to his home and his books. Nicoll later said, "I always look back with pleasure to my three months each winter there, when I was a prisoner alone with my cat and my books."

At least he was not married at the time. But he could say this at a time when he was married, while in England: "I feel rather lonely and depressed here away from my books." Says Wiersbe, "His books and his cats and his publications were his life". He tells us that "Nicoll's library contained twenty-five thousand volumes, including five thousand biographies! `I have for years read every biography I could lay my hands on, and not one has failed to teach me something,' he wrote."

Of course a major theme found throughout these mini-biographies is the importance of holiness, the deeper life, total commitment to Christ, and the need for personal sanctification. The many quotes along these lines which Wiersbe presents are alone worth the price of the book. Here are a few choice nuggets:

"It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likenesses to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God." (Robert Murray McCheyne)

"The work will never go deeper than we have gone ourselves." (Amy Carmichael)

"You can never give another person that which you have found, but you can make him homesick for what you have." (Oswald Chambers)

"Preaching that costs nothing accomplishes nothing." (John Henry Jowett)

"All the calls of the gospel are calls to hardship, to sacrifice, to battle. Christ would have no man follow him under the delusion that he was going to have an easy time of it." (Welsh preacher J. D. Jones)

"Power for service is second; power for holiness and character is first. The first, second, and third requisite for our work is personal godliness." (Alexander Maclaren)

There is just an enormous amount of helpful and encouraging information here. We can always learn so much - and grow so much - when we study the lives of great men and women who have gone before. As we do, we see that total dedication and obedience to Christ is really the only secret of Christian success.

There are no magic bullets here; no quick fixes to spirituality. Only the old and true methods will do: dying to self, taking up our cross, and serving others, just as our Lord had demonstrated. As Wiersbe rightly notes, "Far too many Christians are scurrying around looking for special meetings, thinking that extraordinary experiences will make them better Christians."

As you move though this book your appetite should be whetted for more. And Wiersbe does not disappoint - he provides plenty of recommendations for further reading for each of these fifty saints. He mentions numerous books both by and about these great men and women of God.

This book is simply a delight to read. It is a tremendous faith-builder and a spiritual eye-opener. It helps to set the bar higher, so we are not content to settle for second best. When we get a glimpse of some of these radiant, Christ-centred lives, we will no longer want to embrace mediocrity, but move on to the very best we can have, and be, in Christ.

When I received this book I was really excited to begin reading it. I was not disappointed. Many of these people I hardly knew or knew very little about but didn't want to have to read a biography about each of them. This book filled the gap for me. They are both brief and sufficient giving you enough information but not so much that you could be overwhelmed. At the end of every chapter there is also a list of recommended reading by or about the person. I used it as a nightly devotional and could see it used in similar ways by many others. For pastors or teachers it is a great resource to find good and historic books as well.

50 People Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Spiritual Giants of the Faith, by Warren Wiersbe, a former pastor of Moody Church and a prolific author of over 150 books. The six or so pages devoted to each person was perfect length for reading prior to going to sleep, something I regularly did. A few of the entries are worth the entire price of the book, each providing a wonderful resource for further reading. If either in want of a thumbnail sketch of one of the `50' or in need of knowing what are some of the good biographies written about them, I would start with this book.

Since the book's subtitle invites the reader to "learn from Spiritual Giants", I would have enjoyed Wiersbe digging a bit deeper into their struggles and how they overcame them, their overarching ministerial ethos, . . . Warren's writing is a bit simplistic and not as penetrating a character study as I would have liked. For example, Spurgeon's consistent bouts with depression is never mentioned, but a descent purview of his life is. Further, most of the stories are repetitious in style--a logistical, factual recounting of the person's upbringing, the books they wrote, the ministries they oversaw, etc. Each entry feels like it was churned out rather than steeped, a part of 150 books written rather than a lifetime's worth of meditation.

Further, though Wiersbe does write about many famous Christians (Spurgeon, Moody, Taylor, et al.) people like Wesley, Knox, Calvin, et al. are strangely absent from this list. Perhaps this is so because he had other factors motivating him to pick the `50'. A very large percentage of the `50' were in someway associated either with D.L. Moody or the ministries attached to his legacy.

It took me four months to read this book - slowly reading each mini biography a chapter at a time. I enjoyed reading about the legends of Christian history, like Charles Spurgeon and DL Moody, but I loved reading the exploits of lesser knowns like Thomas Spurgeon and Frank W. Boreham even more. The chapters are informative, inspiring and not too long or drawn out. The author also leaves each chapter with a number of books recommended for further reading. I have bought a number of these on his recommendation.

I gave the book four stars instead of five because the author consistently droned on about the weaknesses of today's churches, denominations, ministers and Christians in many chapters. From about halfway through the book I actually started to underline his constant negative comments about "today's" Christians instead of the inspirational ones - this is how distracting they became. Other than this small issue, the book is well worth owning and reading.

This is the most expensive book I have ever owned. What I mean is that in every section Wiersbe recommends books by the person he is profiling as well as his own favorite biographies and books about the person he is profiling. I find that after every chapter I go and order many of the books he has recommended, thus I'm spending more money!! Great book, highly recommended, just prepare yourself to buy more books!

5o People is an astounding book. Of course, one would expect such from Warren Wiersbe.

Wiersbe has a knack for depth and brevity. Both of these shine brightly in 50 People.

It has been said that biography shows us other people that we might better know ourselves. Wiersbe gives us ample opportunity to learn.

I immensely enjoyed the biographical sketches.

One thing that stands out to me is the fact that Wiersbe does not expect this book to be an end-all for biographical reading. He points us to full length biographies of most of his subjects. In fact, it seems that Wiersbe only wants to make us hungry and thirsty to learn more about these great Christians. If that is the case, he has very well reached his goal.

I particularly enjoyed reading of some Christians whose works I had read, but never truly knew anything about them. Among these were W.R. Nicoll and J.B. Lightfoot.

I had heard of some others, yet had not learned of them. 50 People gave me insight into their lives.

I am very pleased to recommend this book to readers of all ages. It is suitable for younger readers as well as older readers.

Many thanks to Mr. Wiersbe for performing such a valuable service for the Christian community.

This book has wonderful stories about those Christians that have gone before us that are such a testimony for the Lord. The faith they showed in times of trial and hardship is an example we all can learn from. A very profital and uplifting book.

Warren Wiersbe gives short biographical sketches of some of the coolest Christians who ever lived. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, Charles Simeon, Amy Carmichael, Alexander Maclaren,Frances Ridley Havergal, and many others make appearances in these pages.

The flow of the narratives are often interrupted by book recommendations. Some people will be put off by this, but I loved it because Wiersbe's love for reading makes him a man after my own heart.

Moreover, the writings of these great Christians are important aspects of their lives that are often overlooked.

I should say that this book originally appeared as two volumes, and before that, as articles in Christian magazines. But it's all here now in one handy volume.

I picked up a copy of this book recently and have found it to be one of the most challenging books I have ever read. I would consider this a must read, especially for pastors and teachers. If you can't afford it now, put it on your "wish-list" and request it for Christmas. You won't be disappointed.