W.H. Griffith Thomas gave the following advice to young preachers in the 19th century,
“Think yourself empty, read yourself full, write yourself clear, pray yourself keen— then enter the pulpit and let yourself go!”
Thomas followed that counsel himself, and in so doing, he became one of the spiritual giants of his day, being described as “one of the founding minds and hearts of Dallas Theological Seminary.”
I particularly enjoy heeding Thomas’ call to read, as long ago a boss ingrained in me that “Readers are leaders and leaders are readers.” One book that I recently completed, entitled More than Coping: God’s Servants Can Triumph Over Emotional Pain, provided insights from the lives of spiritual giants such as C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael and J. Hudson Taylor.
The following quotes are examples of the wisdom gleaned from such investment in “reading oneself full.”
“I thank thee, Lord Jesus, for the promise whereon thou has given me to rest. Give me all the needed strength of body, wisdom of mind, grace of soul to do this thy so great work.”
– Hudson Taylor
“Compromise has come to be a dirty word in the Christian world, although it was indeed never meant to be that…Hudson Taylor would not have compromised principle in order to save his life, nor should we. But he knew the true meaning of compromise. In order to cope in China, he compromised things that had no moral overtones in order to win the very souls of people. He chanced offending his own colleagues rather than offend those among whom he lived and worked.”
– Elizabeth Skoglund
