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

by Warren W. Wiersbe

Book Overview

Christians in the twenty-first century need encouragement and inspiration to lead lives that honor God. When faith is weak or the pressures of the world seem overwhelming, remembering the great men... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801071941
• ISBN13: 9780801071942
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Baker Books
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A delightful and faith-building book

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 bo

Solid Introductory Biographies

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.

Outstanding!

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!

Concise Yet Deep

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.

One book christians should read...

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.