Letters from Spartanburg, 1917-1920

by Arthur W. Pink

Few men's writings left the impact on the 20th century church as those from the pen of Arthur W. Pink. Yet the influence of his writings came largely after his death. Anyone familiar with Pink's life knows that he struggled constantly concerning the will of God for his life. Should he Pastor? Should he pursue an itinerant ministry? Should he devote his time fully to ministry through his pen? Or should he seek to combine several of these ministries? The truth is, he tried all of the above ministries, sometimes with much ambivalence and uncertainty. Finally in later years he devoted his life fully to a writing ministry, living in virtual seclusion in far-away Stornaway, Scotland on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides until he died in 1952. The letters of this volume are unique as they detail his life and struggles while pastoring the Northside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, SC from the years 1917 to 1920. This was the time he wrote his most influential book, The Sovereignty of God, but only with much difficulty and concern as to its reception. During this time Pink went through a nervous breakdown as he waited for God to show him His will. The value of these letters is that they show the reader the heart of Pink as he spoke concerning many doctrinal matters and church issues, including leaders of his day. A thorough index makes the volume not only easy to use to pursue a subject, but extremely interesting just to browse for a few moments.

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Arthur Walkington Pink was born in Nottingham, England on April 1, 1886 and became a Christian in his early 20s. Though born to Christian parents, prior to conversion he migrated into a Theosophical society (an occult gnostic group popular in England during that time), and quickly rose in prominence within their ranks. His conversion came from his father's patient admonitions from Scripture. It was Proverbs 14:12, 'there is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,' which particularly struck his heart and compelled him to renounce Theosophy and follow Jesus.

Desiring to grow in knowledge of the Bible, Pink migrated to the United States to study at Moody Bible Institute. In 1916 he married Vera E. Russell, from Kentucky. However, he left after just two months for Colorado, then California, then Britain. From 1925 to 1928 he served in Australia, including as pastor of two congregations from 1926 to 1928, when he returned to England, and to the United States the following year. He eventually pastored churches Colorado, California, Kentucky and South Carolina.

In 1922 he started a monthly magazine entitled Studies in Scriptures which circulated among English-speaking Christians worldwide, though only to a relatively small circulation list of around 1,000.

In 1934 Pink returned to England, and within a few years turned his Christian service to writing books and pamphlets. Pink died in Stornoway, Scotland on July 15, 1952. The cause of death was anemia.

After Pink's death, his works were republished by the Banner of Truth Trust and reached a much wider audience as a result. Biographer Iain Murray observes of Pink, "the widespread circulation of his writings after his death made him one of the most influential evangelical authors in the second half of the twentieth century." His writing sparked a revival of expository preaching and focused readers' hearts on biblical living.

Reviews

[Becky Pliego · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this collection of letters edited by Richard P. Belcher. Pink wrote these letters when he was writing his very important book, The Sovereignty of God.