Shaped by Vision, A Biography of T. Austin-Sparks

by Rex G. Beck

This biography of Theodore Austin-Sparks covers his life from childhood to the end of his ministry. It includes many excerpts from his bi-monthly journal, "A Witness and a Testimony" and also includes short summaries of 28 books he published throughout his ministry.The ministry of T. Austin-Sparks portrays a profound picture of Christ and of God's eternal purpose to head up all things in Christ. On the side of personal experience, his ministry opens the door to a deep inward work of the cross of Christ, and inward knowing of the Spirit, and an inward working of God's divine life. He portrays this experience in the context of a local assembly and emphasizes that the church, not merely individual believers, is the unique instrument through which God will gain His eternal goal.

Genres: Biography

374 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[JH · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has given a fine biography of Mr. Sparks. Although, I am acquainted somewhat with Austin Sparks' writings. I still learned quite a lot from reading this book. On the other hand, I also noticed that he relied extensively on Mr. Sparks's editorial of the magazine Witness and Testimony as his main source. There is no indication that he has any personal knowledge of Mr. Sparks. Because of this, the biography is mainly on the public ministry side of Mr Sparks. Not a spiritual biography of him, which was what I was looking for.
As for the kindle version. There are 2 main shortcomings. First, there is no navigation for each chapter. Second, navigation for the notes does not work. It ended up, I had to use two devices simultaneously when I read. So I can read the notes whenever I want to.


JH