Steal Away Home: Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson, Unlikely Friends on the Passage to Freedom

Highly recommend

Church history is filled with stories of courage, adventure, adversity, and persecution. From the exile of Athanasius, the martyrdom of John Rogers and William Tyndale, or Luther’s trial at Worms, these stories are well-known and we are quick to pass them along to the next generation.Steal Away Home by Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey is a tale that will be new to many readers, however. It was certainly new for me! The story involves two men from backgrounds that have very little in common. C.H. Spurgeon was the Prince of Preachers, a refined man with a rich theological heritage who occupied the pulpit in Victorian England. He was well-known around the world. He was a best-selling author and recognized by thousands. Thomas Johnson was a simple slave boy who was unjustly shackled in colonial America. He was known by few and treated like an animal. His slave master worked him to the bone on the Virginia tobacco fields.Jesus Christ liberated Thomas Johnson. He freed him from the power and the penalty of sin. President Abraham Lincoln rescued Thomas Johnson from the sin of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation, which Lincoln regarded as the crowning achievement of his presidency, liberated Thomas from his slave master. Jesus Christ liberated Thomas from the slave master of sin.Through a series of Providential events, Thomas Johnson found himself at the front door of C.H. Spurgeon in London. After his training was complete, he and his wife made their way to Cameroon, West Africa in 1879.PERSONAL TAKEAWAYSSteal Away Home is a work of historical fiction. It becomes clear at the outset, however, that the authors spent many hours researching the details of this intriguing story. My hope is that a few personal takeaways will prompt many people to enter rich world of the 19th century and absorb some life-altering lessons.1. The Humanization of C.H. SpurgeonI have been reading Spurgeon and books about the Prince of Preachers for almost thirty years. This book brilliantly captures the essence of Spurgeon and is not afraid of revealing his warts, weaknesses, and worries. It is a breath of fresh air for anyone who is under the false notion that the famous preacher from London lived a life of ease. Spurgeon’s doubt and lifelong battle with depression is highlighted and his fears are revealed.2. The Horror of SlaveryMost Americans recognize that slavery is a perpetual “black eye” on our nations’ history. But few understand the gravity of what these innocent African Americans endured. Carter and Ivey masterfully reveal the pitiful nature of slavery through the eyes of Thomas Johnson. Sympathetic readers will feel genuine grief as they walk with Johnson and experience the horror of his chains.3. The Hallowed Ground of FriendshipSteal Away Home reminds readers of the importance and value of friendship. The friendship fostered by Spurgeon and Thomas is grounded in grace and nurtured by honest communication, genuine fun, rich encouragement, and biblical accountability. Like David and Jonathan, these two men are examples of friendship that glorifies God. Indeed, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). Indeed, friendship is hallowed ground that too few men tread upon.4. The Hope of the GospelFinally, this story shows how the gospel operates in the real world. Apart from grace, Charles Haddon Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson were dead in trespasses and sins, without hope and without God. Indeed, apart from grace, Spurgeon and Johnson were both spiritual slaves. Both men, however, were set free as they cast their hope on the Lord Jesus Christ. In the course of their very different earthly paths, they wound up on the same spiritual path, which ultimately led them both to the Celestial City!Steal Away Home encouraged me personally and moved my soul in ways that most books only hope to do. Matt Carter and Aaron Ivey stepped up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park. Their work will no doubt be a contender for book of the year. I commend their work wholeheartedly!I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

It's been a long time since a book made me weep as I did in the final pages of Steal Away Home. There is so much beauty in this story, in the writing of it, and—most of all—in the Gospel which saturates it, that there really was no other way to respond but through tears of joy for God's victory over sin and death, mingled with tears of sorrow for the brokenness which still mars our world until Christ returns to consummate that victory.I have read a lot of books by and about Charles Haddon Spurgeon. But I can truthfully say I've never encountered anything like this book, both in its scope and style.The book's authors, Matt Carter & Aaron Ivey, are two of the elders at The Austin Stone Community Church, a church whose ministry has often encouraged and inspired me. While visiting the Stone last May for what they call a Worship Pastor Intensive, Aaron shared with us about how co-writing this book had been such a blessing in his life; I pre-ordered it on the spot.While the book is somewhat biographical, its genre is difficult to identify due to its unique nature. In the introduction, Carter states that the book's style was inspired by Michael Shaara's excellent book The Killer Angels, a novelized story of the Civil War focusing on the lives of several historical figures. Steal Away Home is written as a novel in which the main characters are the 19th century preachers Charles Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson.If you're like me, you're reading that second name and saying, "Who?"The fact that Johnson's name is relatively unknown is a real tragedy! His story is truly fascinating, and the impact he had on the Kingdom of God is immense, both as a missionary to Cameroon and as a much-needed encourager and friend to the "prince of preachers."Thomas Johnson had been a slave for 28 years in Virginia when the end of the Civil War brought about his emancipation. Though he had heard the name "Charles Haddon Spurgeon" (when he was forced to accompany his master and a Baptist preacher to a book burning in which the works of Spurgeon—an outspoken abolitionist who openly challenged slave-holding "Christians" in the American South—were read to slaves before being thrown into the fire), he never dreamed he would have the opportunity to meet with him, much less become his friend.Providentially, God allowed Johnson to be sponsored to attend Spurgeon's Pastor's College in London, to be trained and commissioned as a missionary to Africa. During his time in London, and for decades later, Johnson became one of Spurgeon's closest friends and confidants. Spurgeon's lifelong struggle with depression and physical ailments are well known. But the way Johnson spoke truth into Spurgeon's life, teaching him about true freedom in Christ, has remained mostly obscured from history until now. I'm so grateful to Carter & Ivey for telling his story!While the narrative and much of the dialogue for this book required some "artistic license" from the authors, as often as possible the words and "voice" of the characters come from their own writing, primarily their frequent correspondence (Spurgeon kept all of Johnson's letters in the desk in his study), and from Johnson's own autobiography,  Twenty-Eight Years a Slave or the Story of My Life in Three Continents (Classic Reprint) . The book was thoroughly researched at the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the fact that so many prominent Spurgeon scholars have endorsed the book lends a lot of credibility to the historicity of the story.I can't imagine more capable hands for the telling of this story than Carter and Ivey. I know of no other ministry so invested in story-telling as Austin Stone (learning more about their Story Team is one of the main reasons I attended the Intensive in the Spring). The story is beautifully told, and I wholeheartedly commend it to you.

I absolutely loved this book. I like the way the back story of both men was presented. Open and true.

While Steal Away Home transports you back to the mid-1800’s, its pages are still wet with the ink of timely relevance. There’s no doubt you will weep several times, but your resounding and remaining cry will be the cry for freedom in Jesus for every soul and every physical body bound in chains.  The divine intersection of two lives worlds apart weave a beautiful tapestry of the faithful friendship, true ministry and lasting legacy of Charles H. Spurgeon and Thomas Johnson. Indeed, these men and their wives are living letters written not with ink, but by the Spirit of God.  Matt and Aaron’s descriptive imagery and intimate dialogue will take you back in time to hear not only their voices, but also the voice of Jesus - the One who sets captives free.The title, drawn from a hymn Thomas learned while enslaved, serves as a compass for their heart and ours in our journey home to Jesus.  Like the chorus of a song, this recurring phrase will call you to remember that this home - in our Father’s house - has many rooms that are not yet filled.  Experience this book and then spread the word.Tim McKenzieOn Every Word Ministries

This book has been so beautifully written with heart-warming pictures of the lives of two extraordinary men living in service to God and His creation. I looked forward to reading this each night and found in myself a new hunger for deeper relationship with the Lord as a result. Loved it!

For the majority of this book the authors describe the life and upbringing of these two men. The details of their friendship only start to emerge in the last quarter of the book. It would have been nice to have a little bit more detail on life after their first meeting. However, on the whole it was an interesting and heartwarming approach to a friendship between two men committed to the same glorious vision.

What a poor effort. Badly written and despite claims to the contrary it has a far greater ring of imagination than of facts. Appalling mis-spellings of names. Poor old Me Olney becomes Mr Onley!!! Does this point to careless research? Some of the imagined situations were so overdrawn that I was in fits of laughter at times. There is an abundance of Spurgeon material out there, new and second-hand. Read that. Forget this. A good idea wasted.