19 01
At the dawn of the century; most people were fascinated by power. There was no doubt that the coming years would be dominated by how power could be harnessed. In recent decades, revolutions had occurred in transportation (with the steam engine { fjj ן
and combustion engine), in communications (with the telegraph, telephone, wireless, and transatlantic cable), and even in domestic life (with electric lights, sewing machines, and phonographs). The key to it all was power.
In the world at large, America had become a world power, defeating Spain in Cuba and in the Philippines. And with its new president, Teddy Roosevelt, who claimed to speak softly but carry a big stick, the country's status as a world power was destined to continue.
Maybe in spiritual matters too the country looked for someone who could speak softly but show the way to power. Some preachers used Victorian English to explain how to live the Christian life. Some evangelists ranted and raved about getting saved and walking down the sawdust trail. But many Christians wanted some straightforward how-to-do-it answers about what their faith was all about.
Quiet Talks on Power was the first in a twenty-one-volume Quiet Talks series by S. D. Gordon, published over the next thirty years. The best-seller of the series was Quiet Talks on Prayer, published in 1904; it has sold well over a half million copies and is still in print. Others in the series include Quiet Talks on Service,
Quiet Talks on the Lord's Return, Quiet Talks on Witnessing, and Quiet Talks on Jesus. Combined sales of the series top the three million mark.
Yet the books' significance rests not in their spectacular sales but in Gordon's down-to-earth way of communicating with ordinary people. One of the earliest reviews spoke of Gordon's
style as "full of power״ and ״charged with an electric current.״ Another said that Gordon had made ״familiar truths lively and intensely practical.״ These were not Christian books for the theologically trained but for the average Joe. Gordon learned his speaking and writing style through his experience with the YMCA and he wanted to reach working men. That made Gordon's writing unusual for his time.
Samuel Dickey Gordon—always known as simply S. D.—was born in Philadelphia in 1859 and began working with the YMCA there when he was twenty-five. In 1896 he quit his job and began a four-year lecture tour around the world. When he returned, he began writing his first book, Quiet Talks on Power. For the next thirty years, he was much in demand as a devotional speaker and writer.
In that first book, Gordon talks about the necessity of a personal relationship with Christ and making sure that power channels are not clogged. A key chapter is "Making and Breaking Connections," in. which he defines five main words used in the New Testament regarding the Holy Spirit's relation to the Christian. Baptism is the historical word, describing an act done once for all on Pentecost. Filled is the experience word; anointed is the purpose word; and sealed is the ownership or property word. And earnest (or guarantee) is the prophetic word, pointing forward to the day when Christ returns.
!Power," says Gordon, "depends on good connections. The train with the locomotive, machinery with the engine; the electrical mechanism with the powerhouse. And in the Christian life the follower of Jesus with the Spirit of Jesus."
He concludes by writing, "Fresh supplies of power are dependent upon two things. The first is this—keeping the life free of hindrances. . .. The second thing is the cultivation of personal friendship with God."
The book is filled with warm stories as well as with biblical examples. The final page tells of an eighteenth-century German theologian who would return to his room late at night and read his Bible for an hour. Then after a few minutes of silence, he would say simply, "Well, Lord, Jesus, we're on the same old terms. Good night." He was keeping the power communication channels open.