Mark Hamby is the founder and president of Lamplighter Ministries
International, a successful Christian book and audio drama ministry. Lamplighter
Ministries has rediscovered and published 130 rare books which were written
during the 17th -19th centuries. These books teach
compelling Christian truths in the form of memorable stories.
Lamplighter’s
mission statement is: “To make
ready a people prepared for the Lord by building Christ like character one
story at a time.” Mr. Hamby attributes his passion for Christian literature to the
impact that several Christian biographies made on his life.
Mr. Hamby kindly agreed to answer my questions regarding the
influence of Christian biographies on his life. We exchanged the following
questions and answers through e-mail.
How old were you when you first started reading Christian
biographies?
22, the year I
came to know Jesus as my Savior…1977
Who encouraged you to start reading them?
I had never
read a book other than the Bible but then a man named Charlie T. (Tremendous)
Jones picked me out of an audience asking me what great Christian literature
had been influencing my life. After seeing that I couldn't think of a title,
and after a total hysterically embarrassing moment, he sent me a dozen
biographies.
Is it true that reading biographies inspired you to become a
reader? Why so?
Yes…the first one was D.L.
Moody, then George Mueller, then Amy Carmichael, then Gladys Alyward, and then
Hudson Taylor and so on. The stories of these committed Christians influenced
me so profoundly that I began to emulate their lives. Each book that I read
gave me one more nudge forward in my faith. Within a year I was consumed with
new thoughts and motivations that guided my passions for serving Christ and
others.
On the Lamplighter website you state that If I Perish has
remained your favorite biography for 25 years. Why?
If you read If I Perish you will understand why. But
simply, Esther Ann Kim is my hero. She was tortured for Christ but never fought
back. She prayed for her enemies; when her teeth were rotting, she prayed and
God answered her prayers through the taunting of the soldiers as they threw
rotten apples at her that morning. Esther saw those apples, not as an enemy’s
attack but as the gracious gifts of God. After sucking the juice from the
rotten apples, she regained her strength which also brought healing to her
teeth.
How many biographies would you guess you have read since you first
started reading them?
Actually, it hasn't been
the biographies that have influenced by life as much as the rare books that I
found in Europe, now known as the Lamplighter Collection of rare books.
Concerning biographies, I would say only 20…Concerning these rare books, about
200…my favorites are The Basket of
Flowers, Hedge of Thorns, Titus: A Comrade of the Cross; The Lamplighter;
Ishmael; Shipwrecked; Robbers Cave; Sir Knight of the Splendid Way; The Kings
Gold; Hand on the Bridle; Helen's Temper; Jessica's First Prayer; Christies Old
Organ; Buried in the Snow' A Peep Behind the Scenes; Basil.
You also state on the website that “Books have been the main tool
that God has used to bring insight, inspiration, and understanding into my
life…and often at just the right moment.” Can you give an example of a time in
your life when something you learned from a biography helped you at “Just the
right moment”?
When visiting a racially
tense area, I remembered that Hudson Taylor became like the people he served.
That idea allowed me to ask a man whom I was visiting (trying to share the
Gospel), if he had an extra pair of sneakers I could wear so that I could beat
him in basketball! He was so taken back by my request that it opened the door
for me to share Christ…well, if the truth be told, I couldn't share Christ
until after I beat him in basketball! If I had lost, I was going to be cutting
his lawn for the next two months!
Have you started or quit any habits as a result of a reading a
biography?
I learned from George
Mueller and from all of the others, that there was one major life line to serve
Christ and live a joyful and passionate Christian life--that is to possess a
full intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. George Mueller was a great man of
prayer and faith. But what few people know is that George Mueller read through
the Bible four times from cover to cover each year, from the time he was 71
till the time of his death at 92!
How often do you re-read your favorite biographies?
Never…I only read a book
once, though I will go back and use quotes that I have underlined. I do this
quite frequently. I see my books as tools after they've been read. They are
always on hand to extract the golden nuggets to accentuate God's truth and
ways…There are too many great books to read, to spend my time going backwards
to reread a book just for pleasure…it is important that we drink out of new
wells. It's like manna…God gives new manna for each new day!
