“I’d as soon preach undressed as unprepared” this is a quote applied to the man who occupied the pulpit of Westminster Chapel from 1938-1968.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a medical doctor turned preacher and many have said that if he had wanted to he could have become Prime Minister. Lloyd-Jones was a unique man indeed. However, it was not his high intellect that distinguished him as a preacher but rather his ability to communicate theological truth in an understandable, digestible, but not less than convicting manner. It is fitting then that we should have a book by Lloyd-Jones on the subject of preaching.
Preaching and Preachers is a compilation of lectures given by Lloyd-Jones to the students of Westminster Theological Seminary in the spring of 1969.
Personally, I found the book to be a refreshing tonic to me, a young preacher. I felt like I was visiting with him in a coffee shop and just talking shop with him. I asked a lot of questions in the margins took notes and spent a considerable time pondering many of his pregnant quotes.
“To love to preach is one thing, to love those to who we preach quite another”
“What is preaching? Logic on fire! Eloquent reason!”
“Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire”
“Preachers are born, not made.”
“…true preaching does deal with personal problems, so much so that true preaching saves a great deal of time for the pastor.”
There is little doubt that Lloyd-Jones was both scripturally and experientially convinced of the primacy of preaching. He beat the drum over and over again about the need for the preacher to do his work in the study and then communicate the truth to his people that they might grow. His chapters entitled The Primacy of Preaching, No Substitute, The Preparation of the Preacher, and Demonstration of the Spirit and of the Power clearly display this.
In addition, there were a couple of things that stuck out from the pages as repeated themes to me.
First was Lloyd-Jones’ continued emphasis upon the need to effectively communicate. He did not reduce preaching down to only being able to being able talk in front of people, but he did emphasize the need for the preacher to thoughtfully, prayerfully, and intentionally craft his sermon in such a way that he, as much as he is able by the grace and Spirit of God, may have a maximum impact on his hearers.
Secondly, Lloyd-Jones repeatedly emphasized the need for a preacher to preach expositionally, that is to bring out the meaning from the text rather than to have a theme or topic and impose it on the text. Coming from a guy who did this faithfully for numerous decades I come away encouraged from his high resolve for biblical and theological exposition.
As with any intriguing fellow Lloyd-Jones has his quirks; he said and did things that I would not do. But I am in no position to here to say anything except my own thankfulness for the grace of God in the life of Lloyd-Jones and the benefit of others like me.
If you like preaching or have friends that do I encourage you to grab a copy of this book and promote it to others. Copies are available for a reduced price at Westminster Books.
