??John A. Broadus: A Living Legacy
Edited by David S. Dockery and Roger D. Duke
Nashville: B&H Academic, 2008. Paper, 260 pp.
John A. Broadus was, in many ways, the father of modern expository preaching. That alone would make his life and work a topic of interest to students of preaching. However, Broadus was far more than a teacher of preaching; his was a fascinating and significant life and career which offers both interesting reading and helpful models for study.
This most recent volume on Broadus-edited by David Dockery and Roger Duke-is not a biography of Broadus; rather it is an anthology of essays offering a variety of different perspectives on the 19-century preacher, professor and seminary president. The contributors include an excellent team of Southern Baptist academics and pastors who share an interest in Broadus’ work.
John A. Broadus (1827-1895) was one of the towering figures of homiletics in his own era. Charles Spurgeon recognized him as “the greatest of living preachers.”
Broadus was a Virginian, a gifted student, a pastor who also taught at the University of Virginia, his alma mater. In 1859 he became one of the founding faculty members of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As a professor, Broadus wrote On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, which became the standard American textbook on homiletics for a century. He was also a gifted preacher who could have been called to many of the great pulpits in the nation but instead remained at his beloved seminary, which he later served as its second president.
In this outstanding collection, the reader gains a new appreciation for the contribution Broadus made to the study of preaching, as well as to theological education. Essays deal with Broadus’ contribution to Southern Baptists, his contributions to the study of preaching, an analysis of Broadus’ own preaching style, and much more.
This collection offers a helpful analysis of the work of one of the most influential figures in the modern history of preaching and reintroduces Broadus to a new generation that will gain value from better understanding this towering figure of the American pulpit.