Preaching Rediscovered: Broadus' Lost Lectures and the Recovery of Exposition

Moreover, the ministry demands good health, strong mental facility and disciplined study of the Bible and beyond. Beyond clarity of statement, the preacher should seek to improve his command of argument in the arrangement of a sermon. With these, the preacher must remember the audience and employ the powers of creative imagination. Combined with proper preparation, the herald must

deliver the message through appropriating passion, sympathy and a strong will.

Beyond the requisite internal strengths of the minister, the preacher must acquire the skills of his office, including the habit of study. Preparation through study lays the foundation of every message. What’s more, the herald should maintain the discipline of observation as well as the practice of reflecting upon those observations.

Among the strengths Broadus describes as necessary to the ministry, perhaps no discipline is more important than personal holiness. Broadus consistently emphasizes the importance of personal devotion in the life of the preacher. Whether in public conversation or private meetings, the preacher should practice habitual grace and temperance of language and actions. The minister who works to maintain these habits and build a ministry should aspire to greatness for the Lord.

Additionally, Broadus develops the habit of Bible study into an entire lecture on the important concept of the voluminous study of Scripture. Broadus articulates a defense of reading the Bible for devotional and spiritual benefit. Moreover, the minister should read to gain materials for preaching and pastoral ministry. Also, the preacher should read for both a general knowledge of Scripture as well as memorization. Furthermore, regular reading of Scripture improves expository preaching in general. Broadus provides a schedule for regular reading of the Bible that includes the challenge of up to three hours of daily reading. The importance of reading and growing in the knowledge of the Scripture must remain at the forefront of the minister’s pursuits, he argues.

Broadus for the 21st Century

Broadus’ 1889 lectures unleash personal, intimate and detailed instruction for the preparation and delivery of sermons. Broadus bestows on his audience the culmination of his teaching ministry. Broadus sought to incarnate a model of biblical preaching with an applicational style that drives each listener to a powerful impulse of the will.

He displays a superior knowledge and informed theory on the nature and character of preaching. His contribution to homiletics is unparalleled among Baptists, and the Yale lecture content broadens his relevance for renewed study today. Broadus’ lectures provide a new reason to rediscover his vast contributions to homiletics. Indeed, these Yale lectures display Broadus’ vivid and engaging homiletic, relevant for another generation of expositors.

At Broadus’ death, Dr. William Rainey Harper, president of the University of Chicago, declared, “No man ever heard him preach but understood every sentence; no one heard him preach who did not feel the truth of God sink deep into his heart. As a teacher of the New Testament as well as of homiletics, it is perhaps not too much to say that he had no superior in this country.”

Broadus remained clear in his commitment to conversational preaching that embodied the art and discipline of proper biblical preaching. The principles he established in his 50 years as a preacher-teacher are timeless. As he approached the end of his productive ministry, the Yale lectures mark the pinnacle and culmination of his lifelong promotion of powerful, practical and engaging proclamation.