"With A Bible In My Hand": The Preaching Legacy Of W.A. Criswell

When the history of twentieth century Southern Baptist preaching is written, one name will stand at the top of the list:  W. A. Criswell.  Here was a man who preached for more than three-quarters of a century and who on October 6, 1944, at the age of 34, preached his first sermon as the pastor of the great First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas.  For more than half a century, perched behind the beautiful red velvet topped carved oak pulpit his expository preaching ministry became world-renowned.  

 Perhaps the single most significant impact Criswell’s preaching had was to foster expositional preaching within the Southern Baptist Convention and beyond.  In 1946 Criswell began an expository preaching tour through the entire Bible.  He began with Genesis.  Seventeen and one-half years and a few thousand new members later, he finished Revelation.  When he announced his intention to preach through the Bible, the nay-sayers emerged from within the church.  “You’ll kill the church!” some warned.  “People won’t come” moaned others.  “What will you do when you get to the book of Numbers” carked some.  As Criswell put it, “you never heard such lugubrious prognostications in all of your life.”  During those years, the church needed no ecclesiastical undertakers; in fact, her ministries flourished.  Under Dr. Criswell’s preaching, FBC became the prototype for the mega-church with her membership rolls swelling to over 25,000 by the mid-1980s.  In an era when preaching in the main-line denominational churches was afflicted with nervous prostration, Criswell proved you could build a great church on the expositional preaching of the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. 

Criswell’s steady diet of expositional preaching combined with a rhetorical eloquence kept people on the edge of their seats.  His knowledge of history, the arts, literature and human nature was only eclipsed by his knowledge of the Scripture. His sermons were always lightly sprinkled with quotes and illustrations from these other sources that enhanced his powerful exposition and application of the Bible. Criswell’s versatility, knowledge of the original languages, and oratorical skill were marshaled in impressive array Sunday by Sunday in his sermons.  His preaching was often a verbal pyrotechnic extravaganza . . . a homiletical fourth of July.

Criswell’s preaching reflects a mastery of correct use of grammar.  His use of the elements of persuasion made Criswell virtually peerless in his ability to make relevant biblical exposition.  He also excelled at explaining a biblical text without the use of technical theological jargon.  He had a reputation of being “a Holy-roller with a Ph.D.”    Vividness of language, use of strong, active verbs, and a regular use of the first person plural instead of the second person, all combined to create a bond between himself and his hearers.  Concreteness, repetition, alliteration, combined with a superb ability to make use of figures of speech turned the ear into an eye for Criswell’s listeners.