By David R. Stokes | Senior Pastor of Fair Oaks Church in Fairfax, Virginia
In his book Walking with the Giants, Warren Wiersbe wondered what it would be like if some "homiletically inclined archangel" offered to let him choose another time and place in which to live. If given that "wish," Wiersbe wrote that he would set the coordinates for Victorian Great Britain to hear firsthand the greatest preaching in the history of the English language. He further speculated that if he had already heard Charles Haddon Spurgeon on a particular Lord’s Day, he would "hasten to the City Temple and there sit at the feet of Joseph Parker."
Joseph Parker was a powerful pulpit voice in a day when great preachers impacted popular culture in a way seldom seen before or since. His ministry has endured into the 21st century largely through the massive record of an ambitious expository project. He set out to preach through the entire Bible in seven years and published the results; it is still available today, most recently published as
Preaching Through the Bible (in 14 volumes).
His messages remain powerful from the opening prayers (published verbatim—and inspiring on their own!) and continuing through each carefully crafted and delivered sentence. The messages are largely transcriptions of his preaching—yet, they bear the marks of a serious wordsmith. Parker’s preaching represents the best of what Phillips Brooks must have meant when he described preaching as "the truth of God mediated through the human personality."
It is virtually impossible to understand Parker and his times without looking also at his legendary London contemporary, Spurgeon. Like Spurgeon, Parker was basically an autodidact. He was converted to personal faith in Christ as a 12-year-old-boy, later recalling: "I remember Sunday night when, walking with my father and a most intelligent Sunday School teacher, I declared my love to Christ, and asked Him to take my child-heart into His own gracious keeping." Six years later he sensed God’s call on his life and began preaching as opportunities came his way. An older pastor soon took an interest in the young preacher. He mentored him and "force-fed him theology and exegesis" for nearly a year.
Joseph Parker’s early pastoral ministry, in places such as Banbury in Oxfordshire and Manchester, earned him a reputation as a dedicated pastor and uniquely gifted preacher. He lived, moved and served in the Congregational Church system. This was a vital part of English Non-Conformity during the 19th century and a fertile breeding ground for evangelism and revival (unlike what had become of its American counterpart by that time).
His gifts seemed to demand a venue like the great city of London. His actual journey there took the form of a call to a once-great church (another Spurgeon similarity) that had seen better days—the Poultry Chapel. Five years into a 33-year ministry, he led the congregation through a building program and name change as his church became known as City Temple.
