Of Preaching and Personality: The Ministry of Joseph Parker

Criticism followed Parker throughout his ministry. The most common complaint was that he was an egotist, but Wiersbe prefers to think of him as a "dramatist." One contemporary referred to him as "…boisterous, sometimes perhaps bombastic, but he had drama, he had passion, he had genius, he had great flashes of inspiration which made other preachers seem dull in comparison." Strong personalities are often larger than life; and as such they produce varied, sometimes even violent, reactions. But if they stay faithful to principle and faith, they are remembered and studied by later generations because they are the ones who impact their times and make a lasting difference.

As to the actual relationship between Parker and Spurgeon, there were the "ups and downs" all too familiar to preachers and their peers. Sometimes they were fast friends; at other times they were on opposite sides of an issue, but generally there was a respect that tempered things.

These two giants shared pulpits and worked together on many causes over the years, but there were moments of stress in their relationship. The fact that they were both passionate leaders in their own right was a factor. In 1887 Parker and Spurgeon exchanged a series of letters in what became an increasingly personal and public spat.

Yet when Spurgeon died five years later, Parker paid him tribute in The London Times, saying that "the only pulpit name of the 19th century that will be remembered is no longer the name of a living man. His simplicity, his constancy, his stand-stillness, won for him, through many difficulties, a unique and invincible position in Christian England." Theirs was clearly a complicated relationship. Eagles don’t flock.

When Karl Wallenda, the legendary tight-rope walker, would talk about his passion he would say: "Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting!" Joseph Parker clearly felt that way about preaching. It’s really all he ever wanted to do, be or be known for. He once said that "Sunday is my festival day. I love Sunday. All the days of the week lead up to it, and I hold high festival with my God and my people every Sabbath." So, when Ed Young Jr., tells his mammoth Grapevine, Texas, congregation, "It’s all about the weekend!"—he’s following a powerful precedent.

Anyone who asked Parker about what his hobby was received the crisp reply: "Preaching!" Joseph Parker worked hard at his preaching. He built his schedule around it, and the fruit of this kind of passionate commitment was evident throughout his ministry. He wrote about what this meant in practical terms in his book Studies in Texts:

"I have lived for my work. That is all. If I had talked all the week, I could not have preached on Sunday. If I had attended committee meetings, immersed myself in politics and undertaken the general care of the Empire, my strength would have been consumed. That is all. Mystery there is none. I have made my preaching work my delight, the very festival of my soul. That is all. Young brother, go thou and do likewise, and God bless thee!"