Of Preaching and Personality: The Ministry of Joseph Parker

He was, as seems universally true of all great preachers, well read. He would begin around 7:30 in the morning, reading several newspapers. Meditation on the text (a lost art) was a crucial part of his spiritual and mental preparation. He took long walks and contemplated the passage at hand.

Parker was an extemporaneous, as opposed to manuscript, preacher. But this should never be confused with "impromptu" speaking. One cannot imagine him (or any other serious man of God) "winging it" with unprepared "stream of consciousness" preaching. In fact, his method required much more preparation than that involved in the careful crafting of a masterpiece manuscript. He would use a few notes and then preach using "the language of the moment," remarking once that "every man can best follow his own method; I have followed mine." Good advice for any preacher.

He used roughly the same amount of notes as did Mr. Spurgeon (about a half-page), but Parker’s sermons have less structure than his esteemed London neighbor. They read more as rhetorical commentary and variations on a theme; but they are packed with insight, meat, application and enduring power. We might call this today an "animated conversation." Parker preferred the term "dignified conversation."

He drew and held a vast and faithful following throughout his ministry. He preached twice on Sundays to crowds of more than three thousand, and each Thursday during the noon hour to at least a thousand. One observer described Parker in his pulpit prime as a captivating communicator:

"His massive figure and leonine head at once fixed the attention and his voice, rich as an organ, held his audience spell-bound. It rose and fell in sonorous periods as he poured out his perfectly-phrased sentences. He was a superb actor and he delivered his thoughts with a dramatic force that kindled each sentence…the gleaming eyes, the vigorous gesture, the constantly challenging inflection of his voice, now soft as whisper, then challenging as a trumpet."

Another interesting Parker-Spurgeon parallel is how they dealt with their own emotions. Biographers have documented in great detail Spurgeon’s battles with chronic depression (often paralyzing him for lengthy periods of time). Less is known, though, of Parker’s emotional "demons." There is compelling evidence that he battled feelings of inferiority throughout his career, probably rooted in his lack of formal education (though clearly he was a brilliant man).

Joseph Parker was a giant in his generation, a man consumed with a mission—to preach the Word. A study of his life raises questions about the place of ambition in ministry. Paul told Timothy that "desiring the office of a bishop" was a good thing indeed. But, in the same passage, he warned the preacher about the perils of pride. In Parker we might just see a bit of ourselves as we wrestle with issues of ego, personality and distraction. It’s like that with "earthen vessels." As we look at such men we can’t ignore the human element and challenges, but we can look beyond them somewhat to catch glimpses of what is possible when God’s call and Word are taken seriously.