"With A Bible In My Hand": The Preaching Legacy Of W.A. Criswell
By David L. Allen
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.
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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.