The ten greatest preachers of the twentieth century part 3

As an occasional web surfer I came across a list of great preachers of the twentieth century which sounded interesting as I have the distinction, like millions upon millions of others around the world, as a listener of sermons. 

I've heard some very notable sermons, and some not-so-notable sermons too. I noted in my searches that Michael Duduit who published in "Preaching" some years ago the most outstanding list of Christian preachers of the twentieth century. John Mark Ministries web site was a huge help in my searches: www.jmm.org

I have written two earlier articles on great preachers – they all made a significant impact on countless lives, on the church, and on their fellow preachers. 
The first - au.christiantoday.com
The second - au.christiantoday.com

This now is the third in this series.

John R.W. Stott (1921-2011)

A favorite preacher among evangelicals around the globe - John Stott - was Rector Emeritus of All Souls Church in London and Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. He served at All Souls Church as assistant curate (1945-50), as Rector (1950-75), and as Rector Emeritus since 1975. He was appointed a Chaplain to the Queen from 1959 to 1991.

Since his retirement, Stott invested much of his ministry in working with pastors, church leaders and students in the Third World. He was the author of over 40 books, including Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ. In his book I Believe in Preaching, Stott emphasized the place of proclamation in his own ministry:

"Nothing is better calculated to restore health and vitality to the church or to lead its members into maturity in Christ than a recovery of true, biblical, contemporary preaching . . . The task of preaching today is extremely exacting, as we seek to build bridges between the Word and the world, between divine revelation and human experience, and to relate the one to the other with integrity and relevance."

"When the first International Congress on Preaching was held in London in 1997, one of the most exciting elements for me was the opportunity to meet John Stott.

For so many years I have admired this gifted author and preacher, whose insights about the preaching task have meant so much to so many. His little book, The Preacher's Portrait, is one of the most meaningful volumes ever written about the nature and calling of the preacher; I cannot count the number of times I have recommended it to young pastors.

At a stage of life and a stature in which he could do whatever he wishes, Dr. Stott is today dedicating his life to helping train and encourage Christian preachers in the Third World. Only God knows the number of lives which will have been influenced for Christ because of the faithful ministry of John Stott." (Michael Duduit, Editor, Preaching)

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) 

This Welsh preacher was a brilliant expositor and fervent Calvinist who succeeded Campbell Morgan as pastor of Westminster Chapel and led the church to even greater growth. An admirer of the great Puritan preachers of an earlier era, Lloyd-Jones demonstrated the power that is possible through the careful and systematic exposition of scripture in the pulpit.

Lloyd-Jones was trained in medicine rather than theology, but abandoned his medical practice in response to his sense of God's call. After a single 11-year pastorate, in 1938 he was invited by Morgan to come as associate pastor of Westminster Chapel, and there shared the preaching ministry with the aging patriarch. At Morgan's retirement in 1943, Lloyd-Jones assumed the pastorate and served successfully until his own retirement in 1968.

Even today his sermons are widely published and read on both sides of the Atlantic. Through his preaching in Westminster Chapel and his war-time leadership of Inter-Varsity in Britain, Lloyd-Jones influenced a new generation of British and American evangelicals to stay rooted in scripture.

"A few years ago while walking around London with a friend, I suggested that we take a short walk from Buckingham Palace over to Westminster Chapel, the former parish of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Upon our arrival, my friend informed me that he had never heard nor read a sermon by Lloyd-Jones. In response, I suggested that he remedy the situation! Taking my exhortation, he immersed himself in the Lloyd-Jones preaching legacy. Recently my friend told me how Lloyd-Jones' God-centered biblical preaching encouraged him in the midst of hard times.

Lloyd-Jones' preaching does that. His was a special theological mind which could take the doctrine of justification by faith and successfully employ it as the solution for the deepest melancholy.

In his book Preaching and Preachers, Lloyd-Jones defined preaching as "logic on fire." That definition accurately describes his own approach. His preaching was thoroughly biblical, passionate, rational, and theological. Yet what was truly remarkable about Lloyd-Jones is that his preaching exhibited all four of these qualities simultaneously. (For Lloyd-Jones beginners, the place to begin is with his sermon "But God"). In his preaching, Lloyd- Jones excelled at demonstrating the theological framework which binds Scripture together, and he did so for thirty years in the pulpit of Westminster Chapel.

The collected sermons of Lloyd-Jones bear witness to an "earnest ministry," as the Puritan John Angell James once put it. They are cause for self-reflection and examination for those of us in ministry at the dawn of a new century. What are our analogues to Lloyd-Jones' weighty and profound volumes on Romans and Ephesians? What legacy will we leave behind? To such questions Lloyd-Jones would admonish us to "take ourselves in hand" and assess our faithfulness to the Scriptures and the high calling to be 'stewards of the mysteries of God.'" (Gregory Alan Thornbury, Instructor in Christian Studies, Union University, Jackson, TN)


10. Clarence Macartney (1879-1957) 

Clarence Macartney was a lifelong bachelor, avid student of scripture, and champion of theological orthodoxy who stood in opposition to Fosdick's liberalizing influence. When Fosdick preached his famous sermon, "Will the Fundamentalists Win?" Macartney countered with his own powerful sermon, "Will Unbelief Win?"

Macartney's ministry took him successively to pastorates of three downtown churches, culminating in the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. His preaching was topical in style, often biographical. His sermons were painstakingly prepared and delivered with directness and evangelical fervor. He was noted for his imaginative illustrations and his keen insights into the human heart. Often preaching in sermon series (many of which are still in print), he was committed to preaching without notes.

A diligent worker and able student, Macartney preached five times weekly yet maintained an active schedule visiting in homes and hospitals three days a week. His preaching reflected a love for people, an urgency about their salvation, and a commitment to Christ and to God's Word.

"With dramatic titles designed to catch attention and bring the Bible to life, he carefully crafted each sermon so that God's word spoke for itself. From the neo-gothic stone building where he preached at the heart of Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, he touched thousands of lives. His influence was such that many people recall how he had ready access to his rich, famous and politically powerful contemporaries.

Such was the influence of bachelor preacher, Clarence Edward Macartney. Yet he never forgot the humble County Down roots of his heritage. His world travels were often routed through Ulster to visit cousins at the old homestead.

Today I am at once humbled, challenged and privileged to stand in his pulpit. Nearly half a century after he retired as pastor of Pittsburgh's historic "First Church," as his fifth successor I still reap the benefits of the ministry of a true homiletical giant. There are yet great saints in the First Presbyterian family of Pittsburgh who sat under his preaching Their numbers are fading but his books still line the shelves of their libraries.

"Preach it again, Doctor!" Come Before Winter, based on Paul's urgent invitation to young preacher Timothy (see 2 Timothy 4 verse 21), is his best known sermon. It echoes around the world in a variety of forms. Taped copies of it are available from our library as well as from Geneva College, where many of his letters and papers are available in the repository of the Macartney library. The first October of his Pittsburgh ministry he preached it. The church elders asked that he preach it each year thereafter, which he did. It is said that he may have preached it as many as 39 times, both in Pittsburgh and across the country." (Robert Leslie Holmes, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA)

This core of this article originally appeared in Preaching magazine and is used by permission by John Mark Ministries http://www.jmm.org.au/articles/8527.htm and summarised for this series of three articles.