Rejuvenation for the weary preacher. A siren call for sluggish Christians. The book that re-established the primacy of preaching in the church.

Hi, my name is Terence, and I am your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today, I review “Preaching and Preachers” by Martyn Lloyd Jones, the 40th Anniversary edition—352 pages, published by Zondervan in January 2012. Available in Amazon Kindle for USD 13.49.

The attentive listener detects a similarity between the podcast’s name and the name of the book. It is no coincidence. I named the podcast after the book.

My Coming to Know The Doctor

When I was a young Christian, I was fascinated by preaching, by the power to save souls and transform nations. The first book I got on preaching was “Lectures to My Students” by Charles Spurgeon, and the Prince of Preachers whetted my appetite for more.

So I got hold of “Preaching and Preachers” by Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones, the man who could have been the doctor to the king and queen of England but chose to be a preacher for the king of all kings.

It was Lloyd Jones who first taught me that preaching is not teaching. The original word is to herald. To preach is to declare, not to discuss; to proclaim, not just to inform. This truth, along with many others, set me on a different Christian path, one I have been walking since.

I got hooked on Lloyd Jones. I listened to his sermons. I read the Iain Murray biography. But it’s been many years since I last read Preaching and Preachers, the book that started it all, so when I re-read “Preaching and Preachers” for this review, I could hear the old Doctor’s Welsh accent, and I smiled as I welcomed my old mentor.

“Preaching and Preachers” the book is compiled from a series of sixteen lectures Lloyd Jones gave at Westminster Seminary in 1969. You can actually listen to the original lectures on YouTube. Just search “Preaching and Preachers”, and you will hear the original tape recordings provided by the MLJ Trust and hear the 2-hour Q&A, which is not in the book.

The Greatest Need of The Church and The World

There is something to be said for listening to the original recordings, but reading his words is a pleasure. And in written form, it’s easier to highlight and weigh his words. This is how Lloyd Jones starts his excellent lecture series; I quote:

Why am I prepared to speak and to lecture on preaching? There are a number of reasons. It has been my life’s work. I have been forty-two years in the ministry, and the main part of my work has been preaching; not exclusively, but the main part of it has been preaching. In addition it is something that I have been constantly studying. I am conscious of my inadequacies and my failures as I have been trying to preach for all these years; and that has led inevitably to a good deal of study and of discussion and of general interest in the whole matter.

And now we come to the best bit, the most quoted bit, I quote:

But, ultimately, my reason for being very ready to give these lectures is that to me the work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and the most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. If you want something in addition to that I would say without hesitation that the most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and urgent need in the Church, it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.

Lloyd Jones makes an important distinction seen in the book’s title, a distinction between the preacher and the act of preaching. According to Lloyd Jones, the preacher is a broader term that includes the person, his character, his sermon and so on, while preaching is the act of communicating this message. In other places, Lloyd Jones separates them as the content and the form.

In seminaries, the study of delivering a sermon is homiletics. You would think that since half of the title in Lloyd Jone’s book is on the act of communicating the sermon, he would support teaching it. He does not. He calls homiletics, prostitution. More on that later.

If you are still listening, you might wonder whether you should continue since you have no intention of preaching. I ask that you stay for Lloyd Jones because many of you stay for Gordon Ramsay or Bear Grylls, but you don’t plan to be a professional chef or to eat bugs in the jungle. It’s more than appreciating expert in his craft. When you know what preaching is and what goes into preaching, you learn how to listen, how to receive the Word of God, and how to respond to God’s call.

Jokes? No… No Jokes

Like knowing, is it okay to laugh in a sermon? In other words, is it okay for the preacher to include humour?

I have used this example so that we don’t get too hung up on a debatable doctrine or technicalities but we can consider ‘humour in a sermon’ as a simple non-controversial topic to jump into how Lloyd Jones sees what preaching should be.

After describing how Spurgeon uses a lot of humour and how Whitefield uses none, Lloyd Jones walks us through his thoughts.

I would not dare to say that there is no place for humour in preaching; but I do suggest that it should not be a very big place because of the nature of the work, and because of the character of the Truth with which we are dealing. The preacher is dealing with and concerned about souls and their destiny. He is standing between God and men and acting as an ambassador for Christ. I would have thought that as that is the overriding consideration, the most one can say for the place of humour is that it is only allowable if it is natural. The man who tries to be humourous is an abomination and should never be allowed to enter a pulpit. The same applies to the man who does it deliberately in order to ingratiate himself with the people. That this kind of thing has been expected of so-called ‘professional evangelists’ has always passed my comprehension.

Let’s breakdown what he said.

First, he considers church history—Spurgeon, Whitefield. If there was a Bible passage on humour in sermons, Lloyd Jones would have expounded on it. He is highly logical in his approach. He doesn’t argue from silence to say, “Jesus never joked, so neither should we.”

Look at his answer. Lloyd Jones takes a middle position. He says, “I would not dare to say that there is no place for humour in preaching.”

But that’s not a lame “It depends” answer. He does not say, “It depends on the preacher; if he has the gift of humour, then he should use humour; if not, don’t.”

Nor does he give a “Whatever works” answer. He does not say, “If humour can bring the crowd, energise the crowd, or convert the crowd, then use humour; if not, don’t.” He does not say that.

Instead, what is the forefront of his mind? He says, “The preacher is dealing with and concerned about souls and their destiny. He is standing between God and men and acting as an ambassador for Christ.” That sobering reminder of what is at stake shapes the conclusion that follows. And what a conclusion!

“The man who tries to be humorous is an abomination and should never be allowed to enter a pulpit.”

What a clickbait line if any. That statement in isolation reveals a sad humourless old man. But read in context, we see a servant of God horrified that preachers would think that it’s important to crack a joke or two, that a preacher should be funny.

Extra Strong

And for similar reasons, Lloyd Jones calls homiletics prostitution yet still loved by homiletics professors who recommend this book to generations of preachers. Lloyd Jones is against showmanship. Though in the case of homiletics, I think his criticisms go too far.

In his own time, people called out Lloyd Jones for his harsh tone. This is his response:

Some may object to my dogmatic assertions; but I do not apologize for them. Every preacher should believe strongly in his own method; and if I cannot persuade all of the rightness of mine, I can at least stimulate them to think and to consider other possibilities.

Lloyd Jones most certainly stimulates people to think. But he doesn’t make people angry because he lays out his reason as a matter of fact. He does not relish telling you that you are wrong; he just has good reasons for saying you are wrong. And if his comments wound you, they are wounds from a friend. (Proverbs 27:6)

Dr. House vs. Dr. Lloyd Jones

It would be fun to show you why this book stands out from all the other books on preaching by making an unlikely connection. When you think of humour, you think of the actor-comedian Hugh Laurie.

Hugh Laurie plays the titular character of Dr Gregory House in the hit comedy-drama series from 20 years ago.

Like the fictional Dr. House, Dr. Lloyd Jones is a top mind. One time, after Lloyd Jones had left his medical practice to be a pastor, he was called to consult on a medical case. The local doctors were reluctant to call on him but had no choice because they were stumped. Lloyd Jones came and was quick to give the correct diagnosis. With his brains, he could have anything he wanted– wealth, fame– but he chose a life of service to God.

Like Dr. House, Dr. Lloyd Jones is determined to treat the root cause. Lloyd Jones came to an epiphany when he was the assistant to the Royal Physician, the great Sir Thomas Holder. In a bid to retain the young Lloyd Jones, Holder showed him the medical files of the rich and famous, the high and mighty. But instead of being tempted, Lloyd Jones saw that many suffered because of greed and lust. He realised that if the real human condition was not addressed, he will always be treating the symptoms. And the greatest and urgent need of society was the gospel.

Lastly, like Dr. House is known for his acidic wit. Dr. Lloyd Jones, as we have heard, also has a sharp tongue. Like a good surgeon, he cuts decisively. He knows where the tumour is. He is not here to make friends; he is here to save lives, to save souls.

In short, what makes “Preaching and Preachers” stand out is the combination of three qualities in Lloyd Jones: a towering intellect, a relentless quest to treat the root cause of mankind’s sickness, and an unapologetic confidence that treatment is found in gospel preaching.

Some listeners may be shocked that I suggest Lloyd Jones is similar to Dr. House, the miserable cynic who mocks God, faith, love and all that is good. My thesis is if the Almighty God brought about a Road to Damascus event on Dr House, the redeemed man preserving all his talents minus his worst vices would be, in my imagination, someone approximately like Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones.

That’s enough pop culture for today’s book review. Let’s hear a bit more from Lloyd Jones on various issues, issues as relevant today as they were in 1969.

The Church’s True Task

People insist that what the church needs to do, above all, is make an impact to do more good works. Lloyd Jones writes:

So I would lay it down as a basic proposition that the primary task of the Church is not to educate man, is not to heal him physically or psychologically, it is not to make him happy. I will go further; it is not even to make him good. These are things that accompany salvation; and when the Church performs her true task she does incidentally educate men and give them knowledge and information, she does bring them happiness, she does make them good and better than they were. But my point is that those are not her primary objectives. Her primary purpose is not any of these; it is rather to put man into the right relationship with God, to reconcile man to God.

Even Those Who Live In Oxford Are Sinners

People insist that people are more intelligent and scientific, and the pulpit needs to change to accommodate them. Lloyd Jones quotes to us what the wife of an Oxford college principal said to him after the service. She said:

You are literally the first man I have ever heard in this chapel who has preached to us as if we were sinners. All the preachers who come here, because is a college chapel in Oxford, have obviously been taking exceptional pains to prepare learned, intellectual sermons, thinking we are all great intellects. To start with, the poor fellows often show that they do not have too much intellect themselves, but they have been obviously straining in an attempt to produce the last ounce of learning and culture, and the result is that we go away absolutely unfed and unmoved. We have listened to these essays and our souls are left dry. They do not seem to understand that though we live in Oxford we are nevertheless sinners.

God Declared, Not Debated

Because of his preaching in Oxford, people insisted he debate a famous atheist for the Christian cause. He rejected, saying:

Holding the view that we do, believing what we do about God, we cannot in any circumstances allow Him to be a subject for discussion or debate or investigation. I base my argument at this point on the word address by God Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exo 3:1-6). Moses had suddenly seen this remarkable phenomenon of the burning bush, and was proposing to turn aside and to examine this astonishing phenomenon. But, immediately, he is rebuked by the voice which came to him saying, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’

He later writes:

To discuss the being of God in a casual manner, lounging in an armchair, smoking a pipe or a cigarette or a cigar, is something that we should never allow, because God, as I say, is not a kind of philosophic X or a concept. We believe in the almighty, the glorious, the living God; and whatever may be true of others, we must never put ourselves, or allow ourselves to be put, into a position in which we are debating about God as if He were but a philosophical proposition.

Wait. Is Lloyd Jones saying that in all the debates on YouTube, Christians debating non-Christians do not glorify God? That is the thing with Lloyd Jones. He makes these absolute statements that cannot possibly be true in all cases, but he makes me think.

So, I think there is a place for debates. I do not diminish the excellent work done by others in this space. But at the same time, for reasons Lloyd Jones has pointed out, I will not debate others, nor do I want to listen to debates. I know myself. I was a debater before, and I can see myself enjoying the cut and thrust of debates but not edifying others or myself.

Tape Recording, An Abomination

Speaking of YouTube, in his time, the innovations were television, radio and tape recordings. To which he says:

Tape recording, the peculiar and special abomination at this present time.

Let us pause for a moment here as we consider the hypocrisy of this statement. An abomination? The only reason why we can listen to over a thousand sermons and his lectures on “Preaching and Preachers” is because they were all tape-recorded. So why the lack of love for tape recording?

Now listen to this and reflect on our time:

As long as they could sit at home and listen to it on the radio, why take the trouble to get your car out of the garage and struggle with the traffic and many other inconveniences? Broadcasting I fear has discouraged people from coming to the House of God and taught them bad habits.

His critique comes from an understanding of what the church is. Later, he writes:

… you are likely to find in the future that God will revive his work in the Church, and that it is those who attend regularly who are the ones who are going to participate most of all in the blessing. That has always been God’s way in the past. What is astonishing, once more, is that people do not want to do things in God’s time-honoured way. They are content with this detached attitude towards the Church. It is a fundamental failure to understand the true doctrine of the Christian Church — ‘the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’, the gathering together of the people of God. ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst.’

My Desert Island Book

I am not the only one in love with this book. The 40th Anniversary edition has articles from Ligon Duncan, John Piper, Mark Dever, and Bryan Chapell. These are just the guys the publisher invited. If it were an open invitation, you would fill multi-volumes from Christians around the world, great and small, on how “Preaching and Preachers” have impacted them. My review would be one chapter in that massive collection.

This is my desert island book. The book I would bring if I were alone on a desert island.

“That’s a strange choice, Terence, because you can’t preach to anyone, and no one would be there to preach to you.”

My answer is twofold.

First, the sentimental reason. This book made me who I am today. When I re-read this book, I can trace a lot of my positions and approaches to what Lloyd Jones put here. In the nearly twenty years I have been a Christian, serving in the youth ministry and the pulpit, my offering to God, my service to God, all this formed my identity in Christ, my relationship with God.

The second is the doxological reason. Consider this: It’s more straightforward for a musician to express his worship of God in words. The lyrics capture the mood.

It can be more difficult for a cook to connect what he does in the kitchen with worship. But it’s been done. 400 years ago, Brother Lawrence, who served as a cook in a monastery, wrote the classic “The Practice of the Presence of God”.

Now, it would be wonderful if everyone from every sphere of life, presidents, cleaners, artists and programmers, could put in words how what they do glorifies God.

As someone who has grown to have a high view on preaching, my heart sings when I read “Preaching and Preachers” by Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones. An old preacher’s lifelong devotion to His Master. In every chapter, he tells me how great a treasure our God is and how wonderful a task we have to proclaim His Truth. I feel like a boy again, listening to a wise old man speaking of great and wonderful things. Not a bad way to spend quiet days on a desert island to preach the Good News to myself.

Let me close with Lloyd Jones.

What is the chief end of preaching? I like to think it is this. It is to give men and women a sense of God and His Presence. As I have said already, during this last year I have been ill, and so have had the opportunity, and the privilege, of listening to others, instead of preaching myself. As I have listened in physical weakness this is the thing I have looked for and longed for and desired. I can forgive a man for a bad sermon, I can forgive the preacher almost anything if he gives me a sense of God, if he gives me something for my soul, if he gives me the sense that, though he is inadequate himself, he is handling something which is very great and very glorious, if he gives me some dim glimpse of the majesty and the glory of God, the love of Christ my Saviour, and the magnificence of the Gospel. If he does that I am his debtor, and I am profoundly grateful to him. Preaching is the most amazing, and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future.

Outro

This is a Reading and Reader’s review of “Preaching and Preachers” by Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones.

This is also the 100th episode of the podcast; I have been saving this book review for a special occasion to mark this milestone. Whether you are new or old to the podcast, I ask you to visit www.readingandreaders.com. There you can find my contact details to tell me what you think of the podcast or book review. There, you can also click on a button to buy me coffee.

I say this tongue in cheek, if you read and got as much from Martyn Lloyd Jones as much as I have, you would be more than happy to treat me more than a cup of coffee. Thank you for listening, and bye-bye.

Book List

• “Preaching and Preachers” by Martyn Lloyd Jones. Amazon.