John A. Broadus

A Living Legacy

Book Details

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 09/04/2008 by Scott Lamb.

Recommended. An enjoyable biography of a lesser-known Baptist preacher.

The legacy of John Broadus continues to be felt among preachers and New Testament scholars even a century after his death. Broadus, a founding teacher and the second president at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, continues to give instruction in the task of preaching through his book A Treatise on the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons. Furthermore, his status as one of the greatest Baptist New Testament scholars is grounded in the continued importance of his commentary on Matthew and in the influence upon his son-in-law A.T. Robertson.

Here is an invaluable volume of introduction to the life and work of John Broadus. Edited by David Dockery and Roger Duke, individual contributors include the likes of Baptist historians Timothy George and Tom Nettles as well as scholars Richard Melick and James Patterson.

Duke contributes a chapter showing how Broadus utilized classical Greek rhetoric, bringing the insight of Aristotle and Cicero to the task of Christian preaching. Dr. Nettles shows why the Broadus textbook on preaching still has an enduring impact even for preachers today.  David Dockery develops the idea that the Broadus-Robertson stream of scholarship is one of the most influential over all Baptist theology in the last 140 years.

I greatly enjoyed reading through this volume. Perhaps you would have to share my interest in 19th century Baptist history to enjoy it yourself. However, I can imagine that even preachers outside the Baptist family would appreciate learning more about this man from whom so much benefit has been derived by preachers of every denominational stripe.