I am one chapter away from finishing up Lloyd-Jones’ classic work “Preaching & Preachers.” Lloyd-Jones died in 1981 so obviously I only know him through his books and biographies. Though different in many ways, I see many similarities between MLJ and my former pastor John MacArthur. Both men are/were very comfortable sharing their convictions and opinions on topics surrounding the pastoral ministry and preaching. Sometimes they’re a bit too strong in presenting their personal convictions (as opposed to their Biblical convictions). With that said, both men were willing to stand for the Truth even if it meant marginalization and public scorn. Both men are/were gifts to the universal Church.
In Chapter 13 Jones addresses the topic of “What to Avoid” in preaching. All in all I found it a somewhat average chapter with an absolutely wonderful concluding summary (pg. 264).
He writes, “What is the rule then? It is: be natural; forget yourself; be so absorbed in what you are doing and in the realization of the presence of God, and in the glory and the greatness of the Truth that you are preaching, and the occasion that brings you together, that you are taken up by all this that you forget yourself completely.”
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