Clarence E. Macartney is rightfully regarded as one of the great preachers of the twentieth century. During forty-eight years of ministry following his graduation from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1905, he held three pastorates in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: Paterson, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. His sermons—biblical, person-oriented, and preached without notes—were marked by meaty illustrations from literature and history, and especially stories of the Civil War, on which he was an expert. His outstanding ability as a homiletician is evident in his many published sermons.
Dr. Macartney’s keen interest in young ministers and their preaching led him to write “Suggestions to Students in the Field of Homiletics.” These suggestions, recently brought to light by Professor Harry E. Farra of Geneva College, are worthy of consideration by all for whom preaching is both a profession and a passion.
1. Methods of Work
Early in my ministry I adopted the plan of keeping forenoons for study and reading. This I have adhered to throughout my ministry.
General reading in history, biography, and literature has been a great help in building a background for preaching. It has been my custom to make notes in the margins of my books and then note the reference in a reference file. Through the years I have built up in this way a wealth of references for suggestive reading or illustration of almost any subject. In my first years in the ministry I went carefully through most of the English poets and their biographies.
The minister ought to read regularly one of the best newspapers. The New York Times is the one I read.
There are several steps in composing a sermon. First, turning the theme over in one’s mind. Then longhand notes, sometimes several drafts. Then on Friday or Saturday the sermon is dictated. Because my sermons are put in pamphlet form and distributed, they are always fully written. Dictating the sermon impresses it upon the mind of the preacher.
2. Sources of Subject
a. Regular reading of the Bible is the chief source of subjects and themes. The great need of the pulpit today is to get back to the Bible, and not only back to the Bible, but back to the evangelical and redemptive message of the Bible.
b. Sermons from life are suggested by pastoral experience and personal interviews. For examples of this kind of preaching, see my books, Sermons From Life (Cokesbury Press, 1933) and More Sermons from Life (Cokesbury, 1939).
c. Every minister ought to go carefully through the great doctrines of Christianity, from the doctrine of God to that of the hereafter. I have found that a series of sermons on the great doctrines will arouse as much general interest as sermons on any other subject. For examples of such sermons, see my book, Things Most Surely Believed (Cokesbury, 1931).
d. Biography is the most popular subject of reading today. The preacher does well to take advantage of that fact. The Bible is incomparable for studies in biography. Examples of what I have tried to do in this field are in my book, Sermons on Old Testament Heroes (Cokesbury, 1935).
e. I have used my travels, especially in the Mediterranean world, for a historical sermon series, “Sermons for the Times Found on Ancient Highways.” In the last four or five years I have been traveling in the footsteps of St. Paul and visiting sites of the Seven Churches of Asia.
f. The Wednesday-evening service can be used by the minister not only to teach the truth and build it up but also to break ground in Bible study. During a winter I have gone through the life of Peter. The events in his life are unsurpassed for homiletic purposes—for example, his walking on the sea, his denial of Christ, his penitence, his recall, his deliverance from Herod. I once preached a sermon made up of an imaginery conversation between Peter and Paul.
g. One of the most popular series I have preached was entitled Christianity and Common Sense: A Dialogue of Faith (John C. Winston, 1927). This was made up of a series of conversations between a Christian believer and a doubter who meet on the sacred spots of Christian history.
h. The advantage of preaching a series of sermons is: First, the preacher always has an objective and does not waste time shifting from one subject to another; and second, most people like to follow a series and know what comes next. I suppose it is the same thing that makes people like to follow a serial story.
With Macartney’s advice on homileticsCHRISTIANITY TODAYconcludes this Minister’s Workshop series. To offer further practical help to ministers and lay leaders, we begin next month a new Workshop series, on counseling.
The great menace to Christian preaching today is the tendency to dwell only on the things of this world. It looks as if in many places the Gospel would be pushed out of the pulpit by the so-called application of Christianity to social problems. The true preacher must preach not only to the times but to the eternities. When he preaches to the eternities he is preaching to the times.
In my judgment, the reason many preachers fail to make an impression, secure results, and fulfill their own high ambitions is their lack of ability to concentrate. Deep concentration means that one must be willing to be much alone.
