The following article is part of a series of articles that will traverse church history to examine the preaching of great preachers.

“He stands preaching, flushed now and warmed, every fibre [sic] braced, every gesture alive, his voice ringing vibrant; and quite surely one knows that here, at last, is the true preacher—a man preaching from himself. … There is no flights of oratory, no tricks of style or manner, no displays of learning, no flowery digressions; … not even the power of thought, or humour, or emotions; not this or that holds captive, but the plain conviction of the man. … ‘There you sit, my brother,’ he seems to say—to me only amid the multitude.”^[1]

That is how one newspaper described what it was like to listen to Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) preach to his congregation in Manchester, England. Maclaren has been called the Prince of Expositors. In fact, following the death of Charles Spurgeon in 1892, Maclaren was considered to be the best living homiletician in the world. So what did he do that contributed to this preaching prowess? No doubt his success cannot be narrowed to a single cause. However, Maclaren himself argued that preachers will improve their skill if they focus on three simple lessons.

First, make text-appropriate applications. Maclaren was a man with a passion for teaching the Bible and for connecting its truths to his audience. He said, “The sermon’s true purpose is to explain, confirm, and enforce Scripture. Once the text was followed by a sermon dealing with it. Would that it were [sic] always so now! Better to put new life into the old form by making a text really what it is mean to be, than to break through it in a flight after something ‘fresh and unconventional.’”^[2] In order to “put new life into the old form,” Maclaren’s sermon points roughly followed a single pattern. He explained the authorial intent of his text followed by teaching the theological lesson which the author hoped to convey. This theological lesson was both intended by the biblical author and is universally true regardless of time and culture. Finding the intended theological lesson was vital, because this lesson serves as the key to bridge the authorial intent with contemporary Christians. As a result, Maclaren’s applications were grounded in scriptural authority, contributing to his effectiveness when preaching.

Second, preach extemporaneously. Maclaren wanted to connect to his audience, and he thought the connection waned when preachers rely too heavily on pulpit notes. In fact, in one lecture to young pastors, he became so passionate about the importance of extemporaneous preaching that he hyperbolically yelled out, “Burn your manuscripts!”^[3] He believed he could not preach at all if he could not look people in the eyes. Therefore, Maclaren did not bring any notes into the pulpit nor did he write out a full manuscript beforehand. While this worked well for him, he acknowledged that such an extreme method would not be effective for every preacher. Nevertheless, one cannot read Maclaren without concluding that his willingness to preach extemporaneously from the pulpit, rather than being bound to a manuscript, improved his ability to move audiences.

Finally, keep Christ at the heart—the heart of the preacher and the sermon. More than anything else, Maclaren emphasized Jesus as the source of preaching power. Even before the pastor stands up on Sunday, he must kneel alone with Jesus during the week. Maclaren said, “It must be straight from Jesus Christ that we must get our power. There, within the veil, where He is, we must dwell, if any radiance is to be on our faces when we come among men. In many a hidden hour of quiet communion, in many a toilsome hour of patient thought, we must learn to know Him at first hand, as He only discloses Himself to the solitary soul waiting before Him. A life hidden with Christ in God is the indispensable condition of a life revealing Christ in the world. … All our power, of whatever kind it be, is His gift; let us keep close besides Him and we shall not lack.”^[4] After a preacher spends personal time with Jesus daily, he must uphold Jesus in every sermon no matter where his biblical text is found. Maclaren urged pastors, “[P]reach Him—preach His Cross. It will find an echo in men’s hearts. It will appeal to a deeper stratum of their being than any arguments of ours can penetrate. … Yes, even though it be held but by our feeble hands, trembling, stained, unworthy. Yes. He, not we; His power, not our genius, or eloquence, or argumentation; His Gospel, not our preaching, will draw hearts to Himself, there to be at rest.”^[5] Maclaren elsewhere wedded Christ at the heart of the preacher and the sermon together: “‘Nothing odd lasts,’ but Christ lasts, and man’s sins last, and man’s need lasts, and we have got to preach Christ and Him crucified, the Saviour of mankind. … I have tried to preach Him as if I lived on Him, and that is the bottom of it all, that we shall ourselves feed on the truth that we proclaim to others. … Brethren, depend on it that if these be the themes and that be the spirit of our ministry, whether they will bear, or whether they will forbear, they will know that there has been a prophet among them.”^[6]

Make text-appropriate applications grounded in the author’s theological intent for the text, preach extemporaneously as much as you can, and keep Christ at the heart. These are the three lessons Maclaren wanted preachers to imitate from his preaching prowess.

^[1] David Williamson, The Life of Alexander Maclaren: Preacher and Expositor (London: James Clarke and Co, 1920), 126-27.

^[2] Maclaren, “An Old Preacher on Preaching,” in Joint Assembly of the Baptist and Congregational Unions (London: Baptist Tract and Book Society, 1901), 15.

^[3] E. T. McLaren, Dr. McLaren of Manchester: A Sketch (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1911), 74.

^[4] Alexander Maclaren, “The Inaugural Address,” in Autumnal Session of the Baptist Union (London: E. Marlborough & Co., 1875), 21.

^[5] Alexander Maclaren, “The Gospel for the Day,” in Baptist Union Papers: 1870-1879 (London: Yates & Alexander, 1875), 27-28.

^[6] John C. Carlile, Alexander Maclaren, D.D.: The Man and His Message (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1902), 108.

Michael Mills serves as the Senior Pastor of Greensport Baptist Church in Ashville, Alabama.