Meditations on Preaching

by Francis James Grimké

These brief meditations have been collected from the third volume of Francis Grimké's Works, entitled Stray Thoughts and Meditations , a diary written over the last twenty-five years of his life. Grimké's thoughts on preaching display his gospel-centered piety, his wisdom, and his experience of eventually fifty years of pulpit ministry. Preachers from every Christian denomination will benefit from this African American Presbyterian voice of the early twentieth century.

Genres: Theology, Christian

120 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2018

Reviews

[Barnabas Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of quotes/meditations on preaching from Francis Grimke is power-packed, incisive, clear, and pointed. It helped me immensely as a preacher by clarifying priorities and cutting away the temptations and distractions. I am grateful for Grimke's ministry and wisdom and look forward to reading more from him!

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful and stirring meditations on preaching from Grimké, the son of a slave owner and slave, who eventually graduated from Princeton and then pastored a Presbyterian Church in Washington DC. From what I can tell these are excerpts from his journal about preaching. His thoughts and observations are godly, humble, biblical, and practical. They are, however, repetitive, and this collection of excerpts suffers from a lack of organization. The same observations are made multiple times, without any sustained train of thought from one meditation to another.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Francis Grimké (1850–1937), the son of a slaveowner and a slave, pastored 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. until 1928. This book is a collection of vignettes on preaching, drawn from Grimké’s various writings.

Though his perspective on preaching is five-star worthy—I’d love to see predominately white evangelical seminaries incorporate this book into their curriculum—I gave it four stars because I didn’t like the layout. No chapters, no sections, no subheads, no index. Lacking any organizing structure, the reading experience felt random and disconnected, and yielded much needless repetition.

Nevertheless, this volume is filled with simple, valuable insights on preaching—from preparation to delivery—that will profit anyone called to rightly handle the Word of truth.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and convicting call for all pastors to walk in humility. Grimké writes with such a passion for the pulpit, and how the role of a pastor is to preach and convict the hearts of men and women. One of my favorite things that he says in this book is that pastors are not to be entertainers. While I would recommend this to anyone in ministry, I would not stop there. It would benefit a church member to know what to look for in a pastor and to know the work that is put in by the pastor to prepare a sermon. This book is truly a call to humility, and I believe it will convict any Christian trying to put their name over the name of Christ.

[Knowlton Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book for orienting priorities as a Christian preacher taken from journal entries by Francis James Grimke. Grimke was the son of a South Carolina slave owner and slave. He went to Princeton Theological Seminary and pastored the 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. Here are a few things Grimke really cared about:

1. Depend utterly upon the Holy Spirit in the preparation and delivery of sermons.
2. Nevertheless, sermon preparation is a labor that should be taken seriously.
3. Have a point--know what it is, don't stray far from it.
4. Preachers are not entertainers. They are ambassadors. If people are mainly impressed with the literary achievement, intellect, or oratory skill of the preacher, he has failed. Preachers should work to make their sermons the best they are able to produce, but only as a means to a greater end.
5. Good sermons are helpful ones. If a sermon isn't a supreme literary accomplishment, but it helps Christians to know, love, and obey God, it's a good sermon.
6. Live what you preach.

One of my favorite quotes: "No man's ministry is a failure, however meager the results, if he has been faithfully and earnestly preaching the gospel of the grace of God, holding up to dying, sinful men God's message of redeeming love. Such a ministry is not, could not be, a failure."--pg. 18

I read the last 30 pages in one sitting. I don't recommend this--Grimke is good at sticking to the point, and when read in bulk, the book feels repetitive. It would be better to read and think about it one or two pages at a time.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a Twitter account (sorry I mean X account) about preaching written by a Puritan preacher…and this is so so so amazing! What a great book! The book is a quick read and one that I will return to over and over again. This book could be something to reread before you preach each week. So good! Highly recommended

[Dayton Rumbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this was going to be boring but ended up catching my attention.

What would it be like to sit below the feet of someone who pastored the same congregation for 50 years? That's what you get with this book.
Good perspective on making the pulpit for proclaiming the truth and not about entertainment.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, it's Francis Grimké, so it's gold on every page. These were edited from Volume 3 of the Works of Francis Grimké: "Stray Thoughts and Meditations"--a 600+ page book that touches on most every subject you can imagine. The editors pulled out all of the meditations that relate to "preaching" and they are fantastic.

The original Volume 3 can be read in its entirety here: https://books.google.com/books?id=O3H...

Now someone needs to do "Meditations on Reading," "Meditations on Race," "Meditations on Education," etc.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd give it more stars if I could. There are few books that have got me more excited to share God's Word. This man, on his meditations on preaching, felt as though he was preaching at times. There's handful of other books that I've underlined and highlightes this much. If you handle or read the Word, you should read this. I may regularly read his meditations as I prepare to preach, it's that good and helpful.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is simply a selection of quotes from Grimke's other writings. I enjoyed his comments about how sermons should be focused on Scripture and not on entertaining the audience. However, he sometimes drifts into moralistic comments: "The simple fast is: every sermon should be, in some way, helpful to the hearers—helpful, if they are going in the wrong direction in restraining them, in causing them to stop and think, or, if moving in the right direction, to stimulate them, to spur them on." This kind of talk is what I grew up with, or at least my own impression of many evangelical sermons, which aim to make the hearer be good. In reality, sermons should point us to look at God, to consider what Christ has accomplished on our behalf, and to encourage us to live lives that honor and glorify Him. We can strive to live well, to 'be good', but we cannot be perfect, and we need to be reminded of God's wisdom and kindness in providing our Savior!

[Joseph Henry Kester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short collection of passages from Grimke's writings piqued my interest in Grimke quite a bit. His thoughts on preaching are relevant and worth consideration. This book is best suited for reading a paragraph or two as you have time. It isn't best read cover-to-cover (like I just did).

This volume may have been more beneficial, or at least beneficial in a different way, if the thoughts had been organized or grouped by theme. For example, he discusses funeral sermons in four or five different places, but all of these snippets are separated by pages and pages.

[Aaron Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful reminders about how to minister and steward God's Word. While there is a lot of repetition it does a good job of emphasizing the most important points Grimke is trying to get across. Repetition is also to be expected since this is a composition of individual meditations he wrote down on the task of preaching.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved sitting and reading this man of God's wisdom on preaching! Despite being a century old, this wisdom is still highly applicable, encouraging, and challenging!

(Note: The book is laid out as a series of snippets and might benefit from being restructured to highlight themes in Grimke's writing.)

[Brian Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a few pages each Sunday before preaching. Excellent thoughts, though the organization was a bit repetitive. "My constant prayer to God is that he would help me to preach, not great sermons, but helpful sermons" (p. 4).

Born into slavery in South Carolina, Francis Grimké (1850-1937) became one of the leading African American pastors of his day. He served for decades as the pastor of 15th Street Presbyterian Church in DC. This book contains a collection of thoughts on preaching that he wrote over time (first published in his Works in 1942).

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some really excellent insight. I found myself wishing for a more sustained line of thought as opposed to short "meditations."

[Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encouraging and challenging. Though not a pastor myself, it sharpened my thoughts of the preaching ministry.

[Grant Carter]

Grimke goat

[Ramone Bellagamba · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book of simple but profound reminders about the aims of preaching and the life of the preacher.

[Austin Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. The format is all quotations from Grimke.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had so many good quotes. As a pastor, it was incredibly convicting on sermon preparation and delivery. I wish I could find a recording of Grimke preaching, I would love to see these meditations put into practice to witness. This book is just random, but good, thoughts on preaching. There is no flow to the book. It is just a thought about a sermon he heard then on what we should think about as we prepare a sermon than a warning to pastors not to be overly concerned with praise and compliments. There was also a lot of repetition, but it was something I needed to hear over and over again.

If I was recommending this to someone, I would say, don't read it like me. I blew through the book. I think the book should be picked up just read a quote or a page and think about it. That's what I think meditations are supposed to be anyways. If only someone would have repeated it to my dull mind.

[Tim Franks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gold mind of short excerpts from the works of Francis James Grimke. I am really encouraged and challenged coming off reading this book. The focus here is on preaching, but there are some good thoughts for pastoring and even dealing with hard issues of our times including racial reconciliation. If someone is able to serve in ministry at one church for over 50 years, I am going to listen and sit under the great wealth of wisdom from this pastor. Some of the important themes include preparing well sermons with a main point and a clear conviction from God's Word, pastoring in a serious manner knowing people's souls are at stake, and being willing to stand up for people and convictions without care for troubles it may cause. The format of the book with no real breaks was difficult at times, and it was a bit repetitive in some spots, but overall I would recommend that all church leaders sit under this wealth of good advice for pastors.

[Hopson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Francis Grimké, the son of a slave owner and a slave, was called by God to pastor 15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington D.C. for over fifty years. This little book is a loose collection of quotes and meditations from Grimké on preaching.

The lower rating was not due to anything in the book, but the format of the book itself. It’s a collection of random quotes on the topic of preaching. Most of the quotes are about a paragraph long. Although I agreed with almost everything I read, it was hard to read because there was no order to the quotations and they became very repetitive about halfway through the book.

Again, the content was fantastic but the format made it challenging (at least for me) to read.

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, devotional reflections on preaching.
Grimke's perspective is a useful one, in part because of his background, as the child of a slave and slave owner. In part it's useful because it's just so typically Christian--he delights in the Word. He speaks well of preaching that makes the point of a passage clear to the people. He lays out strategies for how to accomplish that goal. He has no time for flashy, entertaining, or news-scandal driven preaching, because he loves the bible.

The content is 5 star-worthy. But the layout is lacking. No chapter or subject breaks, no context, just 111 pages of assorted thoughts. Better organization would make reading it easier, and make it useful for future reference.

[Dylan Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is short in terms of number of pages, but its depth is incredible. I underlined something on every page, and sometimes whole pages. Taken from his “Works,” these meditations come from a seasoned PCA pastor who is chiefly concerned with qualified and trained men clearly communicating the truth of the gospel, thus preaching helpful sermons (as opposed to great sermons, which according to Grimke did not communicate anything vital). Rich in (pastoral) theology and a theology of preaching, which clearly rests on the inspired Word, Grimke is a voice in the wilderness for preachers today to understand afresh their calling and task from God.

[Max Gilbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of meditations on preaching taken from Grimke’s journals, and while there is a fair bit of repetition in some of the themes (Grimke was, after all, just writing down his thoughts and not, by contrast, organizing them for a book), I think the repetition in this case is actually helpful in reinforcing a handful of very simple precepts that preachers could/should hold to in their preparation and preaching to make the most of the great opportunity that God has given them.

I found this little book to be both highly instructive and highly motivating and would recommend it to anyone that finds hisself preaching (or teaching) the Bible to others.

[Kyle Bartsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very insightful look at what it takes to not just preach but preach effectively. The insights from grimke are timeless and apply today more than ever. It’s always interesting to me how the words of men who are long dead and gone can apply so fully to today. Specifically the words of how to preach and the importance of the gospel. The need for strong men who know the truth and can teach it is just as necessary today as ever. There were a few points of repetition in this book, but the repetition only serves to bolster the important observations that Grimke seeks to convey. All in all, a great little book on the philosophy and method of preaching.

[Aaron Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, refreshing, inspiring, challenging; at other times, a little annoying and far too repetitive - less due to Grimke and more largely due to the construction of the book, which is arranged like the Proverbs, a collection of quotes from Grimke. In the last quote, Grimke says the preacher needs to have "a definite aim in view...kept steadily in mind in the preparation" - something he has said about a hundred times up to this point, and so he adds almost ironically, "I have written this before in this journal, or something like it, but it will bear repeating..." Point taken, but still a bit too repetitive for me.

[Kevin V. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grimké provides deeply impressed thoughts regarding the work and aim of preaching. He is convinced of the serious, eternal weightiness of preaching. The only negative to this little book has less to do with Grimké’s writing and more with the format and structure of the book. The individual quotes from a larger work are sprinkled seemingly at random in this book. There is no ordering principle and so the book reads highly repetitive. While this is distracting, I am grateful for Grimké faithful ministry and to be able to read these his thoughts.

[Josh Lange · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. This was a collection of Grimke's thoughts on preaching. Great reminders for ministers in terms of their hearts and preparation. A great focus on giving people what they need and not what they want. He emphasized a dependence on the Holy Spirit. He stressed the importance of preaching and the weight that should rest on the preacher. Great read just super repetitive.

It was also interesting to read about a pastor who ministered in the 1918 influenza as we are navigating our own health crisis.

[Caleb Nedimyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reminders and exhortations for pastors today. Preaching is not something to be taken lightly, even in an age when preaching is an after thought or tack on in many churches. For Grimke, preaching was the apex of Sunday worship and as such must be thoroughly biblical in content and prayed for expectantly. He is careful to see the necessity of the Spirit to produce results but the essential preparation of the pastor to carefully think through the text. Great little book for all preachers today!