Herman Bavinck on Preaching and Preachers
This volume presents the first English translation of Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck's (1854-1921) essential writings on preaching and preachers. Despite his reputation as one of the Reformed tradition's most eloquent divines and his regular preaching throughout his adult life, Bavinck's homiletical approach has remained largely inaccessible to contemporary preachers—until now.
Key Texts on Reformed Preaching
This collection includes Bavinck's primary texts on preaching methodology and the role of preachers, featuring his only published sermon. These writings reveal Bavinck's conviction that effective preaching requires a specific type of person: someone who lives coram Deo, whose conscience and imagination remain open to being powerfully stirred by both Creator and creation, and who is thoroughly steeped in Scripture.
Critique of Modern Western Culture
Bavinck's texts provide a profound critique of modern Western culture, demonstrating how it often prevents its inhabitants from preaching effectively. He describes a preacher quite different from the detached, disenchanted modern Western people of his own era. These insights remain relevant for contemporary Reformed churches navigating similar cultural challenges.
Practical Homiletical Insights
Beyond theory, these texts demonstrate how Bavinck himself preached and how he understood preaching within the worship service and the wider life of the church. The volume offers practical guidance for preachers seeking to integrate Reformed theological principles into their homiletical practice.
About the Editor
James P. Eglinton (PhD, University of Edinburgh) serves as the Meldrum Lecturer in Reformed Theology at New College, University of Edinburgh. As a systematic and historical theologian, Eglinton has written extensively on Herman Bavinck. His acclaimed first book, Trinity and Organism (Bloomsbury, 2012), offers a new reading of Bavinck as both an orthodox and a modern figure, establishing Eglinton as a leading authority on Bavinck's thought.
Published by Hendrickson Publishers in paperback format, this essential resource belongs in the library of every Reformed preacher, systematic theologian, and student of Christian ministry seeking to understand one of the tradition's most influential voices on preaching.
