It is difficult to write a foreword to a book based on one's own views of preaching without giving a strong impression of self-serving. However, my personal affection for the author of these pages coupled with my deep appreciation for his labors, have constrained me to yield to his gracious insistence regarding this matter.

Little did I know when I began preaching at age seventeen that a time would come when I would be placed in the position of having to subject the activity of preaching to the kind of thorough and critical analysis essential to the composition of a series of lectures on this subject—lectures which would mold the thinking and practice of fledgling pastor-preachers. However, in 1977 I was placed in that very position with the opening of the Trinity Ministerial Academy and my responsibility to teach the courses in Pastoral Theology.

As I approached this daunting task I did so with two deeply rooted convictions as to the sources that should determine my formulations. The first of these convictions was that of the absolute authority and sufficiency of the scriptures as the primary source for any sound theology of preaching and pastoral work. The second conviction was that of the necessity for the constant "quality control" of historical theology over all the tentative conclusions with respect to my emerging understanding of the teaching of scripture on these issues.

Since I taught the entire course in a three and four year cycle, I was constrained to subject the lectures to various degrees of serious revision and editing every three to four years. As I did this I became increasingly convinced that there was a third body of data to which careful attention must be paid in constructing an adequate and comprehensive theology of preaching. That body of data is the voice of general revelation as it is revealed in the science or art of rhetoric. I am using the term "rhetoric" to signify the observed principles of effective oral communication. As a younger preacher I was uncomfortable with the original title given to R.L. Dabney's lectures on preaching which was SACRED RHETORIC. To me it bordered on being an oxymoron! However, with the passing of the years and a more careful reading of the list of books which Dabney says most influenced his thinking in the composition of his lectures, I have come to see the wisdom of the original title.

In reading Dr. Borgman's analysis of my lectures it will soon be evident to the reader that I indulged a profuse use of quotations of the older writers. A word of explanation and justification for this fact is in order. By the time I began to compose the lectures I had come to a deep appreciation of the creeds and confessions of the historic Christian church. I had also come to the persuasion that along with the creeds and confessions the church has bequeathed to us a body of wisdom and insight, which though never above Scripture in its authority is meant to function, along with the creeds and confessions, as a quality control upon our independent insights from the Scriptures.

The more I sought to analyze the activity of preaching, I found myself coming to tentative conclusions that seemed either novel or radical in terms of current consensus. It was at this time that I intensified my examination of that gold mine of wise, scripturally sound, and rhetorically astute wisdom deposited in many of the writers of the past.

As I fed my mind upon these writers a general pattern of the authorship of their books on preaching began to emerge. It became evident that most of the older books on preaching and pastoral work were written by men who had attained substantial long-term competence in these endeavors. It was their recognized competence which led their brethren in their particular ecclesiastical circles to constrain these men to write on the subject. In many cases such men were pressured to leave their proven sphere of ministerial usefulness and to pass on their experiential knowledge of these things to a rising generation of pastor-preachers in a seminary context. Then, in many cases after many years of teaching the subject in the classroom setting, these same men committed to writing the substance of their classroom lectures as their most ripe reflections on the subject of preaching and pastoral work.

In other cases there were eminent preachers who did not leave the pastoral ministry to teach in seminaries, but at the height of their powers they were asked to give lectures on the subject of preaching at various seminaries. These lectures then became the basis of their literary productions.

The common denominator in these various patterns is that the recognized excellence of the practitioner of preaching undergirded and gave validity to the wisdom and counsel of the lecturer and author on the subject of preaching. This pattern is in marked contrast with the plethora of books written by men with no proven long-term competence as practitioners who have taken upon themselves to be the instructors of potential practitioners.

Because of my desire that relatively young and inexperienced men should feel the weight of the perspectives of these seasoned practitioners that my lectures were deliberately top-heavy with extensive quotations. Dr. Borgman has added to that weight additional judiciously chosen; quotes from men of the past and the present who themselves are competent practitioners.

I have received continuing pressure from many to put my pastoral theology lectures into print. Until such time as this is done (if ever) I commend Dr. Borgman for capturing and stating in his way the heart of what I attempted to say in these lectures and what I would say if I were to commit them to writing. May God be pleased to use this book to challenge many to become better men and more competent spirit-filled preachers of the Word. As I have entered my fortieth year of laboring in one congregation, the work of preaching, both in the disciplines of preparation and in the act of preaching continue to be the most arduous but the most rewarding sphere of labor I have experienced in my lifetime.

These pages contain an accurate synopsis of my efforts to set forth a sound theology of preaching—a theology rooted in the data of special revelation, sensitive tot he voice of general revelation, and disciplined by the boundaries of historical theology. My labors and those of Dr. Borgman will be more than amply rewarded should God use this book to cause His servants to "stir into flame" the gift of sacred utterance.

Albert N. Martin

The great theologian John Murray was a favorite at the Leicester Conference for Ministers. He had helped in founding the conference, and his influence was widespread. The established tradition was that the outstanding spokesman for the Reformed faith would take the final session of the conference. In 1967 Professor John Murray wrote the following note to Iain Murray:

If Al Martin is to be there I really think he should be asked to take the three evening services you propose for me. He is one of the ablest and moving preachers I have ever heard. In recent years I have not heard his equal. My memory of preachers goes back sixty years. So, when I say he is one of the ablest, this is an assessment that includes very memorable preachers.

John MacArthur stated, 'I find Al Martin's preaching to be sound, compelling.... He cuts it straight.' Dr. J.I. Packer notes that Albert Martin's preaching is 'very clear, forthright, articulate... He has a fine mind and a masterful grasp of Reformed theology in its Puritan-pietistic mode.' Dr. Joel Beeke said, 'Al Martin's preaching excels in bringing home God's truth to the consciences of people for every sphere of life. He aims to bring the whole Word of God to the whole man for the totality of life.' Pastor Edward Donnelly of Newtownabbey, Ireland, wrote,

His preaching is powerful, impassioned, exegetically solid, balanced, clear in structure, penetrating in application. He is able to combine profundity with simplicity, so that all are fed. I have seen him touch audiences of several nationalities, of all ages and social backgrounds, ranging from well-instructed believers to pagans. His ministry is often attended by a peculiar degree of unction from the Spirit.

The preaching ministry of Albert N. Martin has been blessed by God. Pastor Martin has not only been used by God through the preaching of the Word, but he has hammered out on the anvil of education and experience a thorough theology of preaching. It is obvious that Albert Martin is unique in his God-given gifts and abilities. In fact, it would be wrong to attempt to mimic him in the pulpit. Spurgeon warned his students: 'Indeed, all mimicry is in the pulpit near akin to an unpardonable sin.' Nevertheless, the theology of preaching which he propounds and practices is in great need today. Preachers today can learn much from one who preaches with such passion, clarity and power.

Above Material Copyright © 2003 Brian Borgman