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.
Russ WhitfieldLog College Press has done the church a great service in collecting the reflections of an essential black voice from the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition. I am genuinely excited about this book because Grimké is a hidden gem that has remained buried for far too long. He was a man possessed of great learning and pastoral insight who ministered faithfully and courageously in a time of sweeping national turbulence and racial hostility. We can all benefit from the vision communicated in these pages.
Lead Pastor, Grace Mosaic
J. Ligon Duncan IIII am nothing short of thrilled that Log College Press has published Francis Grimké’s Meditations on Preaching. When Grimké says: “I have never had any desire to preach what are called great sermons sermons which display learning or ability, and which are relished particularly by the highly educated members of the congregation; but I have desired and have sought to preach helpful sermons, sermons that meet the real needs of the human heart in the midst of life s trials, struggles, temptations, sorrows…” it makes me want to sit down right there at his feet and learn. Grimké is a Presbyterian hero, but he is a blessing for the whole church. Read and be encouraged, fellow preachers.
Chancellor, CEO, and John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary
Carl Ellis, Jr.Meditations on Preaching is a helpful reminder of the serious nature of the pulpit ministry. Today it is easy to see preaching as an end in itself. However, Francis Grimké, one of the giants in African American church history, reminds us that the power and genius of preaching is in expounding the Word of God, not in echoing popular ideologies. For all who aspire to fill the pulpit, Francis Grimké s wisdom is indispensable. –Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr., Assistant to the Chancellor, Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative, and Provost s Professor of Theology and Culture at Reformed Theological Seminary
Assistant to the Chancellor, Senior Fellow of the African American Leadership Initiative, and Provost's Professor of Theology and Culture, Reformed Theological Seminary