Classic Studies on Homiletics

I have searched and don't see anything like this available in Logos. I would really like to see a community pricing offering of Classic Studies on Homiletics.

There are some classics in Logos like:

https://www.logos.com/product/7864/j-a-broadus-preaching-collection

and

https://www.logos.com/product/7079/a-history-of-preaching

I would love to see something like a 40 volume collection, similar to some of the Classic Commentaries and Studies offerings.

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Rosie Perera

[Y]

A quick look in my Library for homiletics AND type:monograph AND pubdate:<1930 finds these titles (not all of them are really studies on homiletics per se, but a few are titles you might be interested in if you don't have them already):

I'm sure there are many other older works on homiletics which could be put into such a collection.

Jesse Blevins

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556727#Comment_556727

[Y]

Paul-C

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556732#Comment_556732

Nice suggestion, Kevin.

+1[Y]

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556727#Comment_556727

A quick look in my Library for homiletics AND type:monograph AND pubdate:<1930 finds these titles

Thank you Rosie, I have many of those and will take a look at some of the others.

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556760#Comment_556760

I've never made a suggestion before and I'm not sure how the other collections offered through community pricing were designed, but perhaps this is a good thread for us to suggest individual volumes that could make up a "Classic Studies on Homiletics" collection.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556761#Comment_556761

I've never made a suggestion before and I'm not sure how the other collections offered through community pricing were designed, but perhaps this is a good thread for us to suggest individual volumes that could make up a "Classic Studies on Homiletics" collection.

Good idea! I am not familiar with any classic studies on homiletics, but I know how to search for them. One place to search would be Amazon.com's Advanced Book Search for keyword homiletics with publication date before a given date (not sure how old a book needs to be to be considered for CP). Then sort the results by Avg. Customer Review. Plenty of interesting finds here, including this one that looks like a gem:

The Master Preacher: a Study of the Homiletics of Jesus by Albert Richmond Bond (5 stars, a "rare find") - available online here

I'd also google for phrases like "classic work on homiletics" and see what turns up. This one in particular (after weeding out all the Broadus hits, which Logos already has) finds another possible winner:

The Ministry of the Word by R.E.C. Browne (1958, I believe; not out of copyright but still old enough that it might be obtainable for CP). Gets a 5 star rating on Amazon.com with the comment "I have not read anything better on preaching in terms of what goes into trusting in the power of the Spirit vrs. ingenuity." It's called "distinctive and prescient" by this reviewer of another book on homiletics who is disappointed that the latter makes such little mention of this one.

Next I'd go looking for bibliographies on homiletics in other books or online syllabi and scan through them visually for older publication dates. Here, for example are a couple of excerpts from the bibliography of Homiletic: Moves and Structures by David Buttrick (another one that was found in my search for "classic work on homiletics"; however this particular bibliography page came up from my following the rabbit trail of the previous book by Browne; see that it's mentioned here; rabbit trails are important when doing this kind of research).

Some possible nuggets in there. I'd need to go look them all up on Amazon and see what I find out, but don't have time for that now.

Another thing I might do is think of random famous preachers from the past off the top of my head (Harry Emerson Fosdick) and search on Amazon to see if they wrote any books, and see if any of them were on homiletics. Found this one (had to fix spelling error in Amazon's listing of the book title: Lechers --> Lectures):

The Modern Use of the Bible: Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale (1924); another listing of it (missing its subtitle) on Amazon has a reviewer giving it 4 stars and saying "As a seminary student, I bought this book on recommendation from Peter Gomes--a brilliant theologian. It's been interesting. Good read."

Finally I'd search in Google Books and poke around through "Related Books" when I find one that looks promising. From the Buttrick book, I found this one in "Related Books":

Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible (1988) by Thomas G. Long; not very old, but it gets high marks from Amazon reviewers (mostly 5 stars), so it's one we should request from Logos anyway, whether it ends up in a Classic Studies collection (probably not) or as a regular pre-pub. Further googling on the title turns up a couple of lengthier professional reviews of it here and here (not without their criticisms, particularly for evangelical readers with a high view of Scripture)

One other random one that I found through one of the above methods (can't remember which):

Preaching by Fred B. Craddock (25th anniversary edition came out in 2010, so that's a good indicator that it's a classic; also the book description includes: "A standard textbook on the art and craft of preaching.")

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556781#Comment_556781

Homiletic: Moves and Structures by David Buttrick

This is the best book I've ever read on the mechanics of preaching. It should definitely be in Logos, but it is too new to be in the Classic Studies Collection.

Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale

The Lecture series might make a community pricing set of their own. Or Logos could hand pick the most widely read volumes for the Classic Studies on Homiletics Collection.

Preaching by Fred B. Craddock (25th anniversary edition came out in 2010, so that's a good indicator that it's a classic; also the book description includes: "A standard textbook on the art and craft of preaching.")

This book is a standard and I'm shocked it's not in Logos.

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556848#Comment_556848

Here is one of the books I would like to see in the collection:

Meyer, F. B. Expository preaching plans and methods.

https://archive.org/details/expositorypreach00meyeuoft

Information about the author from Wiki:

Frederick Meyer was born in London. He attended Brighton College and graduated from the University of London in 1869. He studied theology at Regent's Park College.

F. B. Meyer was part of the Higher Life movement and preached often at the Keswick Convention. He was known as a crusader against immorality. He preached against drunkenness and prostitution. He is said to have brought about the closing of hundreds of saloons and brothels.

While in York in the early 1870s F. B. Meyer met the American evangelist Dwight L. Moody, whom he introduced to other chapels, churches, and ministers in England, and by exchange was invited to make several trips to minister in America. The two preachers became lifelong friends.

F. B. Meyer wrote over 40 books, including Christian biographies and devotional commentaries on the Bible. In 1918, Meyer, along with seven other clergymen, was also a signatory to the London Manifesto asserting that the Second Coming was imminent.

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/557912#Comment_557912

A collection like this would be very useful right now. +1 on Buttrick!

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/558087#Comment_558087

I don't know if this was already in the works or if this collection was in response to our posts, but here is a start:

https://www.logos.com/product/39219/classic-works-on-preaching-and-sermon-writing?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=communitypricing

Stephen Steele

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/565544#Comment_565544

Would love to see Charles Bridges' The Christian Ministry to go with the other works by Bridges already available in Logos.

The Patrick Fairbairn collection in CP has a couple of works which may be relevant:
- Pastoral Theology: A Treatise on the Office and Duties of the Christian Pastor
- Hermeneutical Manual or, Introduction to the Exegetical Study of the Scriptures of the New Testament (I realise that's hermeneutics rather than homiletics!)

Stephen Steele

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/556848#Comment_556848

Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale
The Lecture series might make a community pricing set of their own. Or Logos could hand pick the most widely read volumes for the Classic Studies on Homiletics Collection.

The first three series are part of the Henry Ward Beecher Collection on CP.

Kevin Maples

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/567275#Comment_567275

The first three series are part of the Henry Ward Beecher Collection on CP.

Awesome! Thanks for pointing this out.

Stephen Steele

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/567307#Comment_567307

2016 update:

Some of these are now in Logos - for anyone stumbling across this old thread, there is a more up to date one here.