Founders Journal

Contents

1In 1845, there were about 4,000 Southern Baptist churches. Fifty years later that number had grown to 18,000. In 1945 there were 26,000 and by 1995 the total was approximately 40,000. Assuming one preacher per church, and each preacher preaching for 50 years, the convention has had at least 88,000 preachers. Assuming further that a whole new shift has just reported to work at our 40,000 churches, we shall count only the 48,000 who have gone before. If each of those preached an average of once per Sunday for their 50 years of ministry, we have 2,500 sermons per preacher (M.E. Dodd is reported to have preached 18,000 times! See T.W. Gayer, "Monroe Elmon Dodd," Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists,, mg. ed., Norman Cox [Nashville: Broadman, 1958], p. 378). This makes a total of 120 million sermons from 48,000 preachers for our first 150 years. Of course, these are extremely conservative numbers. There are more preachers than churches and more sermons than Sunday morning sermons. And the turnover of preachers is much greater.

2C.D. Mallary, "The Doctrine of Election," The Georgia Pulpit, Robert Fleming, ed., (Richmond: H.K. Allyson, 1847), p. 176.

3 Ibid., p. 178.

4 Ibid., p. 180.

5 Ibid., p. 181.

6 Addison Hall, "Doctrine of Human Depravity," The Baptist Pulpit of the United States, ed., Edward H. Fletcher (New York: Edward H. Fletcher, 1853), p. 133-36.

7 James Hall Tenner Kilpatrick, "God's Willingness to Save Sinners," The Georgia Pulpit, ed., Robert Fleming (Richmond: H.K. Allyson, 1847), pp. 123-24.

8 W.B. Johnson, "Free Agency of Man," The Baptist Pulpit of the United States, ed., Joseph Belcher (New York: Edward H. Fletcher, 1853), pp. 125-127.

9 Ibid., p. 130.

10 W.T. Ussery, "Grace," Sermons (Union University, 1860), pp. 159,164.

11 Ibid., "The Covenant of Redemption," p. 90.

12 Ibid.

13Thomas E. Skinner, "Conversion," Sermons, Addresses and Reminiscences (Raleigh: Edwards & Broughton, 1894), p. 91.

14W.P. Walker, ""Abandoned of the Lord," The Southern Baptist Pulpit, ed., J.F. Love (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1895), p. 311.

15 Ibid., p. 310.

16 Ibid., p. 306.

17C.B. Williams, "The Worth of Man," Citizens of Two Worlds (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1919), p. 42.

18 Ibid., p. 41.

19 Ibid., p 137.

20 L.R. Scarborough, "The Savior Knocking at the Door," The Tears of Jesus (Nashville: Baptist Sunday School Board, 1922), p. 75.

21Edgar Young Mullins, "The Right to Believe," Faith in the Modern World (Nashville: Baptist Sunday School Board, 1930), pp. 11-12, 21.

22 M.E. Dodd, "John 3:16,) Three:Sixteens (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1936), p.31.

23R.C. Campbell, "God's Estimate of Man," Youth & Yokes (Nashville: Broadman, 1938), p. 57.

24 W.T. Conner, "Jesus, The Friend of Sinners," The Christ We Need (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1938), p. 45.

25 M.F. Ewton, "Limits Beyond Which God Cannot Go," Cardinal Truths (Self-published, 1947), p. 48.

26 Llew C. Northern, "Man's Quest for God," Simple Salvation (Nashville: Broadman, p. 1940), p. 99.

27 Ibid., pp. 89-90.

28W.P. Hall, "The Optimism of Jesus," Walking With God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1940), p. 89.

29 Ibid., p. 91.

30 Adiel Moncrief, "Christ & Human Liberty," The Loving Christ in the Life of Today (Nashville: Broadman, 1941), p. 21.

31Zeno Wall, "Experimental Religion," Verities of the Gospel (Nashville: Broadman, 1946), p. 5.

32 Roy O. McClain, "The Great Supper, God's Broken Heart," Stoop and Drink (Ft. Worth: Radio and Television Commission, 1955), p. 17.

33Ibid., p. 21.

34 Herschel Hobbs, "God's Election Day," sermon preached on The Baptist Hour, 8 October, 1967, Beam International, 18, No. 5 (May 1967), pp. 23-24.

35 Carlyle Marney, "The New Birth," Southern Baptist Preaching, ed., H.C. Brown, Jr. (Nashville: Broadman, 1959), pp. 133-134.

36 Clay Warf, "The God of the Lost," Award Winning Sermons, ed. James Barry (Nashville: Broadman, 1979), p. 109.

37 Frank Stagg, "A Whole Man Made Well," The Struggle for Meaning (Valley Forge: Judson, 1977), pp. 73-74.

38 J.R. Graves, "The Sovereignty of God," Satan Dethroned (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1939), pp. 47-48.

39 Ibid., p. 49.

40Ibid., p. 71-72.

41 R.G. Lee, "The Grace of God," Heart to Heart (Nashville: Broadman, 1977), p. 141.

42 Ibid., p. 143.

43 Ibid., p. 54.

44 Ibid., p. 58.

45 Ibid., p. 61.

46 Ibid., p. 65.

47 Ibid., p. 68.

48 Ibid., p. 69.

49 Ibid., p. 73.

50 J. Frank Norris, "The New Birth," The Gospel of Dynamite (Ft. Worth, 1933), pp. 28-9.

51 W.A. Criswell, Transcribed from the cassette tape, "The Bible Kind of Salvation: Romans 9:15-16."

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