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THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES
In 1911 Mr. James Sprunt of Wilmington, North Carolina, gave to The Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia the sum of thirty thousand dollars, since increased by his generosity to fifty thousand dollars, for the purpose of establishing a perpetual lectureship , which would enable the institution to secure from time to time the services of distinguished ministers and authoritative scholars, outside the regular Faculty, as special lecturers on subjects connected with various departments of Christian thought and Christian work. The lecturers are chosen by the Faculty of the Seminary and a committee of the Board of Trustees, and the lectures are published after their delivery in accordance with a contract between the lecturer and these representatives of the institution. — W.W. Moore, in Francis L. Patton, Fundamental Christianity (1926, 1928)
An endowment that began 110 years ago, and continues today, for a lectureship at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, has included — from a roster that is worldwide — some notable American Presbyterians. The early years encompass some authors found at Log College Press, as noted below.
David James Burrell (1912-1913), The Sermon: Its Construction and Delivery (1913)
Harris Elliott Kirk (1915-1916), The Religion of Power (1916)
Charles Alphonso Smith (1916-1917), Keynote Studies in Keynote Books of the Bible (1919)
Alexander Harris McKinney (1917-1918), Guiding Boys Over Fool Hill (1918)
John Greshem Machen (1920-1921), The Origin of Paul’s Religion (1921, 1923)
William Jennings Bryan (1921-1922), In His Image (1922)
James Isaac Vance (1922-1923), Being a Preacher: A Study of the Claims of the Christian Ministry (1923)
Francis Landey Patton (1923-1924), Fundamental Christianity (1926, 1928)
Robert Elliott Speer (1925-1926), The Unfinished Task of Foreign Missions (1926)
Maitland Alexander (1926-1927), The Minister in Action [not yet available to read at LCP]
Walter Lee Lingle (1928-1929), The Bible and Social Problems (1929) [not yet available to read at LCP]
Melvin Grove Kyle (1931-1932), Palestine, The Matrix of Bible Narratives (Excavating Kirjath-Sepher's Ten Cities, 1934)
Donald MacKenzie (1932-1933), Christianity — The Paradox of God (1933) [not yet available to read at LCP]
John Miller Wells (1935-1936), Southern Presbyterian Worthies (1936) [not yet available to read at LCP, but available for purchase here]
John Alexander MacKay (1939-1940), A Preface to Christian Theology (1941) [not yet available to read at LCP]
William Childs Robinson (1940-1941), Christ — The Hope of Glory (1945) [not yet available to read at LCP]
These lectures contain rich material on a variety of topics. Machen’s lectures are particularly well-known even today, but all of these contributions to the church from a century ago are worthy of study by the current generation. (Interestingly, Kyle also delivered the 1919 Stone Lectures at Princeton.) Sprunt’s legacy consists not only in his own writings, which are fascinating — especially for those interested in eastern North Carolina history — but in the lectureship he established which lives on.
