Thoughts on Preaching…
December 17, 2009
I 
have had the joy of being involved in full-time ministry and serving on various church staffs since 1991. During that time, I served in student ministry, collegiate ministry, and ministry to young families. I have had the opportunity to serve alongside some great pastors. I continue to strive to learn from others in every area imaginable – leadership, family, counseling, etc. One of the greatest areas that God continues to sharpen and encourage me is in the area of preaching.
As a student pastor or college pastor I had the responsibility of teaching at a weekly worship gathering and other opportunities. When God called our family to make the transition to the role of senior pastor, I had many mentors and friends encourage and also warn me of the time required for effective ministry with people. Furthermore, they challenged me to be disciplined with my time in the area of preaching.
The past several months, God has been stirring in my heart an even greater passion for preaching. There are essentially two approaches to preaching: topical and expository. A topical preaching style begins with a need and explores the Scriptures seeking insight into how God can meet that need (my perspective). An expository preaching style begins with the text of the Scriptures and systematically (often verse-by-verse) explores what the Divine Author working through the human author is communicating through the text both then and now.
So out of curiosity, here are a few questions to generate some discussion:
- What style of preaching do you find most effective and why?
- What style of preaching is most common at the church where you attend?
- What role does preaching have in the life of a church and the life of a Christ follower? Is it necessary? What’s the value?
3 Responses to “Thoughts on Preaching…”
Leave a Reply
Allen James
Currently Reading
Allen James (close × )
I am blessed to serve as Pastor of the West Bradenton Baptist Church in Bradenton, Florida, since June ’08. Prior to this role, I served as Pastor to University Students (5 years) and as Pastor to Students (12 years).
I grew up in Bartlett, Tennessee, just outside of Memphis, TN. The Lord moved powerfully in my life as a freshmen in college regarding an unyielding commitment to Jesus Christ. I have never regretted that decision! I graduated from Memphis State University with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Sociology. I received my Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. I am currently praying about beginning my doctoral studies in expository preaching.
My Family
My wife, Nova, and I have been married since June ’93 and we have one daughter, a pug named Lulu, and a border collie/lab mix named Tootsie.
In My Sparetime
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with family, golf, reading, home renovations, and cleaning the pool.
Random Facts
Favorite College Team: Texas Longhorns
Favorite Book of the Bible: Old Testament – Jonah; New Testament – John
Favorite Movie: Bourne Series
What I Enjoy Most About Ministry: I love seeing God completely transform a life and having the opportunity to be a small part of that process.
I think expository preaching is most effective. Ideally it should lead the preacher to put the passage in the proper context of the overall book and focus on what the passage says, what it means, and how it can apply to me today. The meaning does not change. The topical preaching can be useful but you might fall in the danger of taking some passages out of context to address a pre-determined topic or idea. At my church, the typical preaching is expository, verse by verse although within that approach there have been teaching series that cover several different passages to address the main topic.
I think is essential for the preacher to feed the flock the Word of God consistently. There is no growth in the life of believers unless we are continually taking in the Bread of Life. Preachers should preach the Word in season and out of season. We need to be challenged, encouraged, convicted on a regular basis and you can only do that effectively through the faithful preaching of the entire counsel of God's Word.
Great perspective, Jose. Thanks for your passion for Scripture my friend!
I think that the best definition of Expository Preaching is – Read the text – Explain the text – Apply the text – In other words let the text talk for itself – the explanation needs to be true to the text and needs to keep in mind authorial intent, in other words the text means today exactly what it meant to the readers when it was written, obviously the applications can be different according to the cultures and the times. Preaching of any kind should follow the same rules as it ties itself to the content and the context of the passage. Having said this topical or verse by verse are tied to the same rules of interpretation if one wants to protect himself from imposing his ideas to the text or doing allegory.
My preference in preaching is expository preaching verse by verse. First of all it forces one to preach the whole counsel of God, even the harder parts. It also lets the text talk the way God intended for his thoughts to be delivered. Especially when we talk about the Epistles they were letters that had a complete thought that needed to be expressed with a logical flow. Verse by verse also allows a pastor to preach many subjects without giving the impression he is targeting someone. For many, verse by verse protects from many wasted hours of trying to figure out what to preach about during the week for others it protects from saying always the same things in other words having a hobby horse. Many react negatively to verse by verse because they think is boring, reality is that boring preaching is not the fault of the Bible but the fault of the preacher. Passionate study that is transforming the life of the pastor if well organized homiletically will never be boring.
Topical preaching can be very effective but it requires much more work. Every passage mentioned needs to be studies in it’s context and with the true authorial intent of the author. Too many times pastors use the text out of context and with a superficial attitude just to support their point. Some especially in writing books use many versions of the Bible just to make their point with great neglect of the meaning of the text. Every text has only one meaning but many applications.
So my preference is verse by verse, but no matter what kind of sermon you choose to preach on Sunday never forget the power of the message is in the Word of God. Reading the text and then explaining it wrongly strips it of its power. Using the text as an excuse for personal ideas has no power. Men can manufacture with emotional story filled messages some reactions in the audience but lasting heart change is done by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.
Every time a man preaches he should approach the pulpit with great excitement because God is speaking through His Word and with great fear of getting in the way.
I look forward to hearing you on Sunday and you are in my prayers!