Tag Archives: You Need To Read

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One Way to Become a Better Pastor-Theologian: Read Stuff Like This!

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I am enjoying this three-volume set so much!

The longer I am privileged to serve as a pastor the more I feel the need to become a better theologian. And, so far, it looks like the three-volume translation of Mastricht’s systematic theology (“…originally written in Latin and subsequently translated into Dutch and now being simultaneously translated into English and re-translated into Dutch…”) is going to be a tremendous help.

Here’s why. First from the Editor’s Preface:

“As a systemic theology or body of divinity, this classic…combines a rigorous, biblical, and scholastic treatment of doctrine with the pastoral aim of preparing the reader to live for God through Christ.” (p. xi, emphasis added)

And from the Translator’s Preface:

“Mastricht is a pastor writing to train pastors…” (p. xvii)

And, if that wasn’t enough to sell me on its value:

“…Mastricht insisted that preaching and theology must be inextricably linked.” (p. xviii)

Finally, lo and behold, before the systematic theology begins, Mastricht decided to write the first 31 pages describing, “The Best Method of Preaching.”

For years I’ve had the privilege of teaching preaching. Each year I urge my new friends and colleagues in ministry to become better theologians for their flocks. One way to do that is to regularly read robust writings of ancient theologians (Petrus van Mastricht lived from 1630-1706).

If you’re a Jonathan Edwards fan, Neele writes, “And if the words of Edwards Amasa Park (1808-1900) can be relied upon, Jonathan Edwards Jr. (1745-1801) read Mastricht’s TPT seven times” (p. lvii). Edwards is quoted as saying that Mastricht’s book was “much better than…any other book in the world, excepting the Bible, in my opinion…” (p. lviii).

Pretty high praise coming from Edwards.

Lord willing, I am excited to read these volumes and see if it was worth Edwards reading it seven times.

More than that, I hope you will join me in becoming a better theologian for your faith-family so God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Connecting Pulpit and Pew: You Need to Read

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I just completed reading Bellinger’s, Connecting Pulpit and Pew: Breaking Open the Conversation about Catholic Preaching. You can look for my review in a future issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society (JEHS).

Here’s why. The author surveyed over 500 Catholic high school students to ask them how well sermons connect with them. I don’t know if I’ve ever read any homiletics material devoted to how teens hear sermons.

We know it’s important to connect with our listeners and this book helped me want to do that even better. Bellinger’s surveys of young people and clergy will provide an opportunity for you to evaluate your own preaching.

Especially convicting was the thought that many preachers are winging it and allowing other pastoral duties to squeeze out sermon preparation time.

So, if you want to spend some time thinking about audience analysis, this is a helpful little read. If you preach to young people or you have a youth pastor in your church, you will certainly benefit from reading the book or telling your colleague about it.

One of the values of reading outside my own church culture is the exposure I get to other authors. For instance, Bellinger introduced me to a book written in 1942, How to Make Us Want Your Sermon: by a Listener (O’Brien Atkinson). Speaking of our listeners, he writes, “We have one advantage. Whoever you are, wherever you preach, however lowly or lofty the occasion, the prosperity of your sermon will rest with us. If we say it was over our heads, or hard to follow, or dull and wearisome, there will be no appeal from that verdict. You may think us stupid, and we may be stupid, but our verdict will be final” (p. 55).

Enjoy. And preach a good sermon this Christmas Sunday, will ya?!

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What We Preach No Matter the Preaching Portion/Pericope

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Abe’s new book is very helpful, especially in the discussion about theology and application.

I decided to select Abe’s new book, A Manual for Preaching: The Journey from Text to Sermon, as one of the required textbooks for my upcoming sections of PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics (Lancaster and D.C. locations of Lancaster Bible College|Capital Seminary & Graduate School).

Abe does an excellent job summarizing the preaching task with respect to what happens each Sunday in church. Think about your preaching portion from this morning or the one you will be preaching on this coming Sunday. Can you see your preaching fitting into the following description?

“So each pericope [the section you’ve selected to preach on] is God’s gracious invitation to humankind to live in his ideal world by abiding by the thrust/force of that pericope–that is, the requirement of God’s ideal world as called for in that pericopal world segment (e.g., listening to/obeying only God’s voice, from 1 Sam. 15 [where King Saul failed miserably!]. And as humankind accepts that divine invitation and applies the thrust/force of the pericope, week by week and pericope by pericope God’s people are progressively and increasingly inhabiting this ideal world and adopting its values” (p. 29).

If we’ve selected them properly, our preaching portions contain “God’s gracious invitation” to our listeners to inhabit “his ideal world.”

That happens when we urge them to be or do what the pericope is requiring (what Abe calls its “thrust/force”).

Sunday after Sunday the cumulative affect is growing more and more into the likeness of Christ (“inhabiting this ideal world and adopting its values”).

Can you see why it’s impossible for congregations composed of some with “ears to hear” not to grow into a mature Body?

I can’t think of anything more fulfilling than being the mouthpiece for God’s invitation to live in his ideal world. And as we do that each weekend, may He receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching As Reminding: A Guest Post From my Friend and Homiletics Colleague

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Dr. Jeffrey Arthurs is one of my favorite people. Michele and I have known Jeff since the early days of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He is a brilliant homiletician, professor, and extremely capable preacher. Along with his professorial duties at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, he’s also a long-term interim pastor so he’s preaching every weekend. Enjoy his contribution and may our Lord continue to receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) because of our thoughts about what preachers do. Here’s Jeffrey:

“You know how pastors say the same things again and again? For example, God loves sinners; we are a family; and Jesus is coming back? In my 2017 book, Preaching As Reminding (IVP), I argue that this is not only inevitable for expository preachers, it is also beneficial for the listeners. Why? Because we need reminders. We forget. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it! C. S. Lewis put it this way:

We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief [in Christian doctrine] nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?

Mere Christianity, 123-124.

So, preachers take their stance not only as teachers of new concepts, persuaders, and exhorters, but also as “the Lord’s remembrancers” That is a phrase from the court of Great Britain—the Queen’s (or King’s) remembrancer was a record keeper of official business who reminded noblemen of their duties. We are the “Lord’s remembrancers” who remind believers of God’s great covenant of grace and our duties to love and fear him in return.

So, the next time your text gives you a well-trodden truth, don’t be afraid to tell the old, old story one more time. Let fidelity, not novelty, be your motto.

 

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You Need To Read: Preaching That Matters

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This brief break from preaching through Chronicles–I know you’re disappointed–highlights a very helpful book. It’s

Preaching That Matters: Reflective Practices for Transforming Sermons by Lori J. Carrell.

First, Michael Quicke wrote the foreword. Michael and I met years ago through the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He is one of the most delightful persons I’ve ever met. Plus, he’s an excellent homiletician. His books are worth reading too.

But Carrell’s book is helpful for those of us who truly want to improve our preaching. It helps by providing so many snippets of interviews with pastors who wrestle with their preaching in light of attending preaching training sessions. You will find Carrell’s survey insightful, providing data from preachers and their listeners.

So, from time to time as I work my way through the rest of Chronicles, I will include some of Carrell’s insights that have helped me and may help you too.

Like, for instance, the preacher who says, even though he knows preaching is two-directional (the preacher communicates and the listeners must also think through what the preacher says):

“but my behavior when I’m preaching makes it appear that I don’t think anything is happening in the minds of my listeners” (p. 25).

So, when we’re preparing to preach and while we’re preaching we must keep in mind what may be in their minds when they hear what God is saying to the church.

Before Sunday, think about spending sermon minutes devoted to thinking about what your listeners are thinking. We send the message out; they, however, must receive that message. One way we work at preaching is making sure God’s message we preach isn’t distorted by the listeners. Look for things in your preaching portion that will get a reaction from your listeners. If that reaction is anything but genuine acceptance, do some work to reorient their thinking…

So God receives glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Read More, Preach Better

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From a human perspective (FHP), there are some things we can do to improve our preaching. For instance, if you haven’t read some of my recent posts, you might enjoy the summary takeaways from TED Talks. Providing the Holy Spirit is carrying you and your listeners during your sermon, you will be a better communicator of God’s Word by putting into practice the best practices of the best communicators.

And here’s another one: READ MORE. PERIOD.

Christmas week of 2016 I set a goal to read one book each week (no more than 250 pages, which means large books bleed into the next week).

The backstory: Back in the mid-eighties at Dallas Theological Seminary, Prof. Howard Hendricks encouraged us to follow his practice of reading one book per week. As a young masters level student, I remember being impressed by this seemingly out-of-reach goal (not realizing that all the pages of required reading in my formal studies easily equaled this!). As a young pastor, I remember thinking: “Ya, but Prof. doesn’t realize that pastors are not professors. We don’t have the luxury of devoting all that time to research.”

It only took me thirty years to finally see Prof’s wisdom (He’s probably doing his famous sniffle in heaven at the thought of this!).

And this practice has changed my life/ministry. Try it.

  • Convince yourself you can do it. No excuses.
  • Discipline yourself to do it. Schedule between 30-60 minutes.
  • Read authors that will stretch your thinking. Don’t waste your time on things you already know and practice. Aim for theological depth.
  • Skim whenever you can. I’ve learned that even the best of books can be read quickly if I do not allow myself to get bogged down by reading every word. Many sentences and paragraphs do not provide what you are reading the book to gain.
  • Don’t ever read without a highlighter in hand. You’re reading for research, not for pleasure (you have other times for that).
  • Use Evernote or some other system to record your notes for future use.

Watch what happens. You will gain momentum and your preaching will reach another level of sophistication (in the best sense of the word). God will receive His due in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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You Need To Read: Reading Backwards

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I’m always looking for books that help me preach Christ while maintaining the integrity of the meaning of the preaching portion. I’m also always looking for books that help me understand how the New Testament human authors reread the Old Testament and how their rereading affects the meaning of the Old Testament.

Richard Hays’ book, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness, helped me do both (Hays did not intend for his book to do the latter).

You’ll enjoy and profit from the book if you do much preaching in the Gospels. Hays does a superb job showing how the four Evangelists used the Old Testament Scriptures to show the divinity of Jesus. And his commentary various passages in all four Gospels is extremely insightful.

For instance, there is much talk today about Jesus being the kinder, gentler God who is much more palatable to post-moderns. Hays writes, “The OT focuses our understanding of Jesus’ role as an eschatological prophet of God’s judgment. The sweet, infinitely inclusive Jesus meek and mild, so beloved by modern Protestantism, is a Jesus cut loose from his OT roots” (p. 12). So, while a particular Gospel scene might show Jesus being kind to sinners like the woman “caught” in adultery, that doesn’t mean that’s the only reaction He has to sinners, especially in the eschaton.

Anyway, I highly recommend the book. If you are as serious as I am about hermeneutics and homiletics, this is a good read. And, as I said at the beginning of the post, an important, probably unbeknownst-to-Hays benefit of the book is how his analysis leads to fresh insights about how to interpret the OT Christologically.

Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness

Preach well for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal