>From an evangelical pastor-friend:

At the heart of what pastoral ministry is about is the question of authority. It’s probably worthwhile noting that expository preaching died out in the early church because of the growing ignorance of the clergy, the increasing liturgical complexity of the services, and the need for topical preaching to deal with contemporary theological issues. I believe that we need to re-embrace a commitment to treat the Bible as if it were indeed the sufficient Word of God, along with a practical belief that explaining it and applying it to the the people of God is to be about partyicipating in what God is about. I know that I have nothing else to feed the people of God with, because that’s all the Lord has given me to feed his people with.

May I recommend a few books on the subject that I have found really helpful:

Gerhard O. Forde, Theology is for Proclamation, Fortress, 1990. Peter Adam, Speaking God’s Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching, IVP, 1996. Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching, Baker, 1994. Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text, Eerdmans, 1988. Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Eerdmans, 2000.

My own experience is that when Christ is alive in your heart, how can you shut up? In 1 Cor. 9:14, Paul says, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel”. Perhaps it is that those who make their living from the gospel should preach the gospel. Why are we so ashamed of it! Where’s the compulsion (1 Cor. 9:16) in us? Where have our tastebuds gone (Ps. 119:103)?

Have you enjoyed the dance today?

Rowland Croucher