In this week’s post, I review two books on preaching. This first is Text-Driven Preaching, edited by Danny Akin, David Allen, and Ned Mathews. The second is Power in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix.

About the Authors

Dr. Jerry Vines is the retired pastor of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida. He served at this church for forty years. He has served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention and is a prolific author. He holds a Th.D. from Luther Rice Seminary.

Dr. Jim Shaddix is a professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He occupies the Criswell Chair of Expository Preaching and is a Senior Fellow for the Center for Preaching and Pastoral Leadership. He has served as a pastor in several states. Shaddix holds a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Dr. Daniel Akin is the sixth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also is a professor of preaching and theology. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. David L. Allen is the distinguished professor of preaching at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also holds the George W. Truett Chair of Ministry and is Director of the Center for Expository Preaching. He received his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is also a good friend and personal mentor in the ministry.

Dr. Ned Mathews is a retired pastor. He served for more than fifty-eight years. He is also emeritus professor of pastoral ministries at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a Master of Divinity from Southeastern and a Doctorate of Theology from the University of South Africa.

Summary of Power in the Pulpit

Power in the Pulpit is written to guide those who desire to be expository preachers. Shaddix and Vines give a detailed “nuts and bolts” style process of crafting and delivering an expository sermon. It is a practical help to those charged to preach each week or are preparing to preach. This book is comprehensive in scope but concise in focus.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part covers the preparation for expository preaching. Shaddix and Vines provide a definition and philosophy of preaching and the theology of preaching by examining the biblical purpose of preaching. They seek to answer why preaching is important and lay out the goals of preaching. A crucial part of preparing for exposition that is regularly missed in many textbooks is provided a chapter. Namely, the life of the preacher. The way a preacher lives significantly affects his power in the pulpit. Vines and Shaddix also included a brief historical survey of expository preachers in this chapter.

In the second part of the book, the authors developed the process of preparing an exegetical sermon. This covered the deep study to understand the Scriptures accurately through analysis of the text and context in which the text is written. They provide a robust process of such analysis in great detail. Once understanding is established, they move to organizing the sermon through outlining the text, which leads to application, illustration, introduction, and conclusion.

The remaining chapters develop the presentation of the sermon before an audience. It deals mainly with proper rhetoric, such as the use of humor, creativity, and other stylistic considerations. The authors strongly recommend writing a manuscript or detailed notes for preaching. One chapter is on how the voice works. The authors examine how the muscles work and how to take proper care of the voice. The final two chapters focus on connecting with the audience and maintaining their attention.

Summary of Text-Driven Preaching

Text-Driven Preaching is quite similar to Power in the Pulpit, but it is also quite different at times. The format is a series of articles by various authors. It is divided similarly to Power in the Pulpit, comprised of three parts.

The essays in the first section primarily address the person of the preacher. Paige Patterson examines ancient Greek rhetoric as the model for preaching. He introduces the ideas of ethos, logos, and pathos which writers take up in later chapters. Jim Shaddix examines a history of text-driven preaching, a short chapter that seems to have come straight from Power in the Pulpit. Bill Bennett writes of the need for the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the preacher to enable powerful preaching. Ned Mathews writes of the preacher’s godly character and commitment to doctrinal fidelity. In a unique contribution, he adds the devotion to becoming text-driven as a conviction that preachers must hold “Not only in his private devotions and public proclamation but also in his thoughts, his deeds, and his worldview.”[1]

David Allen opens the section on preparing a text-driven sermon by laying a theological foundation for it and providing a twelve-step method for preparing such a message. He illustrates how this is done using 1 John 2:15-17. David Alan Black dives deeper into an exegesis of the Scripture through careful analysis of the text. He utilizes Hebrews 12:1-2 to illustrate the process of adequate exegesis. Black also provides a helpful appendix on Old Testament bibliographies. The literary genre of the passage has considerable implications for crafting the sermon, and Robert Vogel dives into a discussion on the appreciation of genre in sermon preparation. A passage must be understood in the context of the whole of Scripture. James Hamilton Jr. explores this idea in his chapter on biblical theology.

The final section of Text-Driven Preaching focuses on the preaching event. Hershael York’s chapter on communication theory reveals communication channels to help others receive the intended meaning of what God has said through His revelation. Jerry Vines and Adam Dooley emphasize the need for the preacher to connect and reflect the emotional emphasis of the text. According to Daniel Akin, the end goal of preaching is to “Know the Scriptures and the culture, to understand the world of the Bible and the world in which we find ourselves,”[2]and apply the biblical principles to the current context.

Evaluation and Comparison

            These two works are excellent resources for the preacher overall, yet they have some faults. Power in the Pulpit is comprehensive, but it can be a strenuous read. It would be more suitable as a reference than to sit and read it. Most of its contents have been covered in other books on preaching, such as Robinson’s Biblical Preaching and Lloyd-Jones’s Preaching and Preachers. It offers little new information on preaching but is a good resource for the preacher to understand.

A primary concern from this book is the vast expanse of what Vines and Shaddix would seem to consider expositional preaching. While they affirm that “Sermon content should be driven by the biblical text,”[3] they also contend that “Expository preaching is determined by how the passage is handled – not just in the sermon – but also in the journey that leads to the sermon.”[4] They explain that “Expository preaching is not about sermon form, but a process by which the words of God are first discovered and then communicated to people so they can understand them.”[5]

            Allen seems to contradict this idea, declaring that form is essential indeed. He says, “Homiletics is the art and science of sermon construction and delivery that says the same thing the text of Scripture says.”[6]Therefore, “A sermon not only uses a text of Scripture but also should be derived from a text of Scripture and should develop a text of Scripture.”[7]Consequently, expository preaching is not only the process of the preacher but also includes the form of the sermon. Allen asserts that “Text-driven preachers must grapple with the actual structure of the text itself in sermon preparation.”[8]The form of the sermon must reflect the form of the passage. While Shaddix and Vines devote a whole chapter to outlining a passage, they do not do so from this perspective, relying on human creativity to create a memorable sermon outline. Allen replies, “The first place to look for creativity to use in preaching is often the last place that many preachers look: the text. Ultimately, creativity resides in the text itself.”[9]

            Related to this thought is the firm assertion from Shaddix and Vines on determining the text’s central idea. They proclaim, “We really can’t claim to understand a passage until we can state its subject and complement accurately in one sentence.”[10] Several pages are dedicated to this idea of a central idea, but there is a question that resounds against this idea. Allen asks, “Based on the structure of the text, how many main and sub-points should a text-driven sermon on this passage have?”[11] The idea that a passage must have a central idea does not consider the authorial intent and structure. What if the author structured it so that there were multiple main points? Should the preacher distort and twist the passage to fit one central idea, or should he yield to the structure of the text? According to Allen, he must yield to the text to be considered a faithful text-driven preacher.

            Text-Driven Preaching is not exempt from issues either. It seems unusual that a volume on training preachers to be authentic to the text of Scripture begins not by appealing to the text of Scripture but to Aristotle. Patterson sets the foundation for effective preaching in the idea of ethos, logos, and pathos in the ideals of classic Greek rhetoric. Yet the Apostle Paul makes it clear to the Corinthians in his first letter to them that he did not preach the gospel with “eloquent wisdom so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.”[12]To those believers, he claimed that proclaiming the cross’s message with human efforts and human wisdom would be ineffective and powerless. If the goal is to be text-driven, why begin with a different foundation? And yet this foundational principle of Greek rhetoric is repeated several times by various authors in the book. While it is true that “much of the impact of an expository sermon lies in its delivery,”[13] the ultimate source of power shouldn’t be considered Greek rhetoric or the power of the preacher but in the power of the very text the authors seek to exalt. In this manner, the first chapter of Power in the Pulpit does a much better job raising Scripture from the beginning.

            Patterson also superfluously raises a minor issue to prominence in his section on ethos. His assertion that a preacher should dress formally for the proclamation of the Bible is utterly ridiculous. Even his short introduction to the topic does not authenticate his statement. He speaks of Stephan’s face being like an angel and Moses’s face having to be covered because it shone with radiance.[14] The text does not comment on what they were wearing but on the effect of spending time with God as it becomes evident in a man’s life. Patterson contends that “The preacher should always show respect for Christ and His church – at the very least, the same respect he would deem appropriate for dignitaries of the world. Otherwise, his ethos will also suffer.”

Yet what one wears does not matter to God. He is the one who provides the clothing anyway. Jesus himself said, “And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you – you of little faith?”[15] Jesus clarifies that he is not concerned about what clothing you wear but about how you live according to the Father’s way. “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”[16]Patterson has taken a worldly understanding and applied it to this context. He is more concerned about what people think of the preacher than what God thinks. God is not concerned about what the preacher wears. John the Baptist wore a camel-hair garment.[17]Isaiah preached naked for three years.[18] Does what the preacher wears really affect his ethos? The real issue at stake is not his clothing but his character.

Shaddix and Vines properly display this truth prominently. They write, “If our ministries are to be built on a firm foundation, we need to know intimately the Author of the message we proclaim.”[19] A love for the Lord and time spent in private devotion with him prepares the preacher to be authoritative as a representative of God. It is not what the preacher wears but the relationship he bears with the Lord.

One of the expected yet frustrating problems of a book like Text-Driven Preaching stems from its nature. It is a collection of essays by various authors brought together under one title. In doing so, there is a tremendous amount of repetition, to the point that it becomes tedious to read in one sitting. In this regard, having a unified movement of thought comes much better in Power in the Pulpit. It moves cohesively among its topics, while Text-Driven Preaching often rehashes some of the same ideas in various essays. For example, several authors repeated Patterson’s Aristotelian rhetoric model of rhetoric several times. Some went into more detail in one area or another, but it seemed to be openly redundant.

Perhaps the most significant error of the Text-Driven Preaching is the overall emphasis on the person and abilities of the preacher. For a book claiming to be focused on communicating God’s word at the heart of every sermon, it spends an undue amount of time on the person of the preacher. While the person proclaiming the message is significant, and while the sermon’s delivery can determine its effectiveness, it would seem that a book by such a title would focus more on the power of the text itself. In his introduction, Allen claims, “This book rests firmly on the biblical and theological foundation for exposition: God has spoken.”[20] Yet the majority of the book is focused on the preacher and the use of Greek rhetorical devices. If “What Scripture says is indeed the Word of God”[21] and “It is the nature of Scripture itself that demands a text-driven approach to preaching,”[22]why do the authors not spend more ink dealing with the text itself? The fact that Power in the Pulpit spills more ink on the wrestling with the text than Text-Driven Preaching may indicate a deeper problem. Do the author’s really mean what they are proposing? Is Scripture powerful enough, or does it need Greek rhetoric and the preacher’s personality to be effective? In reality, this book could lose part one and part three. It would then probably be more accurate to have the title Text-Driven Preaching.

Despite each volume having some flaws, these two books together can significantly assist those charged with proclaiming Scripture. Whether a preacher will preach weekly or itinerantly, whether he is currently preaching or preparing to preach, both Text-Driven Preaching and Power in the Pulpit are excellent resources to have on the shelf. As Mathews states in his conclusion, “The goal of text-driven preaching then is not to find a better homiletical method; it is at its best the means of producing disciples who, like their Lord, are text-driven people.”[23] Resources like these two books can help the preaching prepare practical, expository, text-driven sermons.