What's this? Yet another book on preaching what the text actually says? If these kinds of books are actually read and applied, there may be hope for the pulpits around the world after all.
While any book that speaks of expository preaching will necessarily cover much of the similar ground as any other, this one does so with a fresh and concise writing style and insightful metaphors that keep it from feeling like it's just more of the same.
As other reviewers, particularly on Amazon, have noted, the writing here can come off as condescending at times. Depending on how you approach the book, the author is either brilliantly confident and bold, or nasty and condescending. However, the honest truth is, he lays out the hard reality of how some have mismanaged the Word of God and he courageously fights to defend the dignity, integrity, and truth of the Scriptures. It's a matter of human pride that we don't like being told were wrong. It's my opinion that the bash lash against the book is primarily from those that dislike it for the content, but being unable to raise logical arguments against its claims, instead desperately resort to insults and attacking the author.
Even if it truly is meant to be condescendingly, I honestly don't mind a little of that when the argument is so obvious and the opponents so obviously wrong. He is also in good company, as Elijah and the Apostle Paul both indulged in the same when facing the enemies of truth. The book has four major sections: Contextualization, Exegesis, Theological Reflection, and Today. The first section on contextualization is the best part of the book. In it, he highlights problematic preaching, why it is wrong, and the motivations behind it. He freely admits his own failure to avoid these pitfalls. This section primarily tells readers what to avoid, and how to identify what not to do.
I'm not quite comfortable with his extensive section on metaphors and types, as that style of interpretation tends far more to speculation and misinterpretation and abuse than other styles. It's proper at times, perhaps, but I'd have preferred him use that space to flesh out something more solid and helpful. Another issue, though hardly one mentioning, is that he seems to be a covenant theologian, with his emphasis being on covenants rather than mentioning a dispensational approach. However, it was worded carefully and honestly, so what he said was still true, and here offers no problem, though it seems to be indicative of a faulty hermenutic that could show up in the author's other works.
The last three chapters of the book are solid, but seem to be slightly less memorable than the first. His section on "Exegesis," while decent, it is heavily populated with his own life experiences. His concept of the "melodic line" is unique and interesting. While he does emphasize finding the emphasis and main structure, as well as the obligitory mention on how to approach different genres, this short book simply cannot explain it as thoroughly as something more robust. Again, great for refreshing, but perhaps a bit too general and scanty to win over someone entrenched in a lesser form of interpretation.
As for "Theological Reflection," I found the material in the section titled "The challenge of the Historical-Critical Method section" to be particularly insightful and well reasoned. He rightly handles the tension between addressing what a text conveyed to the original audience and bridging that to Jesus and his work, and then to us. He remarks on the difficulty of balancing the perspectives and respecting both the text and it's place in the overarching story of God. He then follows with a section titled "the usefulness of Biblical Theology" that hammers hope the practical nature of having a proper theology in the interpretation process. That's another unique point that others seem to have neglected; to the praise of this book.
The final portion, "Today" is a great help on finding and presenting the application and relevance. Though hardly ground breaking or unique, it does present a much needed warning to keep the main biblical focus as the main application focus. Finally, the appendix is a great collection of questions and answers regarding the basic ideas of the book.
Being so short, merely 130 pages, it's not quite suited to being a primary textbook on the subject. However, it would be an excellent second source, or even a great way for a pastor to review. While perhaps not thorough enough to convince a skeptic on the subject, it's a wonderful book that I highly recommended to those curious about, or already engaged/trained in expository preaching.
Notable Quotables:
Page 17 - "Some preachers spend more time reading and meditating on our contextual setting than we do on God’s Word. We get caught up in sermonizing about our world or city in an effort to be relevant. As a result, we settle for giving shallow impressions of the text. We forget that the biblical text is the relevant word. It deserves our greatest powers of meditation and explanation."
Page 25 - "On those weeks when we have stood in the pulpit and leaned on the Bible to support what we wanted to say instead of saying only what God intended the Bible to say, we have been like a drunken man who leans on a lamp-post—using it more for support than for illumination. A better posture for the preacher is to stand directly under the biblical text. For it is the Bible—and not we who preach—which is the Word of the Spirit (see Heb. 3:7; John 6:63)."
Page 108 - "You want your primary aim to match the Holy Spirit’s primary aim with a text. Think of this question along the lines of a ladder in which each application gets more and more abstract. The further away a rung is on the ladder, the more foolish you are to reach for it. It is simply too far removed, and you are better off holding onto something closer, stronger, clearer, and primary.
4/5
Buy it here on Amazon.com