The glory of preaching
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Just reading Darrell Johnson's The Glory of Preaching published by IVP Academic (US)(follow the link for chapters to read online). It's a great and robust defence of the primacy of preaching as God's key means of communicating himself to us. Worth reading for every preacher (I'm not on commission!). My main gripes with it are (1) it could have been more deeply argued, but I guess this might have turned it into a mama-book and (2) by his own admission, he sometimes starts preaching in the book, rather than writing. This can be a little annoying - but these are minor gripes in an otherwise excellent book.
Amazingly, he writes the book against his better judgement! He says he is trying to put down in print what cannot, ultimately, be put down in print!
I am convinced that nothing will ever take the place preaching has in God's work in the world. No matter what changes take place in communication theory and practice, nothing will ever take the place of a human being, Bible in hand, standing up in front of other human beings, inviting them into a particular text, and saying again what the living God is saying in and through the text. Preaching may not get the attention other forms of discourse or communication get; so be it. Preaching my be judged...foolish and weak; so be it. For this message turns out to be the wisdom and power of the living God and the preaching of this message turns out to be the wise and powerful way the Creator and Redeemer changes his world.
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