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In Christianity Today's interviews with Robinson and other preaching experts, the two ideas that kept surfacing again and again regarding the function of preaching were "relevance" and "revelation"—that is, speaking to people and hearing from God. These two themes represent the perennial tension faced by evangelical preachers: How do you proclaim the Word of God in such a way that you address the immediate concerns of people's lives? For a growing number of preachers, the answer seems to lie in a revival of expository preaching.

There have been many theories and debates about what makes good biblical preaching. In recent years, the issue has manifested itself as a clash between different homiletical approaches. Fundamentalists and many Reformed Christians decry the experience-centered, topical style of some mainstream evangelicals and exhort us to "preach the Bible" only. Gen-X or postmodern churches sing the praise of narrative and story. Leaders from large seeker churches remind us that today's unchurched people approach everything with a consumerist mentality and that we must "market" our message accordingly.

These disagreements in opinion and approach are old news. What's refreshing is how a diverse movement of preachers and churches is laying aside their superficial differences and committing themselves to a philosophy of preaching that, while unquestionably grounded in the Bible, is free to take on many shapes and forms in its practice and execution.

"I think there is an increasing emphasis on biblical preaching," says Brian Larson, editor of the Preaching Today audio series and PreachingToday.com (both produced by Christianity Today International). "I think it's spreading to groups in the church that would not have been very sensitive to it before."

It can be seen, says Larson, in the ministries of megachurch pastors like Rick Warren of Saddleback Valley Community Church in Southern California and John Ortberg at Willow Creek in Chicago. "I see them maturing in their use of how-to preaching and seeker-driven preaching and moving toward a willingness to do expository series in tandem with the topical stuff."

The shift can also be seen in the top preaching books of the day. Australian pastor Graham Johnston's Preaching to a Postmodern World (Baker), for example, has won acclaim (including Preaching magazine's 2001 Book of the Year honor) for its clear treatise on delivering Bible-centered sermons to audiences enchanted by relativistic thinking.

Larson says this new focus on expository preaching was not an overnight phenomenon. "It's spreading now because we've had strong leaders who have argued for it for a long time—guys like Haddon Robinson, Warren Wiersbe, and John MacArthur."

Another important name to add to that list is E. K. Bailey. Bailey, 56, is the senior pastor of Concord Missionary Baptist Church, a large African American congregation on the southern edge of Dallas. A large and well-liked man who is currently recovering from nasal cancer, Bailey became a national name in the late 1980s after he founded E. K. Bailey Ministries, which helps black pastors and lay leaders revitalize their churches through conferences and seminars.

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April 1 2002, Vol. 46, No. 4