How can you not love Tim Keller? As founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, cultural analyst and uber-effective evangelist to Manhattan's "up and outers," and author of The Reason for God, Generous Justice, and Center Church, Keller has inspired legions of us pastors and teachers. Now, after 40 years in the pulpit, he's written Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Viking, 2015).
The book is laid out in three sections, beginning with the biblical foundation, "Serving the Word." Keller covers the ins and outs of Spirit-empowered and contextualized expository preaching. The 309-page book also includes an appendix on "Writing an Expository Message" and 69 pages of endnotes, some of which are mini-chapters on various aspects of preaching.
What is good preaching? In a prologue, Keller suggests the difference between good preaching and bad preaching most often lies in the pastor's work ethic. Good preachers spend the necessary time studying the text and crafting their sermons while bad preaching usually reflects a lack of such effort. Keller then makes the crucial distinction between good preaching and great preaching.
In his view (and I agree) great preaching is simply that which has been specially anointed by the Holy Spirit, which he illustrates from some of the best preachers in church history. We must do our best to become good preachers, but only God makes great ones. This is a lesson that all would-be Andy Stanleys, Matt Chandlers, and Tim Kellers should take to heart.
It's his second section, however, "Reaching the People," where Keller's genius shines brightest. He demonstrates how to adapt to specific cultural contexts with the good news. He understands the skepticism of late modernity and provides guidelines on how to connect Christ to those deeply influenced by its values. Keller's insights here left me intellectually challenged and inspired.
Section three is only one chapter, "Preaching and the Spirit." Keller's point is that preachers need to be people of godly character. Here he goes beyond the obvious to critically analyze the celebrity-orientation of our evangelical sub-culture:
"Gifts will usually be mistaken for spiritual maturity, not just by the audience but even by the speaker. If people are eager to hear you, you take this as evidence that God is pleased with your level of intimacy with him, when he may not be at all ….. No civilized society has put more emphasis on results, skills, and charisma, or less emphasis on character, reflection, and depth. This is a major reason so many successful ministers have a moral failure. Their prodigious gifts have masked the lack of grace operations [or fruit] at work in their lives."
So, given the innumerable strengths of this book, what's not to like? Two concerns. The first involves the book's emphasis on Christ-centered preaching ("Preaching Christ From All of Scripture"). I struggle with the claim that Christ can (honestly) be found in every passage of Scripture (e.g. Ecclesiastes).
My other concern revolves around Keller's critique of "Big Idea Expository Preaching." He makes some valid points, one of which is that not all biblical texts clearly communicate one main idea. I whole-heartedly agree that the Bible resists reductionistic approaches. Yet I still champion Big Idea expository preaching.
Why? First, building a sermon on one idea rooted in the biblical author's intent forces us to structure sermons in a way that resists either 'textual drift' or giving too many unrelated points that confuse or overwhelm the hearers. Second, studies indicate that most listeners take away only one concept from a presentation or sermon.
Do these concerns mitigate my overall enthusiasm for Preaching? Not at all! I am deeply grateful to Dr. Keller for his wisdom, guidance, and godly example, which motivate me to be a better preacher and more faithful follower of Jesus.
Scott Wenig is professor of applied theology and Haddon Robinson Chair of Biblical Preaching at Denver Seminary.
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