The preaching of the gospel is a two-sided coin. On one side there is the grave responsibility of faithfully preaching the “whole counsel of God” correctly, contextually, and free of any personal agenda. On the other side of the coin there is the challenge of not coming off as a used car salesman who is trying to simply move inventory. Every time a preacher stands behind a pulpit and delivers a sermon that he believes God has given him he, in essence, wrestles with this tension. At the very core of this tension is the purpose of preaching. What is the purpose of preaching? Is the purpose to simply dispense information? If this is true, churches would be better served to hire a professor to lecture or give the congregants a list of suggested reading. Is the purpose of preaching life transformation? If this is true (I believe it is), then sermons that are delivered must ask the listeners to do something, positively or negatively, with what they have heard. This is clearly the biblical example. The Old Testament prophets of God and the New Testament apostles/preachers, upon delivering God’s message, asked their audience, whether individuals or nations, to respond to the message. In his new book, Persuasive Preaching: A Biblical and Practical Guide to the Effective Use of Persuasion, pastor and professor R. Larry Overstreet takes the position that biblical preaching must bring, even guide the listener to/toward a decision. He goes one step farther by arguing in favor of public invitations in church services.

I was skeptical when I first read the title of this book. Immediately I put on the defensive thinking that it is not my job as a pastor to persuade anyone. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in preaching. To me, persuasion was too close to manipulation for me to be comfortable. As I read the book I began to understand that Overstreet’s premise is not the support of the manipulation of people to do something through preaching. His premise is a call for a return of persuasive preaching as a means of positive change in the lives of the listeners. Overstreet’s book has four main topics. They are: Identify the Issues Facing Persuasive Preaching; What is the Biblical Basis of Persuasive Preaching; How to Structure Persuasive Messages; and How to Apply Persuasion.

In Part One Overstreet sets forth what he believes are the seven purposes of persuasive preaching. Here he stresses the importance of being transformed to the image of Christ. He also lists the barriers that persuasive preaching run into. In Part Two Overstreet meticulously shines a light on biblical preaching by examining the use of persuasion throughout the New Testament. Highlighting the Greek word for persuasion, peitho (πείθω) Overstreet shows that persuasion is about convincing people toward some action and not only accumulating head knowledge. He highlights the apostle Paul’s preaching theology and how he employed the three most commonly used modes of persuasion: logos (logical appeal), ethos (how well the presenter convinces his/her audience of their qualification to speak on a subject), and pathos (emotional appeal). The author also highlights the Old Testament example in the prophets persuading the hearers to return to and follow God above anyone else. Part Three provides the scaffolding for persuasive preaching. Overstreet speaks on the topics of problem-solving, attention, and motivation. Part Four is the “how to” part of the book and concludes topics such as the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching, eight ways to distinguish persuasion from manipulation, and public invitations. In today’s churches, most often seen in those of the Reformed Theology persuasion, are moving away from the public invitation. Overstreet deals with this unbiblical position by giving biblical support for the public invitation and gives his readers advice on how to craft the invitation. He unpacks these pointers: Be Sensitive to Length, Be Clear in Appeal, Be Exact in Action, Be Loving in Presentation, Be Consistent with Message, be Positive in Expectation, and Be Earnest in Delivery. Also included are the liabilities that accompany the public invitation.

Persuasive Preaching: A Biblical and Practical Guide to the Effective Use of Persuasion is a great book. Overstreet does a superb job of reminding us that moving people toward action/change is the true purpose of biblical preaching. This book is well written and heavily documented/footnoted. This is not a book that you can simply pick and expect to do a quick read of. It reads more like a textbook. I believe that all pastors, regardless of the congregation size, will benefit from Overstreet’s work. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Cross Focused Reviews as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

As a pastor, the ministry to which the bulk of my time is devoted is the preaching/teaching ministry. My goal is to share a God’s Word in a relevant and interesting way. However, this is not my only ministry. With time being so valuable, it is important to have good resources in place to aid in the research, preparation, and delivery of a sermon. I am always on the look-out for inspiration and help that would allow me to better do what I have been called to do. One such resource is Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook, Volume 3, edited by Dr. O.S. Hawkins, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and President of Guidestone Financial Resources. Dr. Hawkins pulls together outlines, examples, and advice from many of today’s well-known preachers, seminary professors/presidents, and Bible scholars in a beautiful collaborative work. Contributors to the book are:

Daniel L. Aiken, President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mark L. Bailey, President and Professor of Biblical Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary
Matt Carter, Pastor of Preaching and Vision, Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, TX
Steve Dighton, Senior Pastor, Lenexa Baptist Church in Lenexa, KS
David Epstein, Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, New York, NY
JD Greear, PhD, Lead Pastor, The Summit Church
Jeff Iorg, President, Golden Gate Seminary, Mill Valley, CA
James MacDonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, IL
Adrian Rogers, Pastor Emeritus, Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN
K. Marshall Williams, Pastor, Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA
Jim Henry, Pastor Emeritus at First Baptist Church, Orlando, FL

I was hesitant to pick up this book. Because it contains sermon outlines, I was not sure what kind of message it may send. Dr. Hawkins states in the beginning how this book should be used. He writes, “It is not designed as an ‘easy fix’ for late Saturday night sermon preparation. Rather, it is a sourcebook designed to lay alongside all your other tools of word studies, exegesis, commentaries, prayer and analytical thought that goes into a fully developed and crafted sermon.” This sourcebook also contains a DVD with all the notes and outlines that are printed inside. Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook is about 600 pages long and contains far more material than can be used in a single year. At the end of the book, Dr. Hawkins has included sample forms and suggested further reading in the form of essays. As he does every year, Dr. Hawkins has put out a great work that will be asset to preacher and other ministry leaders. A word of caution is due here. At one time in my life, I worked for a construction contractor. He had one simple rule which he was passionate about. His rule was that tools were to be used for their intended purpose only. Those who utilize this book should take great care that is serves as a means of inspiration and does not become a liability which brings reproach upon the preacher or the church which he serves. Great work. I will be looking forward to volume four.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I am a pastor. I am a preacher. I know what it is like to stand before a congregation every week and deliver a message that is timely, biblical, and interesting. I understand what it is like to struggle with a text all week wondering how it will all come together. I know what it is like to go through the post-sermon ritual of the preaching version of 20 Questions. “How did it sound?” “Was I faithful to the text?” “Was it too long?” “Did I talk too fast?” “Did I give an avenue for application?” I just finished a book entitled, “Saving Eutychus; How to Preach God’s Word and Keep People Awake” by pastors Gary Millar and Phil Campbell. This very clever title comes from the biblical account of Acts 20 as a young man names Eutychus fell asleep while Paul was preaching and fell out of a window. The premise of Millar and Campbell’s book is the prevention of such an episode in the modern church today.

Calling on their years of preaching experience, the authors set out to reveal the traps, pitfalls, and errors that lead to boring and dull preaching. Millar and Campbell write about the importance of prayer’s role in effective and stimulating preaching. The authors also do a great job of stressing the need to preach to the heart of people for real change instead of merely preaching a form of holy manipulation. Chapter three, four, and five are the best in the book. Here the authors deal with the importance of being clear in your presentation and taking into account the attention span of the listener. Millar and Campbell offer a very helpful top ten list of steps to becoming clearer in your presentation. They also stress the importance of allowing the sermon to be wrapped around a main “big” idea. They write, “It’s easier for your listener to catch a baseball than a handful of sand.” The chapter dealing with preaching the gospel from the Old Testament is well written and enlightening. The authors provide methods to better understand Old Testament contexts, audiences, and nuances so that a clear picture of Jesus Christ can be painted. Millar and Campbell wrap up with the importance of and real need for feedback and critique of the sermon. They provide sample critiques of each other’s sermons as a teaching point.

Saving Eutychus is a great work. It is simple, yet profound. It is deep without reading like a seminary textbook. It is honest, humorous, refreshing, and convicting all at the same time. I know as a pastor/preacher I am always searching for that which will help me fulfill my calling. I am taking away a great deal from this book. Their points dealing with preparation, tone, pitch, and length were what I needed. I would recommend this book to all of my pastor/preacher friends. Saving Eutychus brings a great awareness and insight to our calling.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Cross Focused Reviews as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”