Reflection on “I Believe in Preaching”

By JSCARSON

Seth Wright is a first year ministry student at Union College. As part of an assignment for a class in Homiletics he was asked to read a book on preaching and then identify key lessons he learned from it for his preaching ministry. Seth chose John Stott’s book, “I Believe in Preaching”. This is his reflection.

In I Believe in Preaching, John Stott makes a case in favour of contemporary preaching. As he does so, he gives the theological and historical basis for preaching before describing the content, methods, and virtues that produce good preaching. I found the entire book useful in its clarity and insight: Stott has the rare gift of making a reader think, “That’s so true! How did I never think of that before?” Reading I Believe in Preaching has given me a much firmer grasp on why preaching is important, what it’s meant to do, and what makes preaching good. Whilst I could discuss several ways in which Stott’s work has sharpened my thinking, I’ll focus here on the chapter entitled “The Call to Study.”

My reflections begin with a brief history of my relationship with preaching. In short, the preaching …read more

Read the full article here: http://www.spiritofunion.org/reflection-believe-preaching/


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