This book was a real treat for me. I have been a full time preacher for just over a year and a half. I was a youth pastor before that for 12 years, and enjoyed the opportunities to teach and the occasional opportunity to preach in the pulpit of my friend and mentor, the late great Brad Quick. Previous to that, I had the great privilege of filling the pulpit as part of the Faith Baptist Bible College pulpit supply list for one summer. I must thank Dr. Bob Domokos for urging me to preach as much as I could in my developmental years. (I also should probably apologize to those churches, while also thanking them for putting up with a young preacher for a Sunday of services...at least the food was good, I still LOVE potlucks!)I sat under the faithful preaching of the Word of God by my father. He preached the Word verse by verse. Second, I sat under the preaching of Norm Hoag, a great preacher of the Word as well. Finally, I was able to sit under the preaching of Brad Quick. God allowed me to be under three great men of God who preached the Word. Expository preachers, whom even though they wouldn't necessarily be accused of setting any pulpits on fire, they brought the heat through the text. In each case, the preaching took a bit of getting used to, because you have to be willing to listen.
In light of God all, when God called me to pastor the church I am currently in, I knew it was time to reintroduce myself to good books on preaching. These books generally fall into two categories. One category is on the passion side; being spiritually charged and right with God. Great reminders. The other side would be the specifics of preaching. The Science of Hermeneutics; finding what the text says to the original audience, then pulling that into today, and what it is speaking to the modern audience. Looking with a literal, historical, grammatical eye, and communicating the Word. In a sense, these two types of books cover what preaching is. It is a science, and an art.
This book by Lawson, however, was a whole different thing. What I love about this book, is how it just walks through how Calvin preached. (which by the way, was very different from his commentaries and Institutes) This book reveals the commitment to the Word by Calvin. Short intros, verse by verse, not too many illustrations, comparing scripture to scripture, a little bite against the current Catholicism of his day, encouragement in the the power of Christ, and others.
The chapters cover how he studied, how he communicated (for the 'common man'), what he brought to the pulpit, how he did introductions, the body, illustrations, applications, and conclusions. I loved it. In light of the styles of preaching surrounding Calvin at the time, it appeared to me that Calvin was very easy to listen to compared to the 'read the message' style of many others. He used language for all, he reexplained Scripture in what was almost the 'Calvin' version of the verse. Basically, his people walked away KNOWING scripture.
My mentor Brad Quick once told me tat good preaching consisted of a member of the congregation looking at the text and saying things such as, "I see that," "I never saw that before," "Now I understand," and "Now I see." It appears to me based on this book that that is also how Calvin preached. To help the recipient of the preaching understand the text.
This book was well written, and well researched. I went out and splurged on another few Steven Lawson books.
I am back to reading for MY growth, and not just for school; thus, the uptick in reviews. (for whoever, if anybody is reading these.
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