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 PrintableVersion The priority of preachingPreach it, brother!THE PRIORITY OF PREACHING I love this book! Based on three addresses at the 2008 Evangelical Ministry Assembly, The Priority of Preaching makes the case that expository Bible ministry is God’s way of sustaining and renewing his covenant people, and always has been. Christopher Ash demonstrates from the book of Deuteronomy the authority of the preached word, which both transforms the church and mends a broken world. For a book so short, The Priority of Preaching is packed full of wisdom and insight, making it an incredibly stimulating read, and on occasion, very slightly provocative. In an age of multiculturalism and rising illiteracy that many of us have hardly begun to interact with, Ash argues that preaching is culturally neutral: ‘Every culture knows what it is to sit and listen to an authoritative human being speak. You don’t need to be literate to do that. You don’t need to be educated to do that. You don’t need to be fluent or confident in debate to do that. … Preaching in its essence is an authorised human being speaking the words of God to listening human beings; and every culture understands that’ (pp.27-28). Perhaps conservative evangelicals have too long relied on small group Bible study driven ministry and ended up unwittingly creating ‘monocultural’ churches. Ash suggests that application in preaching should take the form of ‘silent dialogue’, which not only ‘expounds the covenant [but] engages the people’ (p.54). This, of course, entails a deep knowledge of them, which in turn raises the question of church size: ‘There are obvious reasons why we may prefer large churches; but it is more relational to preach to a church small enough for you to know its members, and for them to know you’ (p.57). Would-be ministers are encouraged to preach the word and not merely teach the Bible. There is to be urgency, clarity and passion (what about the suggestion of doing it without notes?!) as we impress on people the need to ‘choose life’ (Deuteronomy 30.19). How thrilling it is that the author is responsible for training scores of students to do just that as Director of the Cornhill Training Course! The book is soaked in scriptural analysis, replete with illustrations taken from throughout church history (Owen, Baxter, Calvin, Luther) and across Free Church and Anglican influences (Is he of Lloyd-Jones? Is he of Stott?), and includes a super little appendix on the Seven Blessings of Consecutive Expository Ministry. I can’t recommend The Priority of Preaching highly enough for pastors, elders and those training for word ministry. Dave Gobbett, © Evangelicals Now - July 2010 |
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