May 6, 2012 | Leave a comment In The 12 Essential Skills For Great Preaching 1 Wayne McDill brings the strength of thirty five years of pastoral experience to bear on the task of preparing to deliver sermons from the biblical texts. Currently serving as a professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, he has also written Evangelism in a Tangled World, Becoming Who You Are, Making Friends for Christ, and The Message. McDill believes that “preachers can significantly improve their preaching by strengthening twelve specific skills used in the preparation of sermons” (2). McDill does not accept that effective preaching is an endeavor which only the most gifted can pursue. Rather, he believes that “anyone can learn the methods used in the preparation of good sermons” (13). McDill does not often use the term expository preaching preferring instead to discuss biblical preaching; however, it is clear by his definition that expository preaching is what he has in mind. He defines biblical sermons as those “in which the text shapes the sermon. The purpose, the theme, the structure, and the development of the sermon are to reflect the text” (14). Unlike many preaching texts this book seeks to deal with this single approach to preaching alone. Following the introductory chapter, McDill works out his thesis through twelve chapters that each develop one of the skills for great preaching. Each chapter contains exercises which are designed for self study so that the reader can improve this skill in preaching on his own. The books seems to be directed toward the beginning preacher or the bi-vocational preacher who desires to engage in a directed self study. The first three chapters deal with the skills necessary for inductive Bible study. McDill posits that “a growing number of preachers are finding that the best approach to their text study is inductive” (21). The first skill necessary for inductive study of the text is learning to see the structural relationship within the text. In order to accomplish this skill, McDill introduces the reader to an exercise in developing structural diagrams. His approach rests on the assumption that main points will be those with the most supporting ideas. He also discusses the importance of discerning the connectives used by the author in assisting to determine his original intention. In the next two chapters McDill provides guidelines for making observations about the text and asking the questions of the text which assist in discovering the meaning of the author. The next three chapters explain how one should contextualize the ideas of the biblical text and place them into the contemporary world of the audience. McDill suggests the best way to determine the idea being put forward in a biblical text is to ask and answer the question, “What is the writer talking about?” (89), and that one should seek to obtain a one-word answer. This subject should then be limited by identifying how the biblical writer limits the scope of the subject within the text itself. According to McDill, this exercise will assist one in clarifying his thinking so that he will not become guilty of “the great fault of preaching is fuzzy thinking” (94). McDill realizes that the biblical text must be understood on an emotional and personal level. He offers that, by identifying the symptoms, assumptions, consequences and feelings of those in need of the text’s message, one can apply the biblical truths to the congregation. McDill concludes this section by leading the reader across the application bridge. He assists the reader in developing the textual and sermon ideas and relating these to the audience by means of an interrogative that is answered by means of the predicates which will serve as the divisions of the sermon. The next two chapters are concerned with properly organizing one’s thought for the sermon. McDill offers an exercise for clarifying the transition statements which will serve to bind the sermon together while also moving its argument along. McDill suggests that the form of the sermon should consider the text’s form but not necessarily be constrained by it. Instead he suggests that Alan Monroe’s motivated sequence outline be used as a template for insuring the communication value of sermons. The next three chapters deal with finishing the sermon so that its thought will be easily understood by the audience. McDill proposes that each division of the sermon undergo careful development of its “explanation, illustration, argumentation, and application” (197), and that natural analogies be brought out that will enable the listener to understand that the truth of Scripture is like some particular from his own life experience which he both understands and to which he can relate. This section is closed with a discussion of how the preacher can use figurative language and stories to drive his point home in the heart of his audience. The last chapter reminds the preacher that he is preaching for the purpose of eliciting a faith response from the listener. Particularly helpful in this chapter is McDill’s reminder that the preacher must not use words like ought or should, but must boldly proclaim, “Because of all we have said about God, ‘You can’” (255). The entire process will fail if the preacher faithfully prepares the sermon but does not seek to cause those who listen to him to be convinced of the rightness of God’s cause and the need of everyone to place their own lives before Him. The principle strength of this book is the practical step-by-step approach employed by McDill. He does not loose his reader in discussion of Greek tenses or hermeneutical minutia but instead supplies a simple, clear approach to preaching. For example, his discussion of the distinction between biblical hermeneutics and other interpretative exercises is wonderfully simple. He states that three reasons that distinguish biblical interpretation from that of other things are: “the Bible is old . . .the Bible is fixed and stable as a written document . . . [and] the Bible . . . is about God and his dealings with mankind” (60-61). Another strength is the clarity with which McDill presents his discussion of the textual and sermon ideas. His treatment is simple and effective. He shows his reader how to bridge the gap between the author’s intended meaning and the sermon idea by way of an example based on the story of the fall of man in the garden of Eden (126). In this example he shows how other Scripture can be used to limit the author’s idea and that the goal of the sermon is to present the timeless principle to a contemporary audience. A weakness is the false distinction which McDill raises between inductive and deductive study. His claim is that those who practice deductive study bring their own or another’s ideas to the text while those who study the text inductively are guilty of bringing presuppositions to the text. He states, “If [one] examines the text inductively . . . [one] suspends [one’s] own conclusions to let it speak, opening the way for the Spirit to disclose its meaning” (24). This is an overstatement of his argument because the inductive method cannot in and of itself prevent one from bringing presuppositions to the text, nor can it be stated that the deductive method necessitates one bring presuppositions to the text. Taken to its extreme this line of reasoning could be used to justify all manner of eiseigesis. Many well-meaning Christians read the texts of Scripture and, waiting for the Spirit to tell them what it means, are lead astray by false teaching. J. I. Packer points out that one danger of inductive study is “that [it] tells you to ‘observe’ without giving you any theological orientation to help you do it.” Another weakness is McDill’s incorrect assumption that delivery of the sermon is not a “critical factor in what we recognize as great preaching” (10). Many well-reasoned, clear arguments have been lost by the lack of pathos of the speaker. Preaching involves persuasion, and if one will be successful in causing his audience to accept his position, one must prepare and concentrate both on the logic of his argument and on the methods of the delivery of his argument. Yet another weakness is McDill’s proposition that Alan Monroe’s motivated sequence be utilized as the rubric through which all sermon forms must pass. While McDill’s premise is sound in preaching from didactic texts and communicating truths to an audience, he has not engaged those who propose a narrative style of preaching. To be fair, however, to engage the narrative preaching movement would be beyond the stated scope of this book (15). The simple but thorough process described by McDill will assist anyone who reads this text. In particular, this book would be excellent for bi-vocational preachers who will be unable to attend seminary or for those whose preaching has become dull and lifeless. With so many books on preaching being written as surveys of various sermonic forms McDill has performed a service for those who seek to learn how to simply write a clear and effective sermon. End Notes 1. Mcdill Wayne, The 12 Essential Skills For Great Preaching. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.