The following review was originally published in the Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society.

Several months ago I enjoyed a lunch with Paul Scott Wilson. We spent a good deal of our time discussing his work on proclamation in preaching. It was with delight, then, that I found that his thoughts had found their way into print.

Wilson, professor of homiletics at Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto, is concerned that preaching offer more than mere instruction. “Solid teaching is essential in every sermon,” he says (1). But teaching does not describe “the full range that may be needed for proclamation.” “Teaching provides information that listeners can use to shape their thoughts and actions. Teaching gives people ways to think about the faith, God, and daily life (1).”

Proclamation, on the other hand, can include teaching, but it goes further. “Proclamation,” Wilson says, “is an impassioned utterance that introduces people to God, makes faith a possibility, and allows them to be shaped by God’s Word (1).”

Given these definitions, some might wonder how biblical preaching could describe anything other than what Wilson calls proclamation. I have long held, for example, that a good working definition of preaching itself is “helping people hear from God.” That phrase could stand as short-hand for Wilson’s “proclamation.” Yet even I would have to admit that there are many who pass off preaching that is little more than instruction. Yet is this really preaching? While it is possible to conceive of proclamation without propositional teaching, it seems foolish to imagine preaching that neglects a sense of proclamation.

While proclamation is the broad them of Wilson’s book, it would be unfair to characterize the book in such narrow terms. In fact, the book offers an overview of the entire preaching process, richly defined by research into the literature of theology and homiletics, and by a great many examples, some of which are offered in audio form in a CD bundled with the book.

The first section of the book describes how we might “become better teachers. The second section looks specifically about the nature of the gospel, a key feature of most of Wilson’s work. The third section of the book helps the preacher think about how to “become better proclaimers.” The fourth section offers a look at several troublesome themes and genre with respect to proclamation (condemnation, lament, stern exhortation). Finally, Wilson offers chapters on more hopeful genres for proclamation (testimony, prayer, exhortation, doxology…). All in all, this is a handy follow-up to Wilson’s The Practice of Preaching and The Four Pages of the Sermon.

As I read the book, it became clear that Wilson was not writing for card-carrying evangelicals. An evangelical himself, Wilson works within a denomination and college that is coming from a different set of presuppositions than would most readers of JEHS. Many of the sources cited will be unfamiliar to those coming from a more traditionally evangelical background. Such readers will profit from the exposure to some of these voices. Wilson’s description of the New Homiletic will be particularly helpful to those less familiar with that homiletic history.

Preaching must proclaim. That God still speaks is the reason that we preach. Wilson’s affirmation of this core sense of the sermon is welcomed by us all.

I really enjoyed Rob Bell’s recent comments on preaching in Leadership, Tying the Clouds Together.

Bell has a compelling way of looking at the world. I’ve appreciated that in his willingness to engage truth as it is found in the world, he is careful not to neglect the truth that is found in the text. Few of us are as creative as Bell, but most of us could learn to see the world to greater effect. A God’s eye-perspective on the seemingly commonplace elements of life can make for more compelling preaching. As Bell says…

“A lot of pastors were trained to read the verse and then read the commentaries. But after a while the two are just talking to each other. One’s focus can actually become smaller and smaller until everything is funneled into the particular text. The movement then becomes in rather than out. So it’s Tuesday afternoon and a pastor is sitting in the office reading James 2 and four or five commentaries hoping to find that little nugget. When all the while there’s a huge world of insight and implication and ideas out there.”

“Rather than shrinking our vision, the text should become a pair of eyes with which we are able to see even more. There’s a great big world out there with quantum physics, and architecture, and economic theory, and the thread count of clothing, and the fact that refrigerators in Europe are smaller—all of these seemingly random events and occurrences and happenings are all connected and help us see how this really is God’s world.”

Lifeway Research recently asked more than 1,000 protestant pastors to “name the top three living Christian preachers that most influence you.” Number one on the list? Billy Graham, and who can argue with that? Graham has personally preached the gospel to more than 200 million people in 185 lands and, at 91, still believes that his purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Top ten influencers…

1. Billy Graham
2. Charles Swindoll
3. Charles Stanley
4. Rick Warren
5. John MacArthur
6. Barbara Brown Taylor
7. David Jeremiah
8. Max Lucado
9. John Piper
10. Andy Stanley

This list is a little surprising according to Lifeway director of research, Ed Stetzer: “Considering our sample includes liberal and conservative, all races and ethnicities, mainline and evangelical, we were surprised that the list looked like mainstream Christian radio and publishing and was not more representative.”

What the list does suggest is the power of media as almost all of these have media ministries that broaden the reach of their preaching. Secondly, it is encouraging to note that almost everyone on this list are known as biblical preachers.

“Studies like these can help us see who is shaping the thinking of Protestant pastors today,” said Stetzer. “Since survey participants are not picking from a predetermined list, the people named must be widely known. Knowing who is shaping Protestant thinking shows us what type of direction to expect fromt he nation’s pastors.”

Here in my home city of Vancouver, we are excited about the opportunity we have to host the Winter Olympics. As I write this, the opening ceremonies will begin in less than an hour. Tomorrow my wife and I will have the privilege of attending the Men’s Downhill race held at nearby Whistler. It is exciting to have the attention of the world focus on our home city. While there are more important issues in the world than a series of games, when sport can encourage a spirit of peace and goodwill, it is a worthy thing.

I’m excited about the ministries of More Than Gold, a ministry which intends to bring “radical hospitality” to Olympic visitors in the name of Christ. More than Gold have been “inside the ropes” at every Olympics since Munich. Thousands of Christians and churches are volunteering to bring Jesus’ love to the Olympics.

While I am a proud Canadian, I understand that my primary citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). I know that the events that are about to play out are a pale comparison to the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural eternal celebration that will one day bring together all those who are in Christ.

But for now, I celebrate those who pursue excellence. I celebrate the coming together of people of good cheer. And I pray that more and more people would realize that the source of these ideals is the mind and heart of their creator God who came to offer peace on earth, goodwill to men and women through the person and work of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Preaching is leadership. The preacher not only is a leader by position, but by practice as he or she works to move people to new levels of appreciation for and obedience to the truths of God’s Word. However, this is leadership from among the people more than it is leadership from the front.

The traditional practice of elevating the preacher to the front of the building sometimes has the unfortunate effect of convincing the preacher that the people are following him. In truth, preaching is what God does. The human preacher is simply the instrument that God uses to lead people to hear what he is saying. The preacher is only privileged by the fact that he or she has had the advantage of a head start. He or she is every bit as accountable to the message as are the listeners to whom he or she speaks.

I was talking with one of my students about this recently who suggested Moses as an example of this principle. Moses was a heroic leader for God’s people, but Moses lived in the wilderness too. He was not somehow separated from or exalted apart from the rest of the people. In fact, Moses himself did not realize the eventual reward that he had long promised by his preaching. For forty years, Moses lived in the desert, living among the people and experiencing their daily challenges. Moses privilege was simply that he had heard from God before the others. It was, then, his responsibility to share what he heard with all the others, and to make sure that he himself was living faithfully by what God said.

It’s common in the business literature to talk about “leading from the middle.” This humbler approach is well suited to the preacher. Our position does not privilege us over the rest of God’s people. The preacher as a leader is God’ servant for the people.