Skip to main content

Preaching by Ear: Speaking God's Truth from the Inside Out





Preaching by Ear: Speaking God’s Truth from the Inside Out by Dave McClellan with Karen McClellan

Pastor Dave McClellan offers his readers a trip through oral preaching in his new book Preaching by the Ear.  No, oral preaching is not preaching without notes but, “speaking from personally held, deep convictions in a way that enables our words to unfold in the moment by considering the actual people present with us.  We are well-prepared, but we’re not certain exactly how it will come out of our mouths” (5).  This type of preaching is risky business indeed, but it offers the preacher and audience an opportunity to hear a less contrived and more vulnerable message.

One of the fascinating points Dave makes at the beginning of the book concerns eloquence.  He writes, “A good preacher, he said, (referring to Augustine), will not be consumed with looking eloquent or sounding eloquent.  The good preacher is consumed with the truth of the message, which fuels a sort of unschooled or natural eloquence that is self-forgetful” (14-15).  In other words, the preacher doesn’t aim for eloquence but this comes as a by-product of him being immersed in the message, not by seeking to structure a message just right.  Seeking to be eloquent out of self-interest limits the opportunity for the preacher to be vulnerable and come to the same page as the audience.  Dave admits that we will never completely rid ourselves of self-interest but being aware of doing a good thing with a bad motive is part of the first step.

Dave also shapes his thinking on oral preaching around the ministry of Jesus.  After surveying Jesus’ itinerant ministry, Dave writes, “Jesus envisioned their ministry as oral (the disciples).  He advocated not an unbridled, purely expressive orality, but one dependent upon divine guidance, even the guidance of the promised Spirit who will “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13)” (79).  The disciples were never commissioned or sent off to write all their messages down but to speak words of blessing, greeting, judgment, and God’s loving character in Jesus Christ.  This divine guidance given by the Holy Spirit elicited times of orally proclaiming stories that spoke of God’s character but also times where more pointed didactic lessons were in view (Acts 17 is one example).  Paul, for one, studied hard to understand both Greek and Jewish culture, but also spoke unscripted as well.

Overall, this book was a challenge to read because I am so drawn to my sermon manuscript at times that I lose connection with the people.  With the right dose of wisdom, Dave makes a compelling case for oral preaching.

Thanks to Weaver Book Company and Cross Focused Reviews for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

God's Grace for All of Life

The Romance of Grace by Jim McNeely III To be honest, when I received this book in the mail I had visions of what it might be like with a title like, ‘The Romance of Grace.’  The emotional rollercoaster and one-sided perspective on how our emotions fuel our faith was my presumption about the book, but this was the furthest thing from the truth as I started reading.  The Romance of Grace by Pastor Jim McNeely III is a careful look at the movements of grace in the way God pursues us with his love and his desire to get us to love him back.  McNeely writes, “We are entering a cosmic romance with a passionate lover, and He is interested in our heart’s truest desire.  His deepest objective isn’t to make us more moral; it is to get us to love Him back.  Virtue is the fruit, not the root” (18).  Why is this helpful?  For one thing, beginning with God’s initiating grace frees us from starting out on the wrong foot in the way we tell the story and...
2 comments
Read more