Saving Eutychus: How to Preach God's Word and Keep People Awake

by J. Gary Millar, Phil Campbell

Poor Eutychus might have tumbled off his perch in Acts 20, but it's humbling to notice that what took Paul many hours of preaching to achieve—near-fatal napping in one of his listeners—takes most preachers only a few minutes on a Sunday.

Saving Eutychus will help you save your listeners from such a fate. Written by an Aussie and an Irishman with very different styles who share a passion for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Saving Eutychus delivers fresh, honest, faithful and practical insights into preaching the whole word of God, sunday by Sunday, in an engaging way. This book is a practical distillation of decades of thinking, writing, preaching, failing, humbly praying and seeing God at work, and is an invaluable tool for honing your own gifts to become the best preacher you can be.

Includes sermons and mutual critique from each author, a sermon critique sheet, and practical tips and helpful diagrams.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Theology, Christianity, School, Teaching, Leadership

172 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Gary has been the Principal of Queensland Theological College in Brisbane, Australia since the start of 2012. After studying chemistry in his home city of Belfast, Gary moved to Aberdeen in Scotland to study theology, before completing a D.Phil at Oxford on Deuteronomy. Gary worked as a pastor for the next 17 years in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and was involved in both church revitalization and church planting, before moving to Brisbane to lead the team at QTC.

Gary travels widely throughout Australia and beyond, seeking to encourage local churches. He is also the co-founder and Chair of The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Reviews

[Brian Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, easy read with good reminders about preaching.

Millar and Campbell cover the importance of prayer (ch. 1), the nature of expository preaching (ch. 2), the need for clarity (ch. 3), what is the big idea (ch. 4), biblical theology (preaching Christ, ch. 5), delivery (ch. 6), and feedback (ch. 7). They conclude with examples and feedback from both authors.

The most helpful part for me was how to preach from a biblical theological perspective without falling into a rut each week. Millar provides 9 helpful ways to move the sermon toward Christ (pp. 93-99).

[Joe Cassada · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's title includes the byline "How to preach God's Word and keep people awake." At the risk of sounding arrogant I will say that I don't struggle with either. But I know many preacher's do. If you are one of those preachers that know that your preaching has a tendency to lull the sheep instead of feeding them, then I recommend this book.

It's a good book. Not a great one. I liked it and found some helpful suggestions. However, the main premise of the book was that preaching from a sermon manuscript (not an outline) was the best way to improve one's preaching. Now, the authors do a good job explaining how to preach from a script instead of a skeletal outline, but there is no way I could do that. I prefer to do a mixture of extemporaneous preaching from an outline and using some word-for-word scripted sentences when a difficult or confusing subject requires precision.

So for those preachers who struggle with keeping their people awake: read this book. But honestly, if you're a new preacher and would like to learn how to preach well, I suggest you teach an elementary age Sunday school class for boys. Do this for a couple years. If you can learn to keep them interested, then you will come close to mastering the fundamental basics of homiletics.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though Millar and Campbell belong to a school of preaching that is more conversational than I am used to, I still appreciated this book very much. There are gems here for anyone who cares about getting through.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I am not a preacher, I do like to share my faith and God's word in a meaningful way that will encourage others to desire a relationship with Jesus Christ. How do we do that? Do I have to go to seminary school? Do I even have to be a gifted speaker/teacher? Even though this book is designed for preachers, I received some sound encouragement from this study. What entails good preaching and how preaching can change the heart. It does take prayer and preparation.

Change only happens when the bible itself controls and defines the message we hear (and speak). To share, we need to work at it constantly, developing our ability to understand, to teach and apply the scripture. Understanding the Old Testament and how it applies to the new testament can make the scripture come more alive. So many think the God of the Old Testament is different from the New Testament because of failure to show how the old is part of the new.

With our delivery (tone of voice, bringing the scripture to how it applies in my life now, and making the point of the Gospel), we can preach the word of God without needing a pulpit. This is a great tool to come back to and apply over and over again.

A complimentary review copy was provided to me by Cross Focused Reviews (A Service of Cross Focused Media, LLC). I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has grown up in the church and has never had the courage to preach while also feeling a sense of calling to do so at some level, and as someone who was given this book by my pastor as I prepare to preach my first sermon, I can honestly say there are so many gold 'nuggets' of wisdom in these pages!

Right from the outset I was hooked, and both Millar and Campbell did well to inject enough humor and 'real life' alongside the invaluable tips and advice to keep me interested the whole way through, which I suppose isn't surprising since the book is about how to preach and keep people awake!

Perhaps the most helpful things for me were the strong cal to prayer at the beginning of the book, Phil's top ten list of things to remember when preparing a sermon and the example sermons and feedback forms from both preachers at the end of the book.

This is the kind of book I'm sure I will need to read multiple times in order to mine all the useful advice, instruction and tips from, and it is certainly the kind of book I'd recommend to anyone who currently preaches or who is preparing to begin preaching.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a perfect vacation read for me! Just what I needed as I had a weekend away from the pulpit! I am ready to get back in it and get back to my study too! It was a great reminder, refresh and reopening of my eyes to where I am weak as a preacher. Now I may not preach like Gary and Phil (especially when it comes to length), but I got a lot out of this book. Highly recommended

[Joshua Sparkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on preaching. Easy to read, biblical, practical, and Christ-focused.

[Zach Barnhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book on preaching. So practical, and addresses many important points often overlooked in your typical preaching book. A huge help for the "mechanics" of preaching.

[Hannah Stovall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very approachable, practical help for teaching the Bible. These pastors shared with humor and humility how they’ve fumbled and matured throughout their ministry. Super relatable and useful.

[Isaiah Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, simple read on how to improve your preaching skills! Hopefully no one ever dies during one of my messages…poor Eutychus

[Dan Lupo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful, nuanced, and practical resource for preaching. The authors’ personalities come through the book in a great way while still ensuring that glorifying Jesus stays front and center!

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a faithful and practical look at the strengths of expository preaching. Pray, locate the big idea, preach redemptive-historical, and be clear and concise.

[Ben Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful, particularly the chapter on variance of tone and pitch.

[Rohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not necessarily a "foundational" book, but a quick and easy read with lots of helpful tips.

Thoughts I liked:
* Preaching is not manipulation because part of understanding the text is being changed by the text (and you as a preacher are helping do that)
* Application comes at the end of prep, but first as you write your first draft (as that's where you're heading)
* 9 ways BT can influence sermon: 1) follow the plan. 2) Move to the fulfilment. 3) Expose the problem. 4) Highlight the divine attribute. 5) Focus on the action (and Jesus does it better!) 6) Explain the category (e.g. substitution) 7) Point out the consequences. 8) Describe the ideal human character (fulfilled in Christ likeness). 9) Satisfy the longing.
* Don't be a wimp in delivery, more contrast the better.
* Most preaching 'gaffes' are actually deeply sinful

[Stanford Churchill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really wonderful especially for teachers as opposed to preachers. As teachers within the church we don’t (always) go to seminary school so we have missed a lot of these key points of instruction. Many practical tools for liven up your teachings while still whole heartedly seeking to put Christ at the center and not one’s personality. Very thankful for this book! Great job!

[Caleb Pineda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good preaching book. Especially helpful thinking about how to be engaging while maintaining gospel-centered exposition.

[Zach Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contained some genuinely helpful pointers for the seasoned pastor; however, it is not the first book I would put into the hands of a young man. Some of the chapters seemed unnecessary (how to preach the Old Testament), and others were simply not helpful (watch me prepare a sermon).

[Matt Koser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, an enjoyable book on preaching! Accessible and engaging. I recommend for anyone who teaches or preaches. I’ll be coming back to this a lot in the future.

[Luke Schmeltzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a preaching class. I found this short book to be very readable and doctrinally sound, but I am not convinced of some of their practical suggestions. All of the main chapters are helpful for exegesis faithful to the text and communicating clearly to the congregation before you, but their own examples of preaching were lacking to me. The suggestion for a 23-minute preaching time and the use of video clips for sermon illustrations were off-putting to me, but that may just be me being a stuffy Particular Baptist. I would still recommend this book, but I would say skip the last chapter and appendices.

[Doug Hibbard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Acts 20 has an interesting story along Paul’s route back to Jerusalem. In the city of Troas, Paul preaches and preaches. And preaches. And preaches some more. Somewhere in the midst of the last night, a young man named Eutychus falls out of the window to his death. That would have been a bad night…except the Holy Spirit enabled Paul to raise Eutychus from the dead.

And then go back to preaching.

Saving Eutychus takes its title from this story, but this book is not about the resurrection of the dead. Neither is it a CPR manual for those we bore to death on a Sunday to Sunday basis. Instead, this is a preventative medicine book. Saving Eutychus is about keeping him from dropping dead in the first place.

In all honesty, Saving Eutychus is a tightly-targeted book. If you are not involved in the proclamation and presentation of Biblical truth, this is not going to be of much use to you. If, however, you are involved in teaching or preaching, you are in the target audience here. There is some benefit for those who study rhetoric, but we are talking a pretty specialized book here.

Gary Millar and Phil Campbell co-author Saving Eutychus. These authors have experience in teaching, in preaching, and in teaching preaching. Their work presents an approach to preaching that differs from some current American-written texts on the subject. Instead, they reflect their Irish and Australian backgrounds. Well, I assume so. I don’t know if I should judge all of Ireland and Australia based on these two men.

However, on to content. After all, we’re not interviewing Millar and Campbell. We’re reading their book. Counting the appendices, Saving Eutychus comes in at 168 pages. Having been printed with footnotes, those 168 pages are certainly better than the same 168 pages with endnotes.

Then, we must look at what Millar and Campbell hope to communicate. Saving Eutychus is subtitled “How to preach God’s word and keep people awake.” This is the two-pronged attack: the sermon should be based in God’s Word; the sermon should keep people awake.

I found Saving Eutychus effective in communicating the need for clarity in preaching. Additionally, the authors point out how text-centered preaching will result in a similarity of messages, and how this is not a bad thing in itself. I was surprised to see a personal story that came across as critical of Bill Hybels, but it is placed strictly in the context of ensuring our preaching is about the text, not about common sense.

Having read three books on preaching in the last year, Saving Eutychus was truly the most practical of them. A major reason is that, while Millar and Campbell briefly address Biblical interpretation, this book focuses on the development and delivery of the sermon. It is presented with an underlying assumption that you can study the text and comprehend major ideas from it.

I liked the inclusion of sample sermons and critiques of those sermons. Further, the website at www.savingeutychus.com has the videos of these as well. Also in the appendix one finds blank sermon critique forms, though these can also be downloaded at the same website.

At the present time, if I had the opportunity to have a preaching study group, I would start with Saving Eutychus.

Now a word: not being up-to-date with Australian Evangelicals (or Irish ones living in Australia), I know nothing about the day-to-day ministries of Millar and Campbell. They may or may not be nice people—I know of a few very good books from American preachers who I would neither attend nor recommend attending their churches. That’s one advantage I see in this book, generally: there is no baggage to recommending Millar and Campbell.

Read their book. Be a better preacher. Keep people awake, both physically and spiritually.

And watch God work.

(I had already bought this book before I received a free copy to review, so there's no conflict of interest here.)

[Benjamin Razey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving Eutychus is fantastic, and an absolute must read for all involved in a preaching ministry. Throughout the book, Millar and Campbell delve into what biblically faithful and engaging preaching looks and sounds like, and provide practical advice on how to get there. There’s a real gentleness and humility throughout the book, but the writers don’t hold any punches at all! The chapter on preaching the Old Testament (chapter 5) was a real highlight of the book in my opinion.

This book is filled with absolute gold and I would commend it to all who preach regularly in a ministry context.

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, this Irish and Australian pair did not give me a great first impression. Don't worry, I'll change my mind about the book. But if you're like me, you also may be put off at the start for their premise that informed their book title: Eutychus.

I don't believe Eutychus died by being bored of Paul's preaching in Acts. This is the thing they say they're trying to save preachers from. It may be true that Paul's preaching wasn't the greatest. I'm not sure. Some texts seem to show that he wasn't very engaging, but his preaching was deep and that's what they wanted.

Aside from my initial quibble with the authors over their hermeneutic on Eutychus, this is a good book. I was skeptical, sadly, so the first chapter or two was not read with near enough depth. But this book speaks to the dynamics of how to preach in a more entertaining and lively way. This does not mean that pastors should become entertainers. Far from it. But this book is short, practical, and gives a lot of insight for how to make the sermon a much more enjoyable listen for those who sit under the teaching that has been prepared for them.

If you want a book on preaching structure, I recommend other books like Ramesh Richard's Preparing Expository Sermons. If you want a generally well rounded preaching book, Bryan Chapell's Christ Centered Preaching is the book for you. If you want preaching books that show the importance of God's presence in preaching and the task a preacher has in displaying that, Darryl Johnson's The Glory of Preaching is a magnificent work. If you want a book on a pastor's character, I cannot recommend Rick Reed's The Heart of the Preacher enough. This book, however, is for how to speak to others and to remember the joy of preaching as a privilege and delight. God's word should enliven a preacher, as it should the congregation the pastor preaches to. If you're looking for an appropriately fun read about a rightfully serious topic, this one is most certainly a book I can recommend.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book might win "title of the year" since it immediately grabbed my attention with how different it was compared to other books currently being published. After grabbing me with such a unique title, the authors kept me hooked with their wise, and practical, insight on how to preach a sermon that is both attention-grabbing and doctrinally sound. Both Gary and Phil Campbell shared their own personal struggles with preaching sermons that were definitely "on the mark" doctrinally speaking, but the way in which they were delivered to their respective congregations only resulted in members who started counting the bricks on the wall behind the Pastors or some members pulling a Eutychus and falling asleep during the preaching (but thankfully not falling to their deaths). There was so much practical wisdom packed into such a relatively small book. I absolutely loved the last chapter which was a practical "how-to" where Phil walks us through how he built his most recent sermon (before the book was published) on Acts 8. Not only did he show us how he got to the "big idea" of the text, but he was also kind enough to put into print how the text was actually preached and he gave side-notes on why he preached what he did when he did.

All-in-all, this book was an excellent read and one that I know I will be referencing again and one that I will be recommending to my friends in the ministry.

Thanks to Cross Focused Reviews for a free copy of this book, Saving Eutychus: How to Preach God's Word and Keep People Awake, by Gary Millar and Phil Campbell, in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

[Радостин Марчев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Кратка книжка, която първоначално ме привлече с името си (много оригинално заиграване с името на младежа, който заспал и паднал от прозореца докато слушал проповедта на Павел в Деяния 20). В края на краищата обаче тя се оказа добре написана и много практична. Истината е, че от тези малко по обем страници начинаещи проповедници могат да извлекат значителна полза. Всъщност, според мен ползата би могла да е по-голяма от доста по-големи книги написани от известни автори, за които се сещам.
Причината да не дам петица е според мен неправилното разбиране, че единственото проповядване което авторите да приемат за легитимно е експозитарното. Че то е напълно легитимно и често много полезно проповядване аз съм напълно съгласен. Но в същото време аз не виждам причина човек да не може да извлече своята "голяма идея" и да започне от друго място - например от катехизис или символ на вярата, идея от систематично богословие или практическо наблюдение за реална нужда в църквата, в която проповядва. Това, че някой не започва от даден библейски текст търсейки какво текста казва не означава, че той пренебрегва библията.Последната съвсем спокойно може да действа като коректив на всичко, което той казва. И обратно, както самите автори признават, това, че човек започва от даден библейски текст съвсем не означава, че го разбира правилно, проповядва точно или прилага полезно.
Като изключим тази забележка (която аз смятам за доста сериозна) книгата е чудесна и изключително практична.

[Matt Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much of what is written here is, as the authors admit, not new. But it is so clearly, concisely, and convincingly written that it makes for an excellent primer and reminder of many key preaching and communication principles.

Also, what it has to say on scripting sermons is not often found in other books on preaching.

This is definitely a book I could come back to re-read and profit from each year.

The only slight negatives were:
1. They advocate very short sermons (23 minutes) which I think can often be too short to delve deeper into the passage and into searching application.

2. I watched the two example sermons on the accompanying website but didn't feel they were nearly as dynamic as the authors want to encourage other preachers to be. But this doesn't detract from the principles in the book.

[Becky Hintz · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all of the glowing reviews I'd read, I came to this book with high expectations. By the end, I was wondering whether I'd missed something. The book is engaging, humorous, practical. There are some very helpful suggestions--preach narratives in the present-tense, write in a conversational style, don't be boring--but on the whole, the book is just too simplistic, too brief to be really helpful. Part of the problem is that they advocate the 23-minute sermon. I've never been asked to speak for less than 45 minutes. Keeping things interesting for twice as long is an entirely different beast, as is the development of a 45-minute theme and argument. Brian Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching is still my favorite book on the topic.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Millar and Campbell's book on preaching is readable and helpful, no matter your preaching style. I was reminded of things I already do, prompted to focus on doing some I may have let slip, and given some ideas - for preparation in particular - that I'll integrate into my process.

If your preaching is boring, irrelevant, or disconnected from the text, you are disrespecting your people and your task. Saving Eutychus can get you started on improving each of those areas.

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would absolutely recommend this to those learning to preach. There are important ideas here that are best learnt early. The experienced expositor will find some encouraging reinforcement, but not too many aha moments.

That said, Millar and Campbell strike an excellent balance between addressing content and guiding delivery, all with an emphasis on preaching what is in the text. Very important, indeed.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the BEST book I have read on preaching! It is so engaging and helpful and the authors talk about their own preaching openly and honestly. It takes you through the process of prayer, preparation, delivery and critique really clearly and has given me loads of really practical things to take a way and work on. Very easy to read with an appendix of resources and a link to a website that I'm just about to check out. Highly recommended.

[Joe Haack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books like this: practical, simple, transferable. I walked away with two points: 1/ Let the Word do what the Word does. Don't be clever. Our job is to unleash the Word and let it roam. 2/ Pay attention to good principles for oral communication. The chapter with speaking tips is worth the price of the book.