Preaching: An Essential Guide

by Ronald J. Allen

it sounds like such a easy thing to do. All you have to do is step into the pulpit and talk for 20 minutes, right? Anyone who’s ever stepped into that pulpit knows that preaching is anything but easy. Speaking a word from God that is grounded in the biblical witness, theologically responsible, and true to contemporary experience is one of the most difficult things one can do. Advice on how to do this is as old as preaching itself, and there are as many opinions on preaching as there are preachers. Where do those who have been called to the ministry of proclamation begin? What are the basic understandings and practices that anyone who proposes to preach should know?

In this new addition to the Essential Guides series, Ronald Allen seeks to answer these basic questions about preaching. He does so through the use of an inductive method, which is simply to say that he starts with a sermon itself, and uses that sermon to illustrate the process of moving from the first thoughts about what one will preach to the delivery of an actual sermon itself. Each chapter will raise a question about the sample sermon that leads into a broader discussion of the practical and theoretical issues that this particular aspect of the sermon raises (e.g., What is the good news in this sermon? What is the significance of this news for the congregation? Does the preacher offer a clear and sensible interpretation of the biblical text or the topic?)

Written with the needs of students in both traditional M. Div. classes and non-degree ministry training programs in mind, An Essential Guide will be an indispensable companion for all the others who seek to “rightly explain the word of truth.”

Ronald J. Allen is Professor of Homiletics at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana

140 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2002

About the author

Rev. Dr. Ronald J. Allen, is Professor of Preaching and Gospels and Letters at Christian Theological Seminary (CTU) in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

A native of Poplar Bluff Missouri and ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Allen has taught at CTU since 1982. He received his PhD from Drew University (1977), MDiv from Union Theological Seminary in New York (1974), and the AB from Phillips University (1971). From 1977 to 1982 he and his spouse, the Reverend Linda McKiernan-Allen, were co-ministers of First Christian Church, Grand Island, Nebraska. Rev. McKiernan-Allen is currently Minister at West Street Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Tipton, Indiana.

In addition to over 100 articles and chapters in books, Allen is the author of more than thirty books.

Reviews

[Alasdair Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Any preaching method which is prepared to stand in judgement over the word of God (eh ch.3, p52) is a perversion of the preacher's task to declare God's word to man and to exemplify submission to it. For that reason alone, this book falls completely short.