John Owen on Pastoral Preaching

by Justin Miller

John Owen was a scholar, pastor, dissenter, and faithful follower of Christ in a tumultuous time. He gave himself to the study of Scripture out of an abiding love for the glory of God amongst the people of Christ. John Owen’s works have greatly influenced Western Christendom in the centuries that have passed, and his concern for the true church shines powerfully forth from his writings. The aim of the book is to examine John Owen’s view of the biblical role of a pastor with regards to the ministry of preaching the word of God in the life of a local church. The goal is to understand and evaluate John Owen’s thought, from Holy Scripture, with regards to pastoral preaching. This book seeks to unearth from John Owen’s writings the various aspects that affect pastoral preaching, his understanding of a True Gospel Church, preaching as the priority for a pastor, and what exactly constituted faithful biblical preaching. Furthermore, this book will seek to make conclusions concerning John Owen’s view of pastoral preaching and its faithfulness to Scripture.

64 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2021

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the years I have met Christians who told me they have been impacted by the writing of John Owens. There are books covering the topic of John Owen’s contribution to theology but it is important to understood his theology in the context of his understanding and practice of being a pastor and specifically as a preacher. Where can one understand Owen’s perspective of pastoral ministry and preaching? This book by Pastor Theologian Justin Miller is a helpful work on Owen’s pastoral preaching.
After an introduction to John Owen the book goes over “Owen’s understanding of the recipients of Pastoral Preaching” which is namely the local church. Author Justin Miller then looks at “Owen’s understanding of the priority of Pastoral Preaching,” “Owen’s understanding of of Pastoral Preaching” and a conclusion which focuses on the biblical imperative of pastoral preaching.
I enjoyed this work. I appreciate the angle of looking at Owen’s theology of ministry. There’s many today who are becoming Reformed and can be caught up with internet and learning new things online but one must not forget the local church! Furthermore preaching shouldn’t be just seen as something done online (I’m not against that per se) but the local church is important.
Reading this did feel like its formerly a seminary academic paper; the author confirmed its his thesis for his seminary degree. Yet it addresses something that is dear to my soul: The Pastoral ministry, the local church and preaching! If the pastorate, ministry, the church and preaching and the Bible interests you, and the history of those matter, this would be a beneficial read!

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very repetitive for a shorter book, still a good message wth the final chapter being the most helpful analysis of Owen's view of preaching. Good engagement with primary and secondary sources. Since there aren't many engagements out there on Owen's preaching, I will say I appreciated this book a lot. Hopefully more resources become available as more studies are done on Owen and his role as a pastor.