Speaking God's Words: A Practical Theology of Preaching

by Peter Adam

There are many books on preaching, but few, if any, on the theology of preaching. Yet, whether it is recognized or not, theology underlies any preaching that claims to be biblical. In Speaking God's Words Peter Adam builds confidence in preaching by laying a firm theological foundation for it. Preaching rests upon three great pillars: God has spoken, his words are now recorded in Scripture and he commissions people "to explain, preach and teach his written words to their contemporaries." Throughout the book, using well-chosen illustrations, Dr Adam encourages preachers to give themselves to the demanding yet thrilling task of "preaching God's words" today.

Genres: Christian, Christianity

180 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1996

About the author

Peter Adam's major ministries have included lecturing at St John's College Durham, UK, and serving in Melbourne as vicar of St Jude's, Carlton from 1982-2002, and then as principal of Ridley Melbourne from 2002-2012. He was also chaplain of Melbourne University and archdeacon for parish development in the Melbourne Anglican diocese. Peter is currently vicar emeritus of St Jude's, Carlton, and Canon of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne.

Reviews

[mpsiple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good moments, but a bit disjointed. I think he tried to do too much. Adam's point about the ministry of the Word being broader than preaching (to include other teaching, counseling, evangelism, etc.) was helpful.

[Zach Hollifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am creating a course at our church for young adults with inclinations toward and gifting in teaching. I’m scouring books right now trying to nail down a reading list.

I was hopeful this would be a solid introductory text to the theology of teaching/preaching. It is not. What it is is a small but mighty thorough theology of teaching/preaching. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, in fact I very much enjoyed it and think it fills a gap in the literature surrounding preaching. It will actually be one of my most recommended books on teaching. It just isn’t for beginner. For its small length, Adam goes DEEP and while some of the greatest nuggets are found there, it is also where he is likely to lose most readers.

So, pastors and professional (John Piper, forgive me!) teachers of the word should pick this up and feast! Most others will likely only be helped by the first three chapters (which I am planning on using in the course by the way).

[Bobby Oliveri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise, full of helpful insights from a seasoned preacher. Saturated with scripture and references to faithful preachers of the past. Challenging and encouraging, a great tool for new and aspiring pastors.

[Courtney Carder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights! I liked part two, especially the last 2 chapters.

[Jared Mcnabb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights, my favorite chapter was on the variety of ways the word is used to minister. But overall felt disjointed and I was left wanting a bit more.

[Peter Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I saw it footnoted in Stott's Between Two Worlds. It had some good insights, but was not great. The last two chapters were the best.

[Dan Lupo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ain’t your grandma’s run of the mill preaching book with well-meaning but vague advice. This book is DENSE. I’d liken it far more to a textbook or research paper than a preaching primer. This isn’t a bad thing in any sense - however it’s important to know what you’re getting.

Peter Adam does an excellent job laying a groundwork for a solid and robust theology of preaching, and also is able to take that theology and extrapolate it into practice for the everyday preacher. I was more than pleased with the content of the book.

My only slight critiques come more from a taste perspective. I sometimes find that academic writing can become a bit tedious - sometimes I want to be informed the author’s perspective rather than being led through 5 competing perspectives the author disagrees with and why before getting to his own ideas at the end. So that sometimes made reading a bit less enjoyable. Also, in an inverse of that issue, I would have preferred more examples of helpful preaching in chapter 6 rather than just an exhaustive look at Calvin.

Despite my slight gripes - I was deeply impressed and satisfied with this book. The more I read preaching books the more they all start sounding the same. Adam aims to accomplish something quite different, and he quite succeeds in that venture. This makes Speaking God's Word stand apart in the best of ways.

[Seth Channell · Rating 3 out of 5]

He provides a solid theological foundation for preaching in the first part of the book. I was most edified by the second part of the book. Many of the historical quotes and illustrations did not help the books argument.

If you are committed to preaching the Bible (and know why you are), then just read the last two chapters of the book.

Favorite quotes:

"Faith in the present work of God who has called us to be preachers of the Word is important, otherwise we may continue preaching out of sheer obedience but without confidence, without joy and without hope. It is a sure sign that we are in fact believing in preaching rather than in God" (159-60).

"To be servants of the Word is not enough to love preaching: we have to love people. To love preaching means that we are loving our own actions, that we enjoy the ministry we do. To call it a ministry is a deception, because we are not ministering or serving anyone but ourselves and our sense of achievement" (163).

[Chas Morse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Adam does an outstanding job of defining the “complete” role of the preacher. His aim is to “provide” a robust practical theology of preaching as part of the ministry.

I was especially convicted with the implications of Chapter 4, “Preaching as a ministry of the Word.”

“Effective pastoral ministry will include NOT only preaching but also demonstrate the practice of other ministries of the word to including, forming the life of the congregation in the conformity of the Word (the preacher’ sphere of influence), the training of others in the ministry of the word, private exhortations and encouragement, and the evangelism of unbelievers .

This reading was very helpful especially the descriptions of the good and poor “models” of ministries of the word (Pages 72-74).

If you want to be an effective teacher of the word,
this book will definitely add flesh to the bones of an effective and caring shepherd.

Chas Morse

[Zach Byrd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two main issues led to my negative review of this work. First, for a book on preaching, he spends far too much time discussing other ministries of the Word (teaching, personal encouragement, etc.). This often leads to some hyperbolic descriptions of pastoral pitfalls when one aspect of the ministry of the Word is pitted against another.

Second, he spends far too much time combatting liberal theology. These battles may have been waging fiercely then, but they come across as dated by this point. Furthermore, our Reformed Orthodox resurgence makes us better equipped than his day, judging by the sources he uses. His theological points would have been longer lasting if framed in the positive.

The two best parts of this book was his long discussion on Calvin’s preaching ministry and a few helpful bits of pastoral wisdom towards the end of the work.

[Justin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a good systematic overview of what preaching requires, what it involves, and how a preacher should go about it. My criticism is that it's simply too much and too sweeping, and the writing is quite dry. It leaves one swimming in the mass of preaching being an impossibly high and sweeping calling. The book is well researched and cited, and certainly engages all the important ideas, but lacks focus. His best offers here tend to be the extensive quotes he draws from original sources of preachers who have written about preaching or their sermons.

[Peter Yock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to read as I prepare for another year of preaching on campus. A bit dated now, but the truths within still resonate and I appreciated a fresh visit to the why and how of preaching God's truth to God's people. Peter Adam's strength is his thorough biblical basis, a thick biblical theology, a heck of a lot of experience, and a wealth of reading.

[Zack Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of a smattering of good quotes about preaching than anything. Still, a balanced vision for the ministry of the Word. Adam affirms the primacy of preaching without degrading other ministries of the Word, i.e. private ministry, sacraments, fellowship.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine book, giving a very clear and compelling overview of preaching. I particularly appreciated Adams’ clarity and well organised stream of thought - it’s very easy to skim where needed, and slow down at points of relevance to the reader.

[Peter Krol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strong theology of preaching. Not as strong as I had hoped on the practice of preaching.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute gold!

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't think this is that good of a preaching book, but I like the offhand comment that perhaps Calvin would pad out his sermons by insulting the Papists

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

The clearest and most helpful discussion of the theological foundations for preaching I've encountered to date.

[Ben Sibley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid

[Ben Zornes · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a word, where this is good it is very good, and where it is bad it is very bad. Peter Adam vigorously defends the importance of the Word of God as central to the task of preaching, and that preaching ought not be restricted to the pulpit. A pastor's ministry is that of the Word, and this means, in our postmodern culture, that he must declare that God has spoken and the "it is written". I greatly appreciated this reminder of such a foundational truth for preachers; we must never veer from the Word of God as our standard, and that which we are to declare.

That said, Adam seems to make room for ordained women preachers, which, given the theme of the rest of the book, seems wildly out of place. If we are to look to Scripture as the standard, we don't get to cherry pick based on what is culturally acceptable or not.

Furthermore, there were sections so pedantic that it would make an insomniac sleep; I did appreciate that he consistently referenced Scripture to make his case; but I wish there were a bit more heat in his writing. It was a bowl of grape nuts, when the topic called for bacon and eggs. Certain sections made this worth the read; and other sections remind me why I'm not Anglican.

[Mark Drinnenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book on preaching. In fact, it is actually a book on ministering the Word of God, whether that is done by preaching or by some other means (e.g., small group studies, one-on-one interactions, etc.), though its primary focus is preaching.

Adam uses the ministry practices of, and sermon excerpts from, John Calvin and puritan pastors to illustrate his points. On the surface, those examples may seem a bit dated, but one of the problems we have in the Church today is with the attitude that preaching needs to be "hip and modern" to be effective. This modern attitude often leads to sermons that hint at God's Word while not mining it for its riches. While we should never copy the surface methods of those from other eras (and Adam makes that point himself), the foundational truths of the living and abiding Word of God that remains forever are changeless. In that sense, Calvin and the Puritans, with their love and high respect for the Word, are perfect models for building a foundational philosophy of ministering the Word. I would add, though, that Adams probably spends too much time examining these models.

This book is well written and very good at helping those who minister the Word to remain focused on the essentials of that task. I recommend it for those so engaged.

[Axekickr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for any developing preacher. Adams covers a theology of preaching that connects revelation and proclamation seamlessly. He then shows how preaching is just one aspect of the "ministry of the Word." Thus, the book is suitable for any ministry of presenting and applying the scriptures (e.g. adult Sunday school, youth work, and counselling).

The book comes out of a series of lectures Adams did in 1993. He is to be commended for addressing postmodernism before it was a buzzword in North America, but some of his responses to that philosophical bent are incomplete today. His later book on "Hearing God's Word" is also highly recommended.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking God’s Word is primarily an act of preaching (though not limited to it, as Adam explains). The necessity and nature of Word-based ministry are nicely examined here. Adam writes with a style that invites further reading, his prose suffering mostly when he relies too heavily on quoted material. Despite a few minor disagreements, the force of Adam’s book is sound and easily recommendable to those desiring a deeper understanding of the ministry of the Word.

[Cort]

Clear and pinpoint of a way to speak God's Word affectingly and boldly without hesitation. Makes one wonder if they are really speaking their own words or are they speaking God's Words! Read this and find out!

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great job developing the biblical foundations on the practice of preaching and good practical help for pastors.

[Jeremiah von Kühn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book on preaching, granted I've only read a few.

"God has spoken. It is written. Preach the Word."

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"God has spoken. It is written. Preach the Word."

[J. J.]

Excellent! A real treasure of a book. There is a vast amount of useful and stirring stuff crammed into 170 pages. It's a such a good theology of preaching because it's so much more than a narrow theology of preaching only. There is much here to inform any believer about Scripture's function in the life of the body, since we are all ministers of the Word, even if we never step foot in a pulpit.