The Glory of Preaching: Participating in God's Transformation of the World

by Darrell W. Johnson

In these pages you will find a vision of preaching that is both illuminating and inspiring. Drawing from biblical and theological resources as well as years in the pulpit, Darrell Johnson takes us far beyond the mere mechanics of delivering sermons. He dynamically unpacks the link between the human task of speaking to a congregation and the real, gracious action and presence of the living Christ in and through our proclamation. Johnson assists preachers to profoundly engage the biblical text and then liberates them to make use of their own personality, gifts and abilities as they communicate that message. This book is for any pastor or student who wants to cultivate a deeper pulpit approach, one that participates in the transforming mystery of God working through our less-than-perfect proclamation. Here is a solid foundation for preaching the good news as if God was living, Jesus was resurrected and the Holy Spirit was faithfully at work among us.

Genres: Theology, Church, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Christian

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Darrell W. Johnson has been preaching Jesus Christ and His Gospel for over 50 years. He has served a number of Presbyterian congregations in California, Union Church of Manila in the Philippines, and the historic First Baptist Church in the heart of Vancouver, Canada.

He has taught preaching for Fuller Theological Seminary, Carey Theological College in Vancouver, and Regent College in Vancouver.

He has authored eight books, including The Glory of Preaching and Discipleship on the Edge: An Expository Journey Through Revelation.
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He is currently serving as a pastor at The Way Church and Canadian Church Leaders Network.
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He and his wife Sharon have been married over 50 years. Together they have raised four children adopted from four different countries of the world, and now enjoy loving 11 active grandchildren!

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I write this review as one with barely any experience as a preacher. I also write this as one who really did not care much about sermons until I heard the sermons of Darrell Johnson and Timothy Keller. In "The Glory of Preaching: Participating in God's Transformation of the World," Johnson provides practical tips for how to craft the sermon (e.g. using "breath bites" and writing for the ear) alongside rich reflections on the power of the Word that God speaks through finite human preachers. Johnson strongly favours expository preaching and cautions preachers against dogmatically obsessing over applying the text. Johnson, with the help of Methodist bishop Will Willimon explains:

“I repeat: the pressure to apply is a modernist pressure, not a biblical pressure. William Willimon observes that most congregations love hearing preaching with this application emphasis. The only problem, he says, is that such preaching is not biblical preaching. The 'subtext' of so much of this must-apply preaching is, 'You are gods unto yourselves. Through this insight, this set of principles, this well applied idea, you can save yourselves by yourselves'.” (p. 159)

Indeed, this points to Johnson's concern that too much of modern North American preaching is full of "good advice" rather than "good news" (p. 62). Johnson breaks down his points into easy to grasp categories. For instance, he identifies five different types of preacher temperaments - faithful exhorters, spontaneous activists, orderly logicians, passionate visionaries, and creative artists. Another helpful point Johnson brought to my attention is that so often in the modern West we are obsessed with navigating the worlds of modernity and postmodernity but Johnson notes that these paradigms are not the guiding foundational frameworks in the Global South (which is exactly where Christianity is exploding!) and that we have to be careful not to compromise our faith in order to "play by the rules" of these paradigms because we might unintentionally undermine the faith in doing so (p. 225).

All in all, a great read! I had Darrell's warm and joyful voice echoing in my ears as I read it.

[Ryan Fendley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prlly best book I’ve read on preaching

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. This gives a proper look at the preacher's office and what God does through these wonderful, but flawed, men of God. We work hard and show the text as clearly as we can, and then we let God transform his people in the way he does through the mystery of preaching. The Holy Spirit is at work. Christ is at work. God is at work. This means the preacher must also be at work so that he can faithfully prepare the text and show his people the room of the text.
Something always happens when a pastor faithfully preaches.

[Knut Kåre · Rating 3 out of 5]

En god homiletikk. Den opplevdes ikke nyskapende, men har mange gode og viktige poenger.

[Mufaro Mutambiranwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.
This book is special.

Changed my whole view on preaching.
Something happens when a person gets up with Bible in hand and speaks God’s word. God’s word always does something when spoken.

I am not responsible for how people respond. God’s word will do the work.

Great book!

[Kevin M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.. This book spoke to me.. As a still learning pastor, this book helped me develop my preaching voice. I put it right along side Haddon Robinson's texts on preaching.

[Jacob Seward · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the crafting of sermons and the life of a preacher. It has truly stood the test of time.

[Chuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encouraging book on preaching. Builds a solid foundation...encourages a heart given to God...provides a usable method of preparation and delivery. Plenty of references to other solid material in the footnotes. Worth your time to read if you are interested in what's going on when preachers choose to stand and speak.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rare combination of theoretically foundational, practically useful, and theologically inspiring and encouraging. Must-read for anyone who preaches -- or teaches Scripture in any way!

[Eric Molicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a ton of books on preaching, so wasn't sure what to expect. Johnson offers some unique and yet ancient insights in a fresh way. Came away with a few new tools on my preaching tool belt!

[Chris Maguire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting theology and practical advice.