Preaching like Paul: Homiletical Wisdom for Today

by James W. Thompson

In contrast with the widely popular interest in narrative styles, James Thompson shows that Paul's letters offer a different model for preaching today. He demonstrates how the manner of preaching used in the pre-Christian culture of Paul is valid and effective in our contemporary post-Christian culture. Unlike most books on preaching, this volume focuses not on technique, but on the goal of preaching--a needed missing component in contemporary holimetic discussion.

192 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Dr. James Thompson is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas. In addition, he is also a Professor of New Testament and an Editor for the Restoration Quarterly. After earning his B.A. and M.A. at ACU, he went on to earn his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He has also earned a B.D. from the Union Theological Seminary in New York. Dr. Thompson has been at ACU since 1992 and has served as chair of the Graduate Department of Bible and Ministry since 1997. Prior to his coming to ACU, he served as professor and President of the Austin Graduate School of Theology in Austin, Texas. He is the author of several books, including Our Life Together, The Mark of a Christian, Strategy for Survival, The Church in Exile, Equipped for Change and commentaries on 2 Corinthians and Hebrews. He was a translator of the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. His research interests include the relationship between biblical interpretation and preaching.

Reviews

[Kendall Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fantastic book. Most homiletics books focus on pragmatics, writing, composition, structure, delivery, etc. Which is of course all quite helpful. Thompson takes a different approach. He backs up and considers what our goal is in preaching. What are we trying to do and how ought we try to do that. He effectively uses the ministry of Paul as an example and model for contemporary preaching. He does this in a way that is sensitive to both Paul's unique context and our unique context.

Perhaps the only downside is that the book could have used more discussion about what a Pauline model for preaching actually looks like concretely in practice. There's some, but I think more discussion of this could've been helpful.

All in all, a great book and worthy of much reflection and thought.