In Review

by Darrell Moore

Pitfalls in Preaching
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1996), by Richard L. Eslinger

DON'T READ THIS BOOK! Unless, of course, you want to improve your preaching. Richard Eslinger has done us all (clergy and layperson alike) an enormous favor in producing a book that exposes the problems preachers face every week.

Though the title may sound a bit critical, this is anything but a negative book. Nor is it simply a book of how tos. Instead, it seeks to illumine the preaching landscape by exhibiting what not to do when preparing and preaching the sermon. Eslinger also enlightens his readers with positive examples and offers frequent hints that guide preachers in difficult areas.

Because he is a pastor who preaches week in and week out, Eslinger is very aware of preaching pitfalls. He is adept at pointing out sloughs some of us have wallowed in for so long we do not realize we are up to our necks! The reader finds themself exclaiming: "So that is why I have been struggling in that area!" He has learned from his own experience how to stay on solid ground, and gives sage advice for those of us who totter on the brink all too often.

His opening comments on "Rhetoric" (chapter 1), examine the cultural shifts that have taken place over the last few decades in the United States. These shifts demand different skills and methodologies for communicating the Gospel. An example is the profound alteration that has taken place in public language. A culture dominated by television listens and responds very differently to the spoken word than it did even a decade ago. Visual imagery has recast our communal consciousness.

Eslinger's response to these shifts is not to reduce the Gospel for easier comprehension. Rather, he suggests that the preacher should seek to use language that will allow a generation, which listens differently than any previous one, to hear the Gospel in new ways. This contextualization is not simply a matter of "what's in" and "what's out." He further describes this methodology in "Scripture and Interpretation" (chapter 2) and "Method" (chapter 3) which concentrate on exegeting both the Scripture and the congregation to release the text to do its work in the congregation.

Eslinger's treatment of "Illustration" (chapter 4) ranks with the best in print on the hazards of illustrating the sermon. He also provides succinct delineations of the purpose and meaning of illustrations. A careful perusal of this chapter will strengthen your preaching in many ways, not the least in guiding you in the use of images to bear the meaning of the message, instead of simply illustrating portions of it.

"Context and Delivery" (chapter 5) focuses on preaching as worship and the event of preaching as most centrally revealing the Word of God. In the midst of the changes taking place in the church today, Eslinger reminds us of one constant in worship: "Scripture is read and a servant of that Word begins to preach" (p. 125). "Pulpit performers miss one of the greatest joys of Christian preaching - to forget oneself and be played by the Word" (p. 133) as the Spirit of God breathes the Word through His messenger.

You will enjoy this practical, perceptive, and theologically sensitive book.

Darrell Moore is retired Professor of Homiletics at Nazarene Theological Seminary.