To Preach Or Not To Preach: The Church's Urgent Question
By David C. Norrington
Paternoster Press. 130 pages
ISBN 0 85364 697 X
The author of this stimulating study does not believe in beating about the bush. In the second sentence of his introduction, he tells us that 'the sermon' has survived only because its critics have been 'ignored or misunderstood'. In the next paragraph, the critique of preaching becomes even more direct: the sermon lacks biblical justification and 'is injurious to the life of the Christian community'. Thus, the question raised by the book's title is answered on the first page and the reply is a resounding negative. This is then an anti-preaching tract.
At this point, many readers of this journal might conclude that Norrington has nothing useful to say to them. That would be a great pity. There are real problems facing preachers and preaching today, and it would be foolish in the extreme to ignore the critics of the sermon. The author has researched the subject well, and much of his discussion of the biblical and historical background to preaching is helpful and informative. It is hard to quarrel with the assertion that certain types of preaching leave a lot to be desired from the perspective of teaching methods. The evidence is mounting that a generation shaped by modern educational practice and by a highly technological culture finds it difficult to appreciate the relevance of traditional preaching. Much of Norrington's argument is compelling and I cannot disagree with him when he says: 'Many preachers are unskilled in public speaking and teaching and few have received any formal training in teaching techniques.'
