PREACHING:
A God-centred Vision
By Michael Reeves
Union Publishing. 110 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 738 432 448
Preaching has been my life’s work. It has been the area of my main academic study and teaching. There are many books on preaching, and I have written one myself (God is in the House, published by Langham, if you are asking). Do we need another book on preaching?
This brief book stands apart from many on the subject by focusing almost no attention on the mechanics of preaching. This is not a manual, it is a manifesto or, perhaps more precisely, a fresh vision. Reeves thinks that this is necessary because he identifies a lack of clarity concerning preaching today: ‘I have a sneaking suspicion that the trouble with much preaching today comes from a basic fuzziness on what preaching is.’
For example, the author highlights a fuzziness concerning some preachers’ definitions of expository preaching, warning that preaching is not merely a running commentary on Scripture or the imparting of information. Later in the book, in a section on light and heat in preaching, he warns about preachers who say true things (light) but this does not lead hearers to saving light. Likewise, he warns of an enthusiasm in preaching (heat) that are a form of emotionalism rather than an expression of genuine emotion produced by the Spirit.
As an antidote to such fuzziness Reeves casts a bold vision of what preaching might be like if preachers viewed God as the controlling player in the process. Reeves sets before the reader the vision of the Triune God as the primary speaker in creation and redemption, with human preachers as echoes of that voice.
Reeves helpfully explores what it means to preach Christ. He warns against a ‘Where’s Wally’ approach, that merely follows a predictable trail that always lead to Christ as the object of the search. Reeves highlights that this can often draw attention to the cleverness of the preacher rather than the magnificence of Christ.
It was particularly helpful to read what Reeves has to says about how some preaching of Christ actually avoids Christ, by substituting various abstractions into the sermon, that include grace and the Bible, which can deflect our attention from Christ himself. Reeves then offers three remedies that address this.
I was instructed by the emphasis here on showing and telling Christ, that reminded me of the importance of not merely telling people what to think and feel concerning Christ but to show them Christ. In this we learn to preach like Christ, exuding His fragrance, bearing His message, full of His Spirit.
Finally, he reminds preachers of why it is vital to develop a prayer life.
‘Prayerless preaching is loveless preaching. It betrays a low view of God, as if he were absent, unreal, or unworthy.’
Any quibbles about the book? It is very brief, but Reeves has a great gift of compressing massive concepts into digestible chunks. The one chapter where this compression meant a lack of clarity was the one entitled ‘Only the Gospel’.
Reeves asserts, echoing the Puritan William Perkins, that preachers must know how commands (law) and promises (gospel) work in sermons. The potential danger here is that which can ensnare some contemporary Lutherans, who in every sermon feel the obligation to travel to the gospel through the gateway of the law. It made me wonder about the ways in which New Testament practice confirms that approach and how by contrast the New Testament challenges it.
This being said, here is a brilliant primer for any preacher; it challenges fuzzy thinking, exposes shallowness, and refocuses preachers on the magnetic beauty of Christ. A bold and timely vision indeed.
