preaching
One for novices. One for veterans. For veterans: Cornelius Plantinga, Reading for Preaching (Eerdmans, 2013). Preaching goes better when you do it in conversation with others – namely ‘storytellers, biographers, poets, and journalists’ (the subtitle). ‘The reading preacher will discover that great writers know the road to the human heart and, once at their destination,…
READ MOREOne is shorter; the other is longer. One is carefully scripted; the other is more spontaneous. One is nervous (and wooden); the other is nervous (and teary). One is without distracting mannerism; the other has a distracting sniffle. One hints of a riches to rags plotline (not likely!); the other has a rags to riches…
READ MOREThe Wakatipu Basin is where God did some of his finest work. To be in that setting last weekend for a wedding doubled the beauty to smorgasbord proportions. But alongside the beauty on display, there was the conversation… A winemaker from Waiheke I choose not to drink alcohol and so my knowledge of wine is…
READ MOREIf you are not aware of TED, you may well be living on another planet. ‘People around the globe have viewed TED presentations more than one billion times online…’ (246). [NB: TED is an acronym for Technology, Education, Design]. My visa tells me that I am a communications consultant and so I thought I better engage…
READ MOREOff the train. Into a taxi. The long weekend in Mysore with our friends, Rod & Denise Edwards, had begun. Immediately, our chatty taxi-driver asked me, “Are you here for the illumination on Sunday?” “Yes, we are.” Every Sunday night, the Mysore Palace is illuminated with thousands and thousands of light bulbs. It lasts for…
READ MOREA few weeks ago I had the opportunity to contribute by skype into a UK seminar. The topic was Evangelistic Preaching and it was organised by Roger Carswell. [For those of you in New Zealand, Roger is the father of Ben Carswell who pastors Hutt City Baptist Church and is on the staff of Tertiary…
READ MOREThe power of story cannot be denied. Neither can the priority of story within the Bible. It is a story. And yet sometimes those most committed to biblical preaching suddenly become ambivalent when the conversation moves to story and storytelling. I don’t get it. As far as I am concerned, at its best, biblical storytelling fits…
READ MOREWith that title you may be thinking this is one of my occasional posts on cricketing matters. It is not. Nor, quite obviously, is it dealing with matters pertaining to rugby. It is about preaching. I’ve always found it ironic that those who shout the loudest about their high view of preaching can be the…
READ MOREI’ve been exegeting Sachin’s retirement speech. It provides such insight into an Indian worldview, often so different from those ones associated with ‘the West’. A full text of the speech can be found here. [NB: For those who may be unaware (!), ‘Sachin’ refers to Sachin Tendulkar. His name has the fame that ‘Roger’ has with…
READ MOREI am often asked about books on preaching. My response heads in two directions. The first response is with newcomers to preaching in mind. Where do you start and in what order should you read the books? Then the other response is directed at experienced preachers. Maybe they need to be refreshed, or challenged –…
READ MOREAbout Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.