Handbook of Contemporary Preaching: A Wealth of Counsel for Creative and Effective Proclamation

This an anthology of essays on preaching spanning the range from the theology of preaching to it's ethics. The theme that holds everything together is "contemporary." The editor's purpose is to introduce the reader to a "host of vital issues relating to the preaching tasks." There is hardly an aspect of preaching that is not covered in this book. It is an exhaustive in scope, dealing with methodology, theology, preparation and delivery.It's sheer size is its greatest strength, it has something to say about almost every aspect of preaching. The anthology format gives the reader a variety of view points, styles and concerns about preaching. I especially appreciate that both theologians and practitioners of the art of preaching were asked to contribute to this volume. In particular, I was impressed by Paul Borden's essay on expository preaching. Briscoe's chapter on developing the sermon and Ogilive's essay on preparing sermons introductions are gold mines of valuable information.Because of its format, the quality of writing is uneven and some of the essays were very boring to read. The whole section on "Preaching the Biblical Text" simply restated what should be obvious to even the novice preacher. Similar criticisms could be made conerning the section "Preaching and Ministry." Other books such as Chapell's book on illustrations give greater insight on particular topics, but that is to be expected. I would recommend this book for undergraduate work. The few essays that proved of value were of extraordinary use to me, well worth the long read.

This handbook is quite useful if need a resource and a study of a wide variety of different preaching methods and sermon preparation. You will find the following areas covered:Methods of preachingSteps to sermon preparationPreaching from various genresThe act of preaching; Preaching and other pastoral rolesPreaching and human needsTheology of preachingHistory of preachingEthics of preachingCreativity in preachingI can without hesitation recommend Handbook of Contemporary Preaching!