There are several types of preaching. Some are more effective than others. We will examine some of these styles.
Expositional
Expository preaching is when you take a book of the Bible and you preach through the book verse by verse. You start at chapter one verse one and go all the way to the end of the book. Proponents of this method say that the Bible is not meant to be preached with random verses but is a complete work. You do not start in the middle of the last book in the Lord of the Ring stories and then jump to chapter one of the first book. While you can take a verse out of context for this method it is harder. Rick Warren does not like this method and says it is only for church people. his is my favorite style of preaching. I think it is very effective. Proponents of this method include: John MacArthur, John Piper and the Calvary Chapel movement.
Exegetical
This is when you preach through two or three verse. It relies heavily on the Greek and Hebrew. it contains a lot of word studies and word definitions. It also includes the cultural analysis of a word used. Unlike expository it is usually stand alone messages, not preaching through a book.
Topical
This is the most popular style of preaching right now. Each message is a stand-alone, one-time event. These messages include a single topic like love. Rick Warren says it is a better method for reaching the unsaved or seekers.
Textual
Textual is when you basically stick to one text. It is usually a standalone message. It's not verse by verse. You might start at verse 6, go back to 3, then jump to 10. It is not as extensive as expository or exegetical and it can be topical.
Narrative
It's not necessarily a preaching style. This method was introduced by New Tribes Mission when witnessing to tribal people. I as been adopted in the US. It has the idea of starting with creation and working your way to Christ. The aim is to hit on the big points. It aims to create a foundation. It is an excellent method for Sunday Schools, Bible studies or midweek service.
Gospel Preaching
All preaching should involve some kind of presentation of the gospel. Some passages are harder than others. The purpose of preaching is to communicate the gospel.
Nice post, Emily!
ReplyDeleteIt's good that you want people to know what these styles are, but this is very definitional. Which is your preferred style? Why do you like that style? Have you tried styles that are out of your comfort zone?
ReplyDeleteWhile it's much more interesting to read your posts now that they are more legible, I wonder how you plan on leading a church if you are dependent upon your wife to articulate your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYour posts lack structure and theme. It might be informative but without some comment on what you're discussing, there's little point to them. What are your thoughts on these different styles - what are the pros and cons? How has preaching changed throughout history? Why do you think one style is more effective than another or why is one more popular overall?
The reason I comment is because I worry that what we've seen of "Dan's" writing, both on the blog and on Twitter, concerns me for the long term security of your family. Typos due to fast typing may be ignored on something like Twitter, but in a blog it's beyond the pale. For someone who claims to seek a leadership role in the future it seems that they'd take careful care to present their ideas clearly and in a manner that is easily read. Phonetic spelling is not easy to read and marks the writer as either lazy or of limited intellectual abilities.
I would be more interested in Dan doing his own "work" on his blog but doing so to the best of his ability, sans the horrendous typos and plodding phrasing. Surely a man who is studying in college is able to piece together something of substance on a reading level above the fifth grade.
Nice thoughts, I suppose, but to be honest, I smell a copy and paste job which is fine, just name your source material. A college student should know to do this at all times. Unless Emily has time to read Dan's textbooks (and with all the cooking, cleaning blogging and care of three little ones, what time does she have? That said, despite Emily's comprehensible grasp of written English language, it's not her "style."
ReplyDeleteI'd love for Dan to post one of his old essays here so we can get a better feel for his theology and direction he wants to take his church; different types of preaching are certainly required depending on the difficulty of material you present for a service. Do you have any essays that theorize on your preferences? If you present this material, would you also explain the type of class for which it was written and whether the instructor assigned "prompts" or if you were able to create your own thesis. Thanks!