Below is an interesting quotation about Christian preaching. You will no doubt notice that it is someone who would disagree with my own position on and philosophy of preaching. Nevertheless, I’m curious to see if anyone can guess who said this:
Many preachers, for example, indulge habitually in what they call expository sermons. They take a passage from Scripture and, proceeding on the assumption that the people attending church that morning are deeply concerned about what the passage means… Could any procedure be more surely predestined to dullness and futility?
The modern preacher… should clearly visualize some real need, perplexity, sin, or desire in his [listeners], and then should throw on the problem all the light he can find in Scripture or anywhere else. No matter what one’s theory about the Bible is, this is the effective approach to preaching. The Bible is a searchlight, not so much intended to be looked at as to be thrown upon a shadowed spot…
There is nothing that people are so interested in as themselves, their own problems, and the way to solve them. That fact is basic. No preaching that neglects it can rasie a ripple on a congregation.
Leave a guess in the comments. This could be interesting.