Book Review: "Preaching Killer Sermons" by Lane Sebring

Lane Sebring, Preaching Killer Sermons: How to Create and Deliver Messages that Captivate and Inspire (Centreville, VA: Preaching Donkey, 2016), 191 pp. $12.48.

I took my first official preaching course in the Fall 1999 semester.  In that course, I was introduced to a text that laid the foundation for my communicative practice in preaching, tips and tricks that I still use today.  A decade later, when I taught my first introductory preaching course, I used that same book, Preaching that Connects by Mark Galli and Craig Larson (both, then, journalists with Christianity Today).  Their material was simple, basic, almost common-sense.  It was pulled from a combined decades of journalism, writing stories with punch that related to the everyday reader.  Although not necessarily preachers themselves, they wrote a book that, in my opinion, every preacher must read.  It is not a theory book; it is a mechanics book, yet one that will absolutely help your development.

You see, when it comes to preaching, to the art of crafting sermons, it comes down to 3 “Ds”: design, development and delivery.  Design has to do with the scaffolding or main structure that the preacher chooses to build the sermon on.  The design is the “bones” of the sermon.  Whether it is inductive (moving from general to specific), deductive (moving from specific to general), narrative (following a plot) or some other syllogistic form, all sermons, when deconstructed down to their base parts look exactly the same.  It’s basic rhetorical design, something that has been with us since Aristotle.

Now, development deals with the “stuff” that goes into our weekly sermons: textual commentary, illustrations, points of doctrine, and practical applications.  This is the blood, muscles and tissue of the sermon.  It’s the stuff that keeps our sermon alive long enough to be presented to a congregation, small group or digital audience. 

Then, there is delivery, or the way the sermon or message is presented.  To finish off the anatomy lesson, this is the skin of the sermon.  It’s the presentation, how the sermon looks and sounds to the audience.  If we do our jobs correctly, the audience should come away with a captivating, transformative experience that leads them closer to God and challenges them to better resemble their faith in Christ to their fellow humans.

Most books in preaching, essentially, land in one of these three camps, such as The Four Voices of Preaching by Robert Stephen Reid (design) or Speaking with Bold Assurance by Bert Decker and Hershael York (delivery).  Some, such as Expository Preaching by Harold Bryson, Preach by Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert or The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text by Sidney Greidanus, will try to land in two of the camps (usually design and development or development and delivery).  And, on scarce, blessed occasions, some will pull off the impossible and land in all three camps, such as classic texts like Preaching by Fred Craddock or The Witness of Preaching by Tom Long or Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson.  And when those books come along, they remain mainstays in the preacher’s library.

A new contender has come along that claims to be worthy of your and my attention in at least two of these camps, if not all three.  Enter Lane Sebring and his book Preaching Killer Sermons.  It’s a bold claim to be sure, especially from such a young minister and author.  You see, most of the above books have come from seasoned preachers.  Yet, most of their best works, ironically, came after they left the work of weekly preaching.  Preaching Killer Sermons comes from one who is deeply involved in ministry, as he serves as a minister who preaches each and every week.  There is something deeply comforting in that thought, very ethos-centric.  For in entering into this conversation, we are entering into it with one who is like us, who shares our struggles and our successes, and wants to share out of his common experience in an effort to build us up as we preach the gospel.

Ultimately, Preaching Killer Sermons is best understood as a delivery book.  And it is a fantastic book on sermon delivery.  His discussions on sharing the sermon in a way that relates well to our contemporary cultural context without compromising the integrity of the text, delivery mechanics and being intentional about self-care are absolutely worth the cost of this book.  Even his opening chapter on parsing a boring sermon is spot-on.  As I was reading, I found myself shaking my head because I have been guilty of a sin or two (and I have a doctorate in preaching!).  And if that was all this book was about, I would enthusiastically recommend this book for any preacher, novice or veteran. 

However, Sebring tries to do more in his one-stop shop preaching text.  And therein lies the problem.  As I mentioned above, there are three “Ds” to preaching—design, development and delivery.  Sebring nails delivery.  And, for the most part, he does an appropriately-decent job with development.  His main flaw is in design, for three reasons.  First, he claims no underlying theories are being promoted, yet he alludes to Aristotle’s concept of rhetoric as a basic model for communication (p. 112-113).  Second, his chapter entitled “Putting Your Sermon to Work” sounds like it has been inspired by Haddon Robinson’s book Biblical Preaching.  And third, he presents four “outline” approaches to designing sermons (p. 71-79), most of which have been largely dismissed by educators, communicators and preachers alike due to inability of those methods in producing true learning or transformative spiritual growth.

Fortunately, this is only a small portion of his book.  As I also stated above, the true strength in this book is his material on delivery, material that comes from a preacher who is in the pulpit each and every week and who is connecting with unchurched persons.  So, even with my concerns, this is a book that I would recommend…and maybe even start using as a textbook!

Book Review: 'Listen, Love, Repeat' by Karen Ehan

A few years ago, I sat across from a smiling man who shared a revolutionary idea with me: the whole purpose of our existence is to share God’s love with everyone around us.  Doing so may come in physical expression, in quiet prayer for another, in serving our neighbor, or sharing the gospel with a coworker.  Yet, whatever we do, we must do it in love.  For in doing so, we combat the evil that is present in the world.  That smiling man was Bob Goff, author of the hugely successful devotional book Love Does.  Bob is an internationally known and respected attorney and human rights advocate who advises world leaders, yet he is as friendly as your favorite uncle.  And in the short time that I spent with him, I was humbled and challenged (generally what we called “blessed”) to practice the simple yet profound discipline of love.  Love Does is not groundbreaking in its conceptual framework, yet it is paradigm-shifting in its radical call to practical expression.  Love does the will of God in a broken and hurting world.

Now, this is not a review of Love Does.  However, Goff’s book helps set the context for the book that is the focus of this review—Karen Ehman’s newest volume Listen, Love, Repeat.  It may seem strange for a male writer to review this volume.  To be honest, it is strange.  The included publicity material is from all female reviewers.  And, yet, why is it strange?  I spent one evening reading through several chapters at my local Starbucks while I was waiting on my daughter to finish up her nightly theatre practice.  Before I left, I ordered my daughter a drink for the ride home.  The barrister show the book in my hand and asked me about.  I explained that the focus of the book was about practicing kindness and compassion in the midst of a selfish world.  He thanked me for sharing about the book, stating that he would likely get it and read it himself.

In the same way as Love Does (and Devoted by my friend Arron Chambers), Ehman’s book assumes a couple of things.  First, it assumes (naturally) that you are a follower of Jesus.  Secondly, it assumes that you want to follow Jesus’ command of sharing God’s love and God’s truth with those around you.  And lastly, it assumes that you are not simply going to read this book and then stick it on a shelf; it assumes that you will do what the author recommends. 

In fact, these books—Devoted, Love Does and Listen, Love, Repeat—could serve as a trinity introduction to the basics of practical Christianity.  Devoted could serve as your introduction, giving you the what of the Christian tradition.  Then, you could move on to Love Does and trek along with Goff as he explains why Christians demonstrate love to the world (and don’t we need this right now!).  Then, you could conclude your orientation reading with Listen, Love, Repeat, where you would discover a whole lot of how.  This book is crammed full of practical advice, ranging from recipes to share with your friends to devotional plans to practical challenges for the reader to engage in.  I read Listen, Love, Repeat in two days, really just a few hours.  Yet, what Ehman offers will require a lot of processing, planning and implementing.  However, the lives that can be impacted through her advice and challenges are limitless.

And that is why I liked and highly recommend this book.  I am already thinking back to that conversation that I had with the Starbucks barrister.  It was just a few moments, and we just talked about a book.  Yet, what kind of impact did it have?  What kind of impact will we have if we listen, love and repeat?  That is the challenge presented by Listen, Love, Repeat, a challenge that I hope you will join me in accepting.

Book Review: 'Near Christianity' by Anthony Le Donne

While I was working on my doctorate, I traveled back and forth between Huntington, West Virginia (where I lived), and Memphis, Tennessee (where I was attending).  On one of my flights to Memphis, I was seated next to an older gentlemen who was traveling to Memphis for business.  He was a lawyer from Boston, and was traveling to Memphis for a board meeting at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.  As we begin talking during the flight, the question of religion eventually came up.  He discerned quite easily that I was a Christian, probably by noting what I was reading.  He, then, noted that he was Jewish.  As we continued talking, we noted the number of areas that we had in common—a love for God, a respect for creation, a concern for ethical living and social justice, and a desire to meditate on Scripture.  He shared with me that his daily practice was quite simple: Every morning, he rose and read a Psalm.  He would then pray for moral guidance throughout the day.  Not long after, it time to secure our trays and refasten our seat belts.

Ironically, my daily devotional practice is similar: I rise, read a psalm and pray for guidance throughout the day.  The only difference between my Jewish traveling companion and myself is that he is Jewish and I am Christian.  On one hand, my practice of Christianity is the logical continuation of the Jewish religion, as defined by the New Testament (or Christian Bible).  On the other hand, my practice of Christianity is a divergence from orthodox Jewish faith, as defined by the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible).  The question is not necessarily who is correct but can we (Jews and Christians) have open and engaging dialogues about the similarities and differences in our understandings of faith.

This is where Anthony Le Donne’s book comes into play.  A New Testament professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, Le Donne is an emerging prolific author who focuses his research on the historical character and mission of Jesus.  As such, Le Donne spends much of his time dialoguing with both Jewish and Christian scholars.  And this volume serves, somewhat, as a summary of the conversations that he has had with both his Jewish and Christian dialogue partners, conversations that are becoming more and more nuanced as scholars and religious teachers continue flowing towards a more inclusive acceptance of one another.

Le Donne finds himself in a quandary.  He was raised in a fairly conservative religious home, one that ingrained a more black-and-white understanding of the relationship between the Jewish and Christian religions.  [Having come from the same denominational tradition, I can certainly “Amen” many of his concerns.]  Armed with a doctorate in New Testament and Christian studies and the humble attitude of a student, Le Donne sought out on a journey to discover the complex and rich nature of the Jewish religion and how Christianity has been deeply influenced by it.  In engaging in these conversations, Le Donne found his faith in God growing deeper as he embraced the values of honesty, integrity, humor and tolerance that undergird modern Jewish faith.  He finds himself growing in faith by living on the “borders” of Jewish and Christian spirituality.

Overall, I enjoyed this volume.  Although it could have easily been constructed as a series of lectures, it is not.  It is crafted more like conversations with over coffee or a meal.  Whether it be a dinner group that has come together to discuss connections between Jewish and Christian adherents, Le Donne is transparent in his concerns and his limitations.  He does not present himself as an expert on these “borders,” nor does he bring theological judgment against either side.  Instead, he offers a model of transparent tolerance and open dialogue with those who stand on the borders of particular religions and (perhaps) faith in general.