Charles Spurgeon is in my opinion one of the most influential expository
preachers that I have read about. He is known as the "Prince of Preachers",
and I believe this is because of the influence and wisdom that he had.
"Spurgeon looked on expository preaching as the great need of the day, its
best protection against rising errors, and its surest means of spiritual
edification.” [1] Spurgeon was a preacher who wanted God's true words to be
heard by the people he was preaching to. "He was able to connect the
particular text with the entire canon and synthesize doctrinal truths within the
span of his text."[2] When I read this I immediately think that this relates to
skill 4 of McDills model. Skill 4 is naming the text idea which is, "to
discover the writer's central idea in the text and designating it with precise
terminology".[3]I think Spurgeon does this from what I have read. e "But to
talk about those ideas, he must identify them as accurately and precisely as
possible. His job is to discover from the text writer's words what he was
talking about and designate it with the best word for communicating the
idea to his audience."[4]
Rodney Smith who was also known as the forgotten evangelist preached with
one goal in mind and that was that the gospel was heard. "Smith devoted
himself to one central theological theme in his preaching: the gospel of
Jesus Christ. He stated, “The Gospel is not entertainment, an essay, a
lecture, something to tickle the ears and stimulate the brain. It is the good
news of salvation.”[5] Reading this made me think of skill 2 "noting the text
details" from McDills skills. "A critical area of observation is to identify
significant words you see in the passage. By significant, we mean those
words that carry the weight of meaning in the text."[6] Smith was one to
make sure that the words of the gospel were heard and they understood
what it meant.
Charles Finney was an extemporaneous preacher. "He began with a reading
from a short biblical passage and would immediately identify a concept (e.g.,
faith) related to the text that would serve as the main subject of his
sermon. He would then proceed to the main body of the sermon where he
explored the various facets of that concept."[7] This is skill 5 "Bridging the
Text to Sermon", which is, "constructing an interpretive bridge for bringing the
truth of the text to its expression in the sermon."[8] He wanted the truth of
scripture to be heard by his listeners.
John Jasper was known for his story telling in his preaching. "Jasper
selected biblical stories to dramatize the plight of his congregation. He
possessed a powerful and colorful imagination that lifted his audience. Using
this skill, he vividly painted in concrete and precise details the events of the
preaching text."[9] This is a perfect explanation of skill 5 Bridging from Text
to Sermon from McDills model.
[1] Benjamin K Forrest et al., A Legacy of Preaching, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2018), 112.
[2] Ibid, 115.
[3] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2018), 74.
[4] Ibid, 72.
[5] Benjamin K Forrest et al., A Legacy of Preaching, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2018), 133.
[6] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2018), 45.
[7] Benjamin K Forrest et al., A Legacy of Preaching, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2018), 170.
[8] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2018), 86.
[9] Benjamin K Forrest et al., A Legacy of Preaching, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 2018), 190.
