I thought you provided a concise interpretation of Robert Murray M’Cheyne's
preaching as it pertained to the applicability of Wayne McDill’s model skill
six. M’Cheyne integrated a “God-centered method that is associated with
Wayne McDill’s model skill six.”[1] M’Cheyne’s theology for preaching was
established in the “knowledge of God’s free love in Christ; nothing was more
powerful than the love of Christ.”[2] M’Cheyne believed Scripture required
“preachers show forth Christ with tones of tenderness.”[3] His preaching
centered on “Christ crucified, buried, resurrected and glorified.” [4] M’Cheyne
“assumed that ministerial fidelity is contingent on “saturating a sermon with
Christ because the more ministers have Christ in their sermons, the more
they faithfully preached.”[5]
e e e e e e e e e M’Cheyne also merged his “expositions into extended
exhortations and applications; this was also associated with McDill’s model
skill six.”[6] M’Cheyne’s “division statements were “textual and so feeling, and
they brought out the spirit of a passage so astonishingly.”[7] His preaching
was “specific in its application, with exhortations directed at the lost, the
awakened, the backslider, the afflicted, and the true believer.”[8] McDill’s posit
that division statements are “clearly and carefully worded theological truths;
they express the theme of sermon division, the portions of the exposition
that correspond to the various elements of the text writer’s thought.”[9].Billy
Sunday is to be commended. Many people land lucrative jobs/careers and
feel they will be there until they are ready to leave and/or retire. I'm sure he
loved professional baseball and leaving a $400 a month job to $100 a
month was hard, I'm sure their are many people who would have stayed for
the money but following your heart is more valuable than any amount of
money. While in a saloon (commonly known today as a bar) he and friends
were invited to a service and it changed his life and eventually lead to full
time ministry. We are living in a time when people sin and have no remorse
about it. We have made right wrong and wrong right. I love Sunday's
passion and mission to attack sin. Though I do not agree with his harsh
rebuke against backsliders because I believe we should show love even to
the backsliders. If feel more Pastors/Ministers/Leaders today should be more
aggressive and vocal concerning sin. We have too many Preachers today
that preach prosperity because that is what the people want to hear. I am
not against prosperity preaching because the Lord wants to bless this
children but the Bible states, "If you are willing and obedient you will eat the
good of the land" (Isa. 1:19). I myself am a Chaplain as well. I agree that
Catherine Booth seemed to do a wonderful job bridging texts to the sermon. I like
the preachers you chose and you did an excellent job connecting them to McDills
skills. Billy Sunday indeed continues to impact the Church around the world today
with some of his famous quotes and sermons. I think it is so neat to be able to
listen and read many of these influential people of God. I can only imagine what
some of them would think today with our technology and ability to critique and
analyze their lives and preaching. McDill has shown a profound grasp into what
many of these old time preachers did. Even though many of them did not have
formal theological training they had many similarities to what theologians would
describe as processes to their preaching. It is easy today for men like McDill to
observe the past working of preachers and sermons and single out commonalities
to create an outline for us to follow. I see this as a major asset to the Body of
Christ because it allows preachers to get past the learning curve of trial and error.
It allows us to see what worked then and what didn't. I did not know that
Catherine Booth and her husband from my understanding helped establish the
Salvation Army. She has not only made an impact in the people's lives with that
but with opening women’s ministry and being the voice during a time of women’s
oppression. I like how Phillip Brooks was able to take scripture and put meaning
behind that made it more personal for his audience. Knowing God on a personal
level helps followers understand he is our true Father. There are times I have
been in church and the pastor uses terms that people do not understand. My wife
often asks me the meaning of what was said. Sermons should be made to speak
to the people and not over them. Billy Sunday was able to share sermons around
the nation that he created without the aid of the internet. It is easy to type
something in the search bar and find information or a devotional to develop a
sermon. It is very interesting seeing other Chaplains from other fields and
where they come from in ministry. This brings many different perspectives to
this discussion board essay, and I think you did a great job at explaining
where you were coming from and how you viewed these legacy ministers. I
can agree with you; Catherine was very interesting to read about, and I
agree that her ministry and she were strong. She had to for living from the
late 1820s until her death, and her legacy is still going strong today with the
salvation army.
I also really enjoyed your perspective on Philips Brooks and picked the
excellent quote, "Preaching is the communication of truth by man to man. It
has two essential elements, truth and personality. Neither of those can it
spare and still be preaching."[1] This is so true and also reveals the true
nature of his ministry. I can agree that Philips was good at naming the text,
for it was the quick reveal to his message which was so powerful.
[1] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic, 2010), 104
[2] Benjamin, K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne Milioni. A
Legacy of Preaching: Enlightenment to the Present Day: Volume Two (Nashville,
Zondervan, 2018), 60.
[3] Ibid.,62.
[4] Ibid.,64.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.,61.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] McDill, 12 Essentials Skills, 100.
e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e Bibliography
Forrest, Benjamin, K, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwane Milioni. A Legacy
of Preaching: Enlightenment to The Present Day: Volume Two. Nashville:
Zondervan, 2018.
McDill, Wayne. 12 Essentials for Great Preaching. Nashville, TN: B & H
Academic,
e e e e e e e e e 2010.
