Catherine Booth demonstrated the skillnaming the textin a fashion that
called others to action. One example is a teaching entitled “Popular
Christianity: Sham Compassion and the Dying Love of
Christ.”[1]Catherine carefully studied the text, extrapolating the original
intent and teaching others the heart of each passage. Why is this
important? McDill gives us three reasons, “to make sure it reflects what
the biblical writer is saying…to define it precisely in your own mind…
[and] so that the same word can be used as the sermon idea.”[2]
Rodney “Gipsy” Smith integrated the concept ofbridging from text to
sermonbefore this was defined by McDill. McDill writes “today’s audience
needs to hear the message in terms of their frame of
reference.”[3]Although Bill Curtis tells us that Gipsy Smith was not known
to practice traditional homiletics, or even prepare a manuscript, he did
accurately convey the concept of repentance and salvation in a way the
audience would understand. Curtis writes “perhaps the most effective
element in Smith’s preaching was his use of illustrations… indeed, it was
his use of illustrations that often led his listeners to respond to his
message.”[4]
George Liele also demonstratesbridging from text to sermon. This
process is “connecting the world of the text and the world of the
preacher.”[5]For Brother George, as he was commonly addressed, this
meant preaching in a distinct style known as “black preaching.”[6]This
style is defined by four features; “strong biblical content…creative use of
language…appeal to emotions… embrace of ministerial authority.”[7]
Henry Ward Beecher is the last read, and once again, he bridges the text
well. He often would base his teaching upon what he discerned to be
essential for his parishioners. However, being of good conscience, I cannot
have a thirdbridging from text to sermon. There must be another option!
Page 203 delivers the answer, “to Beecher, preaching was action-
centered, not theologically oriented. Its purpose was to change people’s
lives, not their minds.”[8]McDill, considers such an approach to be an
application statement within the sermon divisions.[9]
Word Count: 513
[1]Roger J. Green,Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two – Enlightenment to
the Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method. of History’s Great
Preachers, Edited by Benjamin K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and
Dwayne Milioni, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018, 98.
[2]Wayne McDill,12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching, Nashville: B & H
Academic, 2018, 76.
[3]McDill,12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching, 90.
[4]Bill Curtis,Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two – Enlightenment to the
Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method. of History’s Great Preachers,
Edited by Benjamin K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne
Milioni, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018, 136.
[5]McDill, 89.
[6]Terriel Byrd,Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two – Enlightenment to the
Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method. of History’s Great Preachers,
Edited by Benjamin K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne
Milioni, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018, 156.
[7]Byrd,Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two – Enlightenment to the Present
Day: The Life, Theology, and Method. of History’s Great Preachers, 157.
[8]Byrd, 203.
[9]McDill, 104.
