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]
f f f f f f f f f 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.
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f 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,
f f f f f f f f f 2010.
