I also found many of the preachers inspiring as well. I wonder what it would be like to
time travel to hear each of these preaches in their time and place. I like to imagine the
crowds they drew and the crowds full attention to the words of these preachers. I did not
read Fosdick, but he sounds like a very common-sense preacher. Christians will not go to
church week after week to be bored with Jesus stories that they do not have explained to
them, or that they do not have a practical application applied. It sounds like Fosdick had
natural story telling abilities and used many of the skills we have learned to present his
biblical message. This class has taught me so many different ways to personalize Jesus and
the Bible while preaching. Reading any story straight out of the Bible is necessary and
should be a part of every Christian service, but then we need to take liberty with that
passage and use stories from our lives, natural analogies etc. that makes writing and
presenting sermons so much more fun in my opinion. I usually use a story from one of my
five children’s lives if it fits the passage of course. That is the easiest place to get my
material because I raised them, and even though they are great kids, they do normal kid
things that makes for great stories. g I thought you provided a concise interpretation of
Harry Emerson Fosdick’s sermon excerpt and John Stott's sermon excerpt. It was
interesting to see how some preachers we read about used Wayne McDill's 12 essential
skills, e.g., drawing pictures, telling stories, and aiming for a faith response. I concur that
drawing pictures and telling stories is germane because it provides the hearer with a
comprehensive perspective on the sermon. McDill also focused on our capacity to
“interpret stories as well, we must draw the pictures and tell the stories.”[1] We must also
interpret their “meaning for the audience; and we must tell recent stories and draw new
pictures for this generation.”[2] In them, they will see the “truths of the biblical stories
repeated in contemporary places and lives.”[3]
g g g g g g g g g g I believe that aiming for a faith response is such an integral concept for the
hearer. McDill defines the importance of preaching for faith; “preaching for faith means
planning every element of the sermon to achieve that aim.”[4] Not only does the preacher
“prepare his/her sermons for faith, but he/she must also examine their philosophy of
ministry and the understanding of the Christian life for the centrality of faith.”[5] McDill
postulates that “true conversion comes only through faith, and the only acceptable
relationship with God is by trust in him (Hab. 2:4 NIV).”[6]. As a Minister, I love Fosdick
and his style of preaching. I too love storytelling. As a person who does not always retain
information well, storytelling helps to paint a picture. I notice when I tell a story or use
some human analogy, the audience is more in tune and we are connecting - and laughing.
When listening to other Ministers/Pastors, I love when they use such things as: songs
(gospel or secular, TV Shows, things that has taken place in the world, movies etc. It's
amazing how the Lord can use His Word and the natural world to create a spiritual
message. Though Fosdick is beleived to have used the bible more for illustration than
exegetical purpose, he has still served a purpose. We can read scripture over and over and
over again and see something different. When looking with a fresh set of eyes the Lord
will give you new revelation. I Fosdick was a Minister who we consider today as "Not too
Deep". When you can relate the world to your listening audience, they feel as if the
Pastor/Minister is on their level (so to speak). They are more likely to react to you when
they can relate to you.
Bibliography
McDill, Wayne. 12 Essentials for Great Preaching. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic,
