Preaching To Head And Heart

Preachers have long been faced with two options. On the one hand they can appeal to their congregations’ intellects, teaching them the substance of the faith from the pulpit. On the other they can seek to stir their hearers’ emotions, wooing or warning them with the gospel. Usually we reserve these two forms of preaching for different tasks or audiences. If you are preaching an evangelistic message to the unchurned, then your preaching style will draw more heavily on the emotional aspects. If you are leading the faithful into a deeper grasp of the Christian message, then you will more likely draw on the intellectual components of preaching. While most preachers know that the choice between the head and the heart is a false one, they often don’t know how to bring the two together effectively. In this book Thomas Swears offers detailed, practical advice on how to preach to both head and heart. He shows how both emotions and intellect function any time one tried to convey meaning from the pulpit, regardless of the kind of message one is preaching. Without abandoning the conventional wisdom on evangelistic vs. teaching sermons, he nonetheless insists that preaching with integrity—in which the Word is truly embodied—will always involve the whole person and personality of both the preacher and the congregation.

Preachers have long been faced with two options. On the one hand they can appeal to their congregations’ intellects, teaching them the substance of the faith from the pulpit. On the other they can seek to stir their hearers’ emotions, wooing or warning them with the gospel. Usually we reserve these two forms of preaching for different tasks or audiences. If you are preaching an evangelistic message to the unchurned, then your preaching style will draw more heavily on the emotional aspects. If you are leading the faithful into a deeper grasp of the Christian message, then you will more likely draw on the intellectual components of preaching. While most preachers know that the choice between the head and the heart is a false one, they often don’t know how to bring the two together effectively. In this book Thomas Swears offers detailed, practical advice on how to preach to both head and heart. He shows how both emotions and intellect function any time one tried to convey meaning from the pulpit, regardless of the kind of message one is preaching. Without abandoning the conventional wisdom on evangelistic vs. teaching sermons, he nonetheless insists that preaching with integrity—in which the Word is truly embodied—will always involve the whole person and personality of both the preacher and the congregation.

Pastor, preacher, and New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet Timothy Keller shares his wisdom on communicating the Christian faith from the pulpit as well as from the coffee shop. Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.

As Christians, we are to love God with all of our being--heart, mind, soul and strength. But many of us tend to overemphasize one aspect or another, and as a result, our faith becomes imbalanced. Some of us have an intellectual faith but lack compassion or spiritual discipline. Others of us have a vibrant, heartfelt relationship with God but lack commitment to truth or doctrine. And many of us overlook translating our faith into service and ministry. In this book ethicist Dennis P. Hollinger presents a holistic, integrative vision for reuniting Christian thought, passion and action. He shows how individuals, churches and movements throughout history have focused on either the head, or the heart or the hands--often to the exclusion of other expressions. But by linking our intellect, emotions and actions, Hollinger points us toward a whole faith for the whole person, where each dimension feeds, nurtures and sustains the others.

There’s a seemingly innocuous villain that is taking up residence in the pulpits of countless churches, disrupting the connection between the pastor and the people and keeping the proclamation of God’s word from having its full effect. That villain is the preacher’s notes. Preachers know this all too well. Many wish that they could “preach by heart” without the aid of notes, but are unsure how to do so—and are left feeling frustrated and discouraged by the presence of that disruptive interloper. Author Ryan Tinetti shares an unexpected solution in the form of an ancient and time-tested practice known as the method of loci, or Memory Palace. Surveying portions of classical rhetoric that are especially relevant for contemporary preachers and diving deep into the theory and practice of the Memory Palace, Preaching by Heart plunders these ancient treasures that have been so formative for preachers through the ages but too oft neglected in our own time. When pastors preach by heart, they find greater satisfaction in the homiletic task and their proclamation is even more effective. Preaching by Heart shows how to pitch the notes and reach that goal.

You can teach the craft, but you must first form the heart. Many preachers want to preach better, but they don't always know how to go about improving, and most books on preaching focus on the mechanics of the craft. But preaching involves more than the steps from a text to a sermon, because every time a preacher stands up to preach, their character shines through—for better or for worse. In The Heart of the Preacher, Rick Reed focuses on the personal heart preparation required before any preacher is ready to preach. He explores issues preachers often wrestle with—like discouragement, insecurity, and pride. He then offers practices to fight these challenges and form a heart that carries the fruit of the Spirit into the pulpit. It takes more than a good speaker to preach. It takes a Spirit-filled person. This book will help you check your heart and cultivate the most important aspect of preaching: your character.

“God has appointed preaching in worship as one great means of accomplishing his ultimate goal in the world.” —John Piper John Piper makes a compelling claim in these pages about the purpose of preaching: it is intended not merely as an explanation of the text but also as a means of awakening worship by being worship in and of itself. Christian preaching is a God-appointed miracle aiming to awaken the supernatural seeing, savoring, and showing of the glory of Christ. Distilling over forty years of experience in preaching and teaching, Piper shows preachers how and what to communicate from God’s Word, so that God’s purpose on earth will advance through Biblesaturated, Christ-exalting, God-centered preaching—in other words, expository exultation.

LaRue provides important insights on why black preaching is strong and active, and connects with the real-life experiences of listeners. (Christian)