Preach Magazine Issue 5 - Preaching to the unconverted | Page 44

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REVIEWS

Compelled by Joy
Michael Green, IVP (2011)

Recapturing the Voice of God:
shaping sermons like Scripture

Steven W Smith, B&H Academic (2015)

Do not read this book! Let me clarify: simply to read it is to
miss the point of this wonderful handbook and instruction
guide. It is not for reading, it’s for doing!
The old JOY acronym (‘Jesus first, others next, yourself last’) –
has been drummed into many of us since childhood. The danger
of this is working in your own strength and joy becoming dull
duty. This book reminds us that joy springs from our own living
relationship with God and that the desire to tell others about
what you have found bubbles out of that excitement.
This very readable and well-laid-out book doesn’t advocate
emotional evangelism. Michael makes it very clear that talking
about Christ with non-believers is an everyday activity: not an
optional extra, but an inescapable part of a faithful life. Many
chapters use a format of lists with explanations, so for example
‘The cross revisited’ includes six ways that we might explain
what Jesus’ death and resurrection was about.
The book starts with the story of Michael’s own discovery of
Christ but also talks about the many different ways in which
people might come to faith. It is realistic – chapter eight, ‘All
change’, is a brilliant analysis of the society that Christians,
seekers, doubters and atheists now live in – but still does not
let us off the hook. Michael’s stance is that we are not the
evangelists, God is, but he uses us in the process of awakening,
call, challenge, decision and growth.
So what am I going to do with this book? As a preacher and
church leader, I dare to suggest it should be compulsory
reading for all in such positions, and I will be recommending
it widely. It has challenged my attitudes, work, preaching
and preparation for worship. Everyone needs a passion for
evangelism though (chapter 5), and our fellowship group
could follow the helpful nine-step programme on nurturing
(chapter 13). Very highly recommended
STELLA DAVIS

In Recapturing the Voice of God, Steven W Smith responds
to a weakened form of expository preaching, one that
relies on a standard structure and typical three-point
approach to the weekly message. Instead, he supports ‘textdriven’ preaching, a methodology in which the structure,
substance, and spirit of a biblical text will govern those
same three facets of a sermon. Smith explains that ‘we
are not after what the text says: we are after what the text
means’, encouraging ‘re-animation’ and ‘re-presentation’ of
gospel materials.
Smith achieves his goal, but he starts slowly. His
introductory chapters should defend and explain the
idea, but he spends too little time here. While it might
have been abstract work for a practical book, a little more
theorising and patient articulation of this approach would
have been helpful. Smith also acknowledges but fails to
properly address the obvious objection: doesn’t this tactic
just replace one set of methodological restrictions with
another? The answer seems to be ‘yes and no’, and Smith
should be more convincing on the variety of possibilities his
method allows.
Fortunately, once the book begins to explore the different
broad genres, Smith excels. His model of exegesis is
wonderful, both in general insight and in ability to mine the
Bible specifically for sermon needs. He focuses on finding
the main thrust of a chosen pericope, but also explores
ways to limit or expand a selection. He provides strong
examples for process and results on even difficu \