The Mission Of Preaching

We hear plenty of discussion about missional theology, missional leadership and missional church planting. But what about missional preaching? In this groundbreaking work, Patrick W. T. Johnson develops a new missional homiletic to aid preachers in their witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in this post-Christendom world.

We hear plenty of discussion about missional theology, missional leadership and missional church planting. But what about missional preaching? In this groundbreaking work, Patrick W. T. Johnson develops a new missional homiletic to aid preachers in their witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ in this post-Christendom world.

Author Chris Wright offers a sweeping biblical survey of the holistic mission of the church, providing practical insight for today's church leaders. Wright gives special emphasis to theological trajectories of the Old Testament that not only illuminate God's mission but also suggest priorities for Christians engaged in God's world-changing work.

"Can you imagine what would happen if we started mixing doctoring and church planting together? In the gospel of Luke, Jesus sent His disciples to preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick. Jesus practiced both. [This book] explores the ideology and practical ways for balanced ministry so that you can effectively reach the lost."--back cover.

More and more pulpits are occupied by motivational speakers rather than preachers. Church congregations are not being given a comprehensive, biblical understanding of the faith. Drawing on his own experience as a pastor in Zambia, Conrad Mbewe tackles issues such as the content of pastoral preaching, how pastoral preaching relates to church life, finding the time to prepare pastoral sermons, and dealing with discouragement. Throughout the book, it is clear that the author’s conviction is to see preachers grow strong churches, to build a people for God.

Today the Christian faith is moving through one of the greatest sea changes in its two thousand year history, and we can no longer assume we know exactly what kind of animal preaching is or ought to be. Choosing the Kingdom is both a work of theology and a how-to guide for preachers who want to rethink both the form and the content of their preaching to move a congregation from maintenance to mission. As a post-Christendom church reorients itself toward the mission of God, what might preaching look like? If we're truly living through one of the great sea changes in the history of the Christian faith, can preaching remain the same? Do we speak as bureaucrats in an imperial hierarchy, anticipating automatic acceptance of our message, or as servants of the reign of God, bringing news of God's activity in history as fresh as today's headlines? Is the announcement of the gospel a demand for submission or an invitation to wisdom? Choosing the Kingdom explores these issues and offers an entirely new orientation to sermon preparation. It offers concrete suggestions for a reconception of preaching for those whose imaginations have already been captured by the possibilities inherent in a missional identity.

In an age divided and skeptical, when the true Christian story is often unknown or deeply misunderstood, how do we even begin to share the news of Jesus? And how might preaching in a local church both equip God's people for their missional task and speak in a way that a weary world can hear and even rejoice in? The answer begins with seeing the Bible as a document developed in a missionary context for a missionary purpose. This book starts there. It begins by examining the Bible as a document of mission that needs to be interpreted through a missional lens. It then moves to offer a mission-shaped vision for preaching and the needed tools for contextualizing the gospel in our post-Christendom setting. You'll find short, accessible chapters with personal reflection questions as well as three group discussion sections, ideal for either a classroom setting, a preaching team in a local church, or a preacher's guild.