This book review of Zack Eswine’s Preaching to a Post-Everything World was written as part of Pastor Lane’s doctoral course work, and as such, it is written in a more formal, academic tone than the rest of this blog’s posts. Still, we hope the audience will find these academic book reviews useful, which is why we have published them for your reference.
Dr. Zack Eswine serves the Riverside Community as Senior Pastor. Zack and his wife Jessica live with their three children as a blended family in Webster Groves. He received his doctorate from Regent University. He has served in pastoral roles for nearly twenty years. He served as Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Director for Doctor of Ministry for six years at Covenant Theological Seminary. Zack’s books include Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being, Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes, Preaching to a Post-Everything World: Crafting Biblical Sermons that Connect with our Culture and Kindled Fire: How the Methods of C.H. Spurgeon Can Help Your Preaching. His forthcoming books include Spurgeon’s Sorrows: Handling the Painful Sides of Life and Ministry.
The purpose of this book is that preachers as a faithful steward of God would hand the baton of preaching to the next generation in a condition so that it is more powerful in character and efficacy to act as an agent of redeeming love in the world to come. The author’s prayer is that God would raise up a generation of preachers who understand biblical exposition in missional terms, with love for sinners and who engage biblical exposition with a heart for culture and unchurched people around them. One statement he makes in chapter one culminates his purpose well: “Substantial healing of reality (where truth meets struggle) is the business of preaching.”
The target audience of this book is modern-day preachers who are laboring in a post-everything world. The content and focus of this book demands one who is actively engaged in the preaching discipline to glean a maximum benefit from this book. More than just a study of, this book is an evaluation tool for every preacher to ask, “Does the world in which I preach hear, understand, and care about what I say?”
The theological orientation of the author is evangelical. This is evident from his writing, his education, and professional experience, as well as colleagues, associates, and the church he currently pastors.
The significant contribution of this book is the purpose and style by which it is written, navigating “bends in the road” of faithful biblical exposition into culture. The author’s perspective speaks to a generation of preachers who live in an era of history that seems like no other to which we are accustomed. Unlike some other “post-modern” sermon books, he does not argue against the preaching event as we have known it. Rather, he leads the sermon through new perspectives, or “bends in the road,” to equip the preacher to engage the cultural contexts of this new world with unchanging truth of God’s Word.
Preaching to a Post-Everything World is textbook on preaching that approaches the topic from a new perspective, the post-modern viewpoint. The author incorporates a good amount of material that is familiar and common in traditional preaching textbooks. However, the way in which he uses that material has a new approach to it, one that is distinctive to a post-modern reader. This book is designed to help a preacher transition toward a new era of preaching. Many concepts are the same, such as a strong desire to correctly and faithfully handle God’s Word. But new terminology and ways of thinking that connects with today’s hearers are evident. Most new concepts show awareness to the specific audiences the preacher will face and the culture most people live in today. This is an excellent book for the preacher who is concerned to learn and continue in faithful exposition and faithful communication of the text to people in the culture.
The book begins with a thorough introduction that sets forth the author’s purpose and direction. The nature of this book makes a thorough introduction very important. The author is careful to introduce the reader to the nature and purpose, the content, a general overview of the paradigm that is distinctively post-modern, and to a map for reading the book. Language is important in the post-modern paradigm. This is made clear by the author in the introduction.
Part one is comprised of four chapters. The sermon is reoriented in these chapters for a post-everything world. Chapter one begins with a strong plea for the preacher to make the sermon real, for the hearer to make true contact with God through his Word. He gives three tools to effectuate this. The “Contact of Reality” identifies a mutual life reality that the hearer shares with the biblical text. Second he identifies expository bans that are often avoided or overlooked for reason, but that people are trying to navigate without the light of God’s Word. Finally he offers guidance for pastoral sensitivity and warns against simplism that disregards or downplays that which should be given greater emphasis.
Chapter two sets forth a strong challenge to preach what is redemptive, that which happens when God impacts our lives with the real and evident, even thought it may not be perfect. The author uses the term “substantial healing” to describe this redemption and identifies four spheres of reality that it engages: God, people, place, and self. The purpose of this healing is to discover the beauty of truth as God’s display. Four echoes are then set forth for redemptive actions to be preached through: echoes of creation, fall, redemption, and heaven. Each echo is explained in great detail, often using familiar concepts of other scholars such as Bryan Chappell’s “Fall Condition Focus” to explain the echoes of the fall. The detail and descriptions within this chapter reveal a distinctive post-modern paradigm that is very beneficial for the preacher in this process.
Chapter three establishes a process for shaping the sermon. He offers five stages, but not as a linear process. These five include identify the big idea, identify the fallen condition focus, consider an inductive approach, consider a deductive approach, and apply the narrative sermon. The author borrows familiar concepts from other authors and applies them in this paradigm. He does an excellent job of breaking down the difference of formulating a sermon based on the inductive and deductive approaches. He also helps the reader stay as “near in application” as possible and avoid dangers of forsaking the right things by saying good things.
Chapter four is a distinctive of this book as the author expands his original question in the introduction throughout this chapter, “Can I now reach who I once was?” He takes the familiar sermon process of the previous three chapters and presses them through this matrix of post-everything paradigm. He identifies exclusive preaching that is hidden in presuppositions and expository prejudices that pander to our biases. He exhorts one to expand the intended audience to which they preach and do so as an act of love for real people. He offers implications for these types of sermons and how it often will affect the preacher. He reminds to always celebrate Jesus in our story and preach with vulnerability that is exemplified in Scripture. Finally, he offers encouragement against criticism and a very good guide for testifying. This chapter explains the paradigm shift toward the post-everything model the author reveals.
Part two discovers biblical models for sermon practice through the prophet, priest, and the sage. This section is packed with excellent admonitions for shaping the sermon. But this is not for the beginner. Part two sways me to call this book intermediate to advanced. A preacher must be knowledgeable and comfortable with his preaching voice to process through this section. Chapter five encourages the preacher to follow God’s lead. He identifies three basic paradigms for how God preaches as prophet, priest, and sage. He also encourages the preacher to organize his preaching around four stories, preach the “Third Way” as distinguished by the gospel and do this with faith.
Chapter six considers the prophetic edge of preaching. He defines this paradigm of preaching and identifies negative caricatures that are a danger in prophetic preaching. He explains this paradigm of preaching with excellent instruction and shows the reader how to preach for godly conviction and not worldly condemnation. He leads the reader to “find the way of the text,” or use the same posture that God uses in the text.
Chapter seven considers the priestly paradigm. He introduces five kinds of catechesis in preaching: the redemptive-story training, doctrinal training, ethical training, liturgical training, and contexts or apologetics. An explanation is given to help the reader understand and apply this in his own preaching.
Chapter eight is “Speak Like a Sage” and covers in detail preaching the wisdom of the Bible. He again uses caricatures in this chapter to show the negative ways of handling the text. Extensive instruction is given in this chapter to help the reader learn how to think about and approach the shape of his sermon regarding different cultures and peoples. He presses the reader to think like a missionary in his context when preparing his sermon.
Chapter nine presses the reader to think larger about God than just the immediate text. He exhorts the reader to bring in theological emphases and creation-intentionality. Four implications this gives to our preparation of this are then listed and discussed. This chapter was a challenge to process and will require more time and application.
Part three is a call to engage the culture of a post-everything world. Chapter ten begins by considering the preacher’s accents. “Every preacher comes from somewhere.” The Bible also has an accent as does the hearer. This makes preaching an ethnic activity. He wants the reader to account for this and intentionally cross the cultural chasm. This also means the preacher must account for rival beliefs as he engages the people.
Chapter eleven is an exhortation to handle the war passages in an age of terror. He offers four strong hints for dealing with these passages and returns to the echoes of creation and fall, redemption and heaven that he introduced earlier.
Chapter twelve is a challenge to learn to speak about hell. We must address our accent to begin, or our experiences with this topic in the past. Let the Bible lead us in how we speak of it and learn how Jesus spoke about it as well. This is a helpful chapter on a difficult topic.
Chapter thirteen deal with detecting idol talk. Dominant idols must be identified in each context, churched, un-churched, and in-between contexts. Chapter fourteen deals with discerning devilish spin and looks at how Satan works in the Bible as well as how devilish preacher’s work. This chapter closes with an excellent encouragement on preaching as spiritual war.
Chapter fifteen helps the reader develop a greater dependence upon Holy Spirit in preaching. Hindrances to the Spirit are also identified along with the preacher’s own idols. Chapter sixteen concludes with a few exhortations to help the preacher commune with God and strengthen his own soul life.
Preaching to a Post-Everything World has many similar attributes as other preaching books but maintains a strong distinction in preparing the preacher and sermon to speak to a world that is very different from previous generations. The author’s writing style is very strong and readable, but at times I found the nomenclature difficult to quickly grasp and had to return to previous chapters to look up words and meanings. I stated earlier that this book to me is for the advanced preacher and student. I think it would be most beneficial for one to understand their own style before the content of this book substantially into their preaching regiment. I am most encouraged by the detail to which the author gives the reader to shape and strengthen the sermon process and preaching act. I think the author achieved his purpose very well.
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