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Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today

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Stott's modern classic, Between Two Worlds, argues that there is a chasm between the biblical world and the modern world. This chasm is bridged through the preaching and proclamation of the Word of God. It is the preacher, empowered through the Spirit, who stands in the gap between these two worlds. It is through preaching whereby the world of the Bible is brought into the world of modern hearers and modern culture is confronted with the Bible.

Stott begins by briefly surveying the history of preaching from Jesus to the 20th-Century. He continues by answering three objections, which are commonly leveled against preaching. First, he confronts the anti-authority mood of our culture by arguing that preaching should be dialogical - preaching is not a monologue but a conversation. The second objection is the ever-growing problem with the technological dominance of our culture. God is a speaking God and Christianity is very much a culture of the written and spoken word. How then is one to be heard in an ever-increasing culture of images? Stott shows that the sacraments are visual and most necessary our lives must visually reflect the message we proclaim. The last objection is the loss of confidence in the gospel. Founded upon strong conviction, Christian preaching, must regain confidence in the truth, relevance, and power of the gospel.

The heart of the book is found in chapters three and four. Chapter three highlights the theological foundations for preaching. One must have biblical convictions about God, Scripture, the Church, the pastorate, and preaching. We must allow the text to be master and preachers must recognize that they are servants to Scripture. In chapter four he proceeds to make the case that preaching is bridge-building. Modern people often question the relevance of ancient Scripture. It is the task of the preacher to show them Scripture's relevance and demand on their lives. Therefore preachers are to be men of the Word and men of the world.

In chapters five and six Stott offers help on the task of preaching. Chapter five deals with the roll of study in the life of the pastor. We are to study the Bible and the world and in doing such the purpose is not to gain intellectual knowledge but to learn to think and live more Christianly. Chapter six deals with the preparation and construction of sermons. He points to the necessity of noting the dominant thought of the text and using this as the basis and proposition statement of your sermon. Around this thought - the main point of the scriptural text - is to flow the entire sermon.

The final two chapters deal with the character of the preacher. Stott stresses that the preacher must the balance of sincerity and earnestness, courage and humility. The purpose of preaching is to both comfort and disturb the congregation. The preacher is to declare the sinfulness of humanity and the hope of the gospel of Christ. In doing so the preacher must speak to both the heart and the mind - the whole person is to be in view. Christian preaching is to be done in the humility of our human frailty yet in the power of the Spirit of God.

Stott's book is both a theological and practical argument for sound preaching. The chapter on the history of preaching, although terribly short, certainly serves to whet one's appetite for a deeper history on the preaching of God's Word. For filling in the blanks one should consult Hughes Oliphant-Old's magisterial The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church.

The book shows its age in dealing with the contemporary objections for another transmitter of information and images is the Internet. Between the Internet and TV the preacher has his work cut out for him. How is one to make the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments interesting and exciting for those who have the Internet and hundreds of television channels? It is truly a great and daunting task.

The section in which Stott makes suggestions in dealing with controversial issues is helpful. He suggests making good use of your congregation. Listen to your people and hear their opinions and ideas on such difficult questions. Let them speak and listen to their thoughts and ideas. Seek to know their hearts and minds and then preaching through the more difficult waters will be more safely charted.

The role of the preacher is a high and lofty task. Not only is he to know the Bible but he also must know his congregation and the world in which they exist. He is to be a man of the Bible and a man of the newspaper. The task of preaching is to bridge the chasm, which exists between the Biblical world and the modern world. It is a difficult yet great calling. Stott's book is a great guide to this end. It will benefit both the seasoned pastor and the preacher in training. And may this book serve as a call to reclaim the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in our preaching and ministry. To him be all the glory!

I just finished this book (English edition "I Believe in Preaching") and, though I had a number of quibbles, I think this is one of Stott's most classic books. Churches throughout the world have systematically abandoned expository preaching and taken hold of secular business growth strategies. While growth in numbers may occur, the depth of faith is not there because the preaching is not from the Bible. Stott's book is a reminder that preachers should not preach what the audience wants to hear, but what they need to hear. What Stott really pushed for me was the notion that preachers should engage both the intellect and the emotion. Preaching which is merely intellectual is dry and uninteresting, no matter how true it is. Preaching which is merely emotional has little substance to it. True Expository preaching (the systematic preaching through books of the Bible, rather than topics or themes or hobbyhorses of the preacher) engages both the head and the heart, the intellect and the emotions, the ancient world (of the Bible) with the modern world of today.

This excellent resource on preaching was very fresh for me. Stott approaches it from a different angle than many do. His aim is to show that preaching must connect two worlds - the Biblical world and the modern world. The image he uses is bridge-building, and the only bridge that is successfully built, is the one with an end firmly planted on both sides of the gap it attempts to span! Thus, this book encourages not only a firm grasp of the Scriptures, but a regular perusal of the newspaper . . . not because the two are equal in authority, but because the aim of the preacher is to bring the Bible to bear on the mind of the modern man. Other very interesting things are discussed - like the history of preaching, methods of study, and how to prepare sermons. An excellent resource for preachers and pastors!

John Stott is a preacher of great renown so it is both enlightening and encouraging to read about his struggles with preaching as well as the advice he gives after a lifetime in the pulpit. Throughout the book he inserted small parentheses which seem minuscule but are very helpful to the aspiring preacher. Another delight in reading Stott's book is his thorough scouring of many homiletical books of others. In reading this book, one gets the sense they are reading somewhere between 8-10 books since Stott is culling information from them. This book is a far cry from being a shot from the hip. Stott has researched his topic well. I found this book to be more than just an homiletics book but also a history book and a spiritual formation book. With the modern crisis in preaching of preachers who are ignorant of the history of preaching and more importantly impotent in their spirituality, I can hardly criticize Stott for giving more attention to these matters. Since I enjoy Church history a great deal, I was pleased to read the perspectives many of the great preachers had on the form, power and content of preaching. This bred a great deal of understanding in my own mind toward the task of preaching. I was also greatly encouraged to see the effects of God's Word as it has been preached from faithful vessels with God's glory in mind. If there is one thing I would want to communicate to others about this book it would be its emphasis on the mandatory spiritual life. From cover to cover Stott is emphatic in separating God's Word from man's word. Since the preacher is not preaching his own ideas but rather God's, it is imperative that the preacher not impede the power of the message with his own shoddy character. The preacher is first of all a man of God and secondly a receptacle and a distributor of God's Word.

I think this book needs to be read by many Christians even if they do not preach. So many have settled for either false notions of what preaching is or thrown it out all together for mere "conversations". John Piper said that it is one of the best books he has read on preaching and I would agree. This book deeply impacted me. It goes through a sort of brief history of preaching, gives an argument for Biblical expository preaching, and touches on various approaches. This is not so much a how to book, but perhaps it should be read before anyone goes to the how to books for guidance so that they can understand why they are preaching. John Stott is always a blessing with his balance, lucidity, and depth. This book is worth reading!!

Overview

John Stott's Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today is a comprehensive tool for the student of preaching or the various forms of church communication. By comprehensive, this writer means that his text begins with a concise but thorough history of preaching, addresses the contemporary issues and theological foundations of preaching, and finally moves to a handful of chapters on practical tools, helps, and applications. From beginning to end, Stott combines years of experience, research, and a wide-breath of knowledge of the art and science of communication within the realm of preaching.

Although Stott does not outline the book this way, the reader can see four major categories. The first major category is the history of preaching and the effect history (i.e. society developing) has had or will have on preaching (chapters one and two). The next section is the theological foundations of preaching (chapter three). The third section deals with the art and practice needed for being a communicator of the Bible, with ideas such as study, knowing the audience, and sermon preparation (chapters four through six). Finally, the last two chapters bring about essential qualities the communicator should possess and live out as a preacher of God's Word (chapters eight and nine).

Strengths

The most advantageous strength of this book is the breath of knowledge Stott bring to the discussion. Although the book was written in the early nineteen eighties, Stott was beginning to address issues that are now coming to full fruition. Of note, his discussion on cybernetics and the digital age and the effect it was having and will continue to have on preaching and the church is engaging. This writer would like to know Stott's thought on newer venues of preaching being used today for multisite churches and Internet campuses. His research and thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of television and digital media continue to hold true almost twenty years later. Will the Internet church/campus face the same challenges for the engagement of viewers and listeners twenty years later as television has? Can community be built online? Stott has created a primer to begin to answer these questions, but it will take the astute learner to carry his work forward.

Another strength of the book is the multitude of footnotes that reference further study materials. The serious student can validate Stott's claims by the solid research he has already done, or further their own studies by exploring the plethora of references. Other books in this category can weigh heavily on the personality-practical side of the tools the particular author has defined and is promoting. This simply creates copycat styles of preaching and communicating from a successful preacher to one who would desires to be successful. Stott provides some of his own preferences, but spends more time providing tool for the student to discover and implement for their self. In this writer's opinion, the world can use more unique and authentic preachers in the church's pulpit.

Weaknesses

Often, a strength can also be perceived as a weakness. Although the book is full of footnotes and references, this can create a staunch, academic feel. Further, Stott's style of writing, in this particular book, seems wordy and at times heavy. His style, at times, flows well, but the reader can get flustered by the frequent footnotes and research that requites the reader to do more research to fully understand and appreciate how Stott came to some of his conclusions. If the student is looking for a quick, practical read, they might need to take advantage of Howard Hendrick's Living by the Book instead of Stott's Between Two Worlds. In other words, the style of the book could limit those who try to tackle her principles.

Another weakness could also be the age of the book. Written in 1982, much has change in the world of the church and the art of biblical communication. Although most principles throughout the book are universal, chapters that deal with the information age are dated. Albeit, his research, even when done in the early eighties captured this writer's attention and caused serious reflection on the effects of the information age on preaching and teaching. Thus, how would Stott address the mass amounts of web-based development, Internet campuses, video teachings, and social media tools that permeate every area of church life and spiritual formation in our Wi-Fi frenzied society? It may be unfair to ask this of Stott, but if the student comes to this text looking for answers they could easily leave wanting more.

Personal Benefit

This writer has encountered Stott before through his prolific writing career. Many of his commentaries have provided ample information for my sermon preparation and academic research. His books continue to stand the test of time and pass rigorous academic standards that are pressed upon books in the categories, which he writes. Between Two Worlds will be a book I continue to go back to year after year during my tenure as a biblical communicator.

Of specific benefit are the final chapters that define the competencies and qualities needed in a solid communicator of the Scripture. Overtime, people will develop the process that fit their personality and styles of study and sermon preparation, but understanding the competencies that are needed are more universal. Sincerity and authenticity in the pulpit was key to this writer coming to know the Lord and desiring to follow Jesus. Humor in the messages, or even in teachings, when used appropriately, has opened my heart to accept difficult truths. Learning from Stott's research and experience has reminded me again of the type of preacher I want to be. Thus, Between Two Worlds has truly begun to bridge the gap for me between preaching the ancient scriptures in a manner that honors the Bible and the contemporary listener.

Between Two Worlds is a very comprehensive book that pulls from various resources and compiles a lot of information on the topic of preaching into one detailed book.

Stott shows that the first priority of Jesus among other things was to preach. Preaching was also the first priority to the apostles, as stated in Acts 6. Stott goes on to show how preaching was the greatest priority for the great church leaders of history, and that it was the expounding of Scripture that led the Reformation. He also says that it is when preaching God's truths is neglected that the church falls into darkness and loses its power and spirituality.

Stott answers the objections to preaching in our times. There are three main objections to preaching. The problems are the atmosphere of anti-authority, the "cybernetics revolution" and the loss of confidence in the gospel. It is argued that people do not want to hear preachers talking as if they are the authority on truth and are suspicious of the "institution" or "establishment" because of its "entrenched privilege or unassailable power." However, Stott points out though that Christ himself was somewhat of an anti-establishment figure himself. The environment is different these days because most everybody is educated and has an opinion, and pastors are no longer distinguished by their education. Nevertheless, Stott believes that people actually do want some clear guidance, though they may not want to hear some arrogant person trying to shove their opinions on other people. What they are really looking for is truth that resonates in their soul, that comes from God along and His authority, and convicts their hearts through the Holy Spirit-not just some other person's opinion. What they really need is only found in the authority of God's Word. (This was insightful.) This is a primary reason for why Stott believes expository preaching is very important and still relevant, even in these "post-modern" times. The sermon is supposed to be a revelation of God's message to His people, not merely the preacher's own opinion. He says, "The sermon is by its very nature a revelation, not an exhortation."

Another problem that people see with preaching is its relevance. Many people do not see the gospel as relevant to their lives. In order for it to be relevant to the lives of other people, it has to first affect the life of the preacher and that must be evident. Preachers can be more relevant by answering the questions that people have and dealing with the issues they face in their daily lives.

Stott also describes how the use of technology in communication has made an impact on attention span of audiences. People wonder if preaching is still an effective means of communicating with people. The book is somewhat dated because the Internet revolution had not even taken off when Stott wrote it, but he was perceptive enough to see the effect of computers and technology on communication. However, Stott argues that nothing will ever replace face-to-face communication. Stott argues that the sermon is the only effective way of fulfilling the diving imperative of communicating God's messages to his church in a relevant way. I also agree with his point about how television produces a mass-culture where people turn off their brains and merely accept what is being said, without using the necessary critical faculties. Nevertheless, we cannot take television away and it is here to stay-preachers have to be able to captivate their audience's attention.

The third problem that Stott deals with is the loss of confidence in the Gospel (not to mention the Bible). We need to believe that the Gospel has the power to give people better lives. If the preacher does not believe in what he is preaching, then he should not be preaching.

Stott's chapter on the theology of preaching was my other favorite chapter. The idea of preaching is based on several convictions. The first conviction is that God is light and truth and wants to be revealed. The second conviction is that God has taken the initiative to reveal himself through the course of history. The third conviction is that God has not merely communicated through nature, but that he has actually spoken through his Word. Stott believes that God's historical action and explanatory words go hand-in-hand. It is only because God has given us a message that we can speak with authority and not of our own opinion.

There are three convictions related to Scripture that serve as a foundation of Biblical preaching. The first is that God has spoken through Scripture. Even though they are not his direct words, the Bible claims that God inspired the writers of the Bible and they wrote what they learned in their own words. Jesus quoted from the Old Testament showing that he also believed in the authority of Scripture. We must believe that the Bible is not merely a "good book" but that it is an authoritative source of Truth that helps us understand God and the world around us. The second is that he still speaks through Scripture. We must also believe that Scripture is still relevant to us today, and that it has power to change lives. How does it have power to change lives? Because truth is a mighty force, capable of starting and stopping war when nothing else is as powerful. This is fundamental to the Christian faith. The Christian church depends on the authority of Scripture. When we preach, we are to preach with the authority of God by expounding on His messages as revealed through Scripture written by humans. Preaching caused the Reformation and the greatest spiritual revivals.

The pastor's role is as a shepherd who is responsible for guarding the spirituality of the church congregation and keeping them connected to God. As shepherds, they are responsible for the spiritual nourishment of the congregation through teaching and preaching.

Stott defines preaching as bridge building. It builds a bridge between the past, historical context and the truths contained in Scripture, connecting it to the present times in a contemporary context, thus the importance of exegesis and hermeneutics. He goes into the subject of Biblical exegesis and expository preaching. For a book that deals with preaching based on properly interpreting the Bible, see my review on "Biblical Preaching" by Robbinson. (ISBN 0801022622) The chapter on preparing sermons was mostly review for me.

We also must come to Scripture with expectancy-a hope that we will find something that God will speak to us through. However, Stott is concerned about preachers who spend all their time in their study without some practical real-world experience. He says that we should also study other things besides the Bible so we can know how to connect the Bible to modern-times.

Stott goes on to emphasize the importance of sincerity and earnestness. People want to know that we are honest, real people who really care about what we are talking about. He mentions that humor, when used properly, can be a powerful tool for breaking down defenses and connecting people on an emotional level. Finally, Stott talks about the need to be courageous in speaking about issues that may not be popular.

The strengths of this book are both many and varied. Stott argues that 'preaching is indispensable to Christianity' and to the health of the Christian church. As the title suggests, Stott discribes the work of the preacher as one of bridge-building. Because of the distance and the complexities of the ancient/Biblical world, carefully planned bridges must be built for God's Word to be loudly related to those in the modern world. To do this, the preacher must be a student of each of these respective worlds.

It is difficult for me to imagine that one could improve upon such a comprehensive treatment to the nature of the task of Christian preaching in few pages that Stott did. With hundreds of assorted quotes, Stott brings a remarkably wide range of reading to the table. Though the author made apology for the inclusion of so many quotes in the introduction (p 10) bibliophiles like me will ooze with envy and delight in the breadth of his reading.

Though "Between Two Worlds" was not a preaching method, it provides the reader with a variety of bits of wisdom and antidotes from several humbling decades of preaching at All Souls' Church in London. Though given only cursory treatment, the author does not fail to acknowledge the role of rhetoric and communication in preaching and argues quite practically that all sermons should have a 'single point of persuasion.' Using his broad scope of reading, Stott uses many delightful quotations from sources likely to be unfamiliar to most readers, to make numerous practical suggestions for how to craft illustrations, introductions, and conclusions.

These benefits are accompanied by a warm and humble, pastoral tone that encourages aspiring and current preachers to strive for excellence in the both the pulpit and the study. For this reason, I can eagerly recommend this book to anyone who aspires to speak the Word of God to His people.

I love the writing of John Stott. I have found his writing to be both easy-to-read and thought-provoking. Between Two Worlds is no different. This book is both stirring and practically helpful. In the first five words of the book, he says succinctly, "Preaching is indispensable to Christianity". God has taken the initiative to reveal Himself in His word and He calls on those who have heard His Word to speak it to others - In particular, preachers have the unique responsibility to proclaim the written Word of God to the People of God (2 Tim 4:4). Throughout this book, Stott offers many practical tips for communicating God's Word faithfully, clearly, and effectively.

In Chapters 1 and 2, Stott dispels objections to preaching by tracing the glory of preaching from Jesus to the 20th century. Chapter 3 and 4 are the heart of the book. "...the most important secrets of preaching are not technical but theological and personal", says Stott (pg 10). Stott shows that faithful preaching is truly biblical preaching that bridges the gap between the biblical and modern worlds (thus the title of the book). In Chapters 5 and 6, he gives practical advice on study and sermon preparation. Chapters 7 and 8 show the indispensable personal characteristics that should characterize the preacher.

Again, the heart of the book is Chapter 3 and 4. For truly effective preaching, there must be a true theology of preaching. Stott says, "The essential secret is not mastering certain techniques but being mastered by certain convictions." It starts by affirming the following convictions:
1. God has spoken in His Word, the Bible (pg 93-109)
2. The health of the Church depends on their attentiveness to His Word (pg 109-115)
3. Pastors' attention to the Bible should be the priority (pg 116-125). Instead, to the shame of the contemporary church, Stott says, many pastors are "essentially administrators, whose symbols of ministry are the office rather than the study, and the telephone rather than the Bible." (pg 124)
4. True preaching is expositional (pg 125-133). That is, it seeks to "bring out of the text what is there and expose it to view. The expositor prizes open what appears to be closed, makes plain what is obscure, unravels what is knotted and unfolds what is tightly packed. The opposite of exposition is `imposition', which is to impose on the text what is not there." Expositional preaching should be looking for the plain, natural , obvious meaning of each text...[asking] what did the original author intend his words to mean?..."(pg 126) The preacher must also preach with an eye for contemporary application. He knows that the living Word must be applied to living people. (pg 135-178)

Other notable Quotes:
- In preaching, "we want to provoke people to think, to answer us and to argue with us in their minds, and we should maintain such a lively (although silent) dialogue with them that they find it impossible to fall asleep" (pg 62)
- Reacting to the influence of technology and, specifically, television, Stott says "In such a dehumanized society the fellowship of the local church will become increasingly important, whose members meet one another, and talk and listen to one another in person rather than on screen." (pg 69)
- "We need to regain our confidence in the truth, relevance and power of the gospel, and begin to get excited about it again. Is the gospel good news from God or not?" (pg 85) !!!!!
- Regarding the need for prayer as the foundation for diligent study, Stott says that he does much sermon preparation on his knees knowing that we "...worship the God of the Bible and desire to humble [ourselves] before Him and His revelation, and even while I am giving my mind to the study of the text, to pray earnestly that the eyes of my heart would be enlightened (Eph 1:18)" (pg 222)
- Quoting G. Campbell Morgan, the three essentials of a sermon, are: truth, clarity and passion (pg 284)
- Stott says he prayers this prayer in the pulpit, "Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence. May your Word be our rule, your Spirit our teacher, and your greater glory our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (pg 340)

I cannot close this review without sharing a concern about this book. I know John Stott loves the Gospel. But why would he include Roman Catholic examples on pages 44 and 45 to trace the line of preaching? The list should reference those with a Biblical understanding of the church and the Gospel - faith alone in Jesus Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

Roger Van Harn referred repeatedly to John Stott's Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, c. 1982), so I found and read what will I suspect stand as one of our generation's finest studies of preaching, written by a highly-acclaimed pulpit master. Many of us will identify with Stott when he begins with the confession that "seldom if ever do I leave the pulpit without a sense of partial failure, a mood of penitence, a cry to God for forgiveness" (p. 9) for failing to do justice to the Gos¬pel's good news. Yet for all our limitations, "Preaching is indispensable to Christianity. . . . . For Christianity is, in its very essence, a religion of the Word of God" (p. 15).
That becomes clear in the sections where Stott surveys the history of preaching, showing how, century after century, great preachers have been used of God to keep alive the Faith. Next, he responds to "contemporary objections to preaching," rightly locating them in the widespread contempt for authority which characterizes modernity. What we need now, however, as sociologist Peter Berger insists, is an affirmation of "'the transcendence and authority of Christianity,'" a shift from "asking 'what does modern man have to say to the Church?'" to "asking 'what does the Church have to say to modern man?'" (p. 89). Preachers must proclaim God's everlasting Word. That means they must preach!
Such preaching must rest in clear theological foundations: convictions about God, Scripture, Church, pastoring, preaching. Anchored in abiding certainties, the world of God's Truth, but confronting the world we meet on the street and via the TV, one can begin the essential work of preaching: bridge-building. There's a "cultural gulf" to be crossed, for "Our task is to enable God's revealed truth to flow out of the Scriptures into the lives of the men and women of today" (p. 138). This means, as Karl Barth insisted, that we approach our work with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. In the words of Ian Pitt-Watson: "'Every sermon is stretched like a bowstring between the text of the bible on the one hand and the problems of contemporary human life on the other. If the string is insecurely tethered to either end, the bow is useless'" (p. 150).
Having built his case for the necessity of preaching, Stott then turns to the craft of writing and delivering sermons. He insists on the importance of study. Calvin said: "None will ever be a good minister of the word of God unless he is first of all a scholar." Then one can construct a sermon true to the text. If delivered with certain personal qualities--sincerity, earnestness, courage, humility--the sermon will reach hearers and ac¬complish God's intent for the ministry of preaching.
Stott draws upon scores of books on preaching in writing this book. His quotations amplify and support his presentation, making it a valuable collation as well as a personal position. It's one of the best studies available.