Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition [Hardcover]

Calvin Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

The pastors and seminary students who browse the shelves of Christian bookstores are looking for resources that will help them inject vigor and passion into their ministry. What they need is a book on narrative exposition, a book that will help them connect to the younger, contemporary members in the church such as GenXers and millenials. This is that book. Because they are speaking to a younger society more attuned to lively dialogue and visual images, pastors need a fresh wineskin for a timeless message of redemption. Calvin Miller, who has preached and equipped preachers for decades, offers a volume of helpful insights for pastors to deliver the heart of the gospel via the Jesus-endorsed vessel of compelling storytelling. For the working pastor, Miller's crash course on preaching is a welcomed study.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

FRONT FLAP: A powerful synthesis of biblical truth and storytelling Pastors and seminary students need to learn how to connect to younger church members, such as GenXers and millenials. They need a fresh wineskin for the timeless message of redemption. The challenge of contemporary preaching is packaging a message that holds the attention and touches the hearts of those who listen-while offering biblical substance in the process. Many preachers long to bring exposition and narrative together in a style that leads to transcendent moments. This book will help you embrace this healthy combination and preach in a way that is kingdom-building. Calvin Miller has preached and equipped preachers for decades. In Preaching, he offers a volume of helpful insights for pastors and homiletics students to deliver the heart of the gospel via the Jesus-approved vessel of compelling storytelling. BACK FLAP: Calvin Miller (D. Min., Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), poet, preacher, author, and teacher, has served as a senior pastor in Omaha and as a writer-in-residence and professor of communications and homiletics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently a professor of divinity in preaching and pastoral ministry at Samford University's Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. When not teaching or writing, Dr. Miller speaks at a variety of conferences. He has written over forty books, including The Singer trilogy.

From the Back Cover

"A lifetime of preaching and teaching the art of preaching crackles and pops in this bonfire of a book. In sentences of heat and light--blazing passion, luminous intelligence--Calvin Miller, one of our best preachers and writers, tells us what he does best--and why and how."--Eugene Peterson, professor emeritus of spiritual theology, Regent College "Calvin Miller comes as a master storyteller to teach us how to tell the gospel to a generation thirsting for narratives to explain our world."--Bryan Chapell, president, Covenant Theological Seminary "If you are a preacher, read this book! Calvin Miller has a lot to say about preaching, and he says it well. Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition may take a few hours to read, but it can change your preaching for a lifetime."--Haddon Robinson, Harold John Ockenga Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary "Miller's work on narrative exposition is an important contribution that will help both novice and veteran preachers explore new approaches to proclaiming biblical truth."--Michael Duduit, editor, Preaching magazine "Miller will encourage you to take risks, to explore new ways of crafting a sermon that will be memorable as well as biblically substantive."--Reg Grant, professor of pastoral ministries, Dallas Theological Seminary "Informative, inspirational, and utterly engaging, it's a must-read for all who are involved in the ongoing challenge of biblical preaching in a postmodern culture!"--Scott Wenig, professor of applied theology, Denver Seminary

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books; Reprinted edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801012902
• ISBN-13: 978-0801012907
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Calvin Miller has written over 40 books of popular theology and inspiration. A former pastor, he is professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife, Joyce, have two grown children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generally Helpful Ideas for Quality Preaching, December 17, 2008

By 

Tim R. Dolan "Wordstudy" (Vancouver, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition (Hardcover)

The first chapter of Calvin Miller's book entitled Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition was essentially about who the messenger of a sermon is. It is entitled, Who's Talking? He writes, "The force of preaching must begin with who's saying it." Miller says that people care about the preacher just as much as the message; or more precisely that the messenger should not be proclaiming something that he does not practice. He says, "his congregation longs to see their pastor as a person of faith .... the world is tired of hearing pulpit "how-tos" that have arrived to take place of genuine transcendence." The preacher should be a person of information and should be there for the people. His task is to be a shepherd. Miller says, "Shepherds guard, heal, tend, and maybe even shear, when the care of the sheep require it. But of all the activities nothing is more critical than feeding them homiletically." Generally, the preacher must live with the people and be transparent as one who truly trusts God and speaks the words of Scripture.
Chapter two is primarily about the audience and how they are affected by the sermon. This section was the most compelling for me personally because I thought of some of my sermons as purely theological. Additionally, it grabbed me and had me wanting to read more concerning this topic. For the solid believer these kinds of sermons may be helpful; but for anyone else they are probably pretty dry of any meaning for practical life. How convicting is the statement, "Doctrinal preachers often fall into the trap of giving their congregations the notion that the Bible is something to know but not necessarily to live by." Miller says that "application is where the rubber meets the road;" which makes perfect sense.... even though I am still practicing how to be better at that. His immutable propositions conclude and capture much of the chapter meaning: "Here's who will hear me. Here's what they want to hear. Here's what they need to hear. Here's what will fascinate them. Here's what will transform them."
Chapter three is concerning how the sermon is relayed in the pale of who the preacher is. In considering an analysis of the passage; how does it relate to the preacher's life and therefore the congregation's life. Miller says, "Sermon hearers are not good at separating their feelings about the sermon from their feelings for the preacher." When performing a relational analysis, substance analysis, and in consideration of the content of the message; does the preacher convey that what he is preaching works? A great quotation that sums up chapter three is: "Spiritual formation is not a destination to which we arrive but a hunger of heart we long to satisfy. I believe preachers have lost a great deal of credibility in the ministry because they project that they are living in a spiritually satisfied state rather than living in a wilderness of hunger for closer intimacy with Christ."
Chapter four is about what to do with the message of the sermon. Once a person has heard a message, how should that message possibly be applied to life. What should I do once I have heard the message? Miller offers three axioms of application; which should help the preacher understand how application should affect his hearers. First, it is common ground that most people would rather just hear and do nothing at all. Second, most people don't mind understanding and picturing the ideal circumstance; they just do not want to go through the hard work of change or transformation. Thirdly, most people tend to think that a call to change is for other people and not themselves. In this chapter, Miller gives some ideas on how to deal with these difficulties.
Chapter five begins a section that deals particularly with writing the sermon and begins with the title, and theme of the sermon. And he concludes the chapter with pacing and preparing for the message. Included is a key idea; which is the thesis: "the Big Idea." Generally, the thesis or main idea is a "short statement that expresses what you're going to talk about and what the sermon will call the reader to do about it." One of the key fundamentals of sermon preparation according to this chapter is "Practice ahead of time writing out your thesis for all of your long-range sermon plans." In pacing he writes about the intensity and balance in moderating your content. He also includes pointers on how to plan and perform sermon series.
Chapter six digs into exegetical determination of meaning. Two major ideas characterize this chapter; what the text has to say in historical context and what the passage means in a preachers own life. Miller says, "the Bible is the most powerful way to comment on what the Bible has to say." As far as the personal aspect of sermonizing, Miller says, "They want to know why you have selected the text and what part this text has played in your life." Finally, in concluding the chapter he discusses narrative and propositional preaching of the text. He says that narrative goes well with proposition and proposition is supported well by narrative. The writer makes a final point about honoring the genre of the text. Which might deal with tone, and how the message is presented? A song is a song, judgment is judgment!
Chapter seven explains content and organization of the sermon. Miller addresses how stories are told effectively; and how they might be incorporated into the sermon with other items such as statistics, propositions, applications, etc.... He briefly addresses how the motif may be used and explains concepts related to telling and re-telling of stories. Within the story is how characters are built up to explain a point to the story. I liked the idea of getting, "The American Bathroom Book," which apparently includes a synopsis of many different books so that literary images and parallels can be used in your sermons. Finally, in writing a sermon; he discusses that we should always save the very best revealing information or culmination of interest for the very end of the sermon. If we give a huge crescendo of information at the mid-point and then end flat, then we have done a disservice to our hearers.
Chapter eight begins a section on actually presenting the sermon. Some of the highlights are style; which he emphasizes is personal. He does explain some things that he feels take away from an effective message in style. But a pinnacle in chapter eight is the section on passion. I found it highly valuable that we need to believe what we are preaching. Miller says we, "must believe and believe passionately," and that "worthy sermons are the result of passion." I believe it was in this section or the section on tone that he mentioned that we do not have to yell about everything or have a `preacher's voice' throughout the message. Yes, he says, "many wonder if the ear-splitting noise level is really necessary in saying `God loves you.'" Miller concludes the remainder of this chapter with axioms to delivery of the sermon. I attempted to use a few of these in my last sermon. First, I tried to eliminate meandering or hiding behind the pulpit. I also identified with my audience by not overdressing; and I simply did not use the audio system during my message. Although, I worked on it more; I still could not eliminate what Miller calls "affections of manner" like moving around. Although, I eliminated much verbal pause, I still had some moments when I slipped into bad habits. Additionally, although I found his suggestions about manuscripts helpful; it may be some time until I feel comfortable going with only the points of a sermon. I felt more comfortable with notes away from the pulpit and did not think they were too distracting to the message though.
The final chapter nine, describes some of the effects of preaching on the sermonizer. Miller quotes Thor Hall saying, "every sermon is a trip--a movement from where we are to where we ought to be." Because the message should have meaning for practical life and should therefore take us somewhere; I agreed with Miller's comment about young pastors. I was amazed and even chuckled, but I agreed! He said, "I think that young pastors should be defrocked for a week or two for joyously creating mayhem along the way. And many a church has ended up in a dead-end, dreamless world, led there by an overjoyous pulpit that loved the journey but never had a fondness for maps." It just goes to show what an impact an enthusiastic person could cause on a wayward congregation. In conclusion, Miller gives us some guides for traveling through messages. Essentially these guides discuss how to create better understanding for all audiences; how to read feedback; how to pace and present delivery; and finally how to live with the messages that are given. I see this to be concerned with the change in a message-givers life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and Serious at the Same Time, September 15, 2010

By 

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett "Author of Developing Le... (Barre, Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition (Paperback)

Great book. What I found most interesting is that there were bits of humor here and there that gave a soft touch to what is clearly a serious issue to the author. That made it unique for a book on preaching.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to preach and BE a preacher., April 6, 2010

By 

PastoralMusings "mslapastor" (Dixie) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition (Paperback)

Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition
What I expected was to be another book teaching how to prepare a sermon was a very pleasant and different book. There are indeed some very good points about creating a sermon and the author gives many pointers along the way in the form of questions and outlines that one can use to help guide them in their sermon preparation. This book was different in that it teaches things that most preachers will probably never learn in seminary: the interaction with the congregation.
Miller calls for us to be expositors, but not dull, dreary ones. We should be expositors who can tell the story of God's glory in a manner that grips the hearts and minds of the people. Whether we add humor, drama, good illustrations, or use a narrative text, we should always seek to create something more than a three point sermon. It's not that we should have a 4-7 point sermon. It's that we should rather refuse to take the one point of a text and break it into pieces that seem unrelated. Let the sermon have one point even if our outline has seven. What? Yes. The sermon should find the big picture of the text and simply repaint the picture so as to appeal to the heart of each hearer with the message of God.
In so doing, Miller reminds us to exegete our text before we turn to the books. We should read our text and learn all that we can from it on our own before we turn to the library to see what others have to say about it. In so doing, we become part of the text, it becomes part of us, and our people recognize the fact that what we are preaching is from our hearts.
Not only should we exegete the text, but we should exegete the congregation. Most pastors know to whom they are preaching. We should see the crowd, know their needs, heartaches, and struggles. We should then take our text and see how it relates to them and how we should apply it to them.
What truly spoke to me, however, is the fact that Miller calls for the preacher to be a person in whom the fire of God burns. The church will seldom get on fire if the pulpit is not burning brightly. He calls for the pastor to be a man of character who will live what he preaches and have a good testimony before the people so that they know he is genuine. The strength of a sermon is not always found in rhetorical skill, but often in relationships. The people often listen because of what and who the pastor is instead of how he speaks.
The author also warns us about common pitfalls such as: expecting each sermon to be our best, and the next sermon to improve upon that. Often we fail. When we are committed to being faithful, and the church knows that we love Christ and them, we can relax in the performance category and get down to the work of simply getting the message across. He also speaks about dealing with disruptions, long-term pastorates, and much more.
If I were to sum it up, I would say that Miller calls the preacher to not only be a good expositor who can relate the message to the people, but to be a sermon in himself so that the people will listen to him.
Thanks to our friends at Baker for this review copy.