Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life (Paperback)

by Robert Smith (Author), James Earl Massey (Foreword)
Key Phrases: dancing god, preexistent eternity, doctrinal preaching, Word of God, New York, Holy Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Preaching magazine’s 2008 Book of the Year! The theme of doctrinal preaching and teaching comes to life through the enthusiastic and inspired writing of professor Robert Smith in Doctrine That Dances.  Advance Praise: “At a time when so much of the conversation on preaching deals with presentation, Robert Smith has reminded us that effective teaching must also take the theological task seriously. He makes his case so well that his book, Doctrine that Dances, is our Preaching Book of the Year.” Michael Duduit, editor, Preaching magazine
"Away with dull doctrinal sermons! Using the metaphor of music, the author shows us how to blend cogitation and celebration—mind and heart—in our preaching of Bible doctrine. You can benefit from his wide knowledge and experience in traditional western homiletics as well as African American preaching. We have much to learn from each other, and this book is a valuable contribution to the current conversation." Warren W. Wiersbe, former pastor of Moody Church, general director of Back to the Bible, and coauthor of Preaching in Black & White
“A masterful preacher and teacher himself, Smith provides direction for students, young pastors and veteran preachers alike. Pulpits across the land will be strengthened as preachers implement the guidance offered in this volume. Doctrine That Dances will become mandatory reading for a new generation of preachers. It is a joy to recommend this marvelous work.”
David Dockery, president, Union University
“Dr. Robert Smith, Jr. is one of the most compelling voices in American preaching today . . . Doctrine That Dances describes the preacher’s task in a way that is at once personal, passionate, and provocative. This book describes the kind of preaching that is at the heart of the awakening that must come.”
Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School and a senior editor at Christianity Today

About the Author

Robert Smith is professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he received the Teacher of the Year award in 2005. His research interests include the place of passion in preaching, the literary history of African American preaching, Christological preaching, and theologies of preaching. Smith and his wife have four children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: B&H Academic (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805446842
• ISBN-13: 978-0805446845
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #488,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear & Engaging...Recommended for Preachers, March 31, 2008

By	Erik Raymond "IrishCalvinist.com" (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Every now and then you need to be made to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps there are few ways to make people fee more uncomfortable than to talk to them about them public speaking or dancing. Robert Smith attempts to combine both of these uncomfortable realities into a helpful metaphor for biblical preaching.

Robert Smith is professor of Christian preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to this, he was a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Right off the bat you have got to respect Smith's gutsy-ness to link the sacred act of preaching to a metaphor such as dancing. Remember, Smith is from a Baptist institution. I can't wait for his next book, perhaps Fermenting Truth: A Pastor's Guide to a Gloriously Intoxicating Ministry

Doctrine that Dances is primarily a book for preachers. Smith employs two main metaphors throughout.

The first is that the preacher is to be a `doxological dancer'. That is to say he is to be not just mentally engaged with the passage but also emotionally engaged. Smith warns against pastors spending time in the study of the word but neglecting their due time under the knife, in surgery, so to speak.

The second metaphor is that the preacher is to be an `exegetical escort'. He is to use the text to bring people into the presence of God. Here is a definition from Smith of such doctrinal preaching:

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My definition of doctrinal preaching emphasizes its underlying aim: transformation through Christ. I state that doctrinal preaching is the escorting of the hearers into the presence of God for the purpose of transformation. I contend that the task of the doctrinal preacher is to serve as an escort who ushers the hearer into the presence of God through the proper and precise expounding of the Word of God. When this is done, the efforts of the doctrinal preachers have reached their limits because they cannot transform the hearer. The hearer is left in the presence of the only One who can transform a human soul--Christ.

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Some may think that Smith is just being too cute with these metaphors and it is overkill. I'll be honest, I thought the same thing for the first 30 or so pages. But Smith pulls it off. He keeps emphasizing the metaphors and developing them within the context of pastoral ministry. When you finish the book I trust you'll agree that you have been served well by a man who wants to see God glorified and people transformed (including the preacher) by the faithful study and proclamation of the Word of God.

The book is written in a very engaging style. Smith is very culturally relevant (a good model for preachers) and writes with an eye toward the end goal (transformation). He also recognizes the negative stigma of doctrinal preaching, that it is boring. However, he doesn't flinch; his charge is for men to not make the glorious truth of Scripture boring but rather to be affected by this truth and then preach as a man who has been so affected.

I think Smith does a great job balancing the oft distorted poles of emotion and content. Too often men compromise one for the other and sadly the casualties are in the pews.

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Smith writes:

The preachers are simultaneously exegetical escorts and doxological dancers as they respond respectively to the substance of the Word of God within a style that is unique to their own personality yet reflective of an enthusiastic and passionate delivery. Doctrinal preaching includes both the exegetical escorting of the hearer and the doxological dancing of the preacher as the preacher ushers the hearer into the presence of God for the purpose of transformation. The preacher, who prior to the preaching moment has been transformed and who dances in the delivery of the message, expects the hearers also to be doxologically responsive to the Word of God because to the transformative moment. The doxological response in the preaching and hearing of the Word of God does not enter the sermon in its conclusion; rather, it begins the sermon in its introduction and resounds throughout the message.
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Throughout the book Smith quotes from people that I did not expect. I wonder as to why he would repeatedly quote Harry Emerson Fosdick, as well as Karl Barth, and St. Francis of Assisi. I did not find their quotes to add significant value to the point he was making and without a disclaimer would be concerned about folks embracing the rest of their teachings within such a context. This however, would not cause me to not recommend this book to preachers.

Finally, there is a continued reference to American slavery, African American preaching and the development of Christianity within the early African-American community. I had found this curious throughout the first 2/3 of the book until I realized the Smith himself was an African-American. This disclosure by Smith was helpful.

Smith has a wide potential readership, the Baptist community (both Reformed and Arminian), the African-American Community, and the rest of evangelicalism. Each area needs to be reminded of the call to preach the word faithfully and passionately for the glory of God and the transformation of people. May God be pleased to use it to this end.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for preachers who are in the dumps and preach boring sermons!, August 10, 2008

By	Thomas M. Meadows - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While a sermon is NOT supposed to be an entertainment, it IS supposed to rouse the listeners to faith, action, and hope. If your preaching is lacking, Dr. Smith has a LOT of help for you.

He is one of my favorite preachers, by a LONG shot. I listen to EVERY sermon he preaches that I can find. His sermons are absolutely LOADED with good theology (and I don't mean "purpose driven drivel")--- it is loaded with theology put to work!

Smith has a magical way with analogies, metaphors, and imagination that most of us don't quite get. I am convinced that PROPER creativity is CAUGHT as much as it is TAUGHT--- read this book and let Smith's logic and ingenuity sink in.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smith is "logic" on fire, January 28, 2008

By	Brian Fulton - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Smith has introduced a work that will encourage, inspire, and educate preachers today who desire to be true to God's Word. Today, many pastor's preach to a crowd that is biblically illiterate. Smith explain how it is our responsibility to escort these listeners into God's presence through both the emotion and the mind. Doctrine that dances will help you see the Christ-centered need in your message and the need to preach hope in his second coming. Must read for any preacher today seeking to be both relevant and biblical.