God’s Work in God’s Way

“In spite of the historic and uniform conviction of the Reformed churches
regarding the centrality of preaching as a means of grace, this conviction
does not enjoy a lively and ready reception among many Reformed
churches today. The Reformation’s view of preaching has been seriously
challenged in recent years, even in churches and communions that fall
within the Reformed tradition.

“On the one hand, there is a spirit of democratization and egalitarianism
that chafes at the notion of an ordained ministry whose administration
of the Word of God in preaching has a place of pre-eminence in the church.
When this spirit captivates the churches, all of the members alike
become equally “ministers” of the Word of God, the minister of the
Word and sacraments being only a specialized expression of a more
general activity.

“And on the other hand, there is a growing prejudice that preaching no
longer serves as an effective means of communicating the gospel.
This prejudice can give birth to an almost endless proliferation of new
devices or strategies for preaching the gospel—from a kind of
neo-sacramentalism among some evangelicals to alternatives to
preaching in drama, music, and other, sometimes esoteric, worship
practices. The only common thread holding these devices together
is that they constitute an alternative to preaching.

“The sorry image of preaching today can easily be illustrated by noting
that the expression, ‘to preach to (at) someone,’ is generally thought
to be objectionable.”

See also:

THE GOD-APPOINTED AGENT OF EVANGELISM — by R. B. Kuiper

EFFECTIVE EVANGELISM — by Larry Wilson

THE ORDINARY MEANS OF GROWTH — by Ligon Duncan

ESPECIALLY PREACHING: THE ORDINARY MEANS OF GRACE
AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY — by Luke Stamps