The Archer and the Arrow

Phillip Jensen and Paul Grimmond have written a very helpful little book on preaching called The Archer and Arrow:  Preaching the Very Words of God.  Two bits of clarification:

First, as explained in the preface, Paul Grimmond did the actual writing, but all the ideas are basically Jensen's (a seasoned preacher).  Second, the "archer" of the title refers to the preacher, and the "arrow" refers to the sermon.

It would probably be tedious to summarize everything Jensen and Grimmond say.  I'd rather share a few of my favorite quotes and a very helpful illustration.

On the ministry of all believers (which the Sydney evangelicals emphasize a lot):

For all of God's people, everywhere, the challenge is to speak to each other as those who speak the very truths of God and nothing less.  Whether we speak one to another over a meal or one to a thousand from the pulpit on Sunday morning, the aim for all Christians is to speak God's truth in order that we might all be encouraged to live for the glory of Christ as we await his return. (14)

 On the essence of preaching:

What, then, is the essence of preaching?  It is not related to the number of people we speak to, nor is it related to our ability to communicate.  The essence of preaching is passing on the message as we have received it--that is what it means to speak the very oracles of God. (14)

The preacher's mission statement:

My aim is to preach the gospel by faithfully expounding the Bible to the people God has given me to love. (22)

On the preacher's motivations:

If we are preaching for the sake of God's honour, then we will long for our hearers to say, "Jesus is a great saviour" not "He is a great preacher". (92)

I found the arrow illustration very helpful.  An arrow is composed of three sections:  the arrowhead, the shaft, and the feathers.  The arrowhead corresponds to the gospel.  The preacher should preach the gospel in every sermon (though he should not feel obligated to preach every component of the gospel in every sermon), and thus he tries to pierce the heart of his people with the gospel.  The shaft corresponds to the exegesis of the particular text being preached.  The better the exegesis/shaft and deeper the gospel/arrowhead will pierce the heart.  The feathers correspond to the biblical and systematic theology (and other broader disciplines) the keep the arrow/sermon flying straight rather than veering off into heresy or error because of our bad exegesis.  It's a simple illustration, but I found it helpful.

I discovered many other gems in The Archer and the Arrow.  Any preacher or preacher-in-training would be wise to read it.

Augustine on the City

In yesterday's post one of my ideas for writing was on the Reformers' view(s) of the city.  A nice bit of timing today as I came across this from Augustine in The City of God:

If, then, home, the natural refuge from the ills of life, is itself not safe, what shall we say of the city, which, as it is larger, is so much the more filled with lawsuits civil and criminal, and is never free from the fear, if sometimes the actual outbreak, of disturbing and bloody insurrections and civil wars? (19.5)

Augustine predated the Reformers by over a millennium, but since they counted him one of their own I wonder if they shared such sentiments.

In the meantime

As I happily wade through about three or four books (depending on how one counts how many books I'm reading at the moment, but [though I love parenthetical asides] explaining what I mean would be irrelevant and distracting [indeed, more irrelevant and distracting than this parenthetical aside]) and await til I can review them, I thought it'd be fun to go a different direction than my usual meanderings on reading.

Writing rather than reading will be the focus of today's entry.  I enjoy writing, and would love to one day actually publish something moderately fun and/or helpful.  Here are a few ideas for writing that I may or may not do anything with:

(1) The Reformers and the City.  There's lots of talk these days about cities:  about how the world is steadily urbanizing, about Global Cities, urban ministry, a theology of the city, and so forth.  I'm really curious to know what the Protestant Reformers thought about the city.  Calvin ministered in Geneva.  Zwingli ministered in  Zurich.  Luther was in Wittenberg.  What did they think about their cities or "The City?"  I don't know but I'm curious.  I wonder if they have any wisdom for us.

(2) In Praise of Chicago.  It'd be fun to write about things I love about Chicago.  No educational or instructive purpose.  Just for fun.

(3) The History of Evangelicalism in Chicago.  Don't know if anyone's ever written about this.  But it would be both fun and instructive (at least I think so).

(4) A children's book about two squirrels.  Don't laugh.  I wrote the first chapter back four or five years ago just for fun.  Now Duncan's getting to the point of understanding it.  I think he'd like it.

(5) A pamphlet on adoption.  This one's already in the works.

Until then, there's plenty of books to keep reading, lattes to keep making, and family to keep loving/protecting/providing for/preventing from eating unknown objects off the ground/etc.

Prioritizing Your Reading

In the middle of several books (City of God [Augustine not Lins], The Archer and the Arrow [on preaching], and Hero [Lawrence of Arabia bio]), so no new reviews.  Instead, it would be a good time to note Tony Reinke's six priorities for reading:

1.  Reading Scripture
2.  Reading to know and delight in Christ
3.  Reading to kindle spiritual reflection
4.  Reading to initiate personal change
5.  Reading to pursue vocational excellence
6.  Reading to enjoy a good story

Reinke is the author of Lit:  A Christian Guide to Reading Books.  See here for an explanation of each point.  It reminds me a bit of Francis Bacon's proverb:

Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not curiously, and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention.

Happy Birthday

Today, a long time ago, Bilbo Baggins celebrated his eleventy-first birthday ("111, a rather curious number").  Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's younger cousin, turned thirty-three, when Hobbits come of age.  In light of such a joyous occasion I'd like to wish all my readers peace, a bountiful harvest, and the best tobacco for their pipes in whatever corner of the Shire they might reside.

A favorite essayist on a favorite children's book

Alan Jacobs on The Wind in the Willows.

For my part, I've read it twice and plan to read it to my children (and maybe just myself) over and over.  It's charming, very funny, beautiful, and just fun.

HT:  Justin Taylor

The Pleasures of Re-reading

Last week I completed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, thus concluding this year's reading of Harry Potter.  My third reading of the series was every bit as enjoyable as the first two.  It confirmed my conviction that if one truly loves a book he or she will keep reading that book over and over again.

A few thoughts from this reading:

(1) I noticed details I had either forgotten or never noticed to begin with, like Hagrid's pumpkins in The Sorcerer's Stone and the subtle hints of Harry's growing love for Ginny in The Half-Blood Prince.

(2) Something I find particularly satisfying is the way Rowling uses little, almost imperceptible details that become important later on in the series.  For example, the mention of Dumbledore's battle with Grindelwald in the first book that eventually becomes a huge point in the revelation of Dumbledore's full past and true character in the final book; the fact that Neville is raised by his grandmother, which eventually leads to the back story of what happened to his parents; the twin cores of Harry's and Voldemort's wand.

(3) I love Neville's character development from a bumbling, hapless boy to a courageous leader (and true Gryffindor) who cuts off the head of Voldemort's snake with the sword of Gryffindor.

(4) Severus Snape still remains a bit of a mystery to me.  He's so ambiguous:  he's finally proved to be trustworthy to the point of death (and becomes a namesake for one of Harry's son's), and it's really quite touching how he never stopped loving Harry's mother, but he was a jerk to Harry.  Almost sadistically cruel.  Maybe his ambiguity is what makes him so fascinating.

(5) I'm going to keep reading Harry Potter.  The prose isn't brilliant (though it improves remarkably midway through the series), but I care for the characters, the plots are satisfying, and the narrative world is compelling.