Matthew D. Kim - A Little Book for New Preachers: Why and How to Study Homiletics

MANY PEOPLE ARE DESERVING OF THANKS as I put the final touches on this book. First, I want to thank my editor, David McNutt; marketing manager, Jeff Gissing; and the marvelous team at IVP Academic. You made this experience of publishing with IVP a real delight. Thank you so much for all of your insights, hard work, and precision. The book is stronger because of your collective wisdom.

Thanks to the trustees of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for continuing to support faculty research and publication through a generous sabbatical program and to my preaching colleagues: Jeffrey Arthurs, Patricia Batten, and Pablo Jimnez for covering my teaching load and other responsibilities.

I could never thank my family enough for their continuous encouragement to engage in research and writing. Thank you Sarah, Ryan, Evan, and Aidan for giving me countless hours to pursue my calling of serving the church and the academy through publishing.

Thank you, Scott M. Gibson, for mentoring me. Your numerous kindnesses toward me and my family are completely undeserved. Thank you for encouraging me to preach and to teach homiletics. Thank you for believing in me and in Gods calling on my life as a preacher and teacher when I felt discouraged. Thank you for spending time with me, discipling me, coaching me, and for sharing your life with me. Much of the wisdom in this book has been garnered from what youve taught me through apprenticeship. Youve opened doors for me that I never envisioned. Its my joy and honor to dedicate this book to you. Thank you!

I AM PERHAPS THE LAST PERSON to write a book on the topic of preaching for new and aspiring preachers. No, I am not just exaggerating as a feigned attempt at humility. Like a growing movement of seminarians, I sojourned to seminary during the summer of 1999 completely uncertain about what life after seminary would be like. In previous generations, most seminarians felt convinced of Gods calling to the pastorate prior to taking the plunge of investing in a seminary education. However, I, as an extremely shy and introverted person, was not so sure if being a pastor was my thing. Like Moses in Exodus 4:13, I begged God often to use anyone but me.

During the first year of my MDiv program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I quickly took to Greek and later became a research assistant for Aida Besanon Spencer, a New Testament professor. I daydreamed frequently about what life in the ivory tower would look like as a New Testament scholar. Soon any distant inklings for pastoral ministry began to dissolve. I started exploring doctoral programs in New Testament so that I would have a legitimate excuse not to serve as a full-time pastor and have to deal with the problems of otherslet alone my worst fear which, God forbid, was standing in front of others to preach.

However, as I soon discovered, God has a sense of humor. I eventually took my first preaching class with the late Haddon W. Robinson, a masterful and renowned preacher, a luminary in the field of homiletics, and the author of the widely used textbook Biblical Preaching. In the first class he shared, There are two types of preachers. One preacher speaks for twenty minutes, but it feels like an hour. The other preacher speaks for an hour, but it feels like twenty minutes. My lifes journey has been trying to figure out what makes the difference. In that moment, God stirred in me an initial interest in preaching. I too, like Robinson, wanted to know what the difference was. Yet in my sermon for his class, I completely blanked and burned in the middle of the message. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, Robinson believed in and championed a no-notes policy, and I obviously needed them in that moment. I felt like a third category of preacher that Robinson had not even mentionedan utter preaching failure.

Moving on to my second preaching class, Scott M. Gibson graciously took me, a fragile young preacher, under his wing and began mentorship. I do not know why, but he shared how he sensed Gods calling on my life to preach. I continued to work hard and took other preaching electives, and soon my love and passion for preaching ensued. After some time serving in the pastorate, I now teach preaching at Gordon-Conwell, by Gods providence and grace. Each semester, I take immense satisfaction in encouraging, guiding, and nurturing novice preachers. How far God has taken me on this journey! How much more I long to improve as his messenger! For those whom God calls to preach, God will work in and through us for his glory.

I am writing this book, first, because I believe in preaching. In his classic volume Preaching and Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, The work of preaching is the highest and the greatest and most glorious calling to which anyone can ever be called. Throughout history, God has transformed lives through Christian proclamation. God believes in preaching. He has often spoken into my life through sermons as well as touching the lives of millions who have cared to listen to them. Second, I believe in youGods preachersboth beginning and seasoned ones. You are the very jars of clay about whom the apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:7 who carry and impart the treasure of this good news. Third, I love and cherish Gods people in the local church who are the valuable recipients of the preached Word.

Whether you have yet to preach your first sermon or you have preached scores of messages, I have written this book with you in mind. You may be a student in Bible college or seminary, a pastor, parachurch worker, lay leader in your congregation, professor of preaching hoping to inspire more students, or simply someone who is interested in preaching. Regardless of your station in life, you have picked up this Little Book because you want to develop in your preaching. My prayer is that this book will ignite a fire in you to preach Gods Word with great passion, courage, love, faith, and care.