Religious studies
The book has been broken down in to four parts covering fifteen chapters. The readers are first called to think over the preaching task. In an age that has put emphasis on accuracy and information from the podium, the author issues a warning and a reminder that information is not sufficient and that a pastor ought to adopt a technique that focuses on changing life. He advises pastors to get prepared for the task. The preparation involves spending time in study, creating a sermon and praying. The author emphasizes on the pure time that is involved in preparation and prayer. He also urges pastors to not take shortcuts in case they wish to make a difference with their sermon.In the third section, the author focuses on the preaching act and some of the technicalities of the preparation process. He persuades pastors to preach understandable sermons and that Christ should be kept at the centre of preaching. Only the creator and Changer of life can bring considerable results in the lives of God’s followers.
STRENGTHS
Although this book is generally good to read, it has a number of strength compared to other preaching texts. Primarily, an outline for sermonizing advocated by the author connects the major points of the preaching, to the next point in a consistent sequence that eventually leads to a conclusion that responds the topic in question, moreover the outline connects each point of the sermon to the next and to the primary point.
The Strength of this book is also illustrated in the last section where Fabarez associates tools that he presents to the people attending worship to pertain the sermon they attend to with the small ministry of their church. The outline sheet that is give out at his church, an outline sheet distributed to the church members offers a place for taking notes and application questions are available at the back on the sheet which used by the small group ministries in the church. This provides an application opportunity unlike others that I have come across. This, in actual fact is a method that most churches may experiment with at their church.
WEAKNESSES
For anybody who has spent time in preaching literature, the first chapters were weak and also offer nothing new. Literature on expository preaching and the preacher’s personal life is huge and to a large extent, it is better compared to what the author has provided the same subjects covered in the first four chapters. For instance, Chapter three focus on the preacher’s life. Sadly, in this chapter, the author has covered too much material that it is uneven and difficult to read. There is solid information in the chapter and the entire book could simply have been written just on the information that has been covered in this chapter.
The content of the book can help me to be a more effective preacher since it urges one to do the preaching with the viewpoint of changing lives. As a pastor, when I set forth the religious direction for the church, I ought to have the possibility of changing lives in my focus. Every step I take as a pastor must be done with the scope of changing lives
Reference
Michael, Fabarez. Preaching That Changes Lives .Nashville, Tenn: T. Nelson Publishers, 2002.
