Dr Henry Drummond thinks that
seminaries are doing an inadequate job in the training of preachers because, firstly,
teachers have so given themselves to the historico-critical method that it has suddenly
undermined the authority of the Word of God. Preachers, and/or their professors, now do not have confidence
in the Scriptures, therefore they do not believe that the unfolding of the Word
of God is where the power of preaching really is.
I commenced my ministerial training in 1975 in what is now Union Theological College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During a conversation with a friend this past week, he indicated to me that in the College there does not seem to be any training on preaching. I informed him that when I was there all those years ago, we had a full lecture by the Professor of Practical Theology whose responsibilities included training us how to preach, was given on how to fold a communion cloth. It doesn't get much worse than that! But no training is given to trainee ministers on how to do the single most important task in their calling.
While it is important to have some knowledge of the mechanics of sermon preparation and delivery, these are clearly not the vital issues. You could train a monkey how to do these tasks. What is vitally important is this: has the man received a clear and discernible calling from God to the Christian ministry? Does he have the requisite gifts for this task? Is he passionate about this work? Does he know what needs to be preached even if he as yet does not know how to preach?
Secondly, the homiletics departments of seminaries have generally failed to emphasise expository preaching. Since Fosdick, life situation preaching has been emphasised. The climate in many congregations today is such that it dictates a low priority of preaching, where preaching is not seen as significant in ministry at all. So often, Christians prefer to sit in judgment on the preaching, and even say such things as this: "if a man cannot say what he has to say in 15-20 minutes, he shouldn't be a preacher." Today, preaching must be ultra-brief and go over us and hit our neighbour. This anti-preaching climate has a destructive effect on the preacher himself, for his very call is under question, his raison d’être is challenged. And if such a climate tends to destroy the preacher, then the congregation has little or no chance of surviving. What many congregations want today is not a preacher of the Word of God but an office manager, (Ravenhill).
I commenced my ministerial training in 1975 in what is now Union Theological College in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During a conversation with a friend this past week, he indicated to me that in the College there does not seem to be any training on preaching. I informed him that when I was there all those years ago, we had a full lecture by the Professor of Practical Theology whose responsibilities included training us how to preach, was given on how to fold a communion cloth. It doesn't get much worse than that! But no training is given to trainee ministers on how to do the single most important task in their calling.
While it is important to have some knowledge of the mechanics of sermon preparation and delivery, these are clearly not the vital issues. You could train a monkey how to do these tasks. What is vitally important is this: has the man received a clear and discernible calling from God to the Christian ministry? Does he have the requisite gifts for this task? Is he passionate about this work? Does he know what needs to be preached even if he as yet does not know how to preach?
Secondly, the homiletics departments of seminaries have generally failed to emphasise expository preaching. Since Fosdick, life situation preaching has been emphasised. The climate in many congregations today is such that it dictates a low priority of preaching, where preaching is not seen as significant in ministry at all. So often, Christians prefer to sit in judgment on the preaching, and even say such things as this: "if a man cannot say what he has to say in 15-20 minutes, he shouldn't be a preacher." Today, preaching must be ultra-brief and go over us and hit our neighbour. This anti-preaching climate has a destructive effect on the preacher himself, for his very call is under question, his raison d’être is challenged. And if such a climate tends to destroy the preacher, then the congregation has little or no chance of surviving. What many congregations want today is not a preacher of the Word of God but an office manager, (Ravenhill).
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