Summary of the Contents of the Book - Mark Pierce



Summary of the Contents of the Book

Marvin McMickle defines his purpose clearly in the introduction of his book, Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing the Power of Exegetical Preaching. “It is the central premise of this book that preaching should be grounded and centered in the truths, insights, and subtle lessons found in the Bible.” [i] McMickle states that the Bible is the ultimate source of authority,[ii] and outlines his book with the use of eight “L’s” to describe how the Bible should be used for preaching.

When the reader turns the page from the introduction to the first chapter, he is ready for the first “L.” However, McMickle defies expectations and provides instead a first chapter on the importance of Biblical exegesis as a prelude to preaching. This exceptional chapter, not subscribing to the alliteration of the L’s, has the effect of raising its importance. McMickle discusses the pros and the cons of the exegetical methodology. However, he dwells little on the manner or practice of exegesis, choosing instead to define exegetical preaching as the 8-step process he will provide in the book as the 8 L’s: Limits, Literature, Location, Language, Links, Leads, Lessons, and Life Application. He concludes his first chapter by explaining the transition from what to “So what?” This, McMickle purports, is where preaching and exegesis meet, “when the fruit of that study has been applied to the Life Application of a particular congregation, that ‘so what’ moment becomes a blessing from God.”[iii]

By chapter 2, McMickle is ready to begin his discussion of the 8 Ls with a discussion of Limits. This chapter helps the reader limit the portion of the text of the Bible for consideration. Like the writer overwhelmed by the blank page, the preacher can be overwhelmed at first by answering the question, “What should I preach?” McMickle provides practical advice on preaching from sections of the Bible, using a single verse, phrase or even word, and describes the value of using a lectionary and following a liturgical calendar. He also discusses the use of a series of sermons.

In his next chapter, Living Water reviews the use of the Bible as literature, providing a brief overview of the different literary types one discovers in the Bible. The Bible is not a book, but rather a library of books with different authors, styles of writing, and purposes. Therefore the preacher should not preach in the same way from every section of the Bible. McMickle gives many examples of these different types of literature and the different preaching results.

McMickle reminds his reader in chapter four that the original language of the Bible was not English. He recommends that the preacher learn the original languages, but also allows for the preacher without seminary training to study different English translations of the Bible. This chapter is rich in providing resources for word study.

The fourth “L” and the subject of the fifth chapter is “Location.” McMickle maintains that good exegetical preaching will involve the study of the physical and social location within the Scripture passage. Living Water illustrates the use of location with three examples: (1) the Exodus; (2) the Nativity Story; and (3) Paul’s missionary journeys. In each case McMickle proves how an understanding of location is central to understanding the passage. He further makes his point of the importance of location by the use of more modern examples. He concludes this chapter with a discussion of the tools available for understanding location.

Chapter six is about the fifth “L”: Leads. The use of the word, leads, is an alliterative stretch; McMickle is using the word to discuss the “lead” characters in the story, otherwise known as the protagonist. His point in this chapter, though, is a good one: examine each story from a different perspective. For example, McMickle writes, consider the parable of the good Samaritan. This parable can be considered from the different angles of the priest, the Levite, the Samaritan, the man in the ditch, the innkeeper, as well as the lawyer who asks the question.

The next chapter discusses links, those Scripture passages that connect the Old Testament with the New Testament, passages that link the teachings of Jesus in the different Gospels, and the connection between the Acts of the Apostles and the epistles of Paul. McMickle writes, “In this step, the preacher is first looking to see if and how the primary texts can be further illumined by referring to other passages of Scripture that may quickly come to mind.”[iv]

In chapter 8, McMickle considers the concept of lessons. The first six steps of the process focus primarily on what the text actually says. In the seventh step, Lessons, the preacher asks the question of what the text means. “Knowing what the text SAYS is not quite enough. One pores over every word of that passage and wonders what God MEANS by that phrase.”[v] McMickle quickly changes direction from the Bible to other examples, exploring the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, a speech from Martin Luther King, Jr., and the motto on U.S. currency, “In God We Trust.” Then McMickle transitions to the work of hermeneutics, to address how the preacher uses rules to understand the meaning of a Biblical passage.

The final chapter deals with the final “L”: Life Application. Living Water reviews the difference between the skill phase, the exegetical study of the Scripture, and the creative phase, mixing together the things learned in the skill phase and shaping them into the final sermon. “It is possible that two preachers could set out to do the skill phase with the same text, and by the end of step seven they could wind up with much the same information… It is virtually impossible that those same two preachers would create the same sermon from those common ingredients.”[vi]

At this point McMickle launches into another 8-point alliteration, this time providing a model for the creative phase: (1) exegetical; (2) evangelical; (3) environmental; (4) emotional; (5) experiential; (6) epigrammatical; (7) evocative; and (8) ethical. In this chapter, McMickle provides the most hands on advice for the shaping of the sermon. The reader walks away from this longest chapter wondering if this wouldn’t better be book two as follow-up to the 8 “Ls”, or as part two of a longer book.

At the end of each chapter, McMickle provides an example of a sermon (9 sermons in all) he believes illustrates the point of that particular chapter. Most of these sermons are provided from the same text, demonstrating that many different sermons can be delivered from the same text.

Blessings

The most helpful notions of the book for me were three-fold: (1) the importance of the exegetical study for the sermon; (2) the exposure to a different style of homiletics than the one to which I am most accustomed; and (3) the provision of other resources for sermon preparation.

I appreciated the careful attention given to exegesis in sermon preparation. McMickle’s book reminded me of my first Hermeneutics course and how that class changed my thinking about the Bible, and consequently about my teaching of it to others. I was impressed with the notion of starting with the Bible and ending with the conclusions rather than the other way around, using the Bible to support the preacher’s predetermined conclusions.

A second helpful notion to me in Living Waters was the exposure to a different style of homiletics than the one to which I am most accustomed. Here, the sermons at the back of each chapter were enlightening. I tried hard as I read them to imagine what they might have sounded like as McMickle delivered them. How would I have responded? What would it have been like to sit among his congregation and listen to them? His uses of current events, and his presupposition of the struggles of the African-American society, were both new elements to me.

Finally, I will make use of the other resources for sermon preparation, which McMickle references in his book. The different books helpful to him highlighted in his chapters on language and location will become additional resources in my own library.

Questions and Quandaries

There are many issues and assertions made in this book that are troubling to me. First, and most disconcerting, is the apparent disconnect between McMickle’s description of the exegetical process in sermon preparation, and the lack of content of such a process in the writing of his final sermon. His sermons are filled with current events, American history, poetry, prose, opinion, all ingredients of great speeches, but lacking the one thing that sets apart the sermon from the speech: the Word of the Lord. Yes, he includes Scripture in every sermon, but (it seems to this student) only as another piece of support for his point, and often a less important piece compared to the others. “On Your Wall or in Your Heart?”[vii] references Deuteronomy 6:4-9, but never quotes it. Psalm 119:11 receives attention in parts of three paragraphs out of 21 paragraphs, much less attention than that given to Bob Barr, gun control, the word “observe,” and the editorial from the San Francisco Examiner. Is this really the “Word of the Lord,” which he says his deacon so badly wants to hear? Or is it more the word of Marvin McMickle?

Another huge area of disappointment for me in this book was the almost total lack of “how-to’s” provided. How much time each week should the sermon preparation take? How does one transition from research mode to writing mode to delivery mode? How does one balance the time spent in sermon prep with all the other demands of the pastorate? How does one evaluate the effectiveness of his sermon? Does the preacher set goals for the end result ahead of time? How does the rest of the church service fit into the process? Is everything in the service focused on one message that culminates in the sermon or is there a disjointed meshing of the sermon with the rest of the church service? What part does the private prayer life of the preacher play in his sermon prep? How does the preacher reconcile the needs and wants of his congregation with the motivation of the Holy Spirit within his life? This book was chosen for the curriculum because it illustrated the “science” of preaching, while another book was provided for the “art” of preaching. Reading Thirsty Water did not quench much of my thirst to know how to prepare the final sermon product.

Finally, I am disturbed by the almost total lack of address to preaching to the unconvinced, what we call in our church the “unchurched.” McMickle states his presupposition in his sermon, A Report from a Roman: “The world will not be saved by the efforts of those of us who are preachers. The world will not be saved if we are relying upon a process that involves those outside of Christ deciding to come inside the church and hear a sermon. The fact is, they are not coming.”[viii] This is not a fact. They are coming. The largest and fastest growing churches in America are filled with those who are spiritually hungry and want to know what God has to say to them. Weekly our teaching pastors at Crossroads in Mansfield see people from all walks of life enter our auditorium, because they are curious, spiritually hungry, and because of God’s good grace. How do I, as a preacher, speak to these thousands of adults in a winsome way that communicates God’s message straight from His Word?

Most sermons we read in the New Testament did not deal with the inequities or hardships of life, but rather with the powerful message of God’s love expressed through His son, Jesus. As a result of one sermon, thousands responded and were baptized into the faith. How do we preach that same message today? Should we not expect the same results today?

Endnotes

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[i] Marvin A. McMickle, Living Water for Thirsty Souls: Unleashing ht Power of Exegetical Preaching (Judson Press, Valley Forge, 2001), xv.

[ii] Ibid, xvii.

[iii] Ibid, 10.

[iv] Ibid, 132.

[v] Ibid, 149.

[vi] Ibid, 171.

[vii] Ibid, 59-67.

[viii] Ibid, 106.

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