The Heart of the Preacher
This past year has provided me with many preaching opportunities. While I typically teach Sunday School, I have remained open to speaking wherever God leads me. While I appreciate books that help with the style and substance of preaching, I must not neglect to examine my heart. The Heart of the Preacher by Rick Reed is a book that I believe is both helpful and crucial for my spiritual formation as I take on more opportunities to preach.
Preparing Your Soul
Author Rick Reed is the president of Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. He has also served as the plenary and seminar presenter for Billy Graham’s School of Evangelism and is a master coach for the Global Proclamation Academy in Dallas, Texas, with REACH ministries. These qualifications alone seem impressive for a small-town teacher like me, but he writes in a way that is accessible, pastoral, and practical.
The book is divided into two halves. The first half focuses on Testing the Preacher’s Heart, calling us to examine our heart’s motives and attitudes. The second half is about Strengthening the Preacher’s Heart, offering encouragement and practical help to preachers. He keeps his chapters and paragraphs short, sticking to the point.
Reed typically opens his chapters with a personal anecdote or real-life example. He then takes us to Scripture to see what it has to say. He clearly breaks down the text and points out what we need to notice. He offers encouragement and provides advice grounded in wisdom.
Proclaiming the Word
The issues addressed in this book are not surface-level or cliché. Chapter 5 focuses on laziness. While many might think they are busy, Reed digs deeper and reveals how busyness may actually be a sign of laziness, especially in preaching.
Reed challenges his readers to become excellent preachers. In Chapter 8, he uses the memorable example of music soloists putting aside their music to establish a deeper connection and better communicate with the audience. In the same way, he challenges preachers to overcome fear and try preaching without sermon manuscripts and notes.
While this book encourages much introspection, Reed also teaches us how to rightly respond to others. For example, Chapter 11 addresses disengaged listeners, and Reed offers wisdom on preaching to those who are dozing or disgruntled.
Forming Our Hearts
This book provides excellent content on topics pertinent to preachers for congregations of all sizes and backgrounds. What I appreciate most, however, is that Reed does not seek to make himself the hero of his book. He allows us to learn from his examples, often painfully awkward failures, and encourages us. He exhorts us to trust in God, directs us to look to Christ, and asks us to depend on the Holy Spirit. As I read his writing, I can perceive his heart—the heart of a humble preacher. It is a heart I aspire to cultivate for myself.
I received a media copy of The Heart of the Preacher and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.