The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
The premise of this book is simple: Preachers can improve their preaching significantly by strengthening specific skills used in the preparation of expository sermons. Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching concentrates on twelve tasks that are necessary to the most effective sermon preparation:
- Diagramming the text structure
- Noting the text details
- Asking research questions
- Naming the text idea
- Bridging from text to sermon
- Writing sermon divisions
- Balancing persuasive elements
- Exploring natural analogies
- Drawing pictures, telling stories
- Touching human experience
- Aiming for a faith response
- Planning the oral presentation
Recent seminary graduates and seasoned pastors alike will easily identify skills that need personal improvement, and McDill encourages readers to address those areas at their own pace and in whatever order they feel is best. Every chapter of this new edition is revised and updated; also included are immensely helpful worksheets and real sermon examples.
Live up to your God-given gospel-sharing potential with Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching.
Top Highlights
“Second, note what kind of literature your text seems to be.” (Page 42)
“Also identify commands or admonitions to the readers.” (Page 46)
“We have identified these connectives: (1) comparisons, (2) contrasts, (3) conditional statements, (4) correlative structure, (5) reasons, (6) purpose, and (7) results.” (Page 44)
“The essential message of the Bible is that God is, that God can, that God will, and that God has already. These are indicative statements.” (Page 196)
“4. Put the connectives in brackets and set them apart for emphasis” (Page 25)
- Title: The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching
- Author: Wayne McDill
- Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
- Publication Date: 2006
- Pages: 305
Wayne McDill is senior professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. His books have been translated into several languages for pastor-training around the world.
Reviews
5 ratings
Will Atha
12/13/2021
I agree with James. This is a must have preaching book for learning to preach. The 12 skills take work, and I don't use them exactly as McDill has taught, but the 12 skills are foundational to how I preach. The book is incredibly well taught by someone who has clearly very astute observational and teaching abilities.
James Kelley
9/14/2021
Wilson and Pulley's low ratings are unbelievable to me. I studied with McDill back in 1993 at SEBTS and his book is a marvelous guide to crafting expository sermons. I still use his method today and I'm Senior Pastor of the same church I served while a student. His guidance is invaluable to preachers and teachers of the Word!
Jedidiah Wilson
6/18/2021
Dennis Pulley
12/14/2013
Jason Hauser
7/29/2013
