Chapter one establishes a seven-fold approach-the Disciplers' Model-to Christian teaching. This model was developed in response to a question that would not let the author go-'How should I teach so that my learners will grow in the Lord?'

The apostle Paul declared that "what we preach" was "folly" in the eyes of many in his time (1 Cor. 1:21). Such is always the world's response to the gospel. But in our day, it seems that the method behind Paul's message--preaching--is itself an object of ridicule, even within the evangelical church. In an age of short attention spans and entertainment "consumers," many churches are yielding to pressure to set aside preaching in their worship services in favor of more "relevant" methodologies.

In Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching, an outstanding team of pastors and scholars says to the modern church: "Turn back!" Preaching is not just one of many acceptable methodologies that the church may employ as the cultural landscape changes. Rather, the preaching of God's Word is the biblically mandated method by which unbelievers are to be converted and churches built up in the faith.

This book reveals the biblical basis for preaching, sketches the way it ought to be practiced, and shows the many practical benefits that flow from strong pulpits. Here is encouragement for preachers and wise counsel for those who desire to sit under the ministry of the Word of God preached.

The 20th century is marked by great quotes. We look down memory lane and recognise some of the ways God has moved in this century and how His message of love deals with the deepest needs of us all.

Yes, lady, God himself could not sink this ship -- The TitanicPower grows out of the barrel of a gun -- Chairman Mao Tse TungI've been on a calendar, but never on time -- Marilyn Monroe

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two Imposters just the same -- Rudyard Kipling

That's one small step for a man one giant leap for mankind -- Neil Armstrong

The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave, his fetters fall -- Mahatma Gandhi

I'd like to be a queen in people's hearts -- Diana, Princess of Wales

I'm going to ask you to get up out of your seat -- Billy GrahamIs that it? -- Bob Geldof

Karl Barth famously argued that all theology is sermon preparation. But what if all sermon preparation is actually theology? This book pursues a thoroughgoing theological vision for the practice of preaching as a way of doing theology. The idea is not just that homiletics is the realm of theological application. That would leave preaching in the position of simply implementing a theology already arrived at. Instead, the vision in these pages is of a form of theology that begins with preaching itself: its practice, its theories, and its contexts. Homiletical theology is thus a unique way of doing theology--even a constructive theological task in its own right. Homiletician David Schnasa Jacobsen has assembled several of the leading lights of contemporary homiletics to help to see its task ever more deeply as theological, yet in profoundly diverse ways. Along the way, readers will not only discover how homileticians do theology homiletically, but will deepen the way in which they understand their own preaching as a theological task. ""With Jacobsen's unfolding vision of the preparation and practices that the sermon event encompasses, our eyes peer into the many theological challenges and practical wisdom of honed preaching methods and discernment. Thriving between the work of constructive and practical theology, Jacobsen has gathered a handful of prominent homiletics scholars to explore the enterprise of preaching as doing theology that is conversation praxis at its own theological roots. And we learn profoundly from their doing!"" --Dale P. Andrews, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN ""This book is an invitation to the feast of open-ended, rich theological discourse on homiletics, prepared by seven lead homileticians, with their brilliant theological and homiletical insights. Finally comes this volume, long overdue, an invaluable resource for understanding the theological identity of homiletics from multiple angles. Creative and thought-provoking approaches to understanding homiletical theology, such as the integration of preaching and liturgy, make this book a must for teaching and learning about homiletics."" --Eunjoo Mary Kim, Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO ""In this important book, an all-star cast of homileticians explores a bold claim: preaching does not simply consume or use theology; preaching does theology in its own provisional, conversational mode. From diverse perspectives, the authors examine the constructive, practical, and methodological aspects of a homiletical theology. Along the way, they invite us to new perspectives on the nature of both theology and preaching."" --Charles L. Campbell, Duke Divinity School, Durham, NC David Schnasa Jacobsen is Professor of the Practice of Homiletics and Director of the Homiletical Theology Project at Boston University School of Theology, where he leads the PhD concentration in homiletics for BU's program in practical theology. He is the author of Preaching in the New Creation: The Promise of New Testament Apocalyptic Texts (1999), and co-author of Preaching Luke-Acts (2001) and Kairos Preaching: Speaking Gospel to the Situation (2009).

What would it have been like to sit in Spurgeon's classes?

I hope this book gives a sense of what a student would hear Spurgeon say about preaching if Spurgeon were to speak with them in the hall, from the pulpit, or on a walk down the streets of London.

Thus, the purpose of this book is to enable preachers to "apprentice" with Spurgeon for a season in order to learn from him about preaching. It is hoped that such an internship will prove valuable for contributing to preachers as they mine resources for gospel relevance and power in the twenty-first century.

But how could Spurgeon help the twenty-first century preacher?

The preacher today in the West will recognize some profound similarities with Spurgeon and his times. It is true that postmodernism and Enlightenment Rationalism are very different philosophies. But their results are similar in that they promote wide spread scepticism and doubt regarding the authority of the Bible. The debates about the use of art and sermon length at the turn of the twenty-first century are no different in substance than those found in England at the turn of the twentieth. The effect of attention span and the need for story to accompany logic are not new topics of discussion for preachers. In addition, pressures that reduce time for sermon preparation and engender the temptation for shallow or borrowed sermons are nothing essentially new.