One Year to Better Preaching: 52 Exercises to Hone Your Skills

Good book for preachers!

I am satisfied with quality of the product and the excelente seller. I note that the seller takes great care in shipping the product. thank you!

Complete theme + exercises.

Great book. Arrived on time.

thanks

one year to better rpeachignMy wife and I have been to countless number of churches throughout California and along the Front Range of Colorado. We both have various reasons for picking the church we attend now. She enjoys the worship and freedom allowed for the Holy Spirit and I pick churches for the preaching. I want to have the Bible expounded when I sit among the flock and I want it to be applicable. Some of the sermons I have heard are great and wonderful and some were, not so great. Daniel Overdorf has written an excellent companion for pastors in a simple devotional style layout. One Year to Better Preaching: 52 Exercises to Hone Your Skills (Kregel, 2013) is a resource sorely needed in a time of denominational decline and a reorganizing of religion in America. Preachers are seen as old and out of date so new methodology and research is being done instead of returning to the pulpit and teaching the unadulterated word of God. Preaching is pushed aside as new ideas are pouring into the walls of Christendom. Worship is generating concert-styled services and preaching is geared toward one avenue of ministry instead of the whole. In one simple year preachers can take back their churches with exercises Daniel Overdorf has compiled. Overdorf is an ideal candidate to compile such exercises, knowing the ins and outs of pastoral ministry. He has written numerous books, including those regarding sermon prep and a book on the Church. A DMin from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary sure doesn't hurt either. After a short section on the use of his book, Overdorf jumps right into the material. Some of the ideas are practical and easily put to use, but others require more strategic planning. For example, compiling a Sermon Prayer Group would be easy to do for most pastors but having a pastor come and preach in your stead and you in his may need a little more time and work. Both ideas are beneficial but require the pastor and the church staff to be a little more flexible. Overdorf includes several helpful sections at the end of each chapter including, resources for further study and testimonial section from pastors who have applied these exercises in their situations. Some of these exercises are impossible for inter-denominational uses but would fit well in satellite churches or campuses. These exercises would also be useful for a pastor to bring his associate pastors up to speed and give them a little more time in the pulpit. The exercise the stuck most with me were Thinking Apologetically, Reading Classic Preachers, and Utilizing the Five Senses. Overdorf urges readers in the intro to step out of their comfort zones when trying some of these exercises and has provided plenty of opportunity for the preacher to do so. I would never feel comfortable analyzing a movie or going to work with a church member but the testimonials have much to say about the positive effects these specific examples have had on them. Overall this book is well written with specific application points which translate well to the ministry of preaching. For a guy like me who is not a preacher this book serves well in the areas of general communication and church relations. Many of the exercises can be applied outside the pulpit with a little modifying. I am thankful for books like this which urge the preachers under God's command to sharpen the tools which may have been flattened by their prolonged lack of use.

Since I am not a preacher or pastor by vocation, books designed to assist those in the ministry with honing their preaching skills are quite honestly not works I am typically drawn to read. With that said, I am a member of a church congregation so hearing a quality message rooted in the timeless truths of Scripture is something I desire each time I attend church. Furthermore, I would argue most congregants are likely unaware of what goes in to the preparation of a sermon. For those reasons, I felt the need to give Daniel Overdorf's book, One Year to Better Preaching: 52 Exercises to Hone Your Skills a perusal. In the spirit of the concept of doing exercise, Overdorf presents his material in short and easily absorbed chapters. Taken individually, these suggested exercises seem to this layman to be valuable methods and regimens that if engaged in, will assist the pastor or teacher in developing a sermon rooted in Scriptural truth. It must also be noted, again using the concept of exercise, six pack abs were not created in a day. Exercise takes repeated effort, constantly returning to the various parts of the body in a consistent and purposeful manner in order to strengthen the complete body. An over focus on one particular element of the physique will result in other aspects of the individual's body being unduly neglected thus throwing off the necessary healthy balance that should result from a purposeful exercise regimen. This same idea should be taken when reading Overdorf's work. Consistent and purposeful use of the exercises he provides will enable the reader to better strengthen their instructional acumen. Also, as with physical exercise, this cannot be approached with the attitude that since all 52 exercises have been completed, there is no need to return to these exercises in the future. Building up one's ability in an area of life takes repeated concerted effort and the material presented by Overdorf is no exception to that rule. I truly appreciated the fact that Overdorf included in his list of exercises the necessity to make a beeline to the cross in any preparation or delivery of a sermon. This approach was taken by an individual often called the "Prince of Preachers", Charles Haddon Spurgeon who, as noted by Overdorf, once stated in reference to his own approach to preaching, "I take my text and make a beeline to the cross." Given that the entirety of Scripture is a discussion of God's redemption plan and how He is working that plan out to absolute perfection, an essential exercise for honing one's sermon skills has to involve the declaration of the saving message of the gospel found at the foot of the cross. Another aspect I enjoyed about this book was the resources for additional reading provided by Overdorf. Given there are a variety of other helpful books on the market on the subject of preaching and teaching, it was refreshing to see Overdorf direct the reader to those other resources. For bibliophiles such as myself, knowing what other resources are available on similar and/or related subjects is always helpful. Those who read One Year to Better Preaching by Daniel Overdorf will be challenged. The exercises he provides will stretch the reader's mental and spiritual muscles in a positive direction, building them up in the truth of God's word in a manner that will lead to not just better skills at their "job", but more importantly, it will lead to the people of God being able to hear the Word of God in a way that will build up the body of Christ. I received this book for free from Kregel Ministry for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

It is very practical book for preachers!

Only good if you preach every week. Not good for Pastors who only preach intermittently.