About a year and a half ago, I entered the preaching ministry full time. The previous two decades, and more, were spent in youth ministry, primarily to teens. In that capacity, I taught a lot. But I really didn’t have much of an opportunity to preach frequently. In all, I only filled the pulpit to preach a handful of times each year.

All that changed when I accepted the position as lead minister at my current church. In this new role, part of my primary priorities include preaching on a weekly basis. I was a bit nervous about making that change, since this isn’t something I was all that familiar with. But the change has been just what was needed, and it was obviously God’s leading for this change in ministry to occur.

However, I immediately realized my need to study more on the subject of preaching. It has been years since my homiletics courses in Bible college, and though I was adept at teaching teenagers, preaching to the whole church seemed to be a whole new league of its own. I immediately pulled out many of my old preaching books from those college courses and brushed up on style, preparation, and delivery, knowing that much of the content in these books, while helpful, was dated. So I began looking for other, newer material.

And I had a hard time finding anything really good, until I picked up a copy of Persuasive Preaching by R. Larry Overstreet. Persuasive Preaching was the shot in the arm that I needed to read to help me focus my attention on the areas of preaching that are the priority.

Overstreet does a great job establishing the goal of preaching, and defines that, along with the biblical mandates behind it with clarity. While some decry the need to preach persuasively, Overstreet makes a solid case for this method of delivering the message of the gospel. One of the most critical explanations he gives is the difference between persuasion and manipulation.

At first, the book seems a bit tedious and academic. The first portions of the book are dedicated to defining and examining the biblical words for persuasion, and the concepts surrounding that idea, especially as pertaining to Paul’s ministry. Digging into the Greek roots of such words, defining them and establishing them as the basis for the rest of the book, though necessary, was a bit difficult to process, since my Greek is a bit rusty.

However, the next sections took off with practical applications and uses. Part three gave specific input and examples on how to structure persuasive messages. And part four established pertinent applications for using persuasion in preaching, concluding, appropriately, with the invitation.

Over all, I found Persuasive Preaching to be a very helpful tool as I strive to improve my preaching skills weekly. It is full of practical and helpful information and ideas, and gives a solid understanding of using persuasion as a tool in preaching. This book will be a great help to me as I strengthen my ministry in this area, and yet it quietly places all of the credit in the proper place: the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing the Word of God to life.

If you preach, I highly recommend that you pick up a copy of Persuasive Preaching. You’ll find it tremendously helpful.

Question: If you preach, what resources have you found to be valuable and helpful? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I received this book free from Cross Focused Media as part of their Cross Focused Reviews blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.