Thompson’s book begins with a useful thumbnail history of the homiletic art. As he progresses through this history, he simultaneously demonstrates how preaching has moved away from a concern with the Pauline epistles and toward a preoccupation with narrative. This movement toward a new homiletic was largely an effort to adapt to the restlessness of the biblically literate congregation in the face of the older style of preaching. Current congregations in a “post-Christian culture” are not, in Thompson’s view, nearly as well-versed biblically or doctrinally, and thus, have a similar need for more authoritative rhetorical statements from the pulpit as did congregations from a “pre-Christian culture.” At the same time, Thompson sees the power of narratival preaching in attempting to “do what the text does” (8). He argues that we ought to do the same with the epistolary genre.
In Chapter One, Thompson connects Paul’s epistles to Paul’s preaching style. Although he makes it quite clear that written records inadequately represent oral speech, and that none of the epistles are in fact written sermons, he effectively argues that Paul’s letters were: meant to be read orally, orally dictated to an amanuensis as if to the intended congregation, frequently repetitive of that which was spoken personally, and organized by Paul as he would have done as a speaker and not as a writer. Thompson’s argument that the “letters were an ideal substitute for Paul’s presence” (28) is less compelling. The overall weight of his evidence, though, clearly reveals Paul’s letters to be the best indicator of the style and range of Paul’s personal preaching ministry that modern churches possess.
The function of Chapter Two is to define the function of preaching by examining the nature of Paul’s preaching. In the 1930’s, C. H. Dodd divided preaching into two large categories: kerygma (evangelistic) and didache (pastoral) (38). In Dodd’s view, pastoral preaching was the real need in a Christian world because evangelism had already been accomplished. Thompson first points out that this assumption about the church and its world can no longer be held. He then demonstrates that, although Paul preaches both evangelistically and pastorally, that these two categories are very difficult to separate in Paul’s preaching. Thompson notes that no complete record exists of Paul’s evangelistic preaching, but that both Luke’s summaries of Paul’s preaching in Acts, and Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, give clues as to its scope. For Paul, kerygma, preaching the “good news,” is telling the story of God acting in history to bring about the salvation of his people. In Paul’s preaching, this salvation history intersects with the story of the hearer and demands a response from that hearer. This response forms community, and there are certain ethical expectations to be a part of that community. Didache, or pastoral preaching addresses these concerns. Thompson uses Paul’s epistles to remind the preacher that separating evangelistic from pastoral preaching is not practical or prudent because each community has audience members at a different place in their faith requiring kerygma (whether considering faith, believing, or struggling to maintain belief), and those faithful members of that community are more inclined to keep the ethical requirements of the community as defined by didache if they are reminded of gospel that brought them into that community.
Thompson explores the question of what cultural modes of communication might have shaped Paul’s communication, and the extent to which he conformed to them in Chapter Three. A brief consideration of ancient epistolary forms reveals that Paul’s letters are not in any substantial conformity to those forms. But, Thompson notes, since Paul’s letters appear to be an oral event captured in writing (Chapter One), it is not surprising to find that his letters conform more readily to the shape of oratory as defined by Aristotelian rhetoric whether Paul was influenced by training or by cultural immersion. In Thompson’s view, since the letters seek most to influence future behavior of the community, these letters conform more to the pattern of deliberative rhetoric than judicial or epideictic. Thompson then notes the ways that invention, arrangement, and style in Paul’s letters conform to the standards of rhetoric. He follows this, though, with a perceptive demonstration of Paul’s redefinition of rhetoric for communication within the church in ways that differ substantially from cultural norms. For example, ethos retains its importance, but only inasmuch as the speaker is conformed to the cross. In the remainder of this chapter, Thompson’s analysis frequently questions current homiletic wisdom by asserting that preachers can: imitate Paul and make arguments based on ethos (contra-Buttrick), balance inductive preaching with deductive (contra-Lowry), and preach authoritatively (contra-Craddock) as the reader of the apostle’s authoritative letter. In these pages Thompson does what most students of homiletics have failed to do: make sense of Paul’s preaching and how to properly appropriate it.
Thompson searches from the appropriate boundaries of pastoral preaching in Chapter Four. He considers current definitions of pastoral preaching inadequate as they focus on felt needs and the individual, resulting in preaching that is more like group counseling. Thompson uses Thessalonians to demonstrate that pastoral preaching is reminding the community of its history, the behaviors necessary for its current survival, and the means to prepare for the great eschatological event: the return of Jesus. The emphasis is on the community and its growth and preparation, and not merely the individual. Thompson identifies the problems created by this preaching agenda in a society obsessed with individual liberties and divine grace, but nonetheless avers its importance.
Chapter Five builds upon Thompson’s analysis in Chapter Four. Theology should not be some abstract and separate discipline, but a tool of the church to deal with the questions of the day. Theology, as demonstrated by Paul, trumps the contemporary culture both in perspective and values by finding the answers to current questions by accessing the divine perspective to recall and reapply the truths and values that created the community in the first place. Only then can the community move forward to the future anticipated by the gospel instead of that offered by culture. Thompson uses the Corinthian correspondence to demonstrate that Paul used theology this way, and that he intentionally taught that community how to use theology as a tool in his absence.
Thompson uses Paul’s teaching in Romans to present preaching as the practice of remembrance in Chapter Six. Paul calls the Romans to remember the gospel they were taught, the creedal statements that shaped their faith, the baptism that transformed them and joined them with community, and the scripture that describe God’s perspective as revealed by his actions at other times and in other places. Despite the contemporary preoccupation with uniqueness, Thompson contends that community is defined by tradition and remembrance.
In the Conclusion, Thompson reaffirms his case for Paul as an appropriate model for contemporary preachers. Examples of sermons brought from Pauline texts are provided in the Appendix to drive his point home. All in all, this book is important in that allows preachers who follow Thompson’s advise to reacquire a significant portion of the canon for use from the pulpit. By so doing they can help the church retain its unique identity as an ethical community preparing for a glorious future in a post-Christian world. ( )