Book Review: Pulpit Crimes

 

"I have become convinced that nothing less then the very Gospel of Jesus Christ is at stake when we speak of the proclamation of the Gospel in preaching...." (Pg. 11)

These are the first words of the second paragraph of the first chapter of this most important work on how a Christian minister,  if they are truly in that position by the appointing of God himself and affirmation of the congregation,  must treat His Word with the upmost respect and that should reflect in what you preach and how you preach the Word. In a more general sense, this chapter is simply an introduction into the multi-dimensional attack on the Word that is passed as being preaching. After this we have two chapters going through the strong case for faithful preaching based on the book of Acts and the Pastoral letters: 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus. Let us be thankful for book such as this one-- short it may be but is still worth the read.

Now two chapter that stand out for very different purposes are the 4th and 9th chapters. Let us take note of them both one at a time:

In the 4th chapter we have a bridging chapter, while many may not think it is a standout chapter, I however do because it stands between the exegetical based case for what is to be heard in the pulpit and the examination based case for what is not to be heard in the pulpit. And that reason alone is a great one. But the thing that we need to consider is that poor living, of necessity has it basis in poor teaching; of course, i recognise that there are exceptions to that rule. We are told by James White: "the view of the source of the minister's authoritative proclamation, the bible as the Word of God, has suffered a precipitous decline in the large portion of academia, including places of religious education and instruction. Many who stand behind the pulpits question the inspiration and consistency of the bible..." (Pg. 53).  
And the chapter is then divided as to give us the flow of the next 10 chapters: 

(1) Prostitution. 
(2)  Pandering to pluralism.  
(3) Cowardice under fire. 
(4) Entertainment without licence. 
(5) Felonious Eisegesis. 
(6) Cross Dressing. 
(7) Body Count. 
(8) Identity Theft. 
(9) Warranty Fraud. 
(10) Where are the cops.

The other chapter that stands out is the 5th of these mentioned one (or the 9th chapter in the book). It is called Felonious Eisegesis. And this is truly where the real issue of debate lies: how are we handling the Word of God? Do we handle it consistently across the board? Are we helping or hindering the health and growth of the flock?  It is these kinds of questions that James white has in view in this chapter. He divides up into four parts and provides examples of flawed interpretations of scripture that he has come across. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to know the different between good, solid preaching and the run of the mill self-centred pep-talks.

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