Does Preaching Have a Future?: A Call to Join the Conversation

By Dr. Dwight S. Riddick Sr. and DR. FRANK A. THOMAS

From preaching sermons as a child in the backyard, to delivering the upcoming Presidents address for the 101st annual gathering of the prestigious Hampton University Ministers Conference, Dr. Dwight Riddick has become transparent in his book, Does Preaching Have a Future?

As you open the pages of this book, you will find insightful, conversational thoughts around the future of preaching. He writes, This book is intended to ignite conversation about what preaching should look like going forward-if this discourse is not already burning in the soul.

This veteran (seasoned) pastor and teacher of the gospel has relied completely upon Scripture in his broad range of topics when it comes to the future of preaching:

*Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season is a tried and proven counsel for preachers stretching all generations.

*Ezekiel was faced with the question, can these bones live? Preachers today are asked if their preaching can bring about positive transformation in the lives of hopeless people and hopeless cases during changing times.

Dr. Riddick supports this conversational topic by reminding his fellow homileticians (preachers) that those called and anointed by God are uniquely qualified to explain the Scripture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491767771

Dr. Dwight S. Riddick Sr.

Dr. Dwight Riddick has served as the senior pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church, Newport News, Virginia, for thirty years. He is pursuing a doctoral degree in preaching and holds the office of president of the Hampton University Ministers’ Conference. He and his wife, Vera, reside in Hampton, Virginia.

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Copyright © 2015 Dr. Dwight S. Riddick, Sr.

Cover Design: Tiffany M. Foreman

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Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scriptures taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Other scriptures were taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-6778-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-6777-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015907582

iUniverse rev. date: 08/04/2015

CONTENTS

Dedication

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1. Join The Conversation Around The Future Of Preaching

2. Preaching That Is Tried And Proven

3. Crossing The Brook

4. Facing The Unfamiliar

5. Preaching In A Shifting Culture Context

6. Shaping Your Preaching For An Unchurched Crowd

7. Preaching With A Handheld Device

8. Preaching To A Multigenerational Congregation

9. Preaching Everywhere

10. Preach With Boldness

Bibliography

DEDICATION

This book has been a long time coming. Over the years, I have had numerous individuals who have encouraged me to write. Much like Paul and Apollos in the Bible, some have planted and others have watered, but I offer praise unto God who has given the increase.

I would first like to dedicate this book and express special thanks to my wife, Vera, for her love and unyielding support in all of my endeavors. I’m also indebted to my children, Pastor D. Shawrod, Rev. Jennell, Tiffany, and Mitchell for their creativity, fresh ideas, and youthful insights. My daily delight is in my grandchildren, Dwight III (Little D), Amber, Jasmine, Rhyan, and Tyler (Little Mitch). I hope to leave a legacy of which they will all be proud and footsteps in which they will all follow.

I could never express my gratitude enough for my parents, Willie and the late Gertie Mae Riddick, for the foundation they laid that has influenced every area of my life. I am also grateful to the late Deacon Clinton L. Grandy, the late Reverend Dr. James B. Williams Jr., Deacon Henry Nobles, and my in-laws, the late Edward L. and the late Mary Brite for the impact they each have had upon my life and ministry. They would all be so proud of my accomplishments and especially of this—my first published book.

There are so many more people who deserve to be mentioned, but I’m too wise to continue calling names. For all who have contributed in any way to my life, ministry, or these writings, please place your name here and know that I love and thank God for you. Your encouragement, support, and kindness mean more to me than words can adequately express.

Ultimately, this book is dedicated to the men and women of God who proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that they will be blessed and join in the conversation: Does Preaching Have a Future?

FOREWORD

It is difficult to write the Foreword to The Future of Preaching by Dwight Riddick without at least taking a brief look at the past history of preaching in order to set the context as to why this book is so important and necessary. In 1927, James Weldon Johnson’s poetic renditions of African American folk sermons of the old-time Negro preacher appeared in his classic, God’s Trombones.¹ Johnson believed that the old-time Negro preacher had not been given proper due and respect. Though the role and power of the old time Negro preacher had somewhat lessened and changed in the 20th century, Johnson said, The Negro today is, perhaps, the most priest-governed group in the country.²

I still believe that comparatively with other groups and ethnicities, this is still true. Despite the increasing secularism of this post-modern age, African Americans are still the most priest-governed group in the nation. Being priest-governed helps partially explain why I also believe that there is no other group or ethnicity that treasures and values preaching more than African Americans. Given the span of my travels, both nationally and internationally, more lovers of preaching might exist (probably somewhere in Africa from whence African Americans come, or people of African descent); but, in the America that I know best, I can say without fear of successful contradiction that African Americans love preaching more than any other group.

Preaching has meant the most to African American people. It was preaching that offered hope when it seemed there was no hope for a captive people. Preaching sustained, uplifted, encouraged, and empowered an oppressed, enslaved, Jim Crowed, lynched, and despised people. The God revealed in black preaching was our hope. And this is where The Future of Preaching locates itself. Each generation must explain, define, and discuss what preaching is in order to insure that this valuable resource bequeathed to us from old time Negro preachers will still maintain its power and relevancy and continue to sustain and empower African American people and others.

In order to insure this relevancy and empowerment, we must heed the call of Dwight Riddick to dialogue. In The Future of Preaching, he has laid out with precision, clarity, insight, and wisdom, critical points of discussion that will definitely impact the future of preaching. His purpose in writing this book is to call you into discussion with him and his ideas. As much as in worship, there are leaders who lead, prompt, or call the people to worship, so there are thought leaders who prompt us to discussion and new revelation. Dwight Riddick is a thought leader who calls us into critical discussions to make preaching relevant for the 21st century.

I hope that you will enter into dialogue with him. His ideas about preaching are generative and are based on the 21st century learning model that will guide us into the new future of collaborative discussion leading to cooperative learning, practice, and teaching. The future of preaching is not in the control of any one group of people concerned with the craft of preaching, i.e. pastors, ministers, homiletic professors, seminary students, and lay people. The future of preaching is in the dialogue and conversations about preaching from many and varied perspectives—even beyond the traditional circles of black preaching.

I highly recommend The Future of Preaching. Riddick’s experience, insight, education in preaching, pastoral experience, and love of the word and people of God are evident. These pages suggest that you are listening to an accomplished practitioner of preaching who is also able to clearly articulate homiletic method and theory. This book is a must-read for all those who love preaching and are ever seeking to increase their effectiveness in the craft, particularly, in light of the 21st century challenges that we face.

With great joy,

Frank A. Thomas

Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller

Professor of Homiletics at

Christian Theological Seminary

Indianapolis, Indiana

PREFACE

My Journey as a Preacher

My journey as a preacher has been long and fruitful. It has taken me from wooden platforms around a manual water pump to hundreds of pulpits across the country. Many doors of opportunity have opened to me since I delivered my first sermon. I have stood in pulpits that I had never dreamed of, and I have had the chance to deliver the president’s address for the 101st annual gathering of the prestigious Hampton University Ministers’ Conference.

As much as my preaching journey has been rewarding, it has also presented many challenges, particularly as there have been shifts in American culture. Things are not the same now as they were when I entered the ministry. The moral values of people have changed. The respect that some once had for the preacher and for those in the ministry has declined. The medium through which people communicate has changed drastically with the advent of the Internet and other social-media vehicles. Many of the cultural shifts have had a significant impact on those who attend their local churches. Even though the world around us has changed so radically, in many ways the church in the world has not kept up with these changes. It is easy to recognize that few things in traditional churches have changed. Many are still doing the same thing, the same way, with little or no thought to its effectiveness. Buildings often look the same way they have always looked. Worship is the same as it has always been. There is a great possibility that preaching has not changed much at all, especially when members of the congregation can predict what the preacher will say next and how the sermon is going to end. I understand that this is not the case in every setting. However, this may be the reality in many places.

Why I Chose to Write This Book

The inspiration to write this book came as a result of my enrollment in a preaching program. I enrolled in the program to reevaluate my preaching in light of the many changes that are taking place in our culture.

It has been my pleasure to serve as senior pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church for thirty years. Given such a lengthy tenure, I constantly seek to remain fresh and relevant to all areas of leadership, including my preaching. After a total of thirty-eight years of preaching, with the majority of those years preaching to the same congregation, I wondered whether I was indeed still reaching people in the pews. I constantly asked myself whether or not my messages helped them to live better lives. I wanted to know what my preaching should be like now and what preaching should look like in the future. When seeking answers to those and other questions I have about preaching, a few years ago, I came across a doctor of ministry program in preaching in Chicago, Illinois, that piqued my interest. I had already completed master of divinity