Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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the source of preaching" (table 26). The 1.9 composite
ranking they gave to 'purpose' was the highest among the
lecturer groups. Conversely, their 2.6, given to 'God as
source,' was lowest. Likewise, more representatives of
this lecturer group suggested that preaching must be true
to 'the congregation' than to 'God' (31). Note also, in
comparison to 'Lloyd—Jones'+'Rahner lecturers', the
percentage of 'Stewart lecturers' who stated 'relevance'
as their key hermeneutical principle (32). It appears
that 'Stewart lecturers', as they look to Scripture for
preaching material, feel relatively free to select, from
that source, that which they feel best meets the needs of
the intended congregation.
Does James Stewart himself teach this axiom? His
writing indicates that, on this question, he might wish
to bring the 'Stewart lecturers' back for a postgraduate
seminar. Although his Warrack Lectures on the practice
of preaching offer no simple answer to this specific
'question, they indicate the importance Stewart gave to
the systematic preaching of Christian truth. Two
statements illustrate this emphasis. "A ministry
extending over many years in one place can be effective
and fruitful only if much of its strength is given to the
systematic exposition of the Bible and regularly planned
instruction on the great doctrines of the Christian
faith."
1 Also, "You must order your methods
accordingly: so that over the course of months and years
your sermons will balance and correct one another in