Philip Arthur Bence PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

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A preacher separate from God does not incarnate
God's Word. A preacher cut off from his people cannot
present God's Word in a form they recognize.10 e
Preaching's incarnational character gives it
particular value. First, preaching's verbal nature
allows a detailed explanation of the divine self-giving.
Second, a preacher who lives and speaks as the 'word
become flesh' (who is himself in intimate fellowship with
God and who offers the divine presence to the
congregation) serves as more than an objective narrator
describing the gift. His words in preaching (and his
life throughout the week) embody God's self-giving (as in
the historic Incarnation, so in contemporary preaching).
The preacher, whom God indwells, selects aspects of God's
truth, and methods of communicating that truth, which are
appropriate for his congregation. The preacher, thus,
exegetes, not only Scripture, but also his congregation
and his own intimate knowledge of God.
This provides an answer to this chapter's third
question, an answer which shares components from each of
the four frequently selected preacher-theologians. In
preparation of preaching content, persons take priority.
Theologically sound doctrine, derived appropriately from
valid sources, is, without doubt, essential. But the
mere proclamation of propositional truth is less than
ideal. To achieve its desired effect of enabling people
to touch God, and, God to touch people, preaching comes
from God, through its human messenger, and to its