"Saving Eutychus" - A review of a book on preaching, by Gary and Phil

This is a REALLY GOOD book on preaching. No, really !

Many preachers are addicted to books on preaching, and these books fall into many types.

There's the classics. There's the "vade mecum" technical manuals. There's the "Simple guides".

Then there's those books that come at it differently. For example, I'm thinking of Bruce Mawhinney's "Preaching with Freshness" which is just GREAT !

(And when will we get a systematic theology in the form of a novel...?)

And now there's "Saving Eutychus"...

OK, I HATE the title. No, I do. I REALLY HATE it.

But when I finished the first chapter I thought, "This needs to be printed separately as a leaflet to give to any and every Christian." It's a cracker. In a cracker of a book.

There are gaps, of course. For example, two Welshmen would have written of the Spirit's work somewhat differently, I think.

Not all the chapters are equally strong - I struggled with the beginning of chapter 5, the chapter about Biblical Theology. If you struggle there, keep going. I thought that chapter would be a dud, till I got to the "nine pathways" towards the end.

The critique forms at the end made me laugh. Maybe two Welshmen would critique each other differently, too...

But it's a good book, and well worth every cent you invest in it, especially if you read it on Kindle.

You don't have to follow it slavishly. I think I'll carry on preaching from mindmaps. I'll still admire those who preach extemporaneously.

But get it. Read it. It's a cracker !

I received this title from Cross Focused Reviews in exchange for a fair review. Thanks for the text and opportunity to review. This review is my own opinion(s). I was not required to write a positive review.