Top Ten Books of 2013--# 8--Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit - R. Bruce Bickel
We are marching on with the Top Ten Books that I read in
2013. The next several books that I will
review all had a tendency to be lumped together. The reality is that all of them could have
been ranked anywhere from 4th-10th and I have chosen to
put this one in the eighth place. I
purchased this book when I went into “enemy” territory in the fall of
2012. I attended a workshop on
expository preaching that was a two-day event.
In fact, two of the primary speakers at the recent conference that took
aim at the Pentecostal/Charismatic were at this one I attended last fall. As for the recent conference that put their
sights on us, my personal thoughts is that a very broad bush was used to characterize
what I would refer to as classical Pentecostals which is the category that I
would fall into. Some of the things that
they dealt with I have never been in a place where such practices took place
and my exposure to them has primarily been media related. However, once you get past all the noise and
prejudice that surrounded the event, there were some very valid questions and
criticisms that were raised. I would
also note that the workshop that I attended that I was treated with great
hospitality even after they discovered my doctrinal views. So I would gather that the majority of the
rank-and-file men do not have the same reactionary behavior that some of the leaders
do.
This book was a purchase that I bought because I judged
the cover. I know that you aren’t supposed
to do that but it has a compelling cover and the title is also very stimulating. It is also a relatively short book that comes
in at around 175 pages. Do not confuse
this author with Mike Bickel who is
one of the leaders in the Charismatic movement who is attached to the
International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
Author: R. Bruce Bickel
Publisher: The Northampton Press, 1999.
The hook that caused me to purchase this book was because
it deals with the nature of the preaching that the Puritans practiced. If you are a regular reader of this blog you
have discovered that I have a tendency to read after the Puritans. If you are ever turned on to their works, you
will find much inspiration especially when you see the sermons and how they
went at Scripture from all angles. I
always feel like I have to add this disclaimer when I am recommending books and
I will add it again. You must read with
a filter and take the good and toss the bad.
Such is the case with the Puritans and their works.
Here are the opening introductory paragraphs:
Protestants (Pentecostals?), for the most part, have lost their
confidence in one of the greatest assets of their tradition: the mysterious, creative power of the Word of
God proclaimed in the pulpit. The desire
to preach the Word in the pulpit has not endured in current evangelicalism
(Pentecostalism?) because of the lost sense of the Word creating either
situations or people who become doers of the Word. The picture of the pulpit is a clear picture
of how many Protestant (Pentecostal?) ministers see their task and
function. Their time is dictated by the
vision they have of the pulpit. Many “share”
rather than “preach,”. . . . and perform under a clouded vision of their
ministry because they have no clear conviction about the nature of
preaching. They do not see clearly the
unique and supernatural nature of preaching because they do not see clearly the
unique and supernatural nature of Holy Scripture.
Many ministers allocate their time accordingly. More time is spent in motivational
discussions, program planning, and church administration than in sermon study
and preparation. Both pastors and
congregations alike organize the minister’s schedule based on his or their view
of the pulpit. Demands or expectations
are placed upon the minister based upon a job description that reflects a weak
view of the pulpit.
Those two paragraphs left me breathless and
convicted! As usual the great question
came to me as a pastor; what kind of ministry will I give myself to? Will it be one filled with social outlets that
please men or will it be one that has a God-focus that pleases Him? Will I cave in to the American expectation of
what a pastor should be or will I seek out what Scripture says a pastor looks
like and then follow that pattern? I
would tell you this, the closer you find yourself to the Word and given to
prayer the more you will look at the Church and the necessary work it does in a
whole new light. This is what these
sorts of books always do to me.
Bickel noted that there were three main motivations or
factors that caused the Puritan pulpit to have such a powerful impact on Europe
(primarily Scotland and England) in their time:
·
A New Testament pattern of piety.
·
A high regard for sound doctrine.
·
A properly ordered church life.
He noted that Puritan preachers gave themselves to this “great
business of Godliness.” Personal holiness
was a big deal to these men. It is very,
very rare to find a book at Lifeway (or your favorite bookstore) that has an
emphasis on ministry dealing with the necessity of personal holiness. In fact it is almost as if we are embarrassed
by the word “holiness.” I realize that
in the past there were some abuses that took place and some were quite
legalistic in their approach to it. But
there were also some of the old saints and preachers who took holiness quite
seriously and when you were in contact with them there was such a cleanliness
and purity about them that two things would take place. First, you felt very ashamed at your own
sense of worldliness without a word ever being spoken. Furthermore they did not have a condescending
spirit about them. I have been around some
of those before too! You never felt that
sense of holiness but you felt a sense of condemnation. Secondly, whatever it was that they had, you
wanted it. Gathering only what I can
from their writings it appears that these old Puritan preachers were
God-focused and their ambitions were only toward God. Some say those days are forever gone because of
modernity and its effects which was followed by the post-moderns who don’t
believe anything. I don’t believe it because
we have both Word and Spirit to help us to be the men God has called to preach.
Bickel also noted that they had a commitment to sound
doctrine. There has to be doctrine in
the Christian (Pentecostal) church because the absence of doctrine relegates us
to what United Way, the Red Cross, and the Kiwanis are doing in our communities. Don’t confuse humanitarian aid with something
spiritual! Humanitarian aid of any kind
without doctrine will fall short of any eternal benefit it is hoping to
meet. We have to promote sound doctrine
and this book works toward inspiring you to do such.
Lastly, Bickel notes that the Puritans had an organized
church life. There was nothing left to
chance with what they commonly refer to as catechizing their members. We have access to all kinds of resources
these men never had available to them and they sometimes are wasted on
entertainment purposes. If our Sunday
school programs ever needed to make a comeback it is now! We cannot afford to entertain our apostolic kids
when they show up on Sundays or their youth services. Pastors must take an active role in looking
at what the formats being used and the curricula being implemented. The Puritans believed the church was a spiritual
organism and it had to have spiritual life put into it to function.
The chapter titles:
·
Introduction
·
The View of the Pulpit
·
The Direction of Preaching—Divided into three
areas: The Conviction, the Character,
and the Content of Preaching
·
The Demands of Preaching
·
The Duties of the Pastor—Catechizing the People,
Counseling the Perplexed, Comforting the Person, and Communing in Private
Worship
·
Conclusion
The second book deals with the focus of the gospel in
Puritan preaching.
There are many very thought provoking quotes that are
written in this book and Bickel supplies very good references so if you choose
to follow-up, you may do so. With the coming
year approaching in just a few days, I think that any man who is called to
preach would greatly profit from the reading of this book. I also believe it will supply some valuable
introspection for the soul which can lead to some adjustments as to doing the
will of God. I also think you will find
some very valuable seed thoughts that can be the beginning of some productive
messages for you to preach in 2014.
Thanks for reading. . .
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