How to Become a Dynamic Biblical Preacher
A Manual for Pastors and Laypersons
Foreword by Ralph Partelow
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Do you desire to preach with authority and conviction and keep your audience engaged from the beginning of your sermons to the end? You hold in your hand a description of an easy, step-by-step process equipping you with the tools for preaching powerful Bible-based sermons. Beginning with the initial step of heart preparation, Joseph B. Onyango Okello takes you through the process of identifying the text and topic to be preached, developing an easy-to-remember outline for your audience, and showing you how to explain, illustrate and apply the text of Scripture in a way that ties the word of God to the life of your audience. The principles applied in this book aim at equipping you with preaching skills for ministry. Once you've mastered this method, which Joseph has tested in the field of preaching for over thirty years, you will have a grateful audience every time you used it on the pulpit. They will be grateful because the method helps you to preach sermons your listeners will remember and re-preach!
Joseph B. Onyango Okello is a professor of philosophy at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has also been in the pastoral ministry for over thirty years. He was the recipient of the Frank Bateman Stanger Award for excellence in preaching while a student at Asbury. Joseph has also written several books, including A History and Critique of Methodological Naturalism (2016) and Evil and Pain: A Critique of the Materialistic Account of Evil (2017).
“Joseph Okello is a master preacher. In this volume, his commitment to biblical preaching is on vivid display. It arrives wrapped in his philosophical background and in his logical approach to mining the biblical text. His ideas are expressed clearly, and his commitment to the text and the art of preaching is laser focused. Students of all stripes and experience would do well to learn from this most effective communicator.”
—Jeffrey Frymire, director, James Earl Massey Center for Compelling Preaching
“The methods Joseph Okello delineates in this book, if applied properly, will lift any preacher to high heights where their sermons will not only be powerful, but will also easily capture the audience’s attention, transform their lives, impact their destinies, and be remembered for a long time. This book is interesting, powerful, insightful, lively, informative, and it is with great joy that I wholeheartedly endorse it.”
—Joe Njoroge, professor of political science and religion, Abraham Baldwin A. College
“Joseph Okello articulates the crucial responsibility for preachers to proclaim Scripture: ‘Preaching from the text of Scripture is what every minister has been called upon to do.’ Churches die from ‘a steady diet of nonbiblical preaching’ of religious discourses rather than ‘expounding Scripture.’ Drawing from his extensive preaching experience, Okello’s book serves as a valuable resource for ordained and lay preachers alike.”
—Solomon Waigwa, bishop, Rhema Gospel Church