“The call to exhort,” wrote Smith, “is the call to speak to the will of the hearer, not just to inform the mind of the hearer. It is pleading, persuading, and strongly urging the hearer to respond in obedience to the Word of God. It moves beyond suggested application into a definitive call to respond” (5). Rather than simply appealing to the mind, pastors must also appeal to the will and call for a response. Smith helps remind us that preaching must address the head and the heart, and this reminder is a needed one.
Many preachers are dissatisfied with their preaching. Although they labor to faithfully preach the gospel every Sunday, they still desire to grow and develop in order to become even better communicators of God’s Word. I feel this homiletical discontentment myself. In an effort to improve, I try to listen to good preaching, read old sermons, and devour as many books on preaching as I can. I recently picked up by J. Josh Smith’s new book entitled Preaching for a Verdict: Recovering the Role of Exhortation to pillage for preaching wisdom, and I was not disappointed. If you preach regularly, you should read this book. Here are four reasons why:
“Naming” the Neglect of Exhortation
First, Smith pointed out the all-too-common tendency to neglect exhortation when discussing preaching. He surveyed the most influential preaching textbooks of the past twenty-five years and demonstrated the role of exhortation in preaching has been largely overlooked. He argued this neglect is relatively recent, as exhortation has played a major role in preaching historically. Augustine, Luther, Calvin, the Puritans, Edwards, and Spurgeon all exhorted their listeners to obey the text. The book was written to name this neglect and promote a revival of exhortation. Preachers often seem hesitant to appeal to the will directly, but Smith presses those who communicate God’s Word to view exhortation as a major component of preaching. “The call to exhort,” wrote Smith, “is the call to speak to the will of the hearer, not just to inform the mind of the hearer. It is pleading, persuading, and strongly urging the hearer to respond in obedience to the Word of God. It moves beyond suggested application into a definitive call to respond” (5). Rather than simply appealing to the mind, pastors must also appeal to the will and call for a response. Smith helps remind us that preaching must address the head and the heart, and this reminder is a needed one.
