InREVIEW: Book Look
By Michael J. Breznau | 2021
Sunukjian, Donald R. Invitation to Biblical Preaching: Proclaiming Truth with Clarity and Relevance
With his trademark clarity, Sunukjian’s central definition for biblical preaching is, “Look at what God is saying . . . Look at what God is saying to us” (pg. 9; repeated throughout the book). In more elongated fashion, he writes, “the preacher’s task is twofold: to present the true and exact meaning of the biblical text . . . in a manner that is relevant to the contemporary listener” (Pg. 9-10).
These two complementary concepts – what God is saying and what He is saying to us – serve as guideposts for the book’s structure. Sunukjian effectively presents how to build biblical sermons by presenting his material in a way similar to a good homiletical outline – with one clear and concise take-home truth or “big idea” (pg. 66) woven into 368 pages.
Illustrations of preaching snafus, gaffes, and outright irresponsibility are, unfortunately, replete across the modern Church. Through many examples, Invitation to Biblical Preaching rightly points out the pendulum swing often found in the pulpit: lessons (cloaked as sermons) comprised almost entirely of textual explanation or entertaining talks that amount to collections of stories, alliterations, and poems with no clear rootedness in the text of scripture (pg. 69-70, 82-84, 172-173, 240, 312-314).
Thankfully, Sunukjian writes not as a professorial theorist, but as a well-seasoned practitioner.[1] His goal is clear: we must put the fundamentals of exegeting the scriptures together with developing sound theology and concrete, contemporary application in every sermon. Effective preaching is biblically-grounded and audience-focused. He reminds us, “The purpose of the sermon is not to impart knowledge but to influence behavior – not to inform but to transform. The goal is not to make listeners more educated but more Christlike” (pg. 12).
A beleaguered or battle-worn pastor will also find a Barnabas quality in Sunukjian. We’ve all faced varying levels of the Monday morning blues or post-sermon depression. But he contends that good, biblical preaching is “the hardest and best thing we will ever do” (pg. 14-15). His claim is significant, especially in a time when some ministry leaders argue for sermons to resemble brief TED Talks or downplay the role of preaching altogether. Like a 22-year-old boxer fresh into the ring, he lays down five key reasons for staying on the task of biblical preaching. Effective, week-in-and-week-out, communication of God’s Word provides for reaching more people in less time, saying things honestly – even bluntly, forming pastoral credibility, encouraging visitors or seekers to take the next step, and leading with excitement and anticipation for the church flock (see pg. 15).
Strong Points
Invitation to Biblical Preaching is much more than a rallying crying for faithful exposition; it is a toolbox full of hands-on equipment that can be immediately put into practice. Both veteran preacher-pastors and ministry greenhorns will benefit from the refresher course on how to accurately study a passage – with a specific focus on the homiletical process (pg. 19-42). Oftentimes, pastors move into inductive Bible study on Tuesday morning and become lost in the weeds of interesting observations and varying interpretations. With piles of textual notes and ideas, they emerge from their office on Friday afternoon with only a few hours on Saturday morning left to tack on a semblance of relevant applications or illustrations.
Sunukjian provides a clear path to follow for developing every sermon – in a way that makes sense for a pastor with limited time. Key to the process is visualizing the movements from the passage outline (“as it happened in the biblical world,” i.e. back then) to the truth outline (“what happens as we walk with God,” i.e. always true), and finally to the sermon outline (“this is happening in our lives today,” i.e. right now) (pg. 27-29, 50-51, 87).
Preachers must hone a message around a singular “take-home truth.” Sunukijan argues this point from the proof that Paul’s sermons in Acts are focused “around one central truth” (pg. 67; cf. Acts 13, 17, 20).[2] To solve the crisis of confusing, multi-pronged sermons, he offers a guide on how to arrive at pay-dirt – the timeless truth that will ring in the hearts of the listeners for weeks or months to come (pg. 72-81).
After carefully crafting a biblically accurate outline and “big idea,” the faithful shepherd must probe the message of God’s Word and his own heart with penetrating questions. We must “Ask the Right Questions” (ch. 5) in order to arrive at relevant answers for the audience. One of the most practical tools provided is an “expanding grid of the various groups and life circumstances” (pg. 113-117). Every preaching pastor should copy this list and post it in his study for constant review.
Just like a good sermon, he writes with an easily understandable style, i.e. no fluff or extraneous terminology. Every key movement in the process is backed with multiple examples. At no point does Sunukjian’s guide seem out-of-reach or out-of-touch with the typical North American pastor.
Weaker Points
In an effort to tie examples together across various teaching points, some of his sermon outlines seemed a bit over-repeated, which might cause the reader to disengage. For example, various outlines and quotations from a message entitled “The Shortest Distance Between Two Points is a Zigzag” (Ex. 13:17-22) were sprinkled throughout the book approximately twenty-nine times. Although I am sure it is a great sermon to deliver (and I’d love to hear Dr. Sunukjian preach it!), the reader may be better served with a little more variety.
Published in 2007, some examples used are now slightly outdated. For example, I loved being a paperboy from 11-14 years of age but, sadly, very few neighborhood paperboys exist anymore. Sunukjian’s point remains valid, namely, how to arrive at an understanding of the biblical author’s original thought order and intent (see pg. 57-59). But these few pages remind us that illustrations and analogies must be constantly updated to remain relevant to our listeners or readers.
Clearly, Sunukijan believes in the purpose and power of prayer, as proved by various sermon examples (pg. 146-147, 158-159). His long-time pastoral faithfulness proves His dependence on God. However, the role of prayer and an expressed reliance on the Holy Spirit within the homiletical process goes without much discussion in this book. I’m reminded of E.M. Bounds’ classic book on prayer in the life of the preacher, “We have emphasized sermon-preparation until we have lost sight of the important thing to be prepared—the heart. A prepared heart is much better than a prepared sermon. A prepared heart will make a prepared sermon.”[3]
Adding a brief but strong exhortation for pastors to pray through each step of sermon preparation up to the point of delivery would be well-served. A guide for allotting time to study on a daily and weekly basis would also be beneficial, especially coupled with ideas for long-range sermon planning.
Returning to the Process
Invitation to Biblical Preaching provides a succinct and thorough refresher of the exegetical-theological-homiletical process for weekly sermon preparation. Although I thoroughly enjoyed my hermeneutics and homiletics courses in seminary, I realize how easily one can drift away from walking through the entire process of exegeting the central meaning of the text and also exegeting the central needs of the audience. All-too-often we might lean back on well-worn ruts in the path of preaching, instead of re-innovating how to communicate God’s timeless truth in fresh, understandable ways. Sunukjian’s clear guidelines and thoughtful examples have caused me to dig-in with renewed vigor, yet again, to what must be practiced Sunday-in and Sunday-out.
Background Before Passage
One significant shift I have immediately put into practice is offering the historical context and coupling it with the developmental need before announcing the passage reference. In previous studies, I was instructed to either announce the passage immediately after raising the subject-question or read the entire passage before the introduction. However, Sunukjian’s advice to wait on announcing the passage until the background and need has been raised helps maintain tension. In other words, the audience will stay engaged by knowing why they should keep listening (pg. 205-218). I realized I’d done this from time-to-time in the past, but over the past five weeks I’ve intentionally practiced this guideline with good results.
Always-Then-Now
Another adjustment made as a result of this book is a slight rearrangement in my outlining logic. Sunukjian frequently arranges the main points and subpoints this way: (I.) Timeless Truth Statement, (A.) Historical Statement, (B.) Application Statement/Contemporary Relevance (pg. 174-181). This could be summarized as ALWAYS-THEN-NOW. In previous studies, I’ve more frequently followed a THEN-ALWAYS-NOW pattern – sometimes even building the entire body of a sermon in this format. However, from my experience, a positive audience response resonates with Sunukjian’s guidance here in the “Relevancy Interspersed” (pg. 174-175) and “Relevancy Wrapped” (pg. 176-181) methods. Placing the timeless “pay-dirt” truth statement first acts like a handle upon which the audience can then grab onto the historical-textual statement and then openly receive the imperative-application statement.
The Right Questions
Finally, perhaps one of the most basic yet best tools in this useful book is the list of fifteen key developmental questions (pg. 88 – “Ask the Right Questions”). Why preach if the listener hears or receives no reason for life-change, reoriented affections, deeper love, greater gratitude, or humble submission? Our goal is to make it “clear, convincing, and relevant to [the] contemporary listener”. But how so? Sunukjian’s key questions within three categories (Understanding, Belief, and Behavior) guide our sights to hit the mark. Now one just needs to remember to work through the questions each week!
As the old adage says, “They won’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” So we can show them how much we care but studying their concerns, listening to their needs, feeling their hurts, and fielding their questions, then in turn, bringing the timeless solutions of God’s Word to their hearts each week…in an insightful and memorable way. I highly recommend Invitation to Biblical Preaching as a well-organized toolset to utilize in this vital task to which we are called.
Preach the Word!
FOOTNOTES
[1] The author provides dozens of personal sermon examples straight from the battlefield of everyday ministry. One gets the feeling that he is in the trenches with the average pastor. As if to say, “Take heart, brother, you’re not alone!”
[2] For further research on this subject, see Sunukjian’s unpublished Th.D. dissertation, “Patterns for Preaching: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Sermons of Paul in Acts 13; 17; and 20” (Dallas Theological Seminary, 1972).
[3] E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer, pg. 24. Of course, I’d contend that a prepared heart and a prepared sermon are both of great importance.
