I’m torn between really liking Andy Stanley’s Communicating for a Change and being frightened by some of his assertions.
“Presentation trumps information (page 146)” makes me nervous. I’ve taught novice preachers to remember several sermons that were all presentation and no information (Bible truth). I’ve watched politicians rack up election wins on the strength of presentation, even though they had no substance.
But . . . I do like Stanley’s Biblical argument for the importance of presentation. In John 1:1-14, we find that even God resorted to a new presentation (incarnation) in order to communicate his truth.
Even more . . . I am grabbed by Stanley’s confession that he is not worried about what people think about him because he’s totally focused on whatever it takes to get people to live out God’s Word. In three different stories in chapter 15, Stanley describes the personal risks he took in order to drive his point home.
I think that more preachers need that level of passion for communicating God’s truth. I hope that passion flows from me, the next time I preach.