Many modern challenges to the traditional sermon structures result from a redefinition of the preaching task from conveying knowledge of biblical truth to the experiencing of spiritual truth. When the Bible loses its authority, sermons are less concerned with communicating its specifics than with leaving religious impressions and making moral challenges. This change of focus necessarily calls for structures more compatible with eliciting human perceptions and less concerned with communicating biblical information. Note that most information-oriented communicators in our culture still use traditional communication structures. This is true whether the field is business, law, or education (cf. standard business and education seminars and textbooks on making successful speeches or presentations). Many modern approaches to preaching reflect the communication standards of commercial advertisements, political speeches, or entertainment vehicles designed to make impressions rather than develop thought. (Words in bold mine)
This little gem was tucked away in a footnote in Bryan Chapell’s Christ-Centered Preaching
We don’t need new ways of preaching.
We need a return to the authority of God’s Word.
