Several of my friends are rightly making much of the fact that Dick Lucas – known especially for his long ministry at St Helen's Bishopsgate in London and as founder of the Proclamation Trust – is 100 today.
Robin Sydserff has a helpful article here (which ought to be available to read, and apologies if it ends up being behind a paywall).
Actually, though, what struck me reading the article is the definition of preaching by James I. Packer folded into Sydserff’s reflections:
‘At the Evangelical Ministry Assembly in 1991, Jim Packer gave two addresses on preaching, summarised as “Some Perspectives on Preaching” in Preaching the Living Word: Addresses from the EMA (Christian Focus, 1999). “Christian preaching is the event of God himself bringing to an audience a Bible-based, Christ-related, life-impacting message of instruction and direction through the words of a spokesperson.”’
Packer continues: “Communication from the text is preaching, only as it is applied and brought to bear on the listeners with a life-changing thrust. Without this it would only be a lecture.”
As someone who preaches most Sundays, often twice, I found that a timely, succinct, and helpful reminder.
