Power Preaching For Church Growth

by David Eby

Foreword by John MacArthur. Do pastors and church leaders today really need a wake-up call to return to the apostolic priorities of preaching and prayer as the primary means to accomplish church growth? In an age in which the church has become infatuated with pragmatism, success models, sociological methodologies, management techniques and marketing, the answer is a resounding "Yes." The goal of this book is to exhort and encourage pastors and church leaders to escape the full court press of expediency and to restart as offense of biblical priorities and methods. The church will not impact society until she regains her love for preaching and a no-compromise commitment to sound, biblical exposition.

The value of this book is that it not only shows us where the problems are but gives us a healthy reminder of the essentiality of prayer and preaching.

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 1999

Reviews

[Josh Perez]

“There have been some 334 books written on the subject [of church growth] since 1972. The astounding thing is that books on church growth say so little about preaching…Instead of finding mounds of sparkling nuggets on the role and priority of preaching in church growth, I have panned only a handful of low-grade gold dust-a brief comment here, a passing assertion there, with an anecdote or illustration occasionally.” (David Eby, Power Preaching for Church Growth, 15-16)

1) What pastor of a small church doesn't want to find out the secret sauce for church growth? While many secret sauces are advertised and marketed, David Eby highlights an essential ingredient that Scripture itself promotes as key to a true church revitalization: The preaching of the Word. Welcome to Power Preaching for Church Growth by David Eby

2) Eby does not have much original material to share. Instead he engages in a form of rubble removal, where biblical truths about church growth lie buried underneath a landslide of pragmatism and marketing models and need help seeing the light of day once more. In that sense this book is rooted in what I have traditionally always believed about church growth. It should not be manipulated by man-made methods. The Lord of the church does not require many cooks in his kitchen trying to add their own dash of seasoning to His original recipe. I appreciated Eby deriving a more faithful model of church growth from the book of Acts. His insights in this area were fresh and a great reminder of the sufficiency and depth of Scripture. God knew that churches would need a blueprint to follow after the initial momentum of the apostolic era had ground to a less than inspiring halt. His critiques of the church growth movement were helpful.

3) A few things did detract from the overall quality of the book. Each chapter had a section of quotations from different theologians throughout church history. This isn't a bad idea but the overall quality and memorableness of the quotes was uneven. There were a few nuggets to harvest but stacking up block quotes quickly loses it veneer and comes across as just page filler.

4) This is a book on preaching. And yet I can't say I came across many unique insights in how to become a better preacher. One exception was Eby making the case for preaching being more than just pulpit pounding on Sundays. It has a broader application that encompasses a wide range of situations, including counseling, discipleship, teaching etc. But outside of that Eby overviews pretty well-trodden territory. I'm not asking for a reinventing of the preaching wheel, but listing preaching points found in dozens of other preaching books without any unique signature or creative variation made this section disappointing.

5) A couple of concluding thoughts.
- Eby assumes that small congregations exist because ministers are not being flames of fire (pg35). This is unclear and guilt-inducing. More analysis instead of this manipulative broad brushing would have been appreciated. As he later on makes clear, small churches can remain small for reasons outside of incompetence or lack of zeal or obedience.
- Incorrect and undefended assumption about Joel 2:28-29 being completely fulfilled in Acts 2:16 (pg147)

Overall, a clear and passionate call back to the fundamental importance of preaching in the life, health, and growth of the church. A bit insensitive to small churches, and a bit vague in explaining how even good preaching in small churches does not always produce larger numbers. Seems a bit simplistic. But there are some good reminders in here that pragmatism should not outweigh the significance of preaching the inspired Word.

[Greg Helms]

Packed with Truth. Highly recommend. I rarely turn so many pages in complete agreement.

The author lives according to what he shares. I praise God for this book. It has been used by the Spirit to call me to repentance, re-focus on first things, and to joy that others are laboring for the same throughout the world.

Read this book, church leader. Lay person, read it, and pray for your pastor. Give a copy to your elders. Pray for your family and congregation to live the truths disclosed.

#letmeintroduceyou
#JESUSisLORD

[Brian]

This is a passionate plea for pastors to prioritize prayer and the preaching of the word. Largely grounded in the Book of Acts, with scores of inspiring quotes from great preachers past and present, this book is both timely and practical. Two minor caveats (1) When critiquing the church growth movement, the rhetoric may be a tad strong and (2) This has to be the most poorly edited book I've read in years - not in terms of content, but simple proof-reading - spelling, grammar, minor mistakes. It's just sloppy. But, that aside, the book is well worth reading.

[Jonathan Roberts]

The whole church growth movement has rubbed me the wrong way for a long time. This book was a healthy wake up call. I enjoyed it, especially the many hundreds of quotes for encouragement that the author included at the end of each chapter.