In case you were wondering, the answer is: “Yes, Preaching Today has named Danny Akin’s Engaging Exposition (co-authored with Bill Curtis and Stephen Rummage) the Book of the Year. And yes, this is the second time in five years that a SEBTS professor has won this award (with Greg Heisler’s Spirit-Led Preaching winning in 2007).”

PreachingToday.com, a ministry of Christianity Today, names two “Books of the Year” each year, on in the “pastor’s skills” category and the other in the “pastor’s soul” category. Akin’s text won in the “skills” category, while Heisler’s won in the “soul” category.

In his endorsement of Engaging Exposition, David Allen (Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) had already served advance notice by saying, “This book has the best overall discussion that covers the landscape of expository preaching, regardless of genre, that would help any pastor regardless of experience level.” Honorable mention in the skills category goes to The Beginning and End of Wisdom: Preaching Christ from the First and Last Chapters of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job, author Douglas Sean O’Donnell, published by Crossway.

For those of our readers who are interested in furthering their theological studies, particularly in the area of preaching, we at BtT remind you that we offer special preaching tracks in the B.A., M.Div., D.Min., and Ph.D. Our faculty members include Danny Akin, Wayne McDill, Tony Merida, Greg Heisler, and Bill Curtis.

Danny Akin is the President of SEBTS and Professor of Preaching. He is the author of the commentary 1, 2, 3 John (NAC), co-author of Engaging Exposition, and co-editor of Text-Driven Preaching: God’s Word at the Heart of Every Sermon. He has pastored churches in Texas, Florida, Alabama, and Virginia, and he brings this pastoral experience to bear in the classroom, where he teaches Hermeneutics, Bible Exposition, Sermon Delivery (M.Div.), Expository Preaching and Theoretical & Foundational Issues in Expository Preaching (D.Min.), and the PhD Seminar in Expository Preaching.

Wayne McDill is Senior Professor of Preaching at SEBTS. He is the author of several books, including The Moment of Truth and The 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching, both of which have served as textbooks for preaching courses in numerous seminaries. The 12 Essential Skills has been translated into Spanish and Romanian. In more than forty years of ministry, he has pastored several churches, served as an SBC staffer for evangelism and church growth, and taught at the college and seminary level. He has been at SEBTS since 1989.

Greg Heisler is Associate Professor of Preaching and Speech at SEBTS. He is the author of Spirit-Led Preaching: The Holy Spirit’s Role in Sermon Preparation and Delivery (named Book of the Year by Preaching Magazine) and teaches Bible Exposition, Sermon Delivery, The Pastor and the Preaching Ministry, Women & Communication (M.Div); Practical & Strategic Issues in Expository Preaching (D.Min.); and serves as a major professor to PhD students in Expository Preaching.

Tony Merida is a new member of SEBTS’s faculty, coming to Wake Forest from New Orleans to serve as Associate Professor of Preaching. He is the author of Faithful Preaching: Declaring Scripture with Responsibility, Passion, and Authenticity (B&H) and Orphanology (New Hope Publishers). Before coming to SEBTS, Merida served as Dean of the Chapel and Assistant Professor of Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and later as Pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He brings a wealth of preaching and pastoral experience to the faculty.

Bill Curtis is Adjunct Professor of Preaching for SEBTS, teaching courses in expository preaching (M.Div.) and is Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina. He is the co-author, with Danny Akin and Stephen Rummage, of Engaging Exposition.

Southeastern offers several degrees with an emphasis in the kind of faithful preaching these men seek to teach and practice. The B.A. Christian Studies with a minor in Preaching introduces undergraduate students to the knowledge and skills central to the work of pastors, particularly in the area of preaching. The M.Div. with Expository Preaching prepares students for pastoral ministry in the local church with a special emphasis on preaching by focusing elective courses in preaching. The D.Min. with Expository Preaching combines the emphasis on preaching with the cohort model, so that colleagues in this area take seminars in preaching over a five-day period. The D.Min. student then seeks to apply what is learned in these seminars through the Contextualized Learning Experience, preaching in their church setting. Finally, the Ph.D. in Applied Theology with an emphasis in Preaching prepares students to teach preaching to college or seminary students, and to write about the kind of faithful preaching taught here.

We invite you to come study with our preaching faculty in the B. A., M.Div., D.Min., or Ph.D. programs of Southeastern. For more info visit our website (http://www.sebts.edu/) and check out the Admissions and Academics links.

Later this Spring Broadman & Holman will release a book entitled Engaging Exposition. The book is co-authored by Pastor Bill Curtis (Cornerstone Baptist, Darlington, South Carolina, Ph.D. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), Pastor Stephen Rummage (Bell Shoals Baptist, Brandon, Florida, Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary) and myself. Combined we bring nearly 100 years of study and experience to the glorious and high calling of preaching the infallible and inerrant Word of God. We love the Bible and are committed without reservation or apology to its faithful exposition.

Over the next several weeks I will highlight sections of the book that I hope will be a blessing and encouragement to all who proclaim the “unsearchable” riches of Christ.” We are honored that David Platt was willing to write the Forward to the book. We have also been encouraged by a number of kind words of endorsement from some wonderful expositors and teachers of preaching.

So, we will journey through hermeneutics, homiletics and sermon delivery. My prayer is it will be both instructive and encouraging. Below is the table of contents. You will note there are 10 chapters devoted to each section for a total of 30.

Introduction
Daniel L. Akin

Section One (Hermeneutics)

Chapter 1: A Journey of Discovery

Chapter 2: The Origins of Biblical Hermeneutics

Chapter 3: The Author’s Intended Meaning in a Text

Chapter 4: Basic Principles of Hermeneutics

Chapter 5: Discovering the Author’s Method of Communication (1)-Prose

Chapter 6: The Author’s Method of Communication (2)-Poetry

Chapter 7: The Importance of Structuring the Text

Chapter 8: Issues Concerning Context

Chapter 9: Discovering the Author’s Language Clues in a Text

Chapter 10: Identifying the Main Idea of the Text

Section Two (Homiletics)

Chapter 11: Developing the Main Idea of the Text and Message

Chapter 12: The Work of Exposition: Structuring the Message

Chapter 13: The Word of Exposition: Developing the Message

Chapter 14: Illustrations: Helping Your People See Bible Truth in Action

Chapter 15: Application: How Does It Work?

Chapter 16: The Introduction: How to Begin Well

Chapter 17: The Conclusion: How to Land the Plane Safely

Chapter 18: Giving an Invitation: Soul Winning from the Pulpit

Chapter 19: Preaching on Special Occasions

Chapter 20: 20 Common Questions and Answers in Crafting Biblical Messages

Section Three (Sermon Delivery)

Chapter 21: What’s the Big Deal about Delivery?

Chapter 22: How We Produced Speech

Chapter 23: Putting Your Best Voice Forward

Chapter 24: Preaching with Your Entire Body

Chapter 25: Making a Lasting Impression

Chapter 26: Your Delivery System

Chapter 27: Style Can Make a Difference

Chapter 28: Preaching to the People in Front of You

Chapter 29: Preaching with Visual Appeal

Chapter 30: The Preacher’s Personal Life and Public Behavior

Conclusion

Daniel L. Akin