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MJT for the Church Preachers and Preaching, II Preachers and Preaching, II and Preaching, Preachers MIDWESTERN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY 14.2 - Fall 2015 MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Fall 2015 Vol. 14 No.2 MIDWESTERN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY EDITORIAL BOARD ISBN: 1543-6977 Jason K. Allen, Executive Editor Jason G. Duesing, Academic Editor Michael D. McMullen, Managing Editor N. Blake Hearson, Book Review Editor Th e Midwestern Journal of Th eology is published biannually by Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary, Kansas City, MO, 64118, and by Th e Covington Group, Kansas City, MO. Information about the journal is available at the seminary website: www.mbts.edu. Th e Midwestern Journal of Th eology is indexed in the Southern Baptist Periodical Index and in the Christian Periodical Index. Address all editorial correspondence to: Editor, Midwestern Journal of Th eology, 5001 N. Oak Traffi cway, Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo, 64118. Address books, software, and other media for review to: Book Review Editor, Midwestern Journal of Th eology, 5001 N. Oak Traffi cway, Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo, 64118. All submissions should follow the SBL Handbook of Style in order to be considered for publication. Th e views expressed in the following articles and reviews are not necessarily those of the faculty, the administration, or the trustees of the Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary. © Copyright 2015 All rights reserved by Midwestern Baptist Th eological Seminary MJT Fall 2015 Cover v6.indd 2 11/11/15 8:48 AM MIDWESTERN JOURNAL OF THEOLOGY FALL 2015 (Vol. 14/ No. 2) CONTENTS Editorial IV THEME: Preachers and Preaching, II ARTICLES The Pastor as Prophet OWEN STRACHAN 1-15 The Landscape of the Character of Preaching SCOTT M. GIBSON 16-37 The Ecclesiology of Charles. H. Spurgeon GREGORY A. WILLS 38-53 Preaching against the State JASON G. DUESING 54-82 John Williams, 1767-1825 MICHAEL D. McMULLEN 83-93 BOOK REVIEWS Donald S. Whitney, Praying the Bible (2015) (Reviewed by Jason K. Allen) 94-95 Peter Sanlon, Augustine's Theology of Preaching (2014) (Reviewed by Coleman M. Ford) 95-98 ii Craig R. Koester, Revelation: A New Translation (2014) (Reviewed by Radu Gheorghita) 98-102 J.C. Paget and J. Schaper, The New Cambridge History of the Bible. Volume 1 (2013) (Reviewed by Radu Gheorghita) 102-106 Philip G. Ryken, Loving Jesus More (2014) (Reviewed by Abagail Odin) 106-108 David M. Allen, Deuteronomy and Exhortation in Hebrews (2008) (Reviewed by Ched Spellman) 108-113 A.L. Chute, N.A. Finn and M.A.G. Haykin, The Baptist Story (2015) (Reviewed by Jason G. Duesing) 113-116 Books Received 117-118 Join the movement. THE ALL NEW 81 We are developing a new culture Unable to relocate to Kansas City? Other study options are available. UNDERGRADUATE GRADUATE DOCTORAL ONLINE THE ALI! NEW 81 H(l,WA MDI, . TAKE GOD'S UNCHANGING WORD INTO'A IDLY CHANGING WORLD . .--~- r Midwestern 5-eminary's flagship degree is our:piimary track for ministry preparation. At 81 hours, the M.Oiv. offers a complete foundation for full 7t!ie ministry leaders, offering all you need for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. Join other studentiin vibrant Kansas City as you train in a unique collaborative environment focused on the local church. We are developing a new culture of discipleship devoted to the local church and committed to taking God's unchanging Word into a rapidly changing world. Unable to relocate to Kansas City? Other study options are available. Join the movement. mbts.edu/mjt /'ur thr Ch,,rrh UNO'ERGUDU.\YE •G~AOUATE 0OCTO~Al •ON'\JN:E MIDWESTERN G RAPT I$1 ! H~O~OGICAI >f,MINARY iv EDITORIAL: Welcome to the Fall 2015 issue of the Midwestern Journal of Theology. In this, the second of our Issues examining the theme of Preachers and Preaching, we are again seeking to reflect on the great gift of God to the Church, that of Preaching. I hope that all those who give so sacrificially of their time and talents to bring this Journal to fruition, are aware of my very sincere thanks for all they do. This Issue begins with Midwestern's own and very new, Owen Strachan's, as he shares with us his Article, 'The Pastor as Prophet: Christie Exposition in the Age of Audio'. Strachan challenges and encourages Pastors to remember that they have been called as Prophets, God's mouthpieces delivering God's words on the battlefield of the world. We are then honored to have a most helpful Article from Scott Gibson, who is the Haddon W. Robinson professor of Preaching at Gordon Conwell. His paper explores the landscape of preaching today and investigates the challenges that preachers face on a number of levels moral challenges, consumer-driven challenges, the challenge of the cult of personality, and the challenges of seminary education in the training of preachers. Our third piece comes from the pen of Gregory Wills, Dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is an excellent analysis of Charles Spurgeon' s Ecclesiology. Our penultimate Article, a scholarly yet very practical examination of the persecution of the Anabaptists in the 16th Century and the lessons we can draw from it for today, is from Midwestern's Provost, Jason Duesing. The final offering in this Issue, is an historical biography of John Williams, a Welsh Baptist preacher, whom God used mightily in the New York of the 19th Century, not only in his role as a preacher, but also as a pioneer in the support of Baptist foreign missions. We again, conclude this Issue with several relevant and thought provoking book reviews. Midwestern Journal of Theology: 14.2 (2015): 1-16 The Pastor as Prophet: Christie Exposition in the Age of Audio OWEN STRACHAN Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Director of the Center for Theological and Cultural Engagement, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary In the middle of the world's greatest city, he prayed.1 It was 11:20am in London on June 18, 1944, the era of Churchill, Hitler, Roosevelt, larger-than-life figures. It was a period of terrible, totalizing war, when all the world seemed a mix of fire and smoke. The British Empire had effectively ended. In recent decades, it had controlled nearly a quarter of the globe's territory, making it the largest superpower in human history. Now, the city at the center of it all was under siege. In the midst of the aerial invasion, with sirens blaring and chaos reigning, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones stood before his people. He was a few hundred feet from Buckingham Palace, but he sought the ministrations of a higher kingdom. It was a frightening time in London. The Germans' remote controlled bombing of the city had begun only days before, and had already caused tremendous casualties-over 10,000 in a week, according to historian Iain Murray.2 It was the stuff of madness, and catastrophic for the city. "The Doctor," however, was not deterred. The whole church could hear the plane closing in, but Lloyd-Jones had begun his "long prayer" -his pastoral prayer-and did not stop. The whine overhead grew too loud, though, for him to continue, and so he paused. All the congregation held their breath. Then the bomb fell. There was a massive explosion, debris fell 1 This article is adapted with permission from "Of Prophets, Priests, and Kings: A Brief Biblical Theology of the Pastorate," in Kevin J. Vanhoozer and Owen D. Strachan, The Pastor as Public Theologian: Reclaiming a Lost Vision (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015). 2 Iain Murray, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Fight of Faith, 1939-1981 (Edinburgh & Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1990), 113-115. 2 Midwestern Journal of Theology from the ceiling, and the structure of the chapel cracked. One woman had closed her eyes moments before; she opened them, saw fine white dust covering her fellow parishioners, and thought she was in heaven. The congregation rose to their feet; panic was in the air. The church members waited to see how their pastor would react. Would he weep, or run, or panic? He would not. With sirens screaming, the Doctor resumed his pastoral prayer. At its close, he told the people that any who wished to do so could move under the gallery for safety. A deacon then took the podium, dusted it off, and returned to his seat. Lloyd-Jones resumed his place at the chapel's front and opened his Bible. Without missing a beat, he began to preach God's Word to the people. The text was Jude 20, which reads in context with verse 21: But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 3 The Prophet of the Old Covenant Era In this remarkable scene, we witness a stunning portrait of public courage. We find also a memorable portrait of the nature of Christian ministry is in a fallen world. Even as the world bums, the pastor leads the church to continually build itself up in the Spirit's power. We may not all minister in such a visceral setting, but there is indeed a battle in which every pastor fights. Pastoral ministry is a local campaign in the broader war between the living God and the principalities and powers of the air (Ephesians 6:12). The effects of this conflict are many in number: dispirited people. Fighting. Constant criticism of the staff. Adultery.