Preaching has always been central to the life of church life, and especially following the Reformation of Luther and Calvin. However, preaching can take on a different hue in the Pentecostal revival that has and continues to bring about change to the entire church world-wide.

In his book Preach the Word: a Pentecostal Approach, 2004 Aldwin Ragoonath makes the assertion, “Pentecostal and Charismatic preaching is a type of preaching that is different from all other forms of preaching.” He links this form of preaching back to Jesus and his apostles and in this book seeks to convince the reader of the uniqueness of the kind of preaching instinctive to the Pentecostal world and experience.

Aldwin Ragoonath

His definition of Pentecostal is a classic view: those who have what he calls “a Spirit worldview that includes ‘dreams, visions, revelations, curses demons roaming the world, spiritual guidance, angels guiding us, people speaking in tongues, miracles, exorcisms and things we cannot explain.'” For him it is important that Pentecostals understand the difference this form of preaching is to other forms for it is “through preaching that their doctrines and emphases are communicated.”

The book covers a rather wide selection of topics meant to encourage those of Pentecostal persuasion. He begins with what is called “Theology of Pentecostal Preaching” in which he moves from the preacher and message to the traditional feature—especially of older Pentecostal churches—the altar service.

In his chapter on the History of Pentecostal Preaching, the author takes us back into the lives and sermons of those who were instrumental in the early beginnings of the Pentecostal movement, at the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles of the early 1900s. He provides an analysis of the way Parham and Seymour preached and how they handled the Biblical text in their preaching. As well he provides suggestions on how to go about building a sermon from a text.

In preparation for preaching at healing and deliverance services he offers his logic as to the value of such services along with organization of the services. From there he provides counsel on outlining sermons and their delivery.

Throughout his writing, the author asserts that Pentecostals are not traditionally from educated classes: “Pentecostalism was born from working class people and reflects a simple view of the Word of God.” With this in mind then, his material may best refer to those Pentecostals who preach to people with limited education.

Aldwin Ragoonath has obviously spent much time considering the importance of preaching to those who serve within the Pentecostal and Charismatic community. As a world force, it is important that preachers from this community be equipped so as to impact this wider world with the power of Gospel of our risen Lord.

I am grateful for this opportunity of reading and reviewing Preach the Word.

Reviewed by Brian C. Stiller.

James R Nieman and Thomas G Rogers, Preaching to Every Pew: Cross-Cultural Strategies (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 159 pages, ISBN 9780800632434.

This book is a “must-read” for every city church pastor because most city congregations have become multicultural. I have found in my own study that the majority of Pentecostal churches are racially, ethnically and socially mixed (“Pentecostal Preaching in North America” Th.D. dissertation, 2000).

Both of the book’s authors are Lutheran ministers, members of the Academy of Homiletics and are practicing homileticians. Nieman’s interest is in combining homiletical research with social sciences. Rogers’ is interested in preaching and cross-cultural communication (his PhD is in homiletics).

This book is the result of extensive research and study about how pastors preach to a congregation of people that represents different cultures, languages, ethnicity, races and social classes. The authors build upon the experiences of pastors, analyze their situations and make recommendations.

In a world where the accepted norm is “me,” “myself” and “I”, with the added professionalism of the clergy, this book is a fresh and helpful work.

In the first chapter the authors present a biblical basis for multicultural communication and preaching. Jesus serves as the best example of cross-cultural communication. (One example is when He spoke and ministered to the Samaritan woman drawing water from the well). In chapters two to five the authors outline the main points of cross-cultural strategies. They are the frame of ethnicity, the frame of class, the frame of displacement and the frame of beliefs.

The frame of ethnicity, culture and race are the same. The frame of class refers to social status. The frame of displacement is about people who have moved from one place to another and who feel unattached to their present location. The frame of beliefs deals with people who have various views of Christianity. The background of a person influences their view of Christianity. For example, people who become Christians after being in a Buddhist background will have a different view of Christianity than someone who comes from rural America. (Christianity is a synthesis of former and present cultures).

At the end of each chapter Nieman and Rogers present suggestions on how to preach in various situations and then, in their final chapter, re-affirm the importance of being a loving and caring neighbor.

The authors suggest the best way to minister effectively to a cross-cultural congregation is to genuinely love the people, to treat people as neighbors in the biblical sense of the word. Pastors should treat people as part of the body of Christ. Even though there are differences each person is equally important. Pastoral preaching should be inclusive of each represented culture by adding illustrations and symbols in their sermons that will apply to the various groups in the congregation. (Or it could be a picture on the wall of one or more of the cultures represented). The preaching style should be flexible so as to meet the needs of the audience—it can be monologue, dialogue or a mixture of these two. The preaching should be Christocentric and must give hope. Augustine is a good example of someone who spoke effectively to a mixed audience.

Aldwin Ragoonath, a Canadian pastor and homiletician in the Pentecostal tradition and a participant in the Academy of Homiletics, has written a book that is shaped as a basic preaching textbook but that also serves as an apologetic for a distinctively Pentecostal approach to homiletics. Ragoonath, who is informed by the standard works in the field (e.g. Craddock, Lowry, and Buttrick), nevertheless insists that “Pentecostal and Charismatic preaching is …different from all other forms of preaching.” As such, he desires to wean his approach away from contemporary homiletical and rhetorical theory and to base it essentially on what he understands to be biblical principles and on preaching models provided by Jesus and the apostles.

Ragoonath winds his way through all the basic loci—exegesis, form, delivery, etc.—putting his own Pentecostal stamp on each. He calls for preachers to be prepared to spend much time in prayer and fasting, for a process of biblical interpretation “not encumbered by higher criticism” that seeks to re-experience both the “truths and the feeling” of a text, and for a preaching of the “full gospel,” namely that “Jesus saves, sanctifies, heals, baptizes in the Spirit and is coming back to this world—soon.”

Even for readers unpersuaded by Ragoonath’s approach to homiletics or his Adventist theology, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into Pentecostal practice. He provides a concise guide to the history of Pentecostal preaching and discusses such matters as dress codes (“It’s always safe to have a suit with you in case you have to use it.”), the logistics of “healing and deliverance” services, the practice of “tarrying” (a prayer-like waiting for divine action), and signs that a preacher is truly anointed by the Holy Spirit (e.g. the preacher preaches with boldness; the sermon is accompanied by “signs, wonders, and miracles,” and the preacher often speaks in “a higher pitched voice” and “his facial expression begins to glow”).

Reviewed by Thomas G. Long.