Tim Keller on Expository Preaching

Colin Adams asks Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 10 questions about expository preaching. Here are a few selections:

1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?
   It is central, but not alone at the center. Pastoral ministry is as important as preaching ministry, and lay ‘every-member’ ministry is as crucial as ordained ministry. . . .
2. How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?
   I pastor a large church and have a large staff and so I give special prominence to preparing the sermon. I give it 15-20 hours a week. . . . When I was a pastor without a large staff I put in 6-8 hours on a sermon.
3. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?
   He should combine warmth and authority/force. That is hard to do, since tempermentally we incline one way or the other. . . .
4. What notes, if any, do you use?
   I use a very detailed outline, with many key phrases in each sub-point written out word for word.
5. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (eg. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)?
   It is a very great mistake to pit pastoral care and leadership against preaching preparation. It is only through doing people-work that you become the preacher you need to be–someone who knows sin, how the heart works, what people’s struggles are, and so on. . . .

Read the whole post at Unashamed Workman.

See also:

• Philip Ryken on Expository Preaching
• Voddie Baucham on Expository Preaching
• Liam Goligher on Expository Preaching
• Vaughan Roberts on Expository Preaching
• Thabiti Anyabwile on Expository Preaching
• Conrad Mbewe on Expository Preaching

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