40 Ibid., 17.
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1 is specialized, professionalized and dry, evangelicals are attracted by movements that havereplaced theology with emphases that are relational, therapeutic, charismatic andmanagerial (as in church growth). Whatever their virtues, none of these emphases givestruth and theology the place they require in the life and thought of a true disciple."41Guinness and Seel noted the neglected element is indeed the needed prescription, "Yettruth and theology are the royal road to knowing God. No one can love God and not be atheologian ”42 Perhaps more adamant and academic, Wells wrote of the place for theology, "I doso on the assumption that theology is a knowledge that belongs first and foremost to thepeople of God and that the proper and primary audience for theology is therefore theChurch, not the learned guild."43 Concerning the role of theology in the church, however.Wells lamented, "So it is with theology in the Church It remains on the edges ofevangelical life, but it has been dislodged from its center ,,4J Bringing this crisis into therealm of preaching and the purview of this thesis, Wells conducted a survey and noted, "At issue, in short, was the prevailing Geist in today's pulpit Is it anthropocentric or is ittheocentric9 The overwhelming proportion of the sermons analyzed — more than 80percent -- were anthropocentric 1,45 It would be profitable to articulate again thattheocentric sermons are not entirely or exclusively about God Wells pointed out thatthere are many other legitimate subjects that can be treated in a sermon But whatever the Ibid, 18Ibid , 19. Wells, No Place for Truth , 5Ibid , 106Ibid , 252 45 subject matter, the sermon should have as its foundation the reality, character and acts ofGod, in other words the sermon is to be theocentric. Historical depth can also be marshaled in defense of theocentrism In searching fora fundamental motif to explain the metaphysics of Jonathan Edwards, McClymandobserved, "The term 'theocentrism' expresses a point commonly agreed upon in relation toEdwards, viz , his strong and even overweening preoccupation with deity One might callhim a 'God-intoxicated Calvinist'."46 McClymand explained that theocentric in practicemeans that God is the measure of all things Edwards sought to turn the tables on theEnlightenment's anthropocentrism In a model of balance, "Edwards consistently strives toexalt God but not distance God from the world ”47 Not wishing to lose sight of the overarching purpose for this literature review itmay be noted here that the perspective for theocentric preaching "in a nutshell" is capturedby this phrase, "God is the measure of all things " Anthropocentric preaching, on the otherhand, reflects the position of Protagoras who said, "Man is the measure of all things "Many anthropocentric sermons are crafted by men who truly love and worship God, butthe gravitational pull of human need often distorts the interpretive process This literaturereview may create a counter-weight by citing the numerous sources that supporttheocentric or Christocentric preaching. Expository preaching seeks to be true to the Word The Christocentric nature ofScripture was recognized by Martin Luther, whose whole doctrine was erected on the 46 Michael J McClymand, "God the Measure: Towards an Understanding ofJonathan Edwards' Theocentric Metaphysics", Scottish Journal of Theology 47 (1994), 46 foundation of sola scriptura Historian Timothy George stated, "What gave Luther'sdoctrine its unique reformationa) character was its radical Christocentric basis As early as1515, Luther was stressing the Christ-centeredness of Scripture: 'He who would read theBible must simply take heed that he does not err, for the Scripture may permit itself to bestretched and led, but let no one lead it according to his own inclinations but let him lead itto the source, that is the cross of Christ Then he will surely strike the center' " 4* ThisChristocentric sense, Luther maintained, was plainly stated by Christ himself Further, herecognized that while all Scripture treats of Christ, not all of Scripture speaks equallyplainly about Christ A contemporary preacher who promotes a theocentric perspective is John PiperPiper commended the rise of God-centered music in worship services but questioned whythe sermons that follow are much less likely to be God-centered He concluded it isbecause preachers, themselves, are not moved by the greatness of God Their attention isabsorbed by the urgent issues of human problems or church growth Piper, however, hasforcefully stated, "My conviction is that the aim of preaching - no less than singing - isGod-exalting worship The aim of preaching is to deal with divorce worshipfiilly, andto deal with teenagers worshipfully, and to deal with anger worshipfiilly Preaching exaltsthe centrality of God in all of life or it is not Christian preaching 1,49 Overcoming thehuman-centered sermon is necessary Piper pointed out because of the nature of Scripture"And what is there in Scripture mainly is God The all-pervasive, all-important, 44 Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers (Nashville Broadman, 1988), 8349 John Piper, "Preaching as Worship: Meditations on Expository Exultation", Threemanuscripts from The Rom Lectures at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (November1993), Lecture 1.3. 54 all-surpassing reality in every text is God Whether he is commanding or warning or promising or teaching, he is there " 50 Another contemporary spokesman, Carson addressed the multitude ofinterpretations that can arise from one gospel passage, such as Matthew 11:1-11, "Ifinstead you go through this passage and you talk about perseverance or you talk about thenature of faith or you talk about privilege and you miss tfte centrality of Jesus Christ in thegospels, of all places where he is above all set forth, it is not Christocentric, faithful,biblical, theological preaching "}l Theocentric or Christocentric preaching is needed, according to Armstrong, if weare to experience revival Armstrong said, "Churches in the West need genuine, deep,biblical reformation They also need a visitation from God, what was called revival intimes past A major component needed as we seek to bring the church back to God andprayerfully urge her to pray for revival is God-centered, powerful preaching "*2 "Of many important conditions for Christian communication, none is morenecessary than the centrality of Jesus Christ himself', so stated Stott in the context ofevangelism 53 Christ-centeredness is evidenced in the model, message and motive forevangelism Speaking of the highest motive for evangelizing Stott said, "It is the zeal forthe glory of Jesus Christ God has exalted Jesus to his right hand If God desires Jesus
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