The past year has witnessed the publication of a number of excellent books about preaching. Nevertheless, one title clearly promises to become a standard reference for preachers over the years to come, and that volume is our 1995 Preaching Book of the Year: the Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching, edited by William H. Willimon and Richard Lischer and published by Westminster/John Knox Press.
This sturdy volume (518 pages) contains the work of nearly 200 contributors, drawn primarily from the ranks of mainline seminaries along with a handful of evangelical scholars. Willimon is Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University while Lischer is Professor of Homiletics at Duke Divinity School.
Topics in the Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching cover a broad range of subject areas, with a significant emphasis on the history of preaching and biographies of major figures in the preaching tradition, from Chrysostom to Robert Schuller. Readers will enjoy articles on issues like “Topical Preaching,” “Expository Preaching” or “Narrative Preaching.” The volume includes articles on “Hermeneutics,” “Exegesis” and other homiletical issues.
As was stated in our full review in the July-August 1995 issue of Preaching, “The Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching is a useful reference tool for preachers and homileticians and will find a welcome place in many libraries.”
We are proud to recognize this outstanding volume as our Book of the Year for 1995.
