Tongues Aflame by Roger Wagner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Simply put, this is a modern masterpiece. It mingles pastoral insights with hard-hitting rebukes all distilled from the text of the book of Acts. Wagner takes readers through the Apostle’s preaching in the book of Acts and highlights not just the matter, but also the manner of the preaching that was done. This is the sort of book which deserves to be a staple in seminaries for years to come.[epq-quote align=”align-right”]Modern preaching all too often tries to be “authentic” and thus diminishes the calling to herald the message of a Risen Christ who is Lord of Heaven, and to do so with authority.[/epq-quote]
Three takeaways for me.
Preachers must preach boldly, which he defines as being plain, clear and direct. We need more preachers who use the 2nd person (i.e. you) more often; not only that but who live “before the face of God”.
Preachers must understand that their calling is one which necessitates speaking with authority. Modern preaching all too often tries to be “authentic” and thus diminishes the calling to herald the message of a Risen Christ who is Lord of Heaven, and to do so with authority.
The Book of Acts is a marvelous handbook on how a man ought to preach. The fruit of faithful preaching is not in the responses of the people but in faithfulness to proclaim the truth with boldness, clarity, and purity. Paul, Peter and the other preachers in Acts have all manner of responses to their preaching (mass revival, riots, debates, etc.); thus, we must not measure our “success” so much by the response of the people to whom we are preaching (although that should certainly be evaluated), but by our faithfulness to God’s Word.
This is a book well-worth your time. Especially if you are a preacher, but even if not, the commentary on the book of Acts is also quite insightful for any lay person to be edified by.
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