Preachers and Teachers

"We, in theological colleges must be preachers as well as teachers. We must not only model good preaching but show students how to become good preachers. We must persuade our students that it is the word which is powerful, accurately interpreted, applied by God’s Spirit, and not the style, winsomeness, humour, or anecdotal ability of the preacher which is the most important. There is so little Old Testament preaching done in our pulpits, and what is done is often so bad, that there is a big job to be done for theological students."

Paul Barker, “Correctly Handling the Word of Truth — Teaching the Old Testament as a Christian Book,” in Make the Old Testament Live: From Curriculum to Classroom, ed, Richard S. Hess and Gordon J. Wenham (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 70.