David Allen: Outlining Hebrews 10:19-25

See this post by Dr. David Allen on outlining Hebrews 10:19-25. Dr. Allen has a fine commentary on Hebrews in the New American commentary series.

David Allen on Text-Driven Preaching

  
See Michael Duduit's interview of David Allen on text-driven preaching here. The interview relates to a book that David co-edited entitled Text-Driven Preaching.
  

Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop and Hebrews: An Interview With David Allen

David Allen, Professor of Preaching, Director of the Southwestern Center for Expository Preaching, George W. Truett Chair of Ministry, and Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary recently agreed to answer five question about the upcoming Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop featuring the book of Hebrews and his recent commentary on Hebrews.

What is an Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop?

The Center for Expository Preaching at Southwestern Baptist theological Seminary offers two expository preaching workshops every year. The first workshop (Expository Preaching Workshop) is held in the spring. This workshop consists of two days of instruction on the philosophy, theory, and methodology of expository preaching. The presenters are well-known expositors drawn from all over the United States. The second workshop (Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop) is held in the fall. This workshop will take a book of the Bible (in this case Hebrews) and seek to apply the philosophy, theory, and methodology of exposition to that book. The advanced workshop will have presentations on the book (e.g., its structure, theology) and how to preach the book (e.g., preaching plans, example sermon). The advanced workshop is presented by expositors selected from Southwestern’s faculty.

Who should attend the Advanced Expository Preaching workshop?

The Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop is designed for pastors and preachers who want to review, retool, or refresh their expository preaching skills. While the workshop is designed for pastors and preachers, Bible college or seminary students interested in expository preaching and/or the book of Hebrews will also benefit. In fact, Sunday school teachers and other laypersons have attended previous workshops to become better equipped to serve in their churches.

What can pastors and preachers hope to take away from this workshop?

They can expect to receive very practical insights into the book of Hebrews and how to preach the book expositionally. Each attendee will receive notes from the sessions and even lunch is included with registration. Book tables containing some of the better resources on Hebrews will also be available for purchase as well.

Why the book of Hebrews?

The Advanced Expository Preaching Workshop is committed to teaching the whole counsel of Scripture. So we alternate our book selections between the Old and New Testaments. Last year the workshop tackled Psalms (see here for free audio) and so this year we were looking at a book from the New Testament. Since I had recently published two books on Hebrews (a monograph on the authorship of Hebrews and a commentary on Hebrews), the preaching faculty felt that Hebrews would be a logical choice for this year’s workshop.

I know that you recently published a commentary on Hebrews. Can you tell us a little about that commentary?

My commentary on Hebrews is in New American Commentary series, an exegetical and theological exposition of Scripture published by Broadman & Holman. The commentary itself is 671 pages. While it is not the first commentary on Hebrews to utilize linguistic principles and discourse analysis, it does seek to apply these exegetical approaches, especially as it relates to the structure of the book. This commentary contains the most extensive treatment, in a published commentary, of the crux interpretum 6:1–8 (54 pp.) that I am aware of. Another distinctive feature of the commentary is my belief that Luke is the author of Hebrews. Finally, as a preacher and teacher myself, I have tried to produce a commentary that will truly help preachers and teachers to preach and teach this book.

Lukan Authorship of Hebrews

David Allen's Lukan Authorship of Hebrews was published recently. Having read an earlier rough draft of this work I was delighted to see it out and thankful for Jim Baird at B & H for sending me a copy. I hope to post an interview with Dr. Allen in the near future, but in the meantime here is the publisher's description and table of contents for the book.

Publisher's Description:

A new volume in the NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY STUDIES IN BIBLE AND THEOLOGY series, Lukan Authorship of Hebrews explains why Luke is the likely author of the book of Hebrews. The ramifications of this possibility are then detailed in depth, including the way Hebrews informs the interpretation of the books of Luke and Acts. Also present throughout is commentary author David L. Allen’s thorough analysis of the writing style similarities between Hebrews, Luke, and Acts.

Table of Contents:

List of Abbreviations
Series Preface
Author's Preface
Introduction
1. Historical Survey of the Authorship Question: Development of the Lukan Theory
2. Barnabas, Apollos, and Paul
3. The Linguistic Argument: Lexical, Stylistic, and Textlinguistic Evidence
4. The Purposes of Luke-Acts and Hebrews Compared
5. The Theology of Luke-Acts and Hebrews Compared
6. The identity of Luke and the Jewish Background of Luke-Acts
7. Historical Reconstruction: Lukan Authorship of Hebrews
Conclusion
Select Bibliography Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index

Interview with David Allen on Text-Driven Preaching

Yesterday I introduced a forthcoming volume on expository preaching entitled Text-Driven Preaching. Today I have an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of the book, and also a table of contents for the book.

David Allen is the Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an outstanding preacher in his own right.

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Question: How did Text-Driven Preaching come about?

The idea for the book came about as a result of the preaching lectures I delivered at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in January of 2004. Dr. David Black and I were talking and he suggested the possibility. I immediately agreed and we began to work on the project from there. Originally, Dr. Black and I had planned to serve as co-editors of the book, but due to pressing engagements, he had to drop out. Drs. Akin and Matthews and I teamed up to serve as co-editors.

Question: Why did you write Text-Driven Preaching?

We wrote the book because we see a dearth of genuine expository preaching in many pulpits today. Even among those who do or who attempt to do exposition, many do not know how best to go about the task. We wanted to write a book that would give something of the history, methodology and practice of expository preaching that would be practical for all interested pastors and students.

Question: What is the main thesis of the book?

The main thesis of the book is that all genuine preaching should be text-driven preaching for theological reasons. The Bible is the Word of God. We believe in verbal-plenary inspiration. Consequently, what better to preach on to the people in our churches than the very words of God himself? We believe that all sermons should stay true to the structure, the substance and the spirit of the text of Scripture. Topical preaching fails to do this. We do not believe that expository preaching confines the preacher to a strait-jacket of three points and a poem. Sermons may appear in a variety of forms, as long as they clearly expound the meaning of the text.

Question: Who should read this book?

We would hope every pastor and student who plans to preach or teach the Bible would read it.

Question: What do you hope to accomplish through this book?

We hope to foster genuine biblical preaching that handles the text accurately and creatively at the same time. We hope to encourage pastors to consider preaching through books of the Bible as a part of their preaching ministry. We hope to encourage pastors out there on the front lines to realize that the best thing they can do for their people in the long run is to feed them the Word of God week by week. Nothing short of that will build strong disciples and great churches. Here is the

Table of Contents:

Introduction – David L. Allen

Part I
1. Ancient Rhetoric, A Model for Text-driven Preachers – Paige Patterson
2. A History of Text-driven Preaching – Jim Shaddix
3. The Secret of Preaching with Power – Bill Bennett
4. The Disciplines of a Text-driven Preacher – Ned Matthews

Part II
5. Preparing a Text-driven Sermon – David L. Allen
6. Exegesis for the Text-driven Sermon – David Alan Black
7. Biblical Genres and the Text-driven Sermon – Robert Vogel
8. Biblical Theology and Preaching – James M. Hamilton Jr.
9. Communication Theory and Text-driven Preaching – Hershael W. York
10. Delivering a Text-driven Sermon – Adam B. Dooley and Jerry Vines
11. Applying a Text-driven Sermon – Daniel L. Akin

Conclusion – Ned L. Mathews

Text-Driven Preaching

    
Text-Driven Preaching: God's Word at the Heart of Every Sermon is a forthcoming volume (June 2010) devoted to expository preaching. Here is the publishers description,

Text-Driven Preaching features essays by Daniel L. Akin, Paige Patterson, David Alan Black, Jerry Vines, Hershael York, David L. Allen, Bill Bennett, Ned L. Mathews, Robert Vogel, and Jim Shaddix urging pastors to commit to presenting true expository preaching from the pulpit. Concerned over what some church leaders even consider to be expository preaching today, they agree, “This book rests firmly on the biblical and theological foundation for exposition: God has spoken.”Capturing the urgency and spirit of these writings in the book’s preface, co-editor Allen notes, “The church today is anemic spiritually for many reasons, but one of the major reasons has to be the loss of biblical content in so much of contemporary preaching. Pop psychology substitutes for the Word of God . . . in the headlong rush to be relevant, People magazine and popular television shows have replaced Scripture as sermonic resources.”

Tomorrow I will post an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of Text-Driven Preaching.
   

Interview With David Allen on the Forthcoming Book Whosoever Will

One book that I am looking forward to reading is Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Calvinism edited by professors David Allen and Steve Lemke. The publisher is Broadman & Holman. Whosoever Will contains revised versions of papers originally presented at the John 3:16 conference, which was held November 2008 at First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia.

In anticipation of the forthcoming release, David Allen one of the editors of, and contributors to, Whosoever Will graciously agreed to be interviewed for this blog.

1. How did Whosoever Will come about?

This book is the result of a conference held at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, GA, in November, 2008, entitled “The John 3:16 Conference.” The purpose of this conference was to provide a biblical and theological evaluation and critique of Calvinism by non-Calvinists. Not a single speaker at this conference is an Arminian. Many today wrongly assume that there are only two theological positions on these issues: Calvinism and Arminianism. In fact, there are varieties within both camps. Most Southern Baptists are neither Calvinists nor Arminians, but would better be called “Calminians,” in that they affirm some aspects of each theological tradition. The book critiques Calvinism beginning with a critique of each of the so called “five points” in the TULIP acronym, followed by chapters addressing key issues such as whether Calvin himself affirmed limited atonement, the validity of the public altar call, the role of “determinism” in Calvinism, and how Calvinism handles the question of evil in the world.

2. Why did you write Whosoever Will?

We wrote the book to address the growing resurgence of Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention, especially among students on college and seminary campuses. As a result, this issue has been on the front burner for the past few years among Baptists. Often there is confusion and caricature on both sides of this issue. We felt the time had come for a scholarly presentation, irenic in spirit, that would critique the key elements of Calvinism. We have been asked by numerous students and pastors over the years to write such a book.

3. What is the main thesis of the book?

The main thesis of this book is to provide a scholarly critique of the five points of Calvinistic soteriology and then to address key issues in the debate between Calvinists and non-Calvinists.

4. Who should read this book?

Anyone interested in this issue should read this book, especially pastors, church staff members, lay leaders and teachers in local churches, along with current college and seminary students. Regardless of which side of the issue one may fall, this book should be helpful.

5. What do you hope to accomplish through this book?

My goal would be four-fold: 1) to assist all with a greater understanding of the differences between Calvinism and non-Calvinism; 2) to provide non-Calvinists with an understanding of the problems with Calvinism from a non-Calvinist perspective; and 3) to promote the overall edification of the church; and 4) to bring glory to God by attempting to fulfill that part of the Great Commandment which says “to love God with all of your mind.”

For further information see this interview from Broadman & Holman which includes both Allen and Lemke.

Expository Preaching with David Allen

Dr. David Allen was recently interviewed by Barry Creamer on the topic of expository preaching on Live from Criswell radio program. Also on the program is Andrew Hebert. You can access the audio here.

Expository Preaching Workshop Audio

Free audio of the 2009 Expository Preaching Workshop sponsored by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is available here. Here are the titles of the sessions.

David Platt – For the Glory of God: Theological Foundations for Text-Driven Preaching
Calvin Pearson – The Day that Preaching Died
Steven Smith – Expository Preaching and the Nature of the Church
George Harris – Tips for Effective Sermon Preparation
Jerry Vines – Text-Driven Preaching - Preaching Jonah
David Platt – For the Sake of the Nations
Jerry Vines – Jonah
David Allen – Preaching the Difficult Passages of Scripture - Heb 6:1-6
Paige Patterson – The Gospel in Prepositional Phrases

In particular, I would commend David Allen's talk on Hebrews 6. His view of this warning passage is also my view.

Allen on the Authorship of Hebrews

Dr. David Allen, Professor of Preaching, Director of the Southwestern Center for Expository Preaching, George W. Truett Chair of Ministry, and Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has spent much of his academic career pursuing the issue of the authorship of Hebrews. The topic was the focus of his doctoral dissertation, a much expanded version of which is due to be published in the Fall of 2009 by Broadman/Holman (The Authorship of Hebrews: The Case for Luke). He also has the commentary on Hebrews in the New American Commentary series due for publication this year. Having done some editorial work in both of these volumes I can testify to the careful and exhaustive nature of the content in both of these works.

The long and short of it is that Allen believes that Luke is the author of Hebrews. Although I still remain a bit of an agnostic on the issue, the arguments presented for Lukan authorship are substantive. In fact I believe the argument for Lukan authorship is the strongest of the arguments for any candidate (e.g., Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, etc,). In any case, a helpful summary of Dr. Allen’s view can be listened to or watched here. Scroll down to the 8.28.08 date and the message entitled “Jesus, Scripture and Sermon as Word of God.”