Persuasive Preaching: A Biblical and Practical Guide to the Effective Use of Persuasion

By R. Larry Overstreet

Michael Dudit, executive editor of Preaching Magazine, writes in the foreword that "the reader will find in this book a valuable discussion of what persuasion really is, what the Bible has to say about it, how it is modeled in the New Testament, and what role persuasion should and should not play in our own preaching in the twenty-first century. The author has provided solid biblical content and practical guidance that will be a powerful resource for preachers and church leaders. He writes with clarity and—dare I say it?—persuasive power. I hope you will be as blessed by this book as I have been."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Release date: Aug 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781683592198

Book preview

Bibliography

Foreword by Michael Duduit

Persuasion is, for many in our culture, a dirty word. What right do you have to seek to impose on me your beliefs or ideas? After all are not all beliefs and spiritual practices essentially equal? Why cannot you just be tolerant of my views instead of trying to sell me yours?

And yet, for those who have been called to proclaim the gospel and lead God’s people, we recognize that persuasion is a key element of New Testament preaching. Those first Christian preachers boldly carried the message of the gospel into the marketplaces of their day and called on their listeners to respond. When the crowd asked Peter at Pentecost What must we do? he was ready with an answer: Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38 ESV). Like other apostolic preachers, he preached for a response.

In a day like ours—where the average listener is bombarded with hundreds or even thousands of advertising messages daily—the effort to persuade is ever present. Yet it is increasingly viewed with suspicion. In such a culture, how are Christian preachers to view this issue of persuasion? Is it right for us to seek to persuade others? And if so, how do we go about that task?

Larry Overstreet is a veteran preacher—and teacher of preachers—who takes on that issue in this helpful book. Like me, he grew up in an evangelical environment where persuasion was a constant: from campfire decision services to evangelistic revivals to post-sermon invitations where every stanza of Just As I Am could be heard again and again. We have both witnessed persuasive abuses, but Larry recognizes that there is much more to the story. He makes the case that there is a place for persuasion in preaching, and he gives useful guidance in effectively and ethically using this rhetorical tool.

The reader will find in this book a valuable discussion of what persuasion really is, what the Bible has to say about it, how it is modeled in the New Testament, and what role persuasion should and should not play in our own preaching in the twenty-first century. Larry has provided solid biblical content and practical guidance that will be a powerful resource for preachers and church leaders. He writes with clarity and—dare I say it?—persuasive power. I hope you will be as blessed by this book as I have been.

—Michael Duduit, Dean, College of Christian Studies, Anderson University, Anderson, SC, and Executive Editor, Preaching magazine.

Foreword by Warren W. Wiersbe

My longtime friend, publisher Jim Weaver, asked me to write this second foreword and address it to my peers, preachers who (like me) have been around for many years, have read many books on preaching, and have preached many sermons.

My message to you is simple but important: read this book carefully and take it seriously. No matter how many years you may have been in ministry—with me it’s over sixty—there is always more to learn and no doubt things that need to be dusted off and put back to work. How easy it is to get in a rut (that’s a grave open at both ends) and not even know it! But the people who listen to us know, and they rejoice when they detect freshness in our preaching.

In recent years, much progress has been made in homiletics and communication and related fields; and quite frankly, it’s not easy to keep up with it all, either time-wise or budget-wise! Reading this book will update you in many areas of homiletics and perhaps even upset you in other areas, but both will do you good. Education means change in the midst of order and order in the midst of change.

I have shelves of books in my library devoted to homiletics as well as the biographies and sermons of notable preachers, and I frequently use them. The old standards I have referred to many times—John Broadus, Phillips Brooks, Lloyd Perry, Andrew Blackwood—and the newer books I have read carefully and critically and have always been helped.

The gospel we preach needs no improvement, but my understanding of how to reach the minds and hearts of my listeners needs frequent adjustment. The information in the pages of this very comprehensive book is exactly what I need. The material in this book is not fast food, so please don’t speed-read the pages. Read them carefully, ponder what they say, and see how they relate to your current ideas about preparing and preaching sermons. Dare to be challenged and dare to change or stand your ground.

Overstreet remembers the old Youth for Christ slogan: Geared to the times, anchored to the Rock. He has done his homework well and you and I are the beneficiaries.

Happy reading and happy growing!

—Warren W. Wiersbe, author and former pastor of Moody Memorial Church

Acknowledgments

John Donne, the British poet (1572-1631), wrote:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

The same can be said for an author. No author is an island, functioning independently of others. Many individuals have touched and molded my life, and have helped shape my convictions concerning Scripture and its proclamation. Pastors, college and seminary colleagues, and many dedicated Christians who love our risen Lord have discussed the issues in this book with me. I am indebted to them all.

Four people were of special encouragement in the writing of this book. To them a special word of thanks is due. Lori, my daughter, was my prayer warrior in this endeavor. Three others carefully read each word of this volume in its original composition, and offered innumerable suggestions to make it better. First is Linda, my wife and partner in life and the Lord’s work. She aims at clarity in every sentence, and constantly seeks for me to answer the critical question, So What? Second is Lois, my daughter and an experienced reading teacher. She aims at conciseness and grammatical excellence. Third is Reg, my son, an associate pastor and a doctoral student. He puts his focus on being contemporary in language and approach.

I also am grateful to Jim Weaver of Weaver Book Company for his diligent assistance in bringing this book to its completion. Hampton Keathley, of Bible.org, and his colleague, Kevin Dodge, recommended many helpful changes to the manuscript and their expertise and careful reading is greatly appreciated.

Most of all, I am eternally indebted to our God, who called me into the ministry of His Word.

Prologue

Questions related to the issue of using persuasive methods in preaching have been on my mind since the 1970s. I was saved by the grace of God as a boy of twelve as a direct result of being in a Bible preaching, evangelical church where a public invitation was given each Sunday. All the Bible preaching churches I attended, even those I attended only as a visitor, over the next two decades followed that same practice. Some churches I know today continue to follow that same practice.

A large number of evangelical churches of my acquaintance, however, began to abandon the practice of giving public invitations in the 1970s. Many of the largest churches in America today never give a public invitation, and many smaller churches are following suit. Theses have been written in seminaries which denigrate the so-called invitation system. Sermons in many evangelical churches conclude with a benediction and dismissal of the congregation with little or no call to any type of action, whether it is for conversion to Christ or dedication to Him in any way.

This trend away from persuasion in preaching is, I believe, a detriment to the ministry of God’s Word. This book, therefore, is a call to restore the necessary characteristic of persuasion to our preaching. It is arranged in four parts. Part 1, chapters one and two, should be read by everyone as it deals with critical Issues Facing Persuasive Preaching. Chapter one deals with Identifying Persuasion, in which a biblical definition of persuasion is presented. Chapter two describes Problems Facing Persuasive Preaching, which are the lingering influences of modernism and postmodernism on our society’s worldview and thought processes. We who hold the Bible to be God’s true Word must preach that Word, regardless of the current mindset of our listeners.

Part 2, which comprises chapters three through seven, provides the Biblical Support for Persuasion. Some material in these chapters assumes familiarity with both Greek and Hebrew, and readers without knowledge of those languages may want to skim some sections accordingly. I have, however, transliterated all original language words so that they can be understood by each reader. These chapters present the linguistic, rhetorical, and theological reasons why persuasion is a biblically appropriate practice for contemporary preaching. Chapter three answers The Challenge to Persuasive Preaching, based on 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, that preachers should inform their congregations, rather than persuade them. An explication of that text and its terminology, as illuminated by corresponding word usages in the New Testament, demonstrates the falsity of that claim. Chapter four continues this consideration through a detailed examination of Persuasion Words in Paul’s Epistles. The evidence clearly shows that Paul believed in, and practiced, persuasion in his ministry. Chapters five and six describe how the ancient rhetorical principles of logos, pathos and ethos, defined and identified in those chapters, are consistent with Paul’s ministry. Chapter five stresses the "Pauline Theology of Preaching (Logos and Pathos) and chapter six focuses on Paul’s Proclamation Exhortations (Ethos). Chapter seven closes Part Two with a synthesis of Biblical Persuasion Principles" from both the Old and New Testaments.

Part 3, Structuring Persuasive Messages, deals with the practical hands-on elements of persuasive sermon preparation. These chapters are where the rubber meets the road in persuasive preaching, and are designed so that all readers can adapt their principles into persuasive preaching. Four specific patterns of persuasion are delineated, with numerous sermon examples to show how they can be preached to contemporary listeners. Chapter eight deals with the Motivated Sequence, followed by chapter nine and the Problem-Solution approach. Chapter ten details how to develop persuasive messages using cause-effect, and chapter eleven presents the refutation method.

Part 4 interacts with the Pertinent Applications in Persuasive Preaching. In many people’s minds, there is little or no difference between persuasion and manipulation, but the distinctions are critical and thus chapter twelve considers Manipulation Versus Persuasion. Another key concern of persuasive preaching is the tendency, or temptation, to depend solely on methodologies for results, rather than on God. Chapter thirteen, therefore, portrays The Holy Spirit in Preaching. The final chapter, fourteen, considers the corollary issue of The Invitation, since persuasion by its very nature intends to call people to make a decision—and to take action.

Appendixes A–D offer detailed information concerning the usage of the various Greek words related to persuasion. Information from numerous ancient secular sources is considered, along with all the terms as they are used in the New Testament. Appendix E contains sample sermon outlines for each of the four persuasion patterns.

As you read the book, you may want to put particular emphasis on those sections which are most needed in your preaching/teaching ministry. My prayer and desire is that all of us will preach the Word of God with the power of God for the glory of God.

Part 1

Issues Facing Persuasive Preaching

1

Identifying Persuasion

Pastor Jones prepared his expository message diligently, taking hours to exegete his text and formulate his sermon into clearly organized and relevant points. He carefully crafted his illustrations and precisely worded his applications. During the entire process, he fervently prayed, committing the sermon to God, desiring His Spirit to move in hearts. He visualized his congregation, cognizant of the concept that there is a hurting heart in every pew. When Sunday morning arrived, he confidently stood and sought to deliver his message with the authority of God. Yet, when the service concluded and the congregation left the building, Pastor Jones felt as if nothing really happened. What was worse, it seemed that each week was a repeat of the same.

Evangelical preachers, like Pastor Jones, proclaim God’s Word weekly around the world in a multitude of languages and cultures. Doubtless, these preachers desire the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of their listeners and for the Lord to change lives, to mold people into the image of Christ. At the same time, however, many of them conclude each sermon with the sensation that a critical element is missing in their ministries. I am convinced that in too many cases that missing element is persuasion.

I have heard hundreds of well-crafted sermons over the years of my ministry. These were delivered by godly preachers who love the Lord, believe in His Word, and desire to honor Him. They preach with sincere hearts. However, many of them (perhaps most of them) came to their conclusion and simply stopped with a few generalized comments or final attempts at some sort of application. After this abbreviated ending, the congregation may have sung a closing song and exited the building, or the people may simply have been dismissed.

As they leave the building, we may wonder: were there any unbelievers who wanted to trust Christ? Were any believers under conviction of sin? Was God’s Spirit moving in any hearts to yield to His plan for their lives? Were people wrestling with options, and how do they decide which is best? Should they decide for Christ now? Should they yield to Him today? Should they follow His direction? Why? When? How?

Too often preachers neglect these issues in their sermons. Too frequently preaching stresses the teaching of God’s Word without a clear call to obey that Word. Too regularly sermons excel in exposition, but fail in persuasion. I am convinced that persuasion is essential if we are to proclaim God’s Word as He desires and as Scripture mandates.

But what is persuasion? All of us, preachers or not, have ideas as to what it is. We are bombarded through the media with hundreds of apparently persuasive messages every day. However, providing a precise definition of the concept is somewhat elusive. This chapter, therefore, examines various proposals as to what persuasion is, and precisely sets forth what persuasion should be for the preacher of God’s Word.

Persuasion Defined by Communication Scholars

Communication scholars study persuasion from a variety of perspectives.1 Attempting to define persuasion, some researchers seek to be as inclusive as possible in their approach while others attempt brevity and conciseness. Both viewpoints will be presented.

Comprehensive Definitions

Some lengthy definitions seek to incorporate all essential elements of the persuasion process. For example, Woodward and Denton define "persuasion as a process composed of five dimensions. Persuasion is [1] the process of preparing and presenting [2] verbal and nonverbal messages [3] to autonomous individuals [4] in order to alter or strengthen [5] their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors" (emphasis theirs).2

Gass and Seiter affirm that persuasion involves one or more persons who are engaged in the activity of creating, reinforcing, modifying, or extinguishing beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, and/or behaviors within the constraints of a given communication context.3

Yet again, others assert that persuasive speaking is the process of producing oral messages that (1) increase personal commitment, (2) modify beliefs, attitudes, or values, or (3) induce action.4

Larson proposes: a persuasive transaction as an instance of human behavior, inherently contains potential ethical issues because persuasion (1) involves a persuader attempting to influence other persons by altering their beliefs, attitudes, values, and overt actions, (2) involves conscious choices by the persuader among ends sought and rhetorical means used to achieve the end, and (3) necessarily involves a potential judge (any and all of the receivers, the persuader, or an independent observer).5

Simons asserts that three broad purposes of persuasion are reduction of hostility, conversion, and intensification. He then identifies several possible objectives of persuasion:

Reduce overt opposition;

Reduce private opposition;

Secure discontinuance of opposition and create genuine indecision;

Convert disbelievers;

Convert the uninformed and apathetic;

Convert the conflicted;

Reinforce favorable attitudes;

Activate favorable attitudes, increase behavioral commitments; and

Maintain high levels of attitudinal and behavioral commitment.6

While the elements stressed in the definitions vary, each has the same central focus: persuasion aims at change. It may be change of belief, change of attitude, or change of behavior, but change is the goal. This book will demonstrate that this change should be a major goal of biblical preaching.

Narrow Definitions

In contrast to the comprehensive definitions, other communication experts emphasize those which are brief and more general in nature. Jabusch and Littlejohn simply assert that persuasion is responsible communication leading to mutually desirable change or resistance to change.7 Beebe and Beebe similarly declare that persuasion is the process of changing or reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavior.8 Others avow that persuasion is the shaping, changing, or reinforcing of receivers’ responses…, including attitudes, emotions, intentions, and behaviors.9 Once more, Bettinghaus defines persuasion as a conscious attempt by one individual to change the attitudes, beliefs, or behavior of another individual or group of individuals through the transmission of some message.10

As was the case with the comprehensive definitions, so it is with those which are narrow. Each recognizes that the critical element in persuasion is change.11

Persuasion Defined by Christian Scholars

Although the vast majority of research on the subject of persuasion is done by communication scholars, Christian researchers also recognize its importance. They discuss persuasion with varying degrees of detail concerning its definition.

Emory Griffin, for example, never gives a precise definition of persuasion, but does assert that the target is attitude change,12 which ultimately leads to behavior change. He also asserts that Behavior change provides satisfying evidence of successful persuasion. It is readily observable and often dramatic.13 Katt, likewise, never gives a precise definition of persuasion. However, throughout his book his clear emphasis is that he regards persuasion as effecting open change in those who are persuaded.14 Sleeth, on the other hand, presents a straightforward definition, Persuasion is the process of influencing belief and behavior by the use of various appeals in order to win a desired response.15

Hogan and Reid consider persuasion from the perspective of rhetoric. In so doing they incorporate into their position the view of Karlyn Kohrs Campbell. Thus they define rhetoric as, The study of all the processes by which people influence each other through symbols, regardless of the intent of the sources.16 They conclude that rhetoric is the study of what is persuasive in human communication, whether intentional, or simply a consequence of the human condition.17 I believe, however, that a more accurate definition of rhetoric is found by adapting the concepts of Richard M. Weaver’s, Language Is Sermonic.18 My adaptation of Weaver leads me to this definition: Rhetoric is persuasive communication in the service of Truth which should create an informed appetite for the Good.

Persuasion Defined for Preaching Purposes

Homiletics books generally consider the process of preparing and presenting biblical messages. Commonly they do so from the perspective of being true to the exposition of the biblical text(s). Indeed, such is the emphasis in my previous book, Biographical Preaching: Bringing Bible Characters to Life (chs. 4 and 5 in particular). At the same time, homileticians often stress the need for preaching to effect change in the listeners (as in ch. 3 of my book).

Preaching books frequently stress preaching for change. This emphasis among homiletics books is appropriate; yet these same books commonly neglect to provide a precise definition or detailed and helpful discussion of exactly what persuasion is, or the process to effect change.19

I believe Scripture mandates that the goal of preaching is ultimately to effect change in the listeners, that is, to bring them into conformity with the will and Word of God. Therefore, I present the following definition as the foundation of persuasive preaching to be considered in this book.

Persuasive preaching is

(a) the process of preparing biblical, expository messages using a persuasive pattern, and

(b) presenting them through verbal and nonverbal communication means

(c) to autonomous individuals who can be convicted and/or taught by God’s Holy Spirit,

(d) in order to alter or strengthen

(e) their attitudes and beliefs toward God, His Word, and other individuals,

(f) resulting in their lives being transformed into the image of Christ.20

The following chapters of this book will expand and explain the implications of this definition. Although my emphasis is on preaching that results in the persuasion of an audience, we must never forget that much persuasion is also interpersonal. Interpersonal persuasion is when one individual seeks to persuade another. Therefore, much of the material in this study will also apply to the element of interpersonal persuasion.

The preacher who accepts the Bible as God’s Word faces a contemporary dilemma, however, when it comes to the issue of persuasive preaching. In our current cultural mindset, particularly that of postmodernism, is persuasive preaching still appropriate? We will now turn attention to that question.

2

Problems Facing Persuasive Preaching

We live in a day of uncertainty, a time when all opinions are said to be of equal value, and a time when any assertion of absolutes is often rejected or at the least questioned. We hear commonly that we have moved from the day of modernism to postmodernism. Entire volumes are available describing in detail these two ideological and philosophical schools of thought. However a brief survey of each is here offered with the specific purpose of observing how our current cultural setting contrasts to the God-given task of preaching His Word.

Elements of Modernism

Modernism affected all areas of society from the 1700s until current times. William Edgar summarizes the essence of modernism: This sweeping concept refers to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment movement that places all its trust in human reason and the inevitability of progress.1 From a positive perspective, modernism brought numerous advances in the scientific realm, and often resulted in enormous benefits to humanity. Its pervasive influence, however, touched virtually all avenues of life in Western civilization.

Seeking to synthesize the general characteristics of modernism and its approach to a philosophy of life and existence, Willsey identified seven characteristics which set forth its essential elements.2

(1) Modernism emphasizes rationalism and foundationalism. Modernism confidently asserts that human reasoning can discern truth in all areas of life, including the religious.

(2) Furthermore, modernism accentuates the individual as epistemologically competent. Each person can arrive at his or her own truth, and rest in its accuracy. The individual, not the group, is important.

(3) Modernism additionally underscores the objectivity of language. Words accurately represent reality. They have the necessary sum and substance to convey accurately epistemological reality.

(4) Modernism also stresses logical dualism. Truths are non-contradictory. A matter is either A or it is not. For example, if Darwinistic evolution is true, then the Genesis 1-2 account of creation cannot explain the origin of the universe.

(5) Modernism additionally is characterized by an emphasis on optimism. Science and intellect will make things better. The challenges facing humanity’s existence can and will be solved by scientific advancement. Utopia may never be reached, but life will improve.

(6) Still again, modernism places an emphasis on metanarrative. A universal story explains everything in the whole development of history. This was the belief that there was a pattern of which history was the unfolding. The large scale interpretations of history were universal in their application. This might be the modern belief in progress…, or the dialectical materialism that was communism’s philosophy of history.3 For a secular view, its focus is on a theory of everything. For a Christian, this universal story has God as its focus and redemption in Christ at its heart.

(7) Finally, modernism’s key emphasis is on the scientific method. All valid propositions are testable. Whatever cannot be tested must be relegated to the domain of faith, and that can never be taken as being confident truth.

In the religious realm modernism exerted its influence by advocating that a person could find truth without the God of the Bible. The assumption of modernism is that each person is inherently capable in religious matters. This capability means that no revelation from God is needed. Modernistic scholars certainly read and study the Bible, and indeed many standard reference works in biblical studies were written by men advocating a modernist view of life. Their assumption, however, is that the Bible is only one account of how people seek to find God. Since rationalism was presupposed, all biblical accounts that seemed unreasonable were discarded. This mindset is why the Bible’s emphasis on the miraculous is not accepted, leading to a denial of cardinal Christian truths, such as the virgin virth or Christ’s bodily resurrection. At the turn of the twentieth century, the conflict between modernism and Bible believing Christianity gave rise to a series of volumes first published in 1917, The Fundamentals.4 These delineated and defended essential doctrines of Christianity which were often questioned or attacked.

Elements of Postmodernism

Modernism sought various ways to find truth. Postmodernism, in contrast, denies absolute truth. This basic quality of postmodernism makes it difficult to define precisely what this ideology is. Even though the climax of postmodernism as a philosophy may be past, its effects on society and the church continue unabated. Because of its inherent approach, any generalization concerning postmodernism will have exceptions. Certain common threads of thought may be identified as integral elements of its philosophy.5

(1) To begin, postmodernism embraces a growing pluralism. A common emphasis is that we live in a pluralistic society, and that we must allow each group to develop its own truth. This focus leads to an emphasis upon the group. An individual’s knowledge by itself is suspect. The corporate knowledge and tradition of one’s group is more reliable. Indeed, postmodern relativistic pluralism seeks to give place to the ‘local’ nature of truth. Beliefs are held to be true within the context of the communities that espouse them.6

(2) Furthermore, postmodernism welcomes radical diversity. It professes to defend the rights of everyone based on a complete acceptance of all cultural practices. Even in elementary schools, for example, teachers must emphasize diversity within the classroom to make certain that students of each culture are taught in a way that agrees with their own culture. The time of rote learning is past. Teachers must now make learning applicable to the different cultures. Interestingly enough, one culture that postmoderns rather commonly seek to deny acceptance is that of biblical Christianity. Diversity seems to be defined as an uncritical acceptance of all racial cultures, sexual preferences, political emphases, and personal views, as long as they do not embrace in any way Judeo-Christian beliefs.

(3) In addition, postmodernism frequently adopts a radical pragmatism. They will adopt a utilitarian approach to moral issues, as Gene Veith explains:

Utilitarians decided moral issues, not by appealing to transcendent absolutes, but by studying the effect of an action upon the system. Stealing is wrong, not because the Ten Commandments say so, but because stealing interferes with the economic functioning of society. Something is good if it makes the system run more smoothly. Something is evil if it interferes with the cogs of the vast machine. Practicality becomes the sole moral criterion. If it works, it must be good.7

Those holding a postmodern philosophy of life are often aggressive and no-nonsense in their approach to life, even while frequently manifesting an outwardly clean-cut and polite manner. They will frequently agree with the pragmatic Greek mythological approach: when Hermes took the post of messenger of the gods, he promised Zeus not to lie. He did not promise to tell the whole truth. Zeus understood.8

(4) Postmodernism also accepts the premise that change is always for the better. The old adage if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, is rejected. Anything can be improved by change.

(5) Then again, this ideology espouses a scientific and cultural pessimism. While modernism optimistically believed that such things as science and technology would inevitably lead to a better life, postmodernism has no illusion of such success. Postmoderns advocate that science, technology, and human reasoning have produced weapons of destruction, but they have not solved the world’s problems and they never will.

(6) In contrast to the idea that knowledge leads to certainty, postmoderns emphasize the subjectivity of all knowledge. The act of knowing is not restricted to logically defensible propositions. They reject the idea that knowledge is completely rational and certain. Reason is not the sole means of gaining and judging knowledge. Since truth is nonrational, there are other means of discovering it, including emotions and intuition,9 by which truth is directly discernible.

This subjectivity leads to a stress upon the interpretive nature of language. All words are interpretations of other words and, therefore, words do not represent reality, but only opinions about reality. All knowledge and all means of knowing are culturally and personally conditioned. Language, by its very nature, shapes what we think. Since language is a cultural creation, meaning is ultimately (again) a social construction.10

A corresponding acceptance of the political agenda of all language follows. For example, postmodernistic "politicians, given their philosophical assumptions, may well play fast and loose with the truth (since there is no truth); alter what they say according to their audiences (since each