Book Review: Apologetic Preaching

No, this is not a book about saying you’re sorry as you preach. Instead, this is a book about preaching in a postmodern culture. Craig Loscalzo challenges preachers to fulfill their call to preach mystery in an age of information, to preach hope in an era of skepticism, to preach confidence in a time of doubt and to preach truth in a climate of relativism. In late summer of 2002, I was able to visit Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, where Dr. Loscalzo serves as pastor. It is a large, architecturally-traditional church atop one of the rolling hills in the southern suburbs. Central Kentucky has a long history of Christian preaching. But Craig Loscalzo thinks times have changed. “We live and preach between times,” he says. [11] The modern way of thinking is giving way to postmodern thinking across the country, from the East Coast to the West Coast, and including the Bible Belt.

What are some of the characteristics of this postmodern-ism? First, “The postmodern world appears less likely to be seduced by technology’s promises…Technology has not rid the world of evil that breeds in the depths of human hearts.” [15] In New York City in 2001, people flew hi-tech airplanes into hi-tech buildings and thousands died. Just over 60 years ago in Auschwitz and Birkenau, hi-tech trains hauled countless Eastern European Jews to hi-tech gas chambers. People who live in this postmodern world no longer hope for a technologically-driven utopia like some in previous generations did. Yet, most postmodernists still have lots of cool electronic gadgets. Even this preacher has a video iPod and a cell phone with a built-in camera.

“Postmodernism also applauds the end of modernism’s love affair with objectivity and reason as the sole arbiters of truth.” [16] Personal experience and personal perspective have become paramount in the average person’s understanding of reality. Particularly in matters of religion and politics, what matters most is individual interpretation.

Loscalzo outlines a number of other changes as well. The proliferation of choices in the marketplace contributes to an environment of choice in all metaphysical matters. Modern autonomous individualism is giving way to a postmodern resurgence of communities, each with its own language and sources of meaning. A pervasive attitude of suspicion affects all relationships, especially those where one person is seeking to persuade another of the truthfulness of a particular position. Not all of these changes are bad, teaches Loscalzo, and preachers do better when they take these views seriously and address them “from a collaborative rather than adversarial stance.” [20] The most important value that preachers must adopt to communicate effectively with postmodernists is authenticity. Furthermore, “apologetic preaching requires ministers to reclaim the mantle of theologian for the church.” [25] Loscalzo advocates a variety of styles of preaching, emphasizing the use of stories for illustrations, narrative preaching and non-linear inductive methods of reasoning.

Some preachers may find the chapter-closing example sermons to be most helpful as they work to communicate well with postmodern listeners. While example sermons might fit an evangelistic preaching opportunity outside of a Sunday church service, I would not recommend them as good examples for preaching to an established congregation on the Lord’s Day. Expositional preaching ought to be the main diet of the gathered community of believers and the postmodern tendencies of our hearers in church can be respected and corrected as needed with expositional sermons. I found the following sentence most helpful: “By intentionally looking for places of connection between the gospel and the postmodern world – being careful not to demonize postmodernism – we will move our listeners by identifying with their life experiences.” [77] Loscalzo particularly emphasizes using his methods of apologetic preaching during Christmas and Easter services, since many attend church only on those occasions.

While containing a helpful overview of the issues that preachers face today, I do not recommend this book. If you want to learn how to more effectively preach to people with postmodern sensibilities, read a book like Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith to get a sense of the cultural implications of this movement, then read sermons by authentically Spirit-empowered preachers from the pre-modern and modern eras such as John Crysostom, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, then read books like Between Two Worlds by John Stott, then study your Bible and preach the Word.

Apologetic Preaching, Craig A. Loscalzo, IVP, 2000