The Passion Driven Sermon—Shaddix

INTRODUCTION

The Passion Driven Sermon is a timely defense of expositional preaching. Generally, evangelicalism has rejected such errant twisting of Scripture as heresies like the Prosperity Gospel. However, some doctrinal and philosophical errors are not as readily decerned. The best way to uncover and subsequentially reject error is to know Bible truth. From a firm conviction that Scripture is authoritative, sufficient, and practical, a Pastor feeds his congregation a diet of systematic Bible truth. Unfortunately, while most evangelical pastors have rejected such blatant heresies as the prosperity gospel, many less egregious but similarly destructive beliefs and practices of modernity have found their way into evangelical ministries. In the early 2000s, Jim Shaddix, a seasoned pastor and seminary professor, observed a methodological sea-change in the pulpit spreading from the mainstream denominations into conservative evangelicalism. Recognizing the damage these changes would bring to local churches, he wrote the Passion Driven Sermon. In doing so, Shaddix published a timeless defense of text-driven preaching.

PURPOSE AND THESIS

The necessity of expositional Bible preaching in the local church is the clear message of The Passion Driven Sermon. Shaddix writes to warn of the seductive desire for pulpit relevancy in life situations and “felt-need” preaching. This desire for relevance exposes a lack of belief in the sufficiency and power of God’s life-changing Word. The nutritionally rich Word of God must be the meal the shepherd delivers to his congregation every Sunday. If the preacher’s message is faithful exposition, then it will be a Word from God. Nothing is more relevant than God’s sanctifying-Spirit accompanied Word. From this core belief in Scriptures’ relevance, Shaddix writes The Passion Driven Sermon to refute the preaching of sermons filled with “good stuff” but lacking “God’s stuff.” He implores preachers of this modern age to consider again a Word-driven message fueled by a passion for the glory of God, even if it means being counter-cultural (32).

If the preacher’s message is faithful exposition, then it will be a Word from God.

THESIS DEVELOPMENT

Because Dr. Shaddix was writing to defend the true definition of preaching, the Purpose Driven Sermon was written as a response — or argument —against a man-driven homiletic. However, the tone of the book is gracious while it is direct. Rather than being a step-by-step manual for “how-to” preach, The Passion Driven Sermon desires to Biblically inform the reader’s belief about preaching. Shaddix divides his defense into three sections: Passion-Driven Scripturology, Passion-Driven Shepherdology, and Passion-Driven Sermonology. A linear reading of the book is intended to build from a biblical foundation to a philosophical consideration arriving at a practical application (5). In addition to the standard linear reading option, Shaddix offers an alternative reading plan at the end of each chapter. The alternative reading addresses the sermon’s content (chapters 1,4,7), the sermon’s resource (chapters 2,5,8), and the sermon’s goal (chapters 3,6,9). By offering multiple reading plans, Shaddix presents a thorough and unique argument for the superiority of biblical exposition.

The content of The Passion Driven Sermon centers around three significant presuppositions: the sufficiency, authority, and power of the Word of God. These doctrinal affirmations form the crux of Shaddix’s defense. From this, he implores the reader to observe that only expository preaching harnesses God’s sufficient, authoritative, and powerful Word to change lives.

In an age of relevance and utility, anything that does not appear to bring immediate value is rejected. Understanding the necessity of relevance for the modern listener, preachers desire their message to be practical and impactful. However, Shaddix explains that the minister’s pursuit of a relevant message is honorable only if the message proceeds from the inherently applicable and sufficient words of God—”the most potent force in the universe” (38). In chapter four, Shaddix declares the sufficiency of Scripture when he states, “While all truth is God’s truth, not all truth has been included in His written Word. He has sovereignly chosen to include only that which is necessary for man’s sanctification” (65). Since the Bible is the divinely delivered fountain of sanctifying truth, the expositor’s task is to keep his content narrowed to this always relevant Word from God.

The minister’s pursuit of a relevant message is honorable only if the message proceeds from the inherently applicable and sufficient words of God.

Likewise, “the shepherd’s authority to stand and speak ‘Thus saith the Lord’ does not come from good stuff, but God’s stuff” (65). Throughout the book, Shaddix roots the preacher’s authority not in the pastoral position but the authority of God’s Word—God’s stuff. The realization that the preacher’s authority is delegated to him only as he relates the plain teaching of Scripture must be a guiding pulpit principle for every minister. The message is authoritative, not the messenger. Therefore, the faithful preacher anchors every thought, every imperative, and every application in the authoritative message of God’s Word.

Finally, in chapters five and eight, Shaddix clarifies that the Word of God is the power of God. Therefore, as God’s Word is preached, the Holy Spirit of God accompanies its delivery with power. The presence of the Spirit in preaching is objective, not subjective (81). Indeed, the presence of the power of God will always accompany faithful exposition. Additionally, God’s power always does its work. It changes lives. As Isaiah 55:11 states, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Spirit-filled preaching, or as some call it, Holy Spirit unction, is simply the Spirit’s fruit-bearing work present and applied when God’s Word is faithfully exposed.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE PASSION DRIVEN SERMON

The Passion Driven Sermon has many strengths. First, Shaddix wrote this book when pastors’ shelves were not full of books defending and articulating the necessity of expository preaching. His defense of faithful exposition in the Passion Driven Sermon served as a fountainhead of writing in an essential sub-set of the homiletic genre. Though Jim Shaddix does not have the national profile of some of his students, such as David Platt or J.D. Greer, his work in expositional understanding should be noted. When Shaddix wrote The Passion Driven Sermon, exposition was “out of style.” Exposition is no longer viewed as antiquated, partly because of the writings and influence of spiritual leaders like Jim Shaddix.

I found Shaddix’s use of illustration engaging and enlightening. Like a seasoned preacher, he captures the attention of his audience through the tool of illustration. For example, the author opens the book with a reflection on his experience attending an international Christian conference at the Westminster Chapel in London. Shaddix relates his bewilderment after hearing the conference keynote preacher defend a watered-down man-centric pulpit methodology for the sake of relevance. Through this illustration and others, the sad state of preaching is exposed, laying the foundation for a better option—biblical exposition. Decisional Preaching is filled with personal stories and illustrations that effectively illuminate the author’s argument and strengthen the author’s writing.

A final strength of The Passion Driven Sermon is Shaddix’s advice on how to develop a Christ-centered message. The author instructs homileticians to connect their exposition to the meta-theme of Scripture: the glory of God in the work of Christ. “From beginning to end, our Bible is a book about the Christ event” (17). A Christ-centered Word demands a Christ-centered message. As we preach the greatness and goodness of God from every page of Scripture, individuals are changed from the inside out (112). This Christ-forming sermon far exceeds the impact of a “felt-need,” “how-to,” opinion-based sermon. Christ-centered exposition takes dull technical exegesis and delivers it as a transformative Word from God. The Passion Driven Sermon increased my conviction that we must preach man’s need for Christ in every sermon.

The message is authoritative, not the messenger.

The only weakness I found in the Passion Driven Sermon is its title. In my opinion, the title of this book does not sufficiently reflect the book’s thesis. Based on the popularity of Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven series at the time of this book’s publishing, I assume that Shaddix’s book was titled to connect with this widely popular series. Unfortunately, Shaddix does not develops his title in the book. Consequently, the reader is left to make assumptions about how the title relates to the work. Nevertheless, the inadequacies of the title are a minor critique of what is an excellent book in every other way.

CONCLUSION

I would recommend the Passion Driven Sermon. It is an insightful and trustworthy defense for Biblical Exposition in a genre crazed with “how-to” preaching. Indeed, this book will strengthen the new or seasoned preacher’s expositional conviction.