Preaching 101: Read the Foreword by Paul Chappell

Paul Chappell has had a tremendous influence on this generation of preachers and ministers. He is a gifted preacher, a successful pastor, a dynamic administrator, an influential voice, and a prolific author. When I set out to write Preaching 101, I wanted someone to write the foreword who represented the biblical values, hermeneutical principles, and ministerial convictions found in the book. I could think of no other preacher who modeled this more than Pastor Chappell. I am deeply honored and humbled that he would invest his time and recommendation. I hope you enjoy reading his foreword. There is a link below for more information about Preaching 101.

Foreword by Paul Chappell

If you had heard the first sermon of my pastoral ministry, the only encouragement you might have found in it was that I obviously had plenty of room to grow. I was nineteen years old and responding to the request of a small group of ladies without a church who had contacted the Bible college I was attending for someone to preach to them. I couldn’t believe the college office asked me to go, and I poured my heart into studying for that message.

My text was Genesis 6, and I preached everything I knew about it, including the antediluvian world, the construction of the ark, its picture of salvation, Noah and his family, and probably even the types of animals saved. The message lasted all of eight minutes.

To this day, I’m not sure if the ladies asked me back because they liked the content or the length of the message. But whatever the case, they did, and for the next few years I drove 150 miles each weekend down to Coachella, California, to preach there as we organized and established a church.

I trust I have grown as a preacher since that first sermon. (I know the length of my sermons have grown!) But I trust I will never get past the thrill of preaching the very Word of God. Indeed, one of the great blessings of my life today is to stand in the pulpit of Lancaster Baptist Church and preach the eternal truths of God’s Word. I’ve had the privilege of doing it now for over three decades, and I love it more with each passing year. To open the infallible, unchanging, authoritative Word of God—first in my study and then behind the sacred desk before our congregation—for the purpose of drawing out and proclaiming its truths is a privilege beyond parallel.

One of the reasons I appreciate the book you hold in your hands is because Pastor Kuykendall has a high view of Scripture. A preacher who does not have a reverence for the Word of God will elevate his thoughts and opinions instead, often superimposing them on scriptural texts. But a preacher who recognizes that the Bible is divinely inspired (2 Peter 1:21) and sees it as practically profitable for every facet of life and ministry—doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16)—will give himself to the careful study of it and will center his preaching on it. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy, “Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). And I can’t believe that we today honor God by preaching anything less.

This is one reason that for the past thirty years, I have preached verse by verse through books of the Bible, and in our homiletics classes at West Coast Baptist College, we teach expository preaching. Yes, I preach, and we teach, other types of messages as well. But for its saturation in Scripture and straightforward application of the primary application of a passage, there is no replacement for expository preaching.

But not only does Preaching 101 convey a high view of Scripture; it also conveys a high view of preaching. In a day of ministry culture when preaching is often demoted to perfunctory or token role while entertainment and programs fill its place, it is refreshing to see it emphasized in this book.

After all, it is through the foolishness of preaching that God has chosen to save the lost (1 Corinthians 1:21). Preaching was central not only to the ministry of the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 1:23), but also to Christ Himself (Matthew 4:17).

If we then are to give preaching the primacy it deserves in our churches, we do well to learn how to study God’s Word and most effectively communicate it. In this book, you’ll find teaching on and tools for both. I trust this helpful resource will aid you in your pursuit as “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).