At the risk of beating a drum to the point of creating a drumroll effect, I need to re-address something I’ve written about numerous times before.  I say “I need to” do this not because you need to hear it, but because I need to say it.  I just read an article about expository preaching in a good magazine . . .

Expository preaching should not be contrasted with applicational or relevant preaching!

This article contrasts one writer’s approach to selecting texts with another writer’s commitment to preaching through books.  The former selects passages and combines them in series to address the needs of the church.  The latter is strongly committed to preaching through books.  The latter was referred to as expository preaching, the former as something else.  In this particular case, both are expository preachers.  Why?  Because expository preaching is not defined by a commitment to preach through books.

Expository preaching involves both a commitment to preaching the true and exact meaning of the preaching text in context, and a commitment to do so emphasizing its relevance to the listeners present.  It is not either/or, it is both/and.

This article set up a false dichotomy between two expositional preachers and urged churches to preach through books.  As a default, I would probably agree with the importance of preaching through books, but when I choose to preach a series made up of texts taken from various places, I will still preach expository messages (because – did I say this already? – expository preaching is not defined by preaching through books).

Expository preaching is not about how you select the text, it is about what you do with it, or better, what it does with you, when you study and preach it.