I listened to two preachers recently.  Walter Kaiser (on CD) and another well known speaker in the UK.  There are several differences between them, but I’d like to point to one.  Kaiser wanted his listeners to keep their finger on the text.  The other man didn’t.

If you’ve heard Kaiser you will know that he likes to get people to look at the text.  Lots of good preachers do that.  It helps people see that you speak with authority because the authority is not yours, but the authority of the Word of God.  It helps people follow the message.  It helps people come back to the text later and then see for themselves what you were teaching.

I know you’ve heard preaching like the alternative I have in mind.  The text is read, but left behind as the sermon progresses through several paralleled points of the preacher’s own construction – a biblical theology of the phrase, if you will.  Lots of preachers do that.  It gives the sense that you speak with authority because you speak with authority.  It motivates listeners to close their Bibles and just listen.  It helps people not re-open their Bibles later since they can’t remember how you derived your points anyway.

Both approaches will get glowing feedback.  But both are not equal.  Be a preacher who motivates listeners to get their finger on the text.  What advantage is there in not doing so?