The Whole Counsel of God: How to Preach the Entire Bible

The evangelical world has no shortage of preaching books. Many are profitable and should be consulted early and often in one’s preaching ministry. Upon receiving The Whole Counsel of God: How to Preach the Entire Bible by Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid, I guessed that I would be reading much the same as I had in other conservative, evangelical preaching texts. I settled in, expecting a good defense of good preaching. However, what I read was completely different than my expectations.

While Patrick and Reid do spend a good amount of time defending the necessity of expository preaching, the crux of the book is that “vocational preachers should work to preach the entire Bible to their congregations.” Instead of offering a defense of preaching, Patrick and Reid are seeking to reform the actual preaching program of a church. The occasion for the book arises out of a biblically-parched evangelical landscape, in which many preachers and preaching programs avoid preaching many sections of Scripture. The diagnosing question is this: “How can people know the fullness of God’s word unless it is constantly held up before them and systematically explained to them?” The authors seek to propagate a system that will challenge vocational preachers to “set themselves the goal of preaching through the entire Bible over a thirty-five year period.”

Part One of The Whole Counsel of God lays out the importance of preaching the whole Bible. The authors seek to define “preaching” according to what the Bible says about preaching. They also give a helpful, concise introduction to the canon of Scripture, which functions as a good refresher for the seminary-trained preacher. The third chapter of Part One is extremely helpful. In it, the authors give several examples of what it looks like to not preach the whole Bible. These are helpful descriptions, and widespread throughout our churches. The chapter closes with some consequences of not preaching the whole Bible. Again, these consequences need to be studied by preachers, as they are probably seeing these things in their churches.

If Part One is theoretical in nature, Part Two is supposed to be a practical approach. However, as I was reading, I thought Part Two to include too much theoretical material. The authors include a long-ish theological introduction, which seems a bit random. Chapters six, seven, and eight finally begin to unpack the big picture of planning to preach the whole Bible. The authors lay out their plan with several helpful diagrams and charts showing the divisions in the Bible and in each section of the Old and New Testaments. They show the vocational preacher how to plan, calendar, divide, and map out the preaching program, with a balance of each section of Scripture. 

The final part of The Whole Counsel of God gives pastoral considerations to the whole-Bible approach to preaching. The authors give sound advice on how to keep the Word central in worship services, integrating other ministries with preaching, how to handle disruptions in the preaching program, and how to grow as a preacher. 

The Whole Counsel of God is a strong book with a notable contribution to the preaching text landscape. I enjoyed reading the book and especially was helped by the charts and graphs. While the execution and practical considerations could have been stronger, I think Patrick and Reid lay out a good foundation for a new kind of preaching manual that others will find valuable. Preachers embarking on the (hopefully) long path of vocational preaching ministry should consult this book and seek to preach the whole Bible in their preaching ministry.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Crossway through their Blogger Review Program.