Winners of Annual Preaching Book Awards Announced

By Kevin P. Donovan, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, February 19, 2009

PreachingToday.com has announced the winners of its annual preaching book awards.

Each year, PreachingToday.com names two preaching books of the year – one focused on the preacher's "skills" and the other on the preacher's "soul." The award winner is chosen by votes from two preaching experts and the editor of PreachingToday.com, C. Brian Larson.

According to the site's announcement earlier this month, the winner in the skills category this year is Preaching to a Post-Everything World, published by Baker Books and authored by Zack Eswine, pastor of Riverside Church in St. Louis.

"Eswine is keenly sensitive to the culture and deeply committed to the gospel," one of the award judges wrote in their critique. "A lot of preaching sacrifices one or the other. But his book shows promise in helping preachers engage the culture through biblical exposition."

The winner in the soul category, meanwhile, is Doctrine That Dances, published by B&H publishing group and authored by Beeson Divinity School professor Robert Smith Jr.

"Smith's book was just good for my soul as a preacher—his passion, his conviction, many of his stories and illustrations, and the content overall," commented one of the award judges.

"I like the book because it addresses a subject that has not received much attention and appeals to a breadth of sources," added another. "The writing is entertaining."

Honorable mentions were given to Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, published by HarperOne and authored by N. T. Wright, for "soul" and Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching in Honor of R. Kent Hughes, published by Crossway and edited by Leland Ryken and Todd Wilson, for "skills."

Created by the editors of Christianity Today International as an online resource for preachers and teachers, PreachingToday.com has been dedicated to inspiring preachers and elevating the level of preaching in the English-speaking world since 1999.

The subscription site posts over 360 new sermon illustrations every year in its searchable database, as well as articles about preaching, sermons and sermon series, and audio sermons.

The four main collections on PreachingToday.com are Illustrations, Sermon Builders, Media, and Preaching Skills.