Book Review: Famine in the Land

Title: Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching
Author: Steven J. Lawson
Publisher: Moody Press
Number of pages: 134
Purchased: Together for the Gospel Conference (April, 2006; $7.50)
Recommended by: my brother Bob
Begun: 3/10/2007
Finished: 3/21/2007
Rating: *****

Review: Steven Lawson begins his excellent book with a dire diagnosis of modern, evangelical Christianity. His diagnosis is that in spite of all the impressive numbers, political clout, and booming press and music industries within evangelicalism, there is a spiritual famine in the land. The cause of the famine? “A dearth of biblical preaching has left the evangelical movement weak, starving for spiritual truth, and susceptible to the ravages of the enemy” (John MacArthur in the Forward, p.11). Lawson laments that many preachers use the Bible “like the singing of the national anthem before a ball game--something merely heard at the beginning, but never referenced again, a necessary preliminary that becomes an awkward intrusion into the real event” (82).

The majority of the book is an appeal for what Lawson believes to be the only effectual solution: “A return to preaching--true preaching, biblical preaching, expository preaching--is the greatest need in this critical hour. If a reformation is to come to the church, it must be preceded by a reformation of the pulpit. As the pulpit goes, so goes the church” (17).
This is truly “a passionate call for expository preaching.” The book is divided into four addresses: The PRIORITY of biblical preaching; the POWER of biblical preaching; the PATTERN of biblical preaching; and the PASSION of biblical preaching. Of special benefit is the fact that the addresses are themselves expository in nature (though thematically arranged and presented). He deals consecutively with Acts 2:42-47 (priority of preaching); Jonah 3:1-10 (power of preaching); Ezra 7:10 along with Nehemiah 8:1-8 (pattern of preaching); and 1 Timothy 4:13-16 (passion of preaching). Each text is developed contextually and applied to the modern preacher.

One of the emphases I particularly appreciated was the place that the reading of Scripture is to have in preaching (see pp. 94-95, 112-13). “The preacher, as the worship leader, should follow Paul’s instruction to read the Scriptures publicly, and not allow other activities to crowd it out” (113). He demonstrates that the practice of the public reading of Scripture is seen throughout the pages of the Bible.

If, as a pastor, you are seeking to be “fired up” about the study and preaching of God’s Word, this book will not be disappointing. It is permeated with a high view of Scripture and will bolster your faith in the God-ordained means of preaching: “One God-called man armed with one God-sent message, committed to one God-prescribed method--preaching--is always sufficient for any situation” (62).