Effective preachers are always growing, and those who grow read.

Each year, PreachingToday.com selects two new preaching books for book-of-the-year awards: one that focuses primarily on the skills of preaching and the other on the soul of the preacher. Both are essential.

We believer you will be a better preacher if you read and take to heart these two books.

Book of the Year for Preaching Skills

Preaching God's Word
A hands-on approach to preparing, developing, and delivering the sermon
By Terry G. Carter, J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays
Zondervan Publishing

What sets Preaching God's Word apart is suggested by who wrote it: one professor who focuses on teaching preaching and two professors who focus on hermeneutics. Their goal was to write an introductory preaching textbook "that was practical and contemporary, yet still focused on biblical preaching." They have succeeded admirably. The text skillfully interweaves the process of sermon preparation and biblical interpretation.

The target audience of the book is primarily students, and so those with a seminary degree will likely find it a helpful, comprehensive refresher. But for practicing preachers who have not attended seminary or who feel that their skills are lacking for developing truly biblical sermons that bring out the riches of the Scriptures and the meaning God put in the text, this book may be a gift from heaven. Life-changing preaching begins with the faithful interpretation and application of the Bible.

Terry G. Carter (Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is chair of the department of Christian ministries and W. O. Vaught Professor of Christian Ministries at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He and his wife, Kathy, have one daughter.

J. Scott Duvall (Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He is coauthor of Grasping God's Word (Zondervan, 2001). Scott and his wife, Judy, have three daughters.

J. Daniel Hays (Ph.D. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is chair of the department of biblical studies and Elma Cobb professor of biblical studies at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He is coauthor of Grasping God's Word (Zondervan, 2001). He and his wife, Donna, have two children.

Book of the Year for the Preacher's Soul

Nobody's Perfect but You Have to Be
The power of personal integrity in effective preaching
By Dean Shriver
Baker Books

If you are willing to face the cracks in your own soul, you will be challenged by reading Nobody's Perfect but You Have to Be. The book keeps Scripture front-and-center, carefully describing the standard to which God calls his preachers. It encourages pastors by reminding them that job one is not Sunday's sermon but Sunday's preacher, and that the size of the church is not the measure of the faithfulness of the one who proclaims Scripture.

Part one of the book explores why integrity counts. Part two isolates key virtues of those who speak for God: being above reproach, humility, contentment, fidelity to God's Word, courage, purity of life, purity of mind, and temperance. Part three covers how a preacher's integrity grows through spiritual disciplines, expository preaching, and longevity in a pastorate.

The author, Dean Shriver (D.Min. from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary), is founding pastor of Intermountain Baptist Church and has over 18 years of experience in pastoral ministry. This is his first book. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Honorable Mention

The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching
A comprehensive resource for today's communicators
Edited by Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson
Zondervan Publishing

Since Preaching Today editors produced this book, we could not include our own work in consideration for the book-of-the-year award, but we naturally think it is first rate and commend it as help both for the preacher's soul and skills.

Effective First-Person Preaching
The steps from text to narrative sermon
By J. Kent Edwards
Zondervan publishing

While the book focuses helpfully on the narrow slice of preaching first-person narratives, its value extends beyond that as it enhances one's understanding of how stories work. It brings the convictions of big-idea, biblical preaching to first-person narrative sermons.