Spanish Fort pastor focuses book on preaching

A recent book on preaching is attracting the interest of laypeople and deacons as well as men who feel called to the gospel ministry, according to its author, Alabama-native Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor of First Baptist Church, Spanish Fort.
   
“Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice” was originally envisioned as a guide to those feeling a call to ministry, but that ended up being just a starting point, Kirksey said.
   
“The ministry is difficult and many are giving up on it after the first few difficult situations,” he said. “This book was written to encourage the young pastor who is starting out, the older pastor who is burning out and everyone in between.”
   
In addition, deacons and laypeople who read the book gain an understanding of God’s demands on their pastors and the need to sit under biblical preaching, Kirksey said.
   
The self-published 174-page book is concisely divided into three parts: accepting God’s call to preach, affirming God’s call to preach and apprehending God’s call to preach.
   
In “Sound Biblical Preaching,” Kirksey writes about the desire to preach, decision to become a preacher and delight of preaching.
   
The devotion, dedication and determination of the preacher are covered in the second stage of the book. 
   
In the third, Kirksey moves to the definition and description of biblical preaching and the development and delivery of sound biblical sermons.
   
“Dr. Kirksey, by his extensive research, has accumulated a great deal of godly wisdom in his book … gleaned from a large number of godly men of considerable experience,” wrote Major W. Ian Thomas, a ministry leader in England, in the book’s preface.
   
“The basic premise is that when God calls, you need to answer,” Kirksey said. 
   
“When God has truly called, that’s what you need to hold onto in tough times,” he said. “I have illustrations and quotations from great men; (Arkansas) Governor Mike Huckabee says the quotations are worth the price of the book.”
   
Kirksey wrote the book in 2000 and during the following year gathered at least 30 endorsements for it that fill the first nine pages. 
   
It was published in 2004 through BookSurge Publishing of North Charleston, S.C. 
   
The late Stephen Olford, acclaimed preaching instructor from Memphis, Tenn., had this to say in the book’s foreword: “Dr. Kirksey has surveyed the best evangelical gardens and picked some of the best flowers on the subject of preaching.
   
“Preaching has always been the minister’s greatest opportunity and responsibility. … When preaching has been dynamic, the church has been strong; where it has been insipid, the church has been weak.”
   
James W. Bryant of Criswell College in Dallas wrote that the strongest portion of the book is its third section, and the best material — development and delivery of sound biblical sermons — is found in the last two chapters.
   
“In this brief but powerful book, Dr. Franklin Kirksey fleshes out what sound biblical preaching means for the life of the church today,” wrote Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University.
   
The development of a writing ministry emerged gradually in Kirksey’s life and first blossomed in 1987 with a pastor’s column in a local newspaper. Since then, he has penned four gospel tracts, numerous items in Pulpit Helps magazine and LifeWay Christian Resources publications, among other things.
   
“The first step to beginning a writing ministry is prayer,” Kirksey said. “If you sense the Lord’s leadership to pursue a writing ministry, be willing to start small. The prophet Zechariah warns: ‘Do not despise the day of small beginnings.’”
   
Gather the appropriate tools, he added. These might include a Bible, dictionary and thesaurus, as well as books on grammar and word usage. “When God places the desire to write within your heart, He will work in and through you for His glory,” Kirksey said.
   
While still promoting “Sound Biblical Preaching,” Kirksey already is gathering material for his second book, which will be on the topic of revivals. It’s a book Olford asked him to write, he said.
   
“Why do I write? It’s a passion and a burden and expansion of the ministry God has given me,” Kirksey said. “Every time you see the Lord work, you’re filled with wonder and awe.”
   
Kirksey’s book is available on amazon.com and from the author.