Best of the Best - Christianity Today

When Time magazine’s editors declared T. D. Jakes the best preacher in America, we wondered whether the nation’s preachers would agree.

Time acknowledged Billy Graham as the longstanding holder of this distinction when they asked over a photo of Jakes, “Is this man the next Billy Graham?” Jakes and Graham are the only two evangelists who could pack out the Georgia Dome, which seats 79,000, they said. But who would preachers say is heir apparent to the title of Most Effective Preacher?

We first posed the question to the recipients of Leadership Weekly, our electronic newsletter for church leaders. They nominated almost 100 preachers. Then we posted the top ten on our Web site for another balloting. The result was a tie: T. D. Jakes and Chuck Swindoll, each with 23 percent of the vote.

Two very different preachers. What do they have in common? Time cited Jakes’s delivery and his skillful handling of Scripture: “He purrs like Isaac Hayes and screams like Jay Hawkins … [however] each sermon eventually reveals itself as perfectly calibrated and balanced, cohering into an often exquisite extended metaphor.”

Our readers appreciated exegesis and delivery in both Jakes and Swindoll, plus a tasteful measure of self-disclosure.

“When Swindoll speaks, you know he is conveying the word of God with the respect, dignity, and integrity it deserves,” says Rob Pochek of Nashville, Illinois. “He communicates with tremendous openness about his own shortcomings. Rather than Chuck preaching to us, we listen to the Word preaching to and through Chuck.”

The contest that’s no contest

We intentionally asked about “effective” preaching, focusing on clear communication of the gospel. Most of the top nominees were pastors who had radio or TV or writing ministries. That wasn’t surprising. What did surprise us was the number of readers who took us to task over the “contest.”

Dan Kimball of Santa Cruz, California, is concerned that people will get the wrong message. “Preaching is only one small part of being a pastor. Could we subtly be teaching church attenders not how to feed themselves from the Word of God, but to become dependent on the ‘greatest’ preachers?”
Daniel Crawford of Worland, Wyoming, says: “The best preacher is the pastor of a small church who in season and out preaches the Word of God with conviction and passion, who exposes the congregation to the whole of Scripture, not just a few favorite passages, and whose study and love of the Word is reflected in the way he/she responds to situations of daily life.”

We agree. That’s effective preaching.

T.D. Jakes”T. D. Jakes hits the areas America loves to keep secret: family problems, finances, children, marriage, sex. He doesn’t pretend to have been perfect all his life, but his ability to talk about lack of faith at times keeps it real for those who hear the message.”—Valerie McDowell Lanham, Maryland”He speaks to wounded souls and compels them to overcome life’s many blows.”—Cathey Thompson Edmond, Oklahoma
Chuck Swindoll”Swindoll’s got excellent exegesis coupled with down-to-earth application. He always comes across as genuine and human.”—Howard Wideman Ann Arbor, Michigan”His delivery has you smiling and at times laughing, yet has a way of hitting home.”—Dave Benfer Petersburg, Pennsylvania