A Handful of Stars: Concepts on Preaching

If a survey were taken within the Church of God (Anderson, IN) to name the most popular speakers in recent years within that movement, two names would surely surface at or near the top of the list: Maurice "Berk" Berquist and Gerald Marvel.

In many ways these two pulpit giants are similar in their captivating style. Both preach without notes. Both are master story tellers. Both preach with a deep-seated passion for God's Word and a commitment to make it understandable to common people. 

Both are skilled at making Scripture relevant to everyday life. And both are remarkably gifted in the art of painting memorable word pictures that nail home their ideas in ways hard to forget. It is not unusual to find people who can recite almost word for word some favorite illustration they heard one of these two men use in a sermon years before.

From Berk's manuscript and a collection of audiotapes from Mid-America Bible College, where Berk and Gerald conducted a preaching seminar in 1988, we have been able to caputure the secrets of their preaching success for anyone who would learn from these masters how to be more effective in the pulpit.

Talking enthusiastically to Marvel one day about the prospective book, Berk quoted a couple of lines from "Caliban in the Coal Mines" by Louis Untemeyer:

God, if You wish for our love, 
Fling us a handful of stars!

"That's what we should call the book," he said, "A Handful of Stars."