By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
Roc Collins, director of strategic objectives for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, holds a copy of his new book, S.I.M.P.L.E. Preaching.
FRANKLIN — Roc Collins has preached thousands of sermons all over the world and is a sought after speaker for evangelistic events.
Collins, director of strategic objectives for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, perhaps is best known in Tennessee for a phrase he said — “It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late” — during his President’s Address delivered to the annual meeting of Tennessee Baptists.
At the time, Collins was serving as president of the state convention and was also pastor of Indian Springs Baptist Church in Kingsport.
That statement still resonates with Collins, who remains intense and passionate about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Preaching God’s Word is one of the most challenging vocations a man might undertake,” he observed. “But it’s also simple.”
“I have seen a simple cornbread preacher shake the rafters of hell and the most learned scholar become the best antidote for insomnia.”
In an effort to help preachers or those who desire to preach, Collins has written a new book entitled S.I.M.P.L.E. Preaching.
“This book is not a theological dissertation on hermeneutics, soteriology or polemics. It’s a book for preachers, of preachers and by a preacher,” Collins said. “If you were to ask me what my primary passion and calling is, it is to preach the Word. My prayer is that this book will fuel the fire burning within you to boldly proclaim that Jesus saves.”
In the book, Collins shares six S.I.M.P.L.E. steps for practical preaching. They include:
Start with prayer. Prayer is absolutely essential, Collins said.
“If we are going to have the anointing of God, if we are going to see the fire of revival rekindled in our churches, if souls are going to be saved, if marriages are going to be restored and if the gospel is going to transform the world, we must start with prayer,” he wrote.
Invest in the text. Pastors must study and invest themselves in the text they will deliver to a listening congregation, Collins observed. “It takes time, tenacity and fortitude to invest in the text,” he wrote. “When it comes to preaching, the world doesn’t need any more Saturday night specials.”
Maximize the message. He noted that people are not interested in what Roc Collins has to say. “They are interested in what God has to say,” he maintained.
“If we want to see God knock the doors down and rescue the weary, hopeless, wandering, questioning and spiritually hungry congregation bound by the chains of their own sin and uncertainty, we have to maximize the message.”
Preach. Collins wrote the book during the pandemic last year when he was unable to speak in person at churches.
“It was the most difficult time of my ministry,” he recalled, noting that he preached to his wife, his sons and even his dog, Louis. “Talk about a stir crazy preacher. I embody the term. God didn’t wire me for ‘shelter in place.’ I don’t think I’ll ever take preaching for granted again.”
Leave it all in the pulpit. The best way to preach and leave it all in the pulpit is to remember the words of Richard Baxter, a preacher in the 1600s: “I preach as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.”
Extend an invitation. “The invitation looms over every point and illustration of the message,” Collins observed. “It’s why we preach. We don’t preach to infuse a happy mood in the lives of people. We don’t preach to make people feel good about who they are or for the admiration of men.
“We preach for regeneration and transformation. When I preach, I want to be the mouthpiece of God telling a crowd of hungry, helpless people where to find bread.”
Collins said his prayer is that his book will fuel the fire burning within preachers to those desiring to preach “to boldly proclaim that Jesus saves.”
The book is published by Innovo Publishing and is available for purchase from amazon.com. Click books and search for S.I.M.P.L.E. Preaching by Roc Collins. B&R
