The Visual Preacher: Proclaiming an Embodied Word

Steve Thomason’s plan was that after graduating from college, God would allow him to become a Disney animator so that one day he could open his own animation studio. It turned out God had other plans, and Thomason became a parish pastor–a pastor with a passion for both art and preaching.

In The Visual Preacher: Proclaiming an Embodied Word, Thomason’s winsomely illustrated text shows preachers visual techniques to study the Bible, construct a sermon, use the physical space where they preach, create two-dimensional images, and develop and use videos.

Thomason shares his dual passions based on his conviction that the effectiveness of visual communication lies at the heart of thegospel itself–that it is the reason God took on human flesh in Jesus. Believing that pictures speak differently than words, he offers readers practical ways to combine visual communication with the Word of Scripture and the words of their sermon so that when they are done preaching, their listeners will say, We have seen Jesus.

He assures readers they don’t have to be skilled artists or technological wizards to effectively use visuals in preaching. Rather, he presents basic principles he has learned as a working preacher and encourages readers to use the ones that make sense to them and to throw out the rest.

Preachers are story-tellers, says Thomason. This book will help preachers create and use images that make them even better storytellers than they already are.