The best kind of preaching, which in my mind is expository preaching, will not suffice. The kind of teaching I have in mind is dialogical and interactive. It is participatory in the fullest sense of the word. Such teaching cannot take place unless the participants are taught how to examine the text for themselves. The Scriptures have their fullest effect when no intermediary stands between the text and its reader.
Experts have a very important role in the study and teaching of the Bible.
But we must not reserve Bible study for the experts. The Scriptures originally were addressed to ordinary readers, not to experts. They should be studied by all in order to realize their salvific and normative purpose. Our ultimate challenge and task, then, is to facilitate the functioning of Scripture, and of the God and Christ of Scripture, as the supreme authority for faith and practice. It is my hope and prayer that all of us together will join in this great endeavor.