Preaching With Power - Dr. Hyveth Williams

Hyveth Williams is the Senior Pastor of the Campus Hill church in Loma Linda California as well as a published author and an in demand preacher. She is among the few female senior pastors in Adventism.

Understanding of Preaching

Dr. Williams was strongly influenced by two individuals. First is Barbara Jordan. Second is Chuch Swindall whose story telling ability attracted Dr. William's attention. She believes that the preacher's responsibility is to be a mouthpiece of God. In addition the preacher should be a prophet. She separates the prophet function into foretelling as well as forthtelling. While she does not believe that she has the ability to foretell the future, she does accept the forthtelling which is to preach with confidence to God's people.

Method of Sermon Preparation

Dr. Williams interestingly uses the common lectionary. She sees this as an aid to planning her preaching. THis allows her to read books and get ready for sermons way ahead of time. You might be interested in seeing my own lectionary blog.

Pastor Williams states that she spends several weeks researching her sermons and will read up to 10 books to prepare for any one sermon. She writes out the sremon totally and then summarizes it into an outline which she takes into the pulpit.

Dr. Williams also reads magazines like Time and People and stated that we suggested that we do not use internet illustrations becuase everyone has heard and seen them.

Women Preaching

The interview in the book did not go into her understanding of Adventist preaching or her understanding of Black preaching, but she did speak a little about her role as a leader among preaching women. She states that she would rather be seen as a preacher who is a woman rather than a preaching woman. Thereby she takes the role of preacher as primary. She states that she has been attacked (verbally) over the fact that she is a woman preacher. But she states that none of these attacks really affect her becuase her calling came from God and she did not ask for or seek the office but the office of preacher found her.


She finally states that one of the books that affected her the most was Ella Mitchell's Those Preaching Woman.

Dr. Williams' interview was a little different in that she was the only woman in the book. Also nothing was stated about Adventist preaching or about Black Preaching. However she does note that we should be attempting to copy preachers like T.D. Jakes. She states that we should get to know God so well that we will have our own story to tell.