“Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)

The seven sons of Sceva had the right words. They had heard what happened when Paul preached the name of Jesus in Ephesus: the sick were healed and the oppressed were set free. So they tried to do what Paul did without knowing who Paul knew. It ended with them fleeing the house, naked and wounded.

In the closing worship service of the 5th Annual Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit, Rev. Dr. Janice Williams preaches Acts 19:11–20. She names the paradox at the heart of the preaching vocation: you can have the charisma, the prophetic flair, and the rhetorical skill, and still lack the one thing that gives preaching its power. She starts with the story of a 1980s con man who name-dropped his way into Manhattan’s elite homes. From there, she shows how easily the name of Jesus can be used as a tool for a platform, prestige, or power over others, rather than as a source of healing and freedom.

The sermon moves in three steps:

1️⃣ Submit to God’s intentions: miracles versus magic, and why preaching that elevates the preacher but restores no one who falls short

2️⃣ Identify the gaps in your profession: right rhetoric, wrong relationship, and how the way we treat people reveals how close we really are to the Jesus we proclaim

3️⃣ Reject limiting perspectives: what the Ephesian believers’ costly book-burning teaches about letting go of whatever conflicts with the gospel we preach

It closes with the story of a little boy at his father’s workplace and with a celebration that leaves the congregation with a refrain: "It lies in your connection."

Scripture: Acts 19:11–20 (NRSV)

About the Summit

The 2026 Midwest Gospel Preaching Summit met October 7–9 in Madison, Wisconsin, under the theme “Preach the Word: The Preacher’s Charge in a Changing World.” Upper House Commons hosts the annual gathering of preachers, pastors, and ministry leaders in partnership with Mt. Zion Baptist Church.