Saturday, December 24, 2011
A FRANCISCAN BENEDICTION FOR LEADERS
May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain to joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.
Amen
Monday, December 19, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
LEANING INTO THE SERMON - PART 3
More great counsel from Ben Witherington ....
There are lots of different kinds of deliveries. There’s regular mail, there’s Fed Ex, there’s UPS… we could go on and on. But when it comes to the delivery of the sermon it’s not just about fast or slow, regular or irregular. There are more effective and less effective ways of communicating with a particular audience. Here, knowing one’s audience is crucial. There is a difference between a word on target, and using the buckshot approach and hoping to hit something. Of course this means you need to get to know your audience. It’s about connecting the Message to the people. And we must always remember its not about the Messenger, though at times you will have parishioners who think it is, and want to shoot the Messenger.
Let’s start with voice. Do you know what you sound like? Are you loud or are you soft. Do you have a high voice or a low voice, or somewhere in between? You need to know this. Why? Because some voices are harder to hear than others due to pitch. And you need to know this. Proper miking helps of course, but if you have a soft voice, you must not allow your voice to drop regularly into a lower register, or people will simply miss the end of sentences. And this is not good. Then there is the issue of volume. Some people are just loud, some are just soft. If you are loud you can easily come across as overbearing, boorish, browbeating etc. You need to learn to modulate your voice. It should not be like the preacher who wrote in his sermon notes “not sure about this point, increase volume and pound the pulpit hard”. Volume never ever makes up for a lack of substance.
This leads to a discussion of enthusiasm. Being dull is deadly when you have the most exciting message ever written down. Indeed, it is a contradiction in terms. It is o.k., indeed advisable to show your enthusiasm for the Word, and for what you have learned from it. Indeed, when people see their pastor get excited about something, even if they don’t fully get it, they too can become excited. Somethings are more caught than taught anyway.
And then there is the issue of gestures. If you gesticulate wildly, you will indeed appear out of control, even unhinged to some. Of course this varies from congregation to congregation. In some Pentecostal contexts no gesticulation means no preaching, so of course you have to be sensitive to your context. The first church of the Frigidaire however is not much fond of wild gestures. It ought to be gestures that come naturally to you, not something forced, but something that helps make your points. The opposite of this— standing like a statue and simply reading your sermon text is not so good either, though God can use most anything. But consider this— would you rather be used in the way Paul was used, or would you rather be used in the way Balaam or his donkey was used ?
You get the point.
The preacher’s demeanor will convey the seriousness of the message, his enthusiasm the exciting nature of the experience, his learning the need for studying the Word, and his application the relevance of the message. All of this, and much more is ‘leaning into the sermon’. But in the end don’t be like the following example.
The young preacher was worried about getting through his first sermon at his first church, a little country church. All throughout the week he practiced and practiced his sermon. He practiced on his children until they complained, he practiced on the dog until it howled, he practiced on his wife until she said ‘no mas’. He practiced in the shower, and finally decided to memorize the text just in case he got too nervous. He knew his congregation frowned on preachers who used notes much less a sermon text.
The day of reckoning, Sunday, came along. He manage to remember all the elements of worship leading up to the sermon, even remembered to take up the collection like the bishop urged.
After reading the text for the sermon he closed the Bible he gripped the pulpit and in a loud voice said ‘Behold I Come’ and then his mind went absolutely blank. Panic overcame the young man. What would he do?
Now this little country church had a pulpit that hovered over the front row of pews so the appearance was that of Moses giving the ten commandments from Mt. Sinai. Backing up in the pulpit which had a little runway, the young minister launched himself at the pulpit and said again, even louder ‘BEHOLD I COME!’ Still nothing came to mind after that.
Now the preacher was really sweating. His palms were moist. He decided to back up and try one final time. Charging the pulpit his sweaty palms slipped as he attempted to grip it and he went right over the front of the pulpit and into the lap of persons on the front row.
Picking himself up, and the lady he had landed on, red faced he apologized and said ‘I am ever so sorry mam..’ as he envisioned his ministry career ending before it really began.
To this she replied…. ‘well it wasn’t a total surprise, You done told me three times you was comin’”
There are lots of different kinds of deliveries. There’s regular mail, there’s Fed Ex, there’s UPS… we could go on and on. But when it comes to the delivery of the sermon it’s not just about fast or slow, regular or irregular. There are more effective and less effective ways of communicating with a particular audience. Here, knowing one’s audience is crucial. There is a difference between a word on target, and using the buckshot approach and hoping to hit something. Of course this means you need to get to know your audience. It’s about connecting the Message to the people. And we must always remember its not about the Messenger, though at times you will have parishioners who think it is, and want to shoot the Messenger.
Let’s start with voice. Do you know what you sound like? Are you loud or are you soft. Do you have a high voice or a low voice, or somewhere in between? You need to know this. Why? Because some voices are harder to hear than others due to pitch. And you need to know this. Proper miking helps of course, but if you have a soft voice, you must not allow your voice to drop regularly into a lower register, or people will simply miss the end of sentences. And this is not good. Then there is the issue of volume. Some people are just loud, some are just soft. If you are loud you can easily come across as overbearing, boorish, browbeating etc. You need to learn to modulate your voice. It should not be like the preacher who wrote in his sermon notes “not sure about this point, increase volume and pound the pulpit hard”. Volume never ever makes up for a lack of substance.
This leads to a discussion of enthusiasm. Being dull is deadly when you have the most exciting message ever written down. Indeed, it is a contradiction in terms. It is o.k., indeed advisable to show your enthusiasm for the Word, and for what you have learned from it. Indeed, when people see their pastor get excited about something, even if they don’t fully get it, they too can become excited. Somethings are more caught than taught anyway.
And then there is the issue of gestures. If you gesticulate wildly, you will indeed appear out of control, even unhinged to some. Of course this varies from congregation to congregation. In some Pentecostal contexts no gesticulation means no preaching, so of course you have to be sensitive to your context. The first church of the Frigidaire however is not much fond of wild gestures. It ought to be gestures that come naturally to you, not something forced, but something that helps make your points. The opposite of this— standing like a statue and simply reading your sermon text is not so good either, though God can use most anything. But consider this— would you rather be used in the way Paul was used, or would you rather be used in the way Balaam or his donkey was used ?
You get the point.The preacher’s demeanor will convey the seriousness of the message, his enthusiasm the exciting nature of the experience, his learning the need for studying the Word, and his application the relevance of the message. All of this, and much more is ‘leaning into the sermon’. But in the end don’t be like the following example.
The young preacher was worried about getting through his first sermon at his first church, a little country church. All throughout the week he practiced and practiced his sermon. He practiced on his children until they complained, he practiced on the dog until it howled, he practiced on his wife until she said ‘no mas’. He practiced in the shower, and finally decided to memorize the text just in case he got too nervous. He knew his congregation frowned on preachers who used notes much less a sermon text.
The day of reckoning, Sunday, came along. He manage to remember all the elements of worship leading up to the sermon, even remembered to take up the collection like the bishop urged.
After reading the text for the sermon he closed the Bible he gripped the pulpit and in a loud voice said ‘Behold I Come’ and then his mind went absolutely blank. Panic overcame the young man. What would he do?
Now this little country church had a pulpit that hovered over the front row of pews so the appearance was that of Moses giving the ten commandments from Mt. Sinai. Backing up in the pulpit which had a little runway, the young minister launched himself at the pulpit and said again, even louder ‘BEHOLD I COME!’ Still nothing came to mind after that.
Now the preacher was really sweating. His palms were moist. He decided to back up and try one final time. Charging the pulpit his sweaty palms slipped as he attempted to grip it and he went right over the front of the pulpit and into the lap of persons on the front row.
Picking himself up, and the lady he had landed on, red faced he apologized and said ‘I am ever so sorry mam..’ as he envisioned his ministry career ending before it really began.
To this she replied…. ‘well it wasn’t a total surprise, You done told me three times you was comin’”
Thursday, November 24, 2011
LEANING INTO THE SERMON - PART 2
More from Ben Witherington on preaching ....
here is of course a long history of preaching, inside and outside of the church. It’s called a sermon or revival message inside the church, evangelism outside the church, though it’s only one form of evangelism of course. My concern in this post is to talk about the rather drab and dismal state of preaching in some quarters these days, even in Evangelical churches.
While of course it is true that the Holy Spirit is involved in the process of preaching, and provides inspiration and guidance, the Holy Spirit should not be used as a labor saving device. The Spirit brings to mind things you have previously learned and put into that brain of yours. I once had a student who came up to me frustrated. He said ‘I don’t know why I need to learn all this NT stuff, I can just get up into the pulpit and the Spirit will give me utterance’. My reply was ‘yes you can do that, but it’s a shame you are not giving the Spirit more to work with.’ This little series is meant to help us get focused so we do give the Spirit more to work with.
The first thing to be said….which ought to be obvious is that while there are many possible styles and kinds of sermons, at the root a sermon is supposed to be an explaining and applying of some text or texts of the Bible. You are not supposed to be preaching your own experience, or your latest counseling theories, or the latest self-info you think is neat. Nor should your sermons be based on human wants and needs. Your sermons should be grounded in the word of God, helping people understand and live out of that Word. If you do that, of course the genuine needs of people will be addressed.
There is a problem with preaching that is needs-based. First of all, such preaching is based on what the pastor or the congregation perceives as their needs. Perceived needs are not the same thing as actual needs. More often than not, they are more like wish lists or wants, than actual needs. And in any case worship is not about giving people what they want and crave, its about giving God what he desires and requires. And what God requires of preachers is that they preach the Word, in season and out of season, when it’s popular and when it’s not.
In order for preaching of the Word to actually be done competently it requires actual study, actual reading of resources, actual perusing of good commentaries (I would recommend the socio-rhetorical commentary series of Eerdmans and Inter-Varsity I have been involved with). Ideally, it involves the actual exegesis of the Hebrew or Greek text of the Bible. There is nothing like original language study of the Bible to produce all sorts of exciting insights into the Word. Failing that, you should rely on reading 3-4 good exegetical commentaries on any given passage. Illustration books or sources should be consulted last, after you have done your detailed textual work. And illustrations should illustrate some point you are actually making. The danger is that the illustration or the joke or the poem, or whatever takes over and becomes the only memorable part of the sermon. So choose illustrations that illuminate what you are actually preaching.
All of this takes time, and this means that you the preacher must set aside adequate time to do this task of sermon preparation well. This is in some ways the most important thing you do for your people. Even Jesus thought so. In Mark 1.38 Jesus tells his disciples he did not come mainly to heal, or to administer a congregation, or to visit the hospitals, or to visit people in their homes. or to have committee meetings…. he came into this world to proclaim the Good News. It’s important that the preacher make the main thing the main thing, and delegate to the priesthood of all believers a lot of these other tasks, instead of thinking one has to ‘do all the ministry’ just because you might be paid to do ministry’. Too often the pastor’s ego gets caught up in trying to be all things to all people, to be pastor superstar, and instead of enabling other people for ministry, he or she ends up disabling other peoples gifts, instead of ‘equipping the saints for ministry’.
‘Leaning into the Sermon’ in this case means having the discipline to jealously guard the time each week to prepare excellent messages from the Word itself. When a preacher simply recycles older stuff, you can tell.
And it stultifies his or her own growth when he does so as well. If you were to read through my Eerdmans collection of sermons (entitled Incandescence) you would find messages that today I would often preach differently because of re-engaging the same texts and learning new things. I won’t even discuss the problem of recycling other people’s sermons. There is no living engagement with God’s Word in that. You can get ideas from other sermons, and learn from them— but they cannot be your own sermon text. That requires you, prayerfully engaging with the text and listening to what the Spirit is saying to your church or churches.
In our next post, we will talk about what should happen on the day of delivery in order to ‘lean into the sermon’.
here is of course a long history of preaching, inside and outside of the church. It’s called a sermon or revival message inside the church, evangelism outside the church, though it’s only one form of evangelism of course. My concern in this post is to talk about the rather drab and dismal state of preaching in some quarters these days, even in Evangelical churches.
While of course it is true that the Holy Spirit is involved in the process of preaching, and provides inspiration and guidance, the Holy Spirit should not be used as a labor saving device. The Spirit brings to mind things you have previously learned and put into that brain of yours. I once had a student who came up to me frustrated. He said ‘I don’t know why I need to learn all this NT stuff, I can just get up into the pulpit and the Spirit will give me utterance’. My reply was ‘yes you can do that, but it’s a shame you are not giving the Spirit more to work with.’ This little series is meant to help us get focused so we do give the Spirit more to work with.
The first thing to be said….which ought to be obvious is that while there are many possible styles and kinds of sermons, at the root a sermon is supposed to be an explaining and applying of some text or texts of the Bible. You are not supposed to be preaching your own experience, or your latest counseling theories, or the latest self-info you think is neat. Nor should your sermons be based on human wants and needs. Your sermons should be grounded in the word of God, helping people understand and live out of that Word. If you do that, of course the genuine needs of people will be addressed.
There is a problem with preaching that is needs-based. First of all, such preaching is based on what the pastor or the congregation perceives as their needs. Perceived needs are not the same thing as actual needs. More often than not, they are more like wish lists or wants, than actual needs. And in any case worship is not about giving people what they want and crave, its about giving God what he desires and requires. And what God requires of preachers is that they preach the Word, in season and out of season, when it’s popular and when it’s not.
In order for preaching of the Word to actually be done competently it requires actual study, actual reading of resources, actual perusing of good commentaries (I would recommend the socio-rhetorical commentary series of Eerdmans and Inter-Varsity I have been involved with). Ideally, it involves the actual exegesis of the Hebrew or Greek text of the Bible. There is nothing like original language study of the Bible to produce all sorts of exciting insights into the Word. Failing that, you should rely on reading 3-4 good exegetical commentaries on any given passage. Illustration books or sources should be consulted last, after you have done your detailed textual work. And illustrations should illustrate some point you are actually making. The danger is that the illustration or the joke or the poem, or whatever takes over and becomes the only memorable part of the sermon. So choose illustrations that illuminate what you are actually preaching.
All of this takes time, and this means that you the preacher must set aside adequate time to do this task of sermon preparation well. This is in some ways the most important thing you do for your people. Even Jesus thought so. In Mark 1.38 Jesus tells his disciples he did not come mainly to heal, or to administer a congregation, or to visit the hospitals, or to visit people in their homes. or to have committee meetings…. he came into this world to proclaim the Good News. It’s important that the preacher make the main thing the main thing, and delegate to the priesthood of all believers a lot of these other tasks, instead of thinking one has to ‘do all the ministry’ just because you might be paid to do ministry’. Too often the pastor’s ego gets caught up in trying to be all things to all people, to be pastor superstar, and instead of enabling other people for ministry, he or she ends up disabling other peoples gifts, instead of ‘equipping the saints for ministry’.
‘Leaning into the Sermon’ in this case means having the discipline to jealously guard the time each week to prepare excellent messages from the Word itself. When a preacher simply recycles older stuff, you can tell.
And it stultifies his or her own growth when he does so as well. If you were to read through my Eerdmans collection of sermons (entitled Incandescence) you would find messages that today I would often preach differently because of re-engaging the same texts and learning new things. I won’t even discuss the problem of recycling other people’s sermons. There is no living engagement with God’s Word in that. You can get ideas from other sermons, and learn from them— but they cannot be your own sermon text. That requires you, prayerfully engaging with the text and listening to what the Spirit is saying to your church or churches.
In our next post, we will talk about what should happen on the day of delivery in order to ‘lean into the sermon’.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
LEANING INTO THE SERMON
Ben Witherington writes an excellent blog called Bible and Culture. He has written some excellent counsel about preaching, which I will be sharing in this post and future ones. - Steve
Leaning is a means of concentrating. The parishoner leans forward in the pew to listen more intently to what the preacher is saying. The preaching leans forward on the pulpit when he is making a particularly crucial point and wants to have the full attention of the congregation. I like to lean on the arm of the pew and incline my ear and heart to the Word. Some of us are more visual learners (especially the computer generation) some are more auditory learners, but whatever it is that you do to ‘focus’ and to ‘hear and heed’ what is being said, we need to do that, for our spiritual life and growth does indeed depend on it. Preaching is a sacrament of the Word, and listening and heeding a means of grace. In this series entitled ‘Leaning into the Sermon’ we are going to reflect on the sermon from various perspectives— that of the listeners and that of the speaker as well. Let’s start with the listeners.
If indeed preaching can be a means of grace for those who are listening then it would serve us well to pay close attention. So let’s talk about preliminary things we need to do in order for that to happen. Firstly, since we are in a worship service we should have already stilled our hearts, and begun to focus on the Lord. We should have quieted all we are in the presence of the Lord. It is not just people present in that sanctuary, it is the Lord, and he has something to say and to do with you as you worship. Preparing yourself to receive the Word involves not just turning off the cellphone, it also involves a deliberate setting aside of all wandering and distracting thoughts and feelings and resolving to concentrate with one’s whole self on the Word. No excuses at this point. Don’t be complaining that the preacher is weak, or his sermon is not perfect. Of course both of those things are true, but God can write straight with a crooked stick. I’ll get to the part about the preacher doing a better job of leaning into his sermon.
Right now I am focusing on the listeners. Unfortunately, our TV addiction has trained us to only concentrate periodically, tuning out commercials. There are usually no commercials in a sermon, or at least there ought not to be. If you find the sermon a bit tough, then gnaw on the bone until you get some meat off of it. My point is it requires a concentrated effort on your part, indeed continual concentration throughout. Don’t expect the pastor to spoon feed you pablum each week. If he does, shame on him (and we will get to that). Expect instead he will tease your mind into active thought. One thing about Jesus’ preaching— he never pandered to the lowest common denominator. He boiled up the people, he did not water down the Gospel.
Now it may well be that the Lord has only one important thing to say to you through a whole sermon, but you will need to be listening intently to hear it throughout. There is a reason Jesus said ‘let those with ears hear…’ There is a difference between listening and hearing, just as there is between hearing and heeding.
Of course sometimes we don’t want to hear. We are afraid we might have to change something or do something if we actually hear and comprehend something. Sure enough, that’s true. On the other hand, the Lord may really have many things to say to you through a sermon. He may be dealing with you in some extensive or profound way, not merely in a casual way. The Spirit will let you know when it’s one of those Sundays. And by golly when that happens, you need to focus like a laser beam on the meat of the Word on that day. The preacher has stopped preaching and started meddling in your life….and it needed to happen.
It may be useful for you to take a few notes on the sermon. It is after all a learning occasion not just a revving up the troops of inspirational occasion. Don’t be ashamed of being a student of the Word even in worship. It shows your maturity, not your bookishness. Remember, sermons are not another form of entertainment, or they shouldn’t be in any case. They are the proclamation of God’s Word. You should not view this as a consumer opportunity. You should see this as an opportunity to grow in Christ and grow closer to God. As 2 Pet. 1.3-4 makes very clear everything necessary for Christian life and godliness comes through the knowledge of God…’ You need to know Him and his will better. Word Up. You need to listen to the preacher.
Leaning is a means of concentrating. The parishoner leans forward in the pew to listen more intently to what the preacher is saying. The preaching leans forward on the pulpit when he is making a particularly crucial point and wants to have the full attention of the congregation. I like to lean on the arm of the pew and incline my ear and heart to the Word. Some of us are more visual learners (especially the computer generation) some are more auditory learners, but whatever it is that you do to ‘focus’ and to ‘hear and heed’ what is being said, we need to do that, for our spiritual life and growth does indeed depend on it. Preaching is a sacrament of the Word, and listening and heeding a means of grace. In this series entitled ‘Leaning into the Sermon’ we are going to reflect on the sermon from various perspectives— that of the listeners and that of the speaker as well. Let’s start with the listeners.
If indeed preaching can be a means of grace for those who are listening then it would serve us well to pay close attention. So let’s talk about preliminary things we need to do in order for that to happen. Firstly, since we are in a worship service we should have already stilled our hearts, and begun to focus on the Lord. We should have quieted all we are in the presence of the Lord. It is not just people present in that sanctuary, it is the Lord, and he has something to say and to do with you as you worship. Preparing yourself to receive the Word involves not just turning off the cellphone, it also involves a deliberate setting aside of all wandering and distracting thoughts and feelings and resolving to concentrate with one’s whole self on the Word. No excuses at this point. Don’t be complaining that the preacher is weak, or his sermon is not perfect. Of course both of those things are true, but God can write straight with a crooked stick. I’ll get to the part about the preacher doing a better job of leaning into his sermon.
Right now I am focusing on the listeners. Unfortunately, our TV addiction has trained us to only concentrate periodically, tuning out commercials. There are usually no commercials in a sermon, or at least there ought not to be. If you find the sermon a bit tough, then gnaw on the bone until you get some meat off of it. My point is it requires a concentrated effort on your part, indeed continual concentration throughout. Don’t expect the pastor to spoon feed you pablum each week. If he does, shame on him (and we will get to that). Expect instead he will tease your mind into active thought. One thing about Jesus’ preaching— he never pandered to the lowest common denominator. He boiled up the people, he did not water down the Gospel.
Now it may well be that the Lord has only one important thing to say to you through a whole sermon, but you will need to be listening intently to hear it throughout. There is a reason Jesus said ‘let those with ears hear…’ There is a difference between listening and hearing, just as there is between hearing and heeding.
Of course sometimes we don’t want to hear. We are afraid we might have to change something or do something if we actually hear and comprehend something. Sure enough, that’s true. On the other hand, the Lord may really have many things to say to you through a sermon. He may be dealing with you in some extensive or profound way, not merely in a casual way. The Spirit will let you know when it’s one of those Sundays. And by golly when that happens, you need to focus like a laser beam on the meat of the Word on that day. The preacher has stopped preaching and started meddling in your life….and it needed to happen.
It may be useful for you to take a few notes on the sermon. It is after all a learning occasion not just a revving up the troops of inspirational occasion. Don’t be ashamed of being a student of the Word even in worship. It shows your maturity, not your bookishness. Remember, sermons are not another form of entertainment, or they shouldn’t be in any case. They are the proclamation of God’s Word. You should not view this as a consumer opportunity. You should see this as an opportunity to grow in Christ and grow closer to God. As 2 Pet. 1.3-4 makes very clear everything necessary for Christian life and godliness comes through the knowledge of God…’ You need to know Him and his will better. Word Up. You need to listen to the preacher.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
ADVICE TO PASTORS FROM FRED ROGERS
Most of you know of Fred Rogers, children's television personality (and pastor). But here are some thoughts from Fred Rogers, theologian. Thanks to Charles Stone.
“Do the Best You Can and Leave the Results to God”
That phrase may seem a bit worn, but it’s well worth heeding. In Christ’s parable of the talents, the master, representing God, gave responsibility to the servants, us, based on individual ability.[1] The story implies us that some pastors have greater competencies than others. Similarly, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit gives out gifts as He sees fit.[2] It’s obvious that the Spirit gives some pastors extra preaching or leading gifts, evidenced in the size and impact of their ministries.
It’s easy to become discouraged when we do our best yet don’t see our church grow like others to which we may compare ourselves. When we wrap our identities around numerical results and the numbers don’t increase, the discouragement can overwhelm. This is especially true for older pastors who realize they may never achieve the dreams they had for ministry.
David Goetz wrote,
Rogers then told his audience, “That’s when I realized that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her—and as it turned out, for me too.”[4] Although the results from our best efforts may look feeble to some, they can touch a heart and change a life when we least expect it. This side of heaven we will never know the people we impacted through our faithful service.
-excerpted from my book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them
That phrase may seem a bit worn, but it’s well worth heeding. In Christ’s parable of the talents, the master, representing God, gave responsibility to the servants, us, based on individual ability.[1] The story implies us that some pastors have greater competencies than others. Similarly, Paul teaches that the Holy Spirit gives out gifts as He sees fit.[2] It’s obvious that the Spirit gives some pastors extra preaching or leading gifts, evidenced in the size and impact of their ministries.
It’s easy to become discouraged when we do our best yet don’t see our church grow like others to which we may compare ourselves. When we wrap our identities around numerical results and the numbers don’t increase, the discouragement can overwhelm. This is especially true for older pastors who realize they may never achieve the dreams they had for ministry.
David Goetz wrote,
I often sat in the studies of both small-church pastors and mega-church pastors, listening to their stories, their hopes, their plans for significance. I deduced, albeit unscientifically, that often clergymen in midlife had worse crises of limits than did other professionals. Religious professionals went into the ministry for the significance, to make an impact, called by God to make a difference with their lives. But when you’re fifty-three and serving a congregation of 250, you know, finally, you’ll never achieve the large-church immortality symbol, the glory that was promised to you. That can be a dark moment—or a dark couple of years.[3]However, noted theologian Fred Rogers of Mr. Rogers fame recalled an experience he had when attending seminary. He wanted to hear a variety of preachers, so for a time each Sunday he visited different churches. One week he experienced “the most poorly crafted sermon [he] had ever heard.” A friend had accompanied him and when he turned to her, he found her in tears. She said, “It was exactly what I needed to hear.”
Rogers then told his audience, “That’s when I realized that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her—and as it turned out, for me too.”[4] Although the results from our best efforts may look feeble to some, they can touch a heart and change a life when we least expect it. This side of heaven we will never know the people we impacted through our faithful service.
-excerpted from my book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them
Sunday, October 9, 2011
SIX REASONS TO PREACH THE SAME SERMON TWICE
Joe McKeever has an excellent article posted with SermonCentral.Com to help you look at the value of what some people might call "reruns." - Steve
As a young pastor, I couldn't repeat a sermon any more than I could eat yesterday's breakfast again. Each sermon was a one-time thing. When it was over, it was gone forever. Then invitations began to come in to preach in churches pastored by friends who thought I had something worth sharing with their people. That's when I had to get serious about repeating a sermon. After all, my friends' members hadn't heard my stories or sermons. Anything I did would be new to them.
Those early attempts to preach repeats were fairly pathetic, I think. Since my sermon notes were always one thing and the actual sermon something else entirely, nothing in writing told me what I had preached the first time, so I couldn't reproduce it verbatim. I had to go from memory, or better, get with the Lord anew on that sermon. These days—I'm now 70 and retired—almost every sermon I preach is on a topic I've preached before (with the occasional exception; hey, I'm not living on reruns here!). As a result, I have more or less figured this thing out, at least to my satisfaction. Maybe pastors will find something of benefit here.
Don't expect it to be an exact copy of the first time.
The absolute worst thing you could do in repreaching a sermon would be to take the earlier manuscript and deliver it verbatim. After all, a lot has changed since you preached it:
Go to the Lord to see what He wants updated.
The fact that the Holy Spirit led the preacher the first time does not automatically mean He has said all He has to say on that subject or has nothing to new to add. In fact, on the second time around, the pastor is ready to receive more from the Spirit than he was when he first produced the sermon. He now has a grasp of the basic text and a good understanding of the thrust of the message. So, as he prays over it and rethinks the material, he is able to do something pastors rarely get a chance to do: improve on a sermon he has already preached. This is one of the most exciting aspects of repreaching an old sermon. You get to make it better. As a result, you become a better preacher yourself.
Ask any schoolteacher. The first year a teacher covers a subject, he or she labors every night trying to assemble the material for the next day's class. It's an ordeal. The second year improves, since the teacher has been through the jungle before. He has carved out a path and knows he can get to the destination. Fortified by the experience of the first year, she looks around to see if there is a better way to teach this difficult event or explain that hard-to-grasp concept. The second year is typically more fun, more effective, and more productive than the first. At this point, the teacher faces a crucial decision: He can reteach the first year's material again and again, or he can keep learning on the subject and trying to perfect his methods.
Pastors sometimes have the experience of a church member hearing him preach a repeat in another church and observing, "That was great, pastor. You ought to preach that for us sometime." He thinks he did, but he didn't. He preached an earlier incarnation of that sermon. A slimmer version. The embryonic form.
Pastors who simply regurgitate previously delivered sermons without restudying them, praying them through anew, and looking for better ways and sharper insights, are failing their people. I expect we all have known pastors who went from one short-term pastorate to another doing this—and they wonder why the people in the pews never grew. The number one reason people in the pews are not growing is that the man in the pulpit has long since ceased to grow.
Always be working to improve your best sermons.
A good preacher reads something and realizes it fits with the sermon on grace. He finds a great illustration that works for the sermon on stewardship. He stumbles across an insight from Scripture that is ideal for the message on God's Word. How he incorporates these into his files so it will be there waiting the next time he preaches that sermon is up to him. If, like I tend to be, he is a totally right-brained preacher (that is, spontaneous in his impulsiveness, disorderly in his scheduling, and haphazard in his filing system), he will drop the note into a drawer or file it in the pages of his Bible and may or may not find it when he needs it. The stories I could tell about searches for those gems I had hoped to use the next time I preached a certain sermon!
Experience the sermon anew with the congregation.
This little insight came straight from the lips of Professor James Taylor, teacher of preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the mid-1960s. This is also how Christian entertainers like Dennis Swanberg and Andy Andrews do it. They relive whatever they're sharing along with their audiences. Look at their faces, and you know in a heartbeat that even though they have their material down pat and know exactly what comes next, they are experiencing it afresh along with you. It's a neat trick (or, if you prefer, a masterful art) that comes from loving people and devoting oneself to one's craft.
Revisit the material you couldn't use the first time.
You can't preach every insight you have found, can't use every good story you have uncovered on a subject, and can't bring in every text that pertains to the message. You will have to pick and choose. This is great, because it means you can give your very best stuff to your congregation. They get to hear the choicest offering you can give.
Young pastors have to learn the hard way not to toss in every insight, every story, or every text that fits a sermon. Audiences do not have an infinite capacity to take in and retain all the preacher throws at them. He needs to respect their limitations and keep the sermon at a reasonable length by laying aside all but the most important elements. After all, the pastor's goal is not to convince his audience he knows all there is to know of a subject; he's trying to convey the Lord's message on that subject.
Don't hesitate to preach repeats to your own people.
Most pastors I know tell the congregation when they are preaching a repeat. They might dress several up as "summer reruns" or "back by popular demand." I know at least two pastors who, each year on the anniversary of their arrival at that church, will deliver the same message year after year. I have no idea how well they do it, and I sometimes wonder why they do it.
However, if the sermon was preached more than a couple of years earlier, calling attention to its being a rerun is completely unnecessary. After all, as we've seen, the sermon will not be the same as it was before (or, it shouldn't be!).
Invariably, some church member will seek out the preacher following the sermon with her finger pointing to a verse in her open Bible. "Pastor, you preached this same sermon three years ago." Count on it happening. But don't let it bother you. The proper answer to that is: "I preached the same text. But it's a different sermon. And by the way, don't be surprised if I preach on this again. It's a great Scripture, isn't it?"
Have fun preaching those repeats, pastor. At least this is one time you do not have to reinvent the wheel or discover fire all over again. What a privilege to be a co-laborer with the Lord in preaching this Word!
As a young pastor, I couldn't repeat a sermon any more than I could eat yesterday's breakfast again. Each sermon was a one-time thing. When it was over, it was gone forever. Then invitations began to come in to preach in churches pastored by friends who thought I had something worth sharing with their people. That's when I had to get serious about repeating a sermon. After all, my friends' members hadn't heard my stories or sermons. Anything I did would be new to them.
Those early attempts to preach repeats were fairly pathetic, I think. Since my sermon notes were always one thing and the actual sermon something else entirely, nothing in writing told me what I had preached the first time, so I couldn't reproduce it verbatim. I had to go from memory, or better, get with the Lord anew on that sermon. These days—I'm now 70 and retired—almost every sermon I preach is on a topic I've preached before (with the occasional exception; hey, I'm not living on reruns here!). As a result, I have more or less figured this thing out, at least to my satisfaction. Maybe pastors will find something of benefit here.
Don't expect it to be an exact copy of the first time.
The absolute worst thing you could do in repreaching a sermon would be to take the earlier manuscript and deliver it verbatim. After all, a lot has changed since you preached it:
- The world has changed. Circumstances change, cultures evolve, technology advances. Illustrations get outdated, and language changes.
- You are at a different place in life. You've grown. You know more about the Lord and His Word than you did even a year or two ago.
- You are preaching to a different congregation. As any preacher will tell you, the hearers of a message have a lot to do with how it is preached, and your congregation has changed (physically and spiritually) since you last preached the message.
Go to the Lord to see what He wants updated.
The fact that the Holy Spirit led the preacher the first time does not automatically mean He has said all He has to say on that subject or has nothing to new to add. In fact, on the second time around, the pastor is ready to receive more from the Spirit than he was when he first produced the sermon. He now has a grasp of the basic text and a good understanding of the thrust of the message. So, as he prays over it and rethinks the material, he is able to do something pastors rarely get a chance to do: improve on a sermon he has already preached. This is one of the most exciting aspects of repreaching an old sermon. You get to make it better. As a result, you become a better preacher yourself.
Ask any schoolteacher. The first year a teacher covers a subject, he or she labors every night trying to assemble the material for the next day's class. It's an ordeal. The second year improves, since the teacher has been through the jungle before. He has carved out a path and knows he can get to the destination. Fortified by the experience of the first year, she looks around to see if there is a better way to teach this difficult event or explain that hard-to-grasp concept. The second year is typically more fun, more effective, and more productive than the first. At this point, the teacher faces a crucial decision: He can reteach the first year's material again and again, or he can keep learning on the subject and trying to perfect his methods.
Pastors sometimes have the experience of a church member hearing him preach a repeat in another church and observing, "That was great, pastor. You ought to preach that for us sometime." He thinks he did, but he didn't. He preached an earlier incarnation of that sermon. A slimmer version. The embryonic form.
Pastors who simply regurgitate previously delivered sermons without restudying them, praying them through anew, and looking for better ways and sharper insights, are failing their people. I expect we all have known pastors who went from one short-term pastorate to another doing this—and they wonder why the people in the pews never grew. The number one reason people in the pews are not growing is that the man in the pulpit has long since ceased to grow.
Always be working to improve your best sermons.
A good preacher reads something and realizes it fits with the sermon on grace. He finds a great illustration that works for the sermon on stewardship. He stumbles across an insight from Scripture that is ideal for the message on God's Word. How he incorporates these into his files so it will be there waiting the next time he preaches that sermon is up to him. If, like I tend to be, he is a totally right-brained preacher (that is, spontaneous in his impulsiveness, disorderly in his scheduling, and haphazard in his filing system), he will drop the note into a drawer or file it in the pages of his Bible and may or may not find it when he needs it. The stories I could tell about searches for those gems I had hoped to use the next time I preached a certain sermon!
Experience the sermon anew with the congregation.
This little insight came straight from the lips of Professor James Taylor, teacher of preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in the mid-1960s. This is also how Christian entertainers like Dennis Swanberg and Andy Andrews do it. They relive whatever they're sharing along with their audiences. Look at their faces, and you know in a heartbeat that even though they have their material down pat and know exactly what comes next, they are experiencing it afresh along with you. It's a neat trick (or, if you prefer, a masterful art) that comes from loving people and devoting oneself to one's craft.
Revisit the material you couldn't use the first time.
You can't preach every insight you have found, can't use every good story you have uncovered on a subject, and can't bring in every text that pertains to the message. You will have to pick and choose. This is great, because it means you can give your very best stuff to your congregation. They get to hear the choicest offering you can give.
Young pastors have to learn the hard way not to toss in every insight, every story, or every text that fits a sermon. Audiences do not have an infinite capacity to take in and retain all the preacher throws at them. He needs to respect their limitations and keep the sermon at a reasonable length by laying aside all but the most important elements. After all, the pastor's goal is not to convince his audience he knows all there is to know of a subject; he's trying to convey the Lord's message on that subject.
Don't hesitate to preach repeats to your own people.
Most pastors I know tell the congregation when they are preaching a repeat. They might dress several up as "summer reruns" or "back by popular demand." I know at least two pastors who, each year on the anniversary of their arrival at that church, will deliver the same message year after year. I have no idea how well they do it, and I sometimes wonder why they do it.
However, if the sermon was preached more than a couple of years earlier, calling attention to its being a rerun is completely unnecessary. After all, as we've seen, the sermon will not be the same as it was before (or, it shouldn't be!).
Invariably, some church member will seek out the preacher following the sermon with her finger pointing to a verse in her open Bible. "Pastor, you preached this same sermon three years ago." Count on it happening. But don't let it bother you. The proper answer to that is: "I preached the same text. But it's a different sermon. And by the way, don't be surprised if I preach on this again. It's a great Scripture, isn't it?"
Have fun preaching those repeats, pastor. At least this is one time you do not have to reinvent the wheel or discover fire all over again. What a privilege to be a co-laborer with the Lord in preaching this Word!
Dr. Joe McKeever is a preacher, cartoonist and the
retired Director of Missions for the Baptist Association of Greater New
Orleans. Currently he loves to serve as a speaker/pulpit fill for
revivals, prayer conferences, deacon trainings, leadership banquets and
other church events. Visit him and enjoy his insights on nearly 50 years
of ministry at JoeMcKeever.com.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
IS SKPIING CHURCH A GOOD THING?
From Charles Stone ...
I’m a pastor. Pastors are supposed to go to church. So I go to church, several times each week. I’ve done that for decades. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve missed church by choice. This past weekend I added to that handful of misses. I skipped church.
My daughter had come to visit us over the Labor Day weekend and I scheduled one of our other pastors to preach at the weekend services. We took a long weekend at a lake house about 50 miles from our home.
The last time we took a long weekend we all went to church, a very boring one. This time however, I simply decided I wouldn’t go. To be frank, I felt a tinge of guilt because my wife will tell you I’m always the one pushing us to go to church while on vacation.
But for some odd reason, I didn’t push us this time.
So what did I do that Sunday morning? I sat in a swing and read my bible. I cut some dead limbs off a tree. I chatted with a neighbor. I exercised on my treadmill. I practiced the art of ‘slowing.’ And I really liked it.
Although I’m deeply committed to the local church and won’t make skipping a habit, I leaned a few valuable lessons.
Is Skipping Church Good for your Soul?
I’m a pastor. Pastors are supposed to go to church. So I go to church, several times each week. I’ve done that for decades. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve missed church by choice. This past weekend I added to that handful of misses. I skipped church.My daughter had come to visit us over the Labor Day weekend and I scheduled one of our other pastors to preach at the weekend services. We took a long weekend at a lake house about 50 miles from our home.
The last time we took a long weekend we all went to church, a very boring one. This time however, I simply decided I wouldn’t go. To be frank, I felt a tinge of guilt because my wife will tell you I’m always the one pushing us to go to church while on vacation.
But for some odd reason, I didn’t push us this time.
So what did I do that Sunday morning? I sat in a swing and read my bible. I cut some dead limbs off a tree. I chatted with a neighbor. I exercised on my treadmill. I practiced the art of ‘slowing.’ And I really liked it.
Although I’m deeply committed to the local church and won’t make skipping a habit, I leaned a few valuable lessons.
- My church truancy reminded me that pastors’ schedules keep us from normal weekends that most families experience. Sundays (and Saturdays if you hold services) are our biggest work days. But, it’s not all about me and I will gladly stay faithful to God’s calling.
- Those not in vocational ministry will never understand this sacrificial part of our profession because when they want to skip church, they easily do with no repercussions. And when they do, most don’t even think twice about skipping.
- An occasional ‘break from the Sunday routine’ can refresh a pastor’s soul.
- I now understand how hard it would be for someone who has seldom attended church to give up his Sunday mornings and start attending. I truly enjoyed having Sundays free.
- Number 3 above reminded me that we pastors must craft compelling, Spirit-led services if we are to entice the unchurched to attend and keep attending. What they experience at church must be worth the price of giving up their relaxing mornings at home, at the lake, or at the ballpark. We may only get one shot.
- Pastors need a sabbath too. Since Sunday’s aren’t ours, we must prioritize another day for rest. I take Monday’s off and I was reminded that I must truly rest on that day
Thursday, September 22, 2011
SUBSTANCE NEGLECT
by Stephen L. Dunn
It's Thursday evening and my sermon is half done (no, I didn't say "half-baked."). Most weeks Monday is my Sermon and Study Day and I try to start gathering the notes, the exegetical discoveries, the illustrations that I have been collecting and begin to put it into a coherent and preachable form. Because of some pressing church business I did not do this until Tuesday, but having done so, Thursday night has arrived and I am fairly close to having something that is preachable. I'll spend some more time with the message at some point Saturday. Barring a last minute inspiration from the Spirit, Sunday morning will arrive with my "manuscript" notes complete, needing only a quick review over breakfast before stepping into the pulpit.
There is a popular misconception that good worship trumps poor preaching. I once was asked to speak in Haiti for a conference only to have my sermon cancelled two days in a row because people had been so into the worship experience that they had run out of time for the sermon, In the US, however, much of what passes for worship is more emotive than revelatory. People coming away feeling uplifted is considered the most important thing in the worship event.
I am still traditional enough to think that the sermon is the critical element or pivotal act in a worship service. For the sermon helps the worshiper focus on the message that the God people have come to worship intends the disciple to take away with them. Remember, worship in Romans 12:1-2 is spoken of within the context of renewing our mind by discovering the mind of Christ.
But here's the rub. Having defended the primary place of preaching in a worship service, I have to ask. Is the message that you have prepared worthy of that place? Is your sermon basically some popularized form of moral therapeutic deism or is it the Word of God? Is the sermon substantive or is it so much religious fluff? Is it grounded in a serious study of the Word, bathed in prayer, and reflective of the working of the Holy Spirit or did you just identify an opinion or personal preference that is dominating your thought these days and now intend to dignify it by declaring it to be "a word from the Lord?" Has your relationship with the Lord and your attention to His presence and work been the source of the message? Or have you found something interesting, clever or relevant and are now asking God to baptize with His "amen."
When I stand before the people of God, I quite often utter this prayer in a public way, "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be Your Words to Your beloved that I now have the privilege to share."
(C) 2011 by Stephen L. Dunn
Friday, September 16, 2011
WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP WATER
WHEN YOU ARE IN DEEP WATER
Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:9
My calling is to reconcile people to God, to connect them to Christ's saving grace; to experience the transformed life that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. I carry out this calling within the context of being the Lead Pastor of the Church of God of Landisville. That job carries the awesome responsibility of helping a church follow God's vision and to equip it for a future of faithfulness to God and fruitfulness for the kingdom. In that role, it is essential that I take the long view of the church's mission. It requires me to work proactively for the church's long-term effectiveness and not consuming all my time and energy and simply reacting to the latest crisis or making sure everyone is happy in the moment. The reality is that you cannot make anyone happy. Happiness is a choice. And people-pleasing is particularly warned against by God's Word. As a leader and pastor, I must make decisions that are in the best interest of the body even when individuals want to operate from a very personal place.
Much of the past several weeks has been consumed with putting out fires created by people who, either #1 don't take the long view and now are in a crisis that they want to make yours, #2 think their happiness is more important than the church's effectiveness, or #3 are generally miserable and prefer to be miserable by living on their own terms instead of finding peace and joy by living on God's terms. And then there are people who hate for the be any problems and want me to make all of those other people's problems go away.
Pastors call this the dark side of ministry. And if you go there and dwell there long enough, your passion drains away, you simply operate by reacting to what happens next, and leave little time for what God told you was important but what men do not think is as important.
In these times, you know you are in over your head, and just start paddling just to stay afloat, let alone actually get somewhere. Being a pastor can be a lonely place at those times--for few people understand that struggle and a whole lot of people never know anyway and therefore don't provide the help needed. Although they are still disturbed by the people you haven't managed to fix.
It is a place of weakness for most pastors. But it is also a place where we must keep our focus. When you are in deep water you need to trust the One who walked on water. And this verse becomes the reality thayt ultimately reignites a pastor's passion and renew his focus.
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9.
(C) 2011 by Stephen L Dunn
This post was originally published on the devotional blog THRIVING IN CHRIST
Saturday, July 23, 2011
ENCOURAGING YOUR AUDIENCE
From one of Sermon Central's contributors comes this important counsel:
Everyone needs encouragement. We need it as preachers. So we shouldn’t be surprised if our listeners do, too! And yet, strangely, something that everyone needs, and everyone acknowledges is needed, seems to be strangely absent in a significant amount of preaching. Let me encourage you to encourage people as you preach.
There are other things we may offer and think we are being encouraging. But consider both your passage and your listeners: how can this be preached in a way that will encourage them? Robinson talks about the need for ten encouraging messages for every one rebuke. It is so counterproductive when we get that ratio reversed. Be encouraged as you read the Word, and look to share that encouragement as encouragement!
Everyone needs encouragement. We need it as preachers. So we shouldn’t be surprised if our listeners do, too! And yet, strangely, something that everyone needs, and everyone acknowledges is needed, seems to be strangely absent in a significant amount of preaching. Let me encourage you to encourage people as you preach.
Don’t think exhortation is encouragement.
There is a need for exhortation, but people need to be encouraged, too. Exhorting involves persuasion and a hint of rebuke, but encouragement injects hope, confidence and life.Don’t think guilt is encouragement.
To put it simply, it is not. Guilting people into conformity is a shortcut that may yield results, but it will be short-lived and counter-productive. Allow guilt to come by the conviction of the Spirit, but don’t add guilt where guilt is not the issue—that is a form of legalism.Don’t think that enthusiasm is encouragement.
Your enthusiasm may be contagious, but people may sit impressed by your passion, yet not feel encouraged in their own. Think through how to invest rather than simply demonstrate enthusiasm in your preaching.There are other things we may offer and think we are being encouraging. But consider both your passage and your listeners: how can this be preached in a way that will encourage them? Robinson talks about the need for ten encouraging messages for every one rebuke. It is so counterproductive when we get that ratio reversed. Be encouraged as you read the Word, and look to share that encouragement as encouragement!
Peter Mead is involved in church leadership at an independent Bible church in the UK. He serves as director of Cor Deo—an
innovative mentored ministry training program—and has a wider ministry
preaching and training preachers. He also blogs often at BiblicalPreaching.net.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
DO WE TALK TOO MUCH?
Preaching is an integral part to the ministry of reconciliation and life-transformation given to the church of Jesus Christ. Some of us have the particular calling to fill that role within the Body, to be the preacher.
Preaching is sometimes considered out-dated or even a detriment. "I appreciate that you don't preach to me," a man used to say to me often. When I would protest that indeed, I was preaching to him, he would respond, "No, you're teaching me and there's a lot I need to learn." He was playing a semantics game. I was preaching; but part of me understood where he was coming from. There are a whole lot of preachers who have a lot to say, who do not say it well, and who do not say it out love. What they preach is foolishness.
But as a preacher by profession, I often find myself asking important evaluation questions. One of them is, "Did I share God's Word today for God's people, or was a baptizing my own opinions by expressing them from a pulpit.' I often precede the preaching event with a prayer, "LORD, I pray that today the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart are YOUR words from YOUR heart to the people YOU love."
But another question I often ask is, "Was this message too long or did it try to say too much?" In seminary we used to be warned to preach the gospel in every message by not to preach the whole gospel in a single message. The implication is clear -- too much preaching is unfocused and too many sermons are too long to be of genuine impact.
I once asked a group of sixty year old's how long a sermon should be. "Twenty minutes" was the response. It was a predictable response because these same people believed a worship service should only last sixty minutes. Their idea of a worship gathering was that it was a religious duty that they were obligated to be a part of--but it should be well-defined, predictable, and have boundaries. My sermon should have plenty of Bible, not delve into too many difficult topics. Three points and a good story made up a good sermon--and yo ought to be able to do that in 20 minutes.
I also asked one of my sons-in-law who was in his twenties and fairly new to his faith the same question. His response, "If it has depth and substance, and is the real deal, I can listen to a sermon for 40 minutes; but if it's simple Sunday School stuff and not about my Christian life then ten minutes is too long."
He had heard too many preachers who spent a lot of time telling him from the pulpit what he had already heard in Sunday School and he craved something deeper. He had also heard enough sermons where preachers weren't really focused on the Word of God or where the Word was sort of lost in a lot of personal anecdotes and insignificant comments that they had little application for the life he was trying to live as the real deal, an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ.
So here's the question - do we as preacher talk too much when we don't have anything to say?
(C) 2011 by Stephen L Dunn
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
IS YOUR PREACHING TOO DEEP OR TOO SHALLOW
Most of us who are conscientious about our preaching ask ourselves the question, "Is this too deep or to shallow?" If we don't ask the question of ourselves, someone, usually someone with a strong opinion, will ask the question for us. It is not a question that can be asked in a vacuum. We must take into account the congregation with which we are communicating - their needs, their maturity, their biblical understanding. Craig Groeschel, writing for Sermon Central, has some helpful insights on this question:
Many of us were taught that to reach people today, we have to make our sermons simple, practical, and relevant. While I agree that all three qualities are important, we must never forget they all must be spiritual to change lives!
In our efforts to reach people far from God, some pastors with good intentions are perhaps making messages too shallow.
When people come to church today, I believe they truly want to know what the Bible says. There seems to be a genuine hunger for God’s Word. Even if a curious non-Christian attends church, most want to hear a biblical message rather than a self-help and feel-good sermonette.
Our American churches today are sadly filled with many biblically illiterate people. Many truly want to learn more. Most prefer to be challenged rather than babied.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what people want. If sin separates people from God, we can’t be afraid to preach about sin, the cross, and the resurrection.
The other extreme can also be dangerous. We have to equally guard against our sermons being too deep.
Some pastors are hypercritical of those who aren’t deep. But sometimes deep can equal boring or irrelevant.
I love studying the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words and find sharing some with the church to be very helpful. But an overuse of the original languages can become dull.
Similarly, the history and context of a chapter is also often important. Sometimes, though, a pastor can spend so much time in the deep end that people drown in unimportant facts.
Two years ago, a very intelligent pastor moved into my community. Many of my friends attend his church. His sermons are so intellectually deep that the average person can’t track with him. His church has lost about 40% of its weekend attendance.
Several people approached him and asked if he could make the messages easier for them to understand. He adamantly opposed, explaining that he’d never "dumb down" God’s word. While I admire his passion, I think he lacks wisdom.
Those who truly have the gift of teaching must guard against over-teaching a text.
Is your preaching too deep or too shallow? What do you struggle with the most?
Is Your Preaching Too Deep or Too Shallow?
by Craig Groeschel
In our efforts to reach people far from God, some pastors with good intentions are perhaps making messages too shallow.
When people come to church today, I believe they truly want to know what the Bible says. There seems to be a genuine hunger for God’s Word. Even if a curious non-Christian attends church, most want to hear a biblical message rather than a self-help and feel-good sermonette.
Our American churches today are sadly filled with many biblically illiterate people. Many truly want to learn more. Most prefer to be challenged rather than babied.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what people want. If sin separates people from God, we can’t be afraid to preach about sin, the cross, and the resurrection.
The other extreme can also be dangerous. We have to equally guard against our sermons being too deep.
Some pastors are hypercritical of those who aren’t deep. But sometimes deep can equal boring or irrelevant.
I love studying the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words and find sharing some with the church to be very helpful. But an overuse of the original languages can become dull.
Similarly, the history and context of a chapter is also often important. Sometimes, though, a pastor can spend so much time in the deep end that people drown in unimportant facts.
Two years ago, a very intelligent pastor moved into my community. Many of my friends attend his church. His sermons are so intellectually deep that the average person can’t track with him. His church has lost about 40% of its weekend attendance.
Several people approached him and asked if he could make the messages easier for them to understand. He adamantly opposed, explaining that he’d never "dumb down" God’s word. While I admire his passion, I think he lacks wisdom.
Those who truly have the gift of teaching must guard against over-teaching a text.
Is your preaching too deep or too shallow? What do you struggle with the most?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
JUSTIN HOLCOMB ON PREACHING TOPICAL SERMON
5 Reminders When Preaching A Topical Sermon
Justin Holcomb » Biblical Theology Study Church Preaching Gospel
from THE LID
This week I had the privilege of leading a preaching lab for the campus pastors of Mars Hill Church. They are preaching this Sunday, Mother’s Day, and preaching a topical sermon connected to the theme of the day.
Before they preached, I gave them 5 points to keep in mind regarding topical sermons on Mother’s Day. These points also apply to other topics as well.
1. Keep it simple
When you are preaching through a book of the Bible, you are obviously limited to the text selected for that week. But when you preach a topical sermon, you have whatever the Bible says on that topic at your disposal—and having such a wealth of material doesn’t always work in your favor. If you try to say everything you find on the theme, you run the risk saying very little about anything in particular. So figure out what you want to say and keep it simple. Simple doesn’t mean simplistic; it means focused.
2. Aim for coherence
In addition to selecting from the wealth of biblical data you find from your study, you also need to arrange the information in a coherent manner that is accessible to the congregation.
3. Make sure it corresponds to reality
For example, preaching on Mother’s Day allows you to say and celebrate lots of wonderful things about moms and motherhood. Many experience real joy on this day. However, others experience lots of pain or disappointment because of loneliness, miscarriages, someone’s death, divorce, etc. Please keep this wide spectrum in mind as you preach. Laugh with the joyful and weep with and comfort those who are mourning.
4. Go for the heart
Navigate between the two extremes of either (1) giving a lecture or (2) aiming for a sentimental moment. You can do this by using great illustrations that capture your points well or by getting a bit personal about the joys or sadness of this day for you.
5. Preach
Your roll is not to serve as a host for a special moment or to be an armchair critic of where our culture has goofed on motherhood or viewing women. You are a preacher of Good News. Proclaim the person and work of Jesus and his gospel. The grace upon grace from Jesus (John 1:16) is the most relevant thing for you to communicate.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
PERRY NOBLE ON TEN WARNING SIGNS THAT YOU MAY NOT BE HEALTHY
Perry Noble shares some important insights for self-evaluation.
Pastor/church leader…you have GOT to get healthy…emotionally, physically and spiritually. I will say that the overwhelming reason that many churches are not healthy is that the leaders in the church are not healthy. What are some signs that you are not healthy?
#1 – You cannot remember the last time you clearly heard the Word of God speak to you about an issue in your own life.
#2 – You no longer use the Bible to learn more about Jesus and hear His voice…you are simply using it to find your next sermon.
#3 – You actually begin to hate and despise the people in your church (who, by the way, are the very people you are called to love!)
#4 – You spend more time on the cell phone and computer when you are at home than you do with your own family.
#5 – You are so obsessed with pleasing people and putting out fires that listening to God and doing what He says is no longer the goal of your life and ministry.
#6 – You often dream of being in another church…thinking that if you were somewhere else you would have no problems.
#7 – You are spending time building up people of the opposite sex and having intimate conversations with them that SHOULD be taking place with your spouse.
#8 – You are often overwhelmed with feelings of intense sadness and you don’t know why.
#9 – You can’t sleep.
#10 – You keep telling yourself (and your family) that one day everything is going to slow down.
I could go on and on…but seriously…if any of these stuck out to you then PLEASE, do whatever it takes to get healthy. Call a friend, get a counselor…take a day to just get away from your normal routine and spend time with the Lord.
The church needs devoted, passionate and HEALTHY leaders!
Pastor/church leader…you have GOT to get healthy…emotionally, physically and spiritually. I will say that the overwhelming reason that many churches are not healthy is that the leaders in the church are not healthy. What are some signs that you are not healthy?
#1 – You cannot remember the last time you clearly heard the Word of God speak to you about an issue in your own life.
#2 – You no longer use the Bible to learn more about Jesus and hear His voice…you are simply using it to find your next sermon.
#3 – You actually begin to hate and despise the people in your church (who, by the way, are the very people you are called to love!)
#4 – You spend more time on the cell phone and computer when you are at home than you do with your own family.
#5 – You are so obsessed with pleasing people and putting out fires that listening to God and doing what He says is no longer the goal of your life and ministry.
#6 – You often dream of being in another church…thinking that if you were somewhere else you would have no problems.
#7 – You are spending time building up people of the opposite sex and having intimate conversations with them that SHOULD be taking place with your spouse.
#8 – You are often overwhelmed with feelings of intense sadness and you don’t know why.
#9 – You can’t sleep.
#10 – You keep telling yourself (and your family) that one day everything is going to slow down.
I could go on and on…but seriously…if any of these stuck out to you then PLEASE, do whatever it takes to get healthy. Call a friend, get a counselor…take a day to just get away from your normal routine and spend time with the Lord.
The church needs devoted, passionate and HEALTHY leaders!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
WHAT IS THE G.O.S.P.E.L?
Creativity is at the heart of effective proclamation.
G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
CRITICAL PREACHERS
by Stephen Dunn
But sometimes preachers are simply critiquing their brothers and sisters. Very early in my ministry my denominational exec sent me to preach in the pulpit of a local pastor who thought the denomination was too liberal. He who used that perception to justify teaching a doctrine that was contrary to teaching of the church from which he had been ordained and in his ordination pledge he had promised to defend. When I got done his comment/compliment was "good doctrine." I had to ask myself was this actually a compliment, or had I given him justification to continue to ignore the clear teaching of the church.
Such critiquing is rarely motivated out of love for Christ and His Church. Such critiquing also tends to make us poor worshipers and poor hearers of the Word because we do not come to the sermon with the intention of seeking to hear God's word to us. We come because we are preachers and when we're not preaching we're just there for show instead of sanctification.
Beware of the critiquing spirit captures many a preacher's mind when listening to another preacher preaching. We just might miss the truth God wants to reveal to us when we're not so busy preaching.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
THE VBS VALEDICTORIAN
If this doesn't inspire you to be a proclaimer ..... Wait til she gets to 3:30 when she really gets into the message
Saturday, February 26, 2011
HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO SAY "NO" TO SEEMINGLY GOOD THINGS
How to Know When to Say No to Seemingly Good Things
by Ron Edmonson
Age and maturity has helped me improve at discerning what I can do and should do based on my strengths, weaknesses, passions and dreams. It’s freeing when we become more certain in who God has wired us to be and who He has not.
Still, I’ve learned (through many different seasons) that there are often more opportunities than time in life…even God-honoring, seemingly good opportunities. Recently, I have had to say no to some great opportunities. These were things that I would have clearly thought had to be “God appointed”, but as much as they line with my strengths, passions, and dreams I have for my life, I said “no” to them.
Here are four things I look for in examining my heart before responding. I say no when:
The decision conflicts with the personal vision God has placed on my heart during this season of my life. I do not believe I’m called to a place as much as I’m called to a Person…through my relationship with Jesus Christ. There are seasons of life, however, where I know He has positioned me in a place “for such a time as this”. I’m in that place now.
My heart doesn’t line up with this decision…I can get no “peace” about saying “yes”. This requires consistent prayer and wrestling with the decision, but the more I practice this discipline the more confident I become in sensing God’s specific will for my life.
When the calling of God on my life says no. This is the overall call on my life rather than a situational decision. For example, I recently had an opportunity presented which would have taken me completely away from church planting, but I know that God has a call on my life to be involved in planting churches at some level.
When my personal strengths and interests don’t match the opportunity and I don’t sense an urgency from God. I have learned that situational or physical limitations aren’t a factor if God is in the mix. He can part waters if they are in the way, so I can do things outside of my strengths, but in my life God does seem to usually work within the experiences and gifting He has granted me. Why would He waste the investments He has made in me? Therefore, apart from a sense that God is challenging me in a direction outside my gifting, I can rest within the place where He has been preparing me.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
SHARING YOUR STORY AND GOD'S STORY
Preaching to the postmodern mind involves learning the importance of story. It particularly focuses on learning to tell your story as part of God's BIG STORY. A person called to proclaim understands the dynamics of story and how to multiply the influence of your story. This video gives some helpful insights.
Monday, January 24, 2011
NO OTHER FOUNDATION
“I recognized that by itself, without God at its foundation, ministry is utterly futile. Without remaining resolved in steadfast surrender to God, ministers living for the ministry will either leave the ministry, or, what’s worse, the ministry will leave them.”
–Burk Parsons, “Resolved by the Grace of God”Thursday, January 20, 2011
THE PASTOR AND JOB SATISFACTION
This comes by way of Monday Morning Insights
I received an email this morning from a friend passing on an old article written by Eugene Peterson. This first appeared almost ten years ago in Leadership Journal, but its insight and advice is great for a day just like today. Peterson writes…
"Being a pastor who satisfies a congregation is one of the easiest jobs on the face of the earth?if we are satisfied with satisfying congregations. The hours are good, the pay is adequate, the prestige considerable. Why don’t we find it easy? Why aren’t we content with it?…
In a interview in Vision Magazine, Bob Coy, the senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale tells of when he was about ready to quit his church plant after two years because not much seemed to be happening. Bob said he called one of the people that was overseeing him and said, "Here's what's happening: I have only 40 or 50 people attending, it's been two years here, I am not appreciated or respected for what I have accomplished, and I'm thinking about going back to Las Vegas." The person on the other end of the phone asked him, "Well, do you not want to be there?" Bob's reply was, "Well, ministry is becoming a burden." The response back in his ear was, "If it's a burden, then you need to leave. Representing the work God has given you as a burden is not the Lord; His burden is light. I think you ought to leave. There are some college students here that would love and care for those people." Bob said that this was not really what he was expecting to hear, and it caused him to get a little 'fiesty' in heart. Bob said he thought to himself, "No young college student is going to come here and care for these people. These are my sheep and I'm gonna love them."
Bob Coy continues, "It was a strange thing, because what happened was God was testing me to find out where my heart was at. Was I just looking for a big thing? Was I just looking for the success of a ministry or did I really care about sheep? The beauty of that was that I came back to church the following week, I think, a different man, and I cared more about discipleship, more about love, and cared about taking these people and really investing in their lives." Bob was able to change his mindset from having a 'job' to having a 'profession'.
Where are you at today? Have you had a similar experience (moving from a 'job' to a 'profession')?
The Pastor and Job Satisfaction
"Being a pastor who satisfies a congregation is one of the easiest jobs on the face of the earth?if we are satisfied with satisfying congregations. The hours are good, the pay is adequate, the prestige considerable. Why don’t we find it easy? Why aren’t we content with it?…
Because we set out to do something quite different. We set out to risk our lives in a venture of faith. We committed ourselves to a life of holiness. At some point we realized the immensity of God and of the great invisibles that socket into our arms and legs, into bread and wine, into our brains and our tools, into mountains and rivers, giving them meaning, destiny, value, joy, beauty, salvation. We responded to a call to convey these realities in Word and sacrament. We offered ourselves to give leadership that connects and coordinates what the people in this community of faith are doing in their work and play with what God is doing in mercy and grace.
In the process, we learned the difference between a profession, a craft, and a job.
A job is what we do to complete an assignment. Its primary requirement is that we give satisfaction to whomever makes the assignment and pays our wage. We learn what is expected, and we do it. There is nothing wrong with doing jobs. To some extent, we all have them; somebody has to wash the dishes and take out the garbage.
But professions and crafts are different. In these, we have an obligation beyond pleasing somebody. We are pursuing or shaping the very nature of reality, convinced that when we carry out our commitments, we benefit people at a far deeper level than if we simply did what they asked of us."
Bob Coy continues, "It was a strange thing, because what happened was God was testing me to find out where my heart was at. Was I just looking for a big thing? Was I just looking for the success of a ministry or did I really care about sheep? The beauty of that was that I came back to church the following week, I think, a different man, and I cared more about discipleship, more about love, and cared about taking these people and really investing in their lives." Bob was able to change his mindset from having a 'job' to having a 'profession'.
Where are you at today? Have you had a similar experience (moving from a 'job' to a 'profession')?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
ED STETZER ON LANGUAGE IN THE PULPIT
Ed Stetzer posted this excellent article on his blog one year ago today.
Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of passionate discussion about inappropriate language in the pulpit. Of course some preachers do use language they shouldn't when preaching the word, while others aren't using language they should (maybe we'll make another post on that one).
I hope we can agree that God does care about the words we use. Positively, we are called to speak the truth with grace, correcting and reproving one another when needed, and encouraging one another as the day of the Lord draws near. On the negative side, God forbids the misuse of words by way of blasphemy, heresy, lies, gossip, slander, and flattery. These are, I think, relatively easy to spot and most of us would agree such speech has no place on the tongues of God's people.
But, I think more needs to be said. In fact, more has been said. Unfortunately, it has often been little more than spoof texting without real dialog. I'd like us to consider a few of the popular passages that are relevant to this issue and find some direction.
Corrupting talk is rotten, worthless, and unfit for use. The word is being used in contrast to words that are useful for building up and extending grace to others. In a practical sense we must not use words that needlessly tear others down, or encourage others to sin.
Filthiness is ugly, immodest, and inappropriate language. This is largely contextually determined. Some things are entirely appropriate for a conversation between my wife and me, but would be inappropriate between a us and a child. I can speak one way to a man, but would choose my words differently when talking with a woman. Filthiness is ugly talk that is "out of place." Foolish talk is unwise, unprofitable speech, and crude joking is a quick wit (a good thing) used for nothing more than fruitless joking (get over yourself).
Obscene talk is shameful, and perhaps abusive speech.
Paul's point regarding godly and ungodly speech is not that some words are never to be used, but that the spiritual and social impact of our words matter, and we must use our words for the glory of God and the good of people.
Now some people use these verses to call words they find distasteful out of bounds. Others ignore these verses and speak without much serious thought about the context or true usefulness of their words. I'd like to offer a little pastoral advice to all Christians, especially those who labor in teaching and preaching.
My advice is simple. Be careful with your words. You only have so many to use in your upcoming sermon, so choose them wisely. Those words may comprise your very last sermon. Have you considered that? What words will be most useful in communicating truth, and the gospel? What words will help you best uncover man's hypocrisy, stubbornness and idolatry while pointing them to the hope of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? Your words should be appropriate for your audience and context, they should clarify truth, expose error and exalt Jesus. If you are a teacher, then you are not a child, so don't speak like one. Be thoughtful, provocative, and clear. Know your audience. Do not use words that will interfere with the message you are called by God to communicate, but do not neglect to use words that will arrest their attention and display the significance of the message.
Of course, I welcome your thoughts on the subject in the comments. Stick to the issue, my friends. Choose your words wisely, and make the discussion profitable.
I hope we can agree that God does care about the words we use. Positively, we are called to speak the truth with grace, correcting and reproving one another when needed, and encouraging one another as the day of the Lord draws near. On the negative side, God forbids the misuse of words by way of blasphemy, heresy, lies, gossip, slander, and flattery. These are, I think, relatively easy to spot and most of us would agree such speech has no place on the tongues of God's people.
But, I think more needs to be said. In fact, more has been said. Unfortunately, it has often been little more than spoof texting without real dialog. I'd like us to consider a few of the popular passages that are relevant to this issue and find some direction.
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Eph 4:29
Corrupting talk is rotten, worthless, and unfit for use. The word is being used in contrast to words that are useful for building up and extending grace to others. In a practical sense we must not use words that needlessly tear others down, or encourage others to sin.
Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
Eph 5:4
Filthiness is ugly, immodest, and inappropriate language. This is largely contextually determined. Some things are entirely appropriate for a conversation between my wife and me, but would be inappropriate between a us and a child. I can speak one way to a man, but would choose my words differently when talking with a woman. Filthiness is ugly talk that is "out of place." Foolish talk is unwise, unprofitable speech, and crude joking is a quick wit (a good thing) used for nothing more than fruitless joking (get over yourself).
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Col 3:8
Obscene talk is shameful, and perhaps abusive speech.
Paul's point regarding godly and ungodly speech is not that some words are never to be used, but that the spiritual and social impact of our words matter, and we must use our words for the glory of God and the good of people.
Now some people use these verses to call words they find distasteful out of bounds. Others ignore these verses and speak without much serious thought about the context or true usefulness of their words. I'd like to offer a little pastoral advice to all Christians, especially those who labor in teaching and preaching.
My advice is simple. Be careful with your words. You only have so many to use in your upcoming sermon, so choose them wisely. Those words may comprise your very last sermon. Have you considered that? What words will be most useful in communicating truth, and the gospel? What words will help you best uncover man's hypocrisy, stubbornness and idolatry while pointing them to the hope of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus? Your words should be appropriate for your audience and context, they should clarify truth, expose error and exalt Jesus. If you are a teacher, then you are not a child, so don't speak like one. Be thoughtful, provocative, and clear. Know your audience. Do not use words that will interfere with the message you are called by God to communicate, but do not neglect to use words that will arrest their attention and display the significance of the message.
Of course, I welcome your thoughts on the subject in the comments. Stick to the issue, my friends. Choose your words wisely, and make the discussion profitable.
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