Have you ever heard from
one of your members, either directly but most probably indirectly, “I’m just
not being spiritually fed?” Well, it is
wise to listen to your critics as I have heard it said that they are the first
ones to see our faults, and usually before we ourselves see them. Although I admit how frustrated and angry
those kind of comments have made me, it usually meant I wasn’t doing something
right in my preaching.
That kind of statement is often a signal
that a person or family is getting ready to leave the congregation. It doesn’t have to be so, they might have
other issues going on in their lives and so they begin to complain about the
preaching and once those issues are dealt with they are no longer
dissatisfied. Sometimes there is sin
hardening their heart and the content, delivery, and impact of our sermons has
nothing to do with their complaints.
However, sometimes they are speaking the
truth and we are not adequately feeding them from the Word. Yes, if they were really spiritual they would
somehow be able to get something out of our sermons. Then again if we were really spiritual maybe
we would be putting something into them worth getting.
I want to encourage my fellow preachers and
pastors to do some self-analysis about their preaching. I want to encourage all of us to get deeper
rather than just smarter. Let’s talk
about study, learning, and knowledge for our preaching first.
Obviously we need sermons based on truth
(true Truth as Schaeffer used to say) which are correct as to the teaching of
Scripture. There are many emotionally
moving sermons that come from a totally out of context and misused portion of
Scripture. The uneducated and unstudied
pastor might be all fired up, yet his listeners may be intellectually embarrassed
about what he is saying, or at least have cause to be. Many of our listeners might be educated, but
even those who haven’t finished high school or college are not stupid. Folks will know if we misquote the Bible, mix
up the main characters in a story which they have heard many times, or even
make mistakes in terms of common science, geography, or history.
My point is that pastors need to “study to
show themselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
This of course is the strong emphasis in conservative seminaries and in
ordaining bodies so it results in many of our pastors being excellent students,
spending many hours in sermon preparation and general study. It does not automatically follow that they
will be good preachers, nor does it mean they will always be “feeding the
sheep.”
Intellectual ability is a great gift, but it
doesn’t protect you from being boring.
Being widely read is a great mental asset, but it doesn’t mean you can
communicate the great truths you have learned in ways that make an impact. Being theologically accurate is a necessity
for any sermon that dares to call itself Biblical, yet theological accuracy
will often miss the target of the heart if it comes off as an academic lecture.
We
don’t need more didactic moments that simply tickle the minds of those who
thirst for more information, we need the forming of the heart though great
sermons powerfully delivered. People need truth that shapes hearts into the obedience
that comes through faith so people can be doers of the Word and not just
hearers of it.
The forming of the heart comes from a
response of faith and therefore one of the most disappointing results of a
sermon wonderfully prepared and brilliantly organized is for people to leave
after listening while saying “so?” in their minds. This kind of preaching is vacuous, it has no
depth, it does not penetrate. “What does
God want me to do, and how can I possibly do it?” People are asking this question, and the
answer of course has to be accurate, but it must also have empowerment. Is there the stress, in our sermons, on the
ability of God to enable us to do the will of God?
The
preacher sits in his study and he goes through some wonderful moments of
insight and connection. “This sounds
like Moses, and he agrees with David, and here it is in Paul, and yes, I can
see it in Jesus, and I remember this philosopher said something like it, and
that preacher made an allusion to it and this word in the original language
gives it such punch.” What wonderful
moments, and the wise preacher doesn’t tell his congregation all that he
learned in his study and he knows he can’t possibly include them in all the fun
he just had learning more and more about this text. Yet, the fun will all be self-centered fun if
he doesn’t know how to mine out the gold of God’s intent for our faith and
obedience, and how he can stimulate us to love and good deeds, and how he should
include and move us through story, illustration, and direct challenge of
application. Tell us what to do with
what you are teaching us!
All preachers have egos, they all have
insecurities, they all have their own unique styles, but if they are God’s man
they speak as an oracle of God according the ability that God gives them. Some preachers hide behind the intellectual
analysis of a text because they never want to make self-disclosure. They make no confession, they flee from
revealing failure or weakness, and thus they divorce themselves from the
struggles of their people. We sometimes
are our own best illustration of how a text applies, or how it should be
applied, or about how we failed to apply it.
The
greatest preacher in the history of the world told stories, and captured the
hearts of men and women. The greatest
theologian, the one that wrote most of the books of the New Testament, did lots
of self-disclosure concerning his weaknesses, in fact he boasted about them. The preacher needs to put himself in the
Gospel story, and not expect by distancing himself from it that somehow the
people will find by themselves the green pastures in which is their spiritual nourishment.
The helpful weapons for every preacher are of course fervent prayer, humility, and the breathing of the Holy Spirit upon us when we preach. Preaching without brokenness and honest emotion about grace and the Gospel leaves congregants wondering if we are sincere, if we are telling the truth about this God we proclaim. There is joy for all of us in the tears of repentance and forgiveness, and rich food too.
END.
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