Author: Peter Mead

Why Do We Preach?

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why preach2As the Christmas messages get preached for another year, many preachers feel like there is a brief window in the schedule.  It may be only a week or two, but psychologically there is a window of respite that allows for reflection and anticipation.  Another year.  Another year of preaching.  So why do we do it?

There are so many factors involved.  Let’s explore some of the reasons we preach over the next few days.  I don’t want to ponder issues of pay (many preachers receive less than minimum wage for what they are doing).  I don’t want to dwell on inappropriate motivations, even if they are significant for some.  I will just mention some of them in passing.

Let’s take stock of some of the good reasons we preach.

1. We preach because God is a God who speaks, therefore we have something to say.  Actually there are probably too many who are too confident that they have something worth saying.  I don’t think we have much that is worth saying, but the Bible is a revelation of God that is certainly worth proclaiming!  That is why Paul could urge Timothy to “preach the Word!” in his final words to him.  He wasn’t urging Timothy to chatter and noise and declaration of vain imaginations relating to societal ills and self improvement principles.  He wanted him to preach the Word.

Consequently the Bible must never become just a repository of preaching material.  It must always remain the very exclusive fuel for the fire of our walk with Christ, through whom we can know the Father.  When the Bible starts to feel dry to us, we have a real issue.  Not because we need to squeeze a message out of its apparently dusty pages, but because something isn’t right in our relationship with the One whom we represent when we stand to preach.

2. We preach as an act of service to others.  Paul views every gift given by the Spirit to the church as a gift given for the building up of others.  Consequently any gifts that relate to preaching must be offered to others in faithful service.  So it can’t be primarily about our own fulfillment, and certainly shouldn’t be about our own egos.  We preach to build up others – to proclaim, to offer, to invite, to comfort, to challenge, to help.

Not to control, that would be self-focused.  Not to cajole, that would be self-serving.  Not to show off, that would be self-glorifying.  We preach to serve.

Christmas Sundays

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Christmas TreeApologies for the blog-silence . . . illness over, it is time to post again.  The next couple of Sundays are prime “visitor” days in church world.  It is easy to talk as if we just need to preach the gospel well and we’ll see a massive amount of life change.  Realistically this is not the trend most years.  Without denying the possibility of immediate and radical life change, here are a few brief thoughts:

1. Visitors have some expectations of the message that should be met.  They are almost certainly coming to church because it is Christmas season.  Make sure the message is relevant to the reasonable expectation that Christians celebrate Christmas.

2. Visitors have some expectations of the message that should be shattered.  They may well expect the message to be antiquated, almost fairy-tale like and safe.  What an opportunity for them to be surprised that the Bible is actually interesting, and profoundly relevant, and disarmingly engaging.

3. Visitors should feel lovingly pulled by something spiritual, not pestered by desperate church people and “retention strategies.”  Of course it is wise to think through greeting procedures in the church venue, from the front, etc.  It would be strange for visitors not to feel warmly welcome to return beyond Christmas.  It might be sensible to have a follow-up plan in place (a bit late if this hasn’t been considered before now, so don’t do an emergency version now).  But if people feel like everything is tailored to win their attendance (too many comments, excessive announcements to that end, perceived manipulation or pressure in the preaching, etc.), well, how would you feel if you were visiting?

The next two Sundays are weighty ones for preachers.  Extra busy in church and for family (including our own).  Perhaps a strain on creativity when you’ve been preaching Christmas in the same church for years and feel the pressure of a limited number of passages and “angles” left to take.

But let’s not lose sight of the great opportunity here.  People don’t expect uniqueness.  In fact, if you are genuinely excited by the coming of Christ, gripped by the engaging Word of God, and effective in communicating both its meaning and relevance to all our lives today . . . then many people will be genuinely, and positively, surprised!

Truth Through Personality 6

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Personality Face2I have been blogging about the basic requirement that preachers should themselves evidence growing fruit of the Spirit in life and ministry.  It is a disaster when the truth of the gospel is undermined by a perceived lack of Christlike character in the preacher.

So we’ve gone through the fruit of the Spirit in pairs, but we skipped the first.  Or did we?  Perhaps the four pairs lay out what that first fruit looks like.

It shows in the joy that comes from resting in the goodness of God, and the peace of healthy ordered relationships with God and others.

It is patient in trusting God’s work in the lives of others who often need longer than we feel is necessary (just as we do too!), with a kindness that is giving for the good of those also still in process.

It has an inherent goodness that reflects the profound quality of God’s character, as well as the gentleness that is fitting for someone reflecting God’s manner of authority.

It has a faithfulness that speaks of both trusting and persisting for that which is good and right, while always retaining the appropriate self-control of a life lived in the desires of the Spirit rather than the impulses of the flesh.

We have had several interrupted nights in a row as a virus has worked through our family.  The loss of sleep does add a certain strain to daily life!  Under pressure, does the fruit of the Spirit show?  I’m sure I am not the only one who wishes it showed more.  But the solution isn’t to strain in my own effort to look good under pressure, the solution is to grow as one walking in step with the Spirit.  I hope that my preaching next week, next year, in twenty years time, will show a more Christlike personality than it does now.  I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Truth Through Personality 5

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Personality Face2The preacher preaches, and so the preacher matters.  A personality that doesn’t reflect the fruit of the Spirit, the character of Christ, is a personality undermining the truth being proclaimed.  So let’s finish the list…

Faithfulness – The issue with faith is always the object.  We can’t have faith in ourselves, our skills, our preparation, our training, our gifting, etc.  And we can’t place our faith in the audiences, whatever their size.  Our faith has to be in God.  This points back to patience, but it is more than that.  Not only do we keep pressing on over time, but we also need to demonstrate faithfulness in every circumstance.  We may be preaching to hundreds or thousands one day, and to a handful the next.  Our faithfulness should show in both situations.  We are trusting God and giving our best to the tiny gathering, and we are trusting God not the occasion with the larger gathering.

Faithfulness in preparation means we don’t offer shoddy sermons.  Faithfulness in accepting bookings means we follow through.  Faithfulness in delivery means we give ourselves fully, even if it does mean being wiped out at the end.

Self-Control – It is so easy to do damage with your words.  You can say too much, violate privacy, twist the truth, deceive, belittle others, etc.  And all before you pause for thought.  Self-control is a critical fruit of the Spirit for biblical preachers.  Keeping a tight rein on our tongues is so important.  I read somewhere about the ancient wisdom that the human tongue is like an arrow, not just a sword.  That is, if you unsheath your sword to kill your friend, he may plead with you, beg for mercy and you may return the sword to its sheath.  But once an arrow is shot, you simply cannot return it to the quiver, no matter how much you want to do so.

Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  The fruit of the Spirit.  Required for preachers.  But one is missing . . . tomorrow.

Truth Through Personality 4

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Personality Face2Preaching involves a preacher.  It isn’t simply about the message, it is also about the messenger.  And one thing that matters, perhaps more than almost anything else, is that the preacher be a living, breathing, genuine fruit of spirit kind of a Christian.

So far we’ve looked at joy, peace, patience, kindness. . . let’s probe a bit more:

Goodness – Surely there should be an inherent goodness in our speech that reflects well on the Christ whom we claim to represent?  We are surrounded in our culture, and by choice through the media, by all sorts of degraded, obscene and morally bankrupt speech.  If we don’t consciously think about it, we may naturally default to a level that others will find offensive.

I’m not talking about the “easily offended” Pharisees that prowl around some churches looking for anyone active in ministry whom they can devour.  I’m talking about other believers who have chosen to filter the filth that feeds their thoughts and therefore have a cleaner grid through which to hear.  Preaching shouldn’t be a place where a lack of goodness in what is said should ever hinder people from hearing God’s Word proclaimed.

Last week we considered inappropriate ways to grab the attention of listeners.  Any hint of a lack of goodness springing forth from our hearts in our speech may well achieve attention, but not a healthy kind of attention.

Gentleness – There are times when we must forcefully persuade, of course.  But this can be done without discarding this fruit of the character of Christ in our lives.  Paul spoke of the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” in 2Corinthians 10.  Peter spoke of being ready to give an answer for the hope, but don’t forget his follow-up comment that this should be done with both gentleness and respect.  Being too bombastic, too loud, too “in your face,” too confrontational, too abrupt, etc., simply doesn’t help anything.

There certainly have been some feisty characters in the history of the church.  Remember that the fruit of the spirit is not always recorded in the caricatures of selective church history.  Recognize that while some feistier folk have had great impact, history has not recorded the detrimental effect of the many more who left no positive legacy.

Next time we’ll wrap up the list, and perhaps answer the question why I missed one too . . .

Truth Through Personality 3

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Personality Face2This series is built on a simple thesis.  Since preaching involves the communication of biblical truth through the personality of the preacher, it is best if that personality reflect the reality of the fruit of the Spirit.  We’ve considered joy and peace, let’s push further into the list:

Patience – Biblical preaching requires patience.  Yet we live in a culture that thrives on hastiness.  The instantaneous nature of social media, for example, leads to some very disappointing tirades from people who would claim to be representing Jesus.  Solzhenitsyn told Harvard graduates that hastiness is a “psychic disease” of our era.  And lest we just cast stones at the culture around, how easily we get drawn into the same.  We want to see results and we want them now.  But you don’t grow an Oak in a few weeks, Balsa perhaps, but not Oak.

So we must beware of shortcuts.  We may be tempted to manipulate response and enforce compliance.  But this is not a Holy Spirit characteristic in our ministry.  Biblical preaching will yield moments of radical transformation, but these will come in the context of a very steady drip feeding process.  Let the Word shape people and shape a church, and before too long, the evidence will be there.  How long?  Probably a little longer than most of us would prefer.

We also need patience with individuals.  Just as a parent learns that children don’t get things first time, so we need to re-preach truth to the same people over time.  They, like us, will fail and fall short.  Thank God that His patience is so great toward us.

Kindness – Let’s start at a very basic level.  Public kindness begins at the level of civility.  Sadly we have to start there because there are not a few preachers who haven’t yet reached this level.  Building on basic civility, consider how your preaching is an act of kindness toward your listeners.  Do you have a giving heart in your preaching, or a grabbing one?  Are you all about serving them, communicating with them, connecting with them?  Or are you about impressing them, making them see you a certain way, etc.?

Kindness will show in choice of vocabulary, attitude and manner, etc.  As with each of these, we can fake it, but why would we need to?  Kindness should be a growing characteristic both in and out of the pulpit, in our attitude, in our action, and in our speech.

Truth Through Personality 2

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Personality Face2The preacher preaches a message.  The message matters.  So does the preacher.

There has to be a consistency and integrity between the preacher and the good news that is being proclaimed.  The preacher should, even in their demeanour and manner, evidence that the Spirit is at work in their life.  The fruit of the Spirit should, by definition, show.

Joy – A bond is created between listener and speaker when there is a sense that the speaker is enjoying what they are doing.  After all, the list of gifts piles up when we start talking about preaching.  The gift of the learning, the gift of the preaching skill, the gift of the listeners, the gift of the opportunity.  Many gifts should combine with real gratitude to manifest in an attitude marked by joy.

But the joy has to be genuine.  There is something hollow about comedians who act joyful, but everyone knows their private life is in turmoil and they are depressed.  Such an act, even if entertaining, is profoundly sad.  The preacher should not be faking joy.  Rather, there should be a joy in lovingly serving the listeners, and there should be a greater joy in walking with the Lord whom we preach.

Peace – The preaching of the Word should promote relational harmony, the kind of shalom we see all over the Bible.  The enemy would love to undermine this and apparently he has been somewhat successful – churches are known as battlegrounds, instead of places of genuine peace.  The church should not be a venue where people pretend to get along.  Rather, the preaching of the Word should promote the flourishing of genuine relationships.

The preacher’s attitude should convey this fruit of the Spirit.  Preaching is not a place to score points or land blows.  A warlike attitude should not characterize our preaching, no matter what may be going on in a church.  There are times when this will be challenging.  Perhaps only by praying through a situation thoroughly before preaching can we guard against our inner angst coming through.  Maybe that is in line with what Paul was urging in Galatians 5 – walk in step with the Spirit, otherwise we will gratify another set of desires.

If we come across as preachers gripped by a sombre and/or contentious spirit, something is going wrong.

Truth Through Personality

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Personality Face2Phillips Brooks’ was considered one of the great “princes of the pulpit” in the nineteenth century.  Perhaps his most lasting legacy were his Yale lectures on preaching in which he defined preaching as the “communication of truth through personality.”

Brooks was no pulpit performer.  He was a shy man who spoke rapidly, had a stiff delivery style and poor eye contact.  Yet he drew the crowds.  He was meticulous in his study of the biblical text.  He spoke conversationally and had a distinct sincerity and intensity, despite his evident shyness.  He cared about his listeners and developed relational bonds with them.

So he was no pulpit performer.  He wasn’t trying to sanctify his own style of preaching with a definition when in reality he simply wanted to affirm his own personality.  Rather, he was convinced that preaching is a communication act in which a person is involved.

I do wonder whether we all grasp this simple reality.  I am not saying that anyone needs to perform or be something they are not.  What I am saying is that if the personality of the preacher does not offer something of the gospel, then maybe they should reconsider their passion to preach.  That is, you can be shy or extraverted, humourous or serious, loud or quiet, demonstrative or reserved.  Be yourself, however…

However, none of these elements of a preacher’s style are what I am concerned with.  It is those preachers who preach as if only their declaration of truth matters.  They seem not to care if their manner is bombastic, or arrogant, or sarcastic, or sharp-edged, or ungracious, or dour, or harsh.  I believe we should all care.  These are not issues of personal style.  These are issues of personal character.  And if the gospel has not marked our character and personality, why are we stepping into the pulpit to preach the gospel to others?

This week I would like to probe some of these issues of character and personality.  I am not suggesting we perform, that would be bordering on deceitful.  I am suggesting that we have personal and personality integrity.  Where we don’t, we undermine the very message we claim to be called to declare.