I think we should beware of token gestures of triumphalism in our preaching.  I suppose we could go to the example of Michael in Jude in the Assumption of Moses moment, but I’m thinking slightly lower on the scale than the direct rebuking of Satan (although I have seen it done and don’t see the value of it).

Take, for instance, the direct rebuking of atheists.  This can sound especially bizarre when the pointed comments about particular individuals are made in a manner that surely would be different were the individual in the room.  I think the people in our churches need to be protected from the false teaching of atheists old and new.  Especially when the media seem to fawn at the sight of a new book from Richard Dawkins, et al.  But helping people see the problem with the teaching of a man is different than rebuking and attacking the man himself.  The same holds for the teaching of extreme liberals like the Jesus seminar or Bart Ehrmann or historically flamboyant writers like Dan Brown.  Help people see the error if appropriate, but don’t go celebrating the future demise of a man with fireworks or attacking him as if he is the devil.

Then there is another bizarre twist, when the preacher decides to attack Christians who are engaging with such folks.  Whether it be a John Lennox for debating the new atheists, or a Darrell Bock for writing about the Da Vinci Code, or whoever.  Somehow a small-minded preacher critiquing brothers who are serving the church by engaging and critiquing such works as The God Delusion or whatever, somehow it just seems a bit pathetic.  I have no aspiration to enter the mainstream debate scene or write to uncover the errors in new atheistic argumentation.  But I am thankful for those that do.  Different parts of the body of Christ at work for the good of us all.  If I, as a preacher, decide to ridicule or reject the efforts of men like Lennox and Bock, I don’t show a superior or even a biblical form of Christianity.  What I show is small-minded, uninformed and paper-thin Christianity.

We could think about other religions too.  Again, it is important for our people to be informed about the uniqueness of Christ and the dangers in the cults or religions vying for their attention.  Let’s do so accurately and graciously, rather than sounding off in the safety of our own company.

There’s one more category, but I won’t develop the thought.  Some preachers seem very quick to mock, critique, ridicule and put down other churches and denominations.  Again, there may be a place for gracious contrasting or critiquing, but cheap shots and token triumphalism somehow tends to undermine a person’s preaching, making them look small and sometimes quite silly.

It is simple really, people don’t like to be patronized.  So don’t.  That is, if you want them to hear what else you are saying, assuming the patronizing comment is not the main idea of your message, don’t do it.  It is like speaking to your spouse for ten minutes and throwing in a couple of insults along the way – what do you think they will go away thinking about?

I’m sure we all know what it is to be patronized, but let me share some patronizing comments that I’ve heard from the pulpit in recent years (just to be sure we are all alert to the range available to us if we want to undermine a sermon or two!)

Patronizing the locale – “So this is the little town of…”  Maybe it is “little” from the visiting speaker’s perspective, but most locals don’t like outsiders telling them where they live is insignificant.  Call it pride if you will, but don’t expect such a warm hearing.

Patronizing the church – “I come from a church of X hundred, but it’s so nice to be in an intimate gathering like this…”  It’s like being a tourist.  Comment positively as much as you like, but not in implied comparison with the bigger and better that you have come from.

Patronizing the knowledge – “Have you ever considered the difference the next word makes to this passage?”  Unless you are claiming to have come up with something new, some of them probably have considered that.  (And if you’ve got something new, you may have a different problem on your hands!)  Along similar lines, “turn to X in your Bibles, you’ll need to use the table of contents to find!”

Patronizing the experience – “You may not have seen this before…”  This is similar to the previous comment, it implies that you are a first time guide (which generally grates on those seasoned travellers through the Bible).  Bizarrely I heard one preacher say, “If you read through John’s Gospel every week for twenty years, you would see this…”  I don’t know if that is patronizing or just plain deceptive – I struggle to believe the implication that since he had done that he could now show us this wonderful insight in the text (it was a fanciful, or should I say, a theologically driven twisting of the text on that occasion!)

The strange thing about patronizing is that it tends to be in the form of passing comments, rather than overall content.  This isn’t a hard and fast statement.  Surely some preachers may come across as patronizing in everything they say, but I suspect that is primarily attitude.  The point is, people don’t mind hearing basic messages.  The way to avoid patronizing is not to wow the listener with new insight, clever exegesis or overwhelming passion.  The way to avoid patronizing is to speak with love for the listener.  When we are sensitive to how we come across, then we will filter out the unhelpful quips along the way.