Online Research and Sermon Prep

January 9, 2012January 9, 2012 / Peter Mead / 5 Comments

This week I’ve decided to post about the use of technology in sermon preparation. Searching for help with biblical study online can be hit and miss. For most people it is mostly miss since they don’t know where they are looking. Not every web-based resource is created equal.

Consequently people tend to end up looking at some blog from somebody pontificating without any credibility (not in every case, of course, but there are plenty of them out there). Or you end up with free resources that lean on public domain materials, which may be ok, but often are very outdated and not the best place to be spending your energy.

Here are some sites I don’t think you should miss, and they are free.

net.bible.org – The NET Bible is an excellent translation that I hope will continue to gain in popularity. I know some of the translators and have really enjoyed using this version in recent years. Now the new online study environment is one not to miss. The NET Bible, other versions too, as well as the excellent translators’ notes (explaining why they made the decisions they did with the text in a way that is accessible to non-original language scholars), plus Thomas Constable’s class notes (Bible exposition prof’s notes covering the whole Bible – while I might not agree with every detail, these are a solid resource that most people would have published years ago – I love it when people give away quality material!), plus numerous articles from experts like Dan Wallace (Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics, etc.) You need to check this out.

Other Bible sites – it is worth looking at Biblia.com (especially if you have a Logos account, sign in and access more resources, but even without there is some helpful stuff there). I’m sure the usual suspects will be mentioned in comments too.

www.biblicalstudies.org.uk – This resource is growing all the time. A friend of mine has been plugging away at this for years (I’d love to see more people catch the vision and support him so he can do this even more efficiently). There is a growing resource of pdf articles from theological journals and magazines on this site, as well as its sister sites related to theology and historical studies. Obviously journal articles are of different quality, but all have been published.

www.theologynetwork.org – This is a great site associated with UCCF which provides written, audio and video resources. Especially strong in areas of theology and historical theology, if you don’t have this site bookmarked you are missing out on a massive set of free resources.

There is so much online, but I’d suggest you get these three sites bookmarked and start there rather than simply googling the passage you are studying.

Saturday Short Thought: The Deeper Side of Confession

January 7, 2012January 6, 2012 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

This week I have shared some candid thoughts from the perspective of the preacher. But I haven’t gone into the whole arena of confessing sin as a preacher. Here’s a reality that won’t rock anyone’s world: preachers sin.

Trouble is, preaching carries with it a certain pressure to live up to a false reputation. People seem to expect sinlessness and preachers find it easier to preach from that alien platform.

Having said that, listeners do respond well to honesty from the preacher. I suppose we should call it “appropriate vulnerability.” And there’s the challenge – some vulnerability is helpful, appropriate, even at times, powerful (though that might not be the best motivation to pursue it in your preaching!) Equally, some vulnerability undermines the preaching event, distracts the listeners and can inadvertently excuse sin for others.

How do we know the difference? I think this is an arena where we need real and vulnerable conversation as well as vulnerable preaching. We need to be in conversation with others about the reality of our walk with Christ and our struggles in this world. Listing a week’s worth of battles with materialism, internal anger attacks, lust struggles, relational tensions, lapses into laziness, etc., almost certainly won’t help your sermon on Sunday. But it would almost certainly help your walk with Christ to walk in the light with a trusted friend or two.

Perhaps it is in those genuine rather than superficial, grace-giving rather than condemning, and loving rather than competitive friendships that we can determine what level of confession is appropriate by way of vulnerability?

I have been looking at Uzziah and Hezekiah – two godly leaders that seemed to lose it at the heart level later on in life. Perhaps age is a factor worth pursuing in all this as well. Younger folks have their struggles. Older ones are not safe.

I suppose this is still not the deepest side of confession, but I won’t venture into the realm of ministry disqualifying issues today.

I hope this week of posts have been helpful in some way. Let’s be praying for each other as we step into the pulpit tomorrow and preach the Word – what a privilege!

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Next Week: Technology and Sermon Preparation

A Starter for Ten?

January 6, 2012January 6, 2012 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

It’s great to have another guest post, this time from a Welshman in Italy. Huw Williams was in the Cor Deo programme in 2011 and every week Huw and I enjoyed great conversations about preaching as he pursued his mentored personal study in the area of homiletics. Since finishing Cor Deo, Huw and Alison have moved to Turin, Italy, where Huw is the pastor of the International Church (check out his blog here). Huw’s practical insight here is so on target for us all as we try to be clear and effective biblical preachers…

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Over the Christmas period, I found myself preparing three short talks, each of around ten minutes. As a newbie to the rhythms of the preaching calendar (I’m at the end of my first three months in full-time pastoral work) there were a few surprises in store for me. Here are a few reflections.

Firstly, I have learned that it’s difficult to speak for only ten minutes and say something. (I guess it’s relatively easy to speak for ten minutes and say nothing but I’m assuming none of us are interested in that particular art.) I was struck by how hard I had to work on my material to say something of substance, in (I hope) an engaging way and remain within the time limit. In my naiveté, I had reasoned along the lines of “well, I normally preach for around 30 minutes, so this should be a third of the preparation time.”

Won’t be making that mistake again.

In turn this caused me to reflect on my ‘regular’ preaching, by which I mean, those times when I am going for the 25-30 minute sermon. If I find it a challenge to distil and expound the message of a passage into ten minutes, then isn’t there a possibility that my longer sermons might just have a bit of unhelpful padding around them?

What I mean is this; I’m a pretty convinced exponent of the one-point sermon (which you can read about elsewhere on this blog) and as part of my weekly sermon preparation, I usually try and get to a one-sentence passage summary. I find it a great exercise, to try and condense all my text-observation study into a single summary sentence, which usually serves as my key preaching point.

But what happens next is perhaps the weak link in my preparation chain. Because it is at this point that I simply start writing. And writing. And writing. And what begins with a single sentence summary, often turns into – a few hours later – the realisation that my sermon is too long and unwieldy.

So here’s a thought. What if in my preparation, I moved from summary statement, to 10-minute sermon, and then to ‘full length’ sermon? What if my ‘ten-minute version’ was a halfway house in the preparation journey? Having reached this post, and if things have gone well, I have found a way of saying what I trust the text is saying, succinctly and briefly. Now the final stage in my journey – all those extra minutes – are all then put to the use of complementing the argument; further sharpening, further illustration, further application, all of the one main argument of the text.

I think I’ll try it. Perhaps I’ll let you know how I get on.

16 Confessions – Part 4

January 5, 2012January 2, 2012 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Inspired by a helpful post from Ron Edmondson sharing candid confessions of a church leader, I decided to offer a few from a specifically preaching point of view. I’m sure there is much more that could be added, but one thing that has come back to me via conversations around this theme is that preachers definitely need to have some genuine and vulnerable relationships, as listed at number 14 – safe places to be able to confess more than is being confessed here.

For now, let’s get up to the number 16 . . .

13. Most preachers will freely admit that we face the same temptations and seasons of spiritual dryness as everyone else. We need loving accountability and fellowship, but sometimes struggle to ask for it.

14. Most preachers are like everyone else and need some good close friends to be open with and mutually interdependent. Some preachers think they don’t need that kind of friend, but they do too. Actually many preachers feel lonely, both as preachers and as individuals.

15. Many preachers recognize that our spouse can have the toughest position in a church. They feel all the unresponsiveness to our ministry, and any critique of us, even more keenly than we do. And then they have all the dynamics of their own relationships too. Some churches do foster unrealistic expectations of spouses.

16. Many preachers love God and His Word and His people and the lost. Many preachers love the privilege of preparation, poring over His Word in need of God’s work in our hearts and looking to serve Him as He works in theirs; and the short-term roller-coaster of daring to dream and praying for life changing, even eternity changing moments where God breaks in; combined with the long-term adventure of seeing God at work in peoples’ lives as a process as well as a crisis. It is this privilege of participation in the greater work of God’s great church project that drives us on, stirs our hearts and keeps us pressing on, even in the midst of some pettiness or political brokering or perpetual politeness. Being involved in preaching ministry is a privilege, even when it isn’t always a pleasure.

16 Confessions – Part 3

January 4, 2012January 2, 2012 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Over the last couple of days I’ve shared a few confessions from a preacher, that I suspect are true of some or many other preachers too. Feel free to disagree or resonate, just a quick four today:

9. Most preachers, at least now and then, question our own abilities and suitability for pulpit ministry. Periodic genuine encouragement means more to us than we know how to show. If this can be combined with genuine interest in us as real Christians (rather than stained glass saints), this makes for a powerful combination.

10. Many of the preachers that I know are somewhat introverted and carry quips and jokey criticism both deep down and long term.

11. Most preachers don’t feel perfectly qualified as exemplars of perfect character, and our fear of letting others down can tempt us to be false with our own reputation.

12. Most preachers are wide open to vulnerable conversation with both the spiritually mature and the new believer. The people we might be inclined to fear are the spiritually immature that think they are mature, the people that can turn a community of love into a political battle zone.

At Least 16 Confessions of a Preacher – Part 2

January 3, 2012January 2, 2012 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Continuing with this list of preacher confessions (perhaps for non-preachers to benefit from, or perhaps for other preachers to resonate with, or perhaps to stir vulnerable discussion that can be somehow helpful to all):

5. Some preachers really do wrestle prayerfully with the Bible text until they come to some level of understanding that they are willing to share in a public forum. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions about the text, we have probably spent hours in it trying to make sense of all the details, and we probably have another 30-45 minutes’s worth of extra material that we had to cut out. We are wide open to conversation about the text and how God is revealing Himself in it. But to be honest, we may get inwardly frustrated if someone shuts down after ten minutes of listening and dismisses the message because it doesn’t tick some pet view they hold dear without any actual study of the text.

6. Following on from the previous one, most preachers are not looking for debates to win after they preach. If you are willing to have a real conversation about the text and the God who loves us, we will willingly interact without trying to crush your view or pull out a Greek trump card to end the discussion. If you only want to dismiss or correct us and aren’t open to actual conversation, we might be tempted to try to win.

7. Most preachers, most weeks, don’t finish the sermon with a deep sense of having hit the bullseye. Preachers tend to feel fragile after preaching and would often rather curl up on their own somewhere than share conversations ranging from heated debate to stony politeness.

8. All preachers will admit that we aren’t always on “top form.” This doesn’t mean we haven’t been preparing as we should, although it might. There are a whole host of possible reasons, so please don’t assume you know the reason.

I’ll add another four tomorrow . . .

At Least 16 Confessions of a Preacher

January 2, 2012January 1, 2012 / Peter Mead / 3 Comments

I saw a post recently containing confessions of a church leader by Ron Edmondson. I wondered if I could ride on the back of that and offer a few confessions of a preacher? Maybe these hit the mark, maybe not. Maybe you’ll add more, or maybe you’ll disagree that these should be here at all. Let’s see:

1. Preaching is a strange experience of being involved in a work that is really God’s work, somehow trying to honour His Word, and feed His people, and represent Him to unbelievers . . . all things that are His work, yet somehow He involves me, inadequate on all three counts.

2. Preaching is a consistently overwhelming experience. There is a sense of wonderful burden that comes from spending time in God’s Word and prayer for the church, coupled with the complicated reality of preaching to a gathering of people that are just as human as we preachers are. Sweet agony.

3. People have very strange views of preaching. Some people seem to think it is about ticking a list of random requirements that they hold us to, but don’t communicate with us (although they may be inclined to do so with others). Some people seem to think that our sermon is all they need for a week of living in a constant stream of anti-God media. Some people seem to think the only thing that matters is not going over their defined time limit, no matter how much everyone else is engaged and benefitting. Some people simply don’t seem to think about the preaching at all – like it’s a sort of strange vestige of ecclesial tradition, rather than something that might make a difference in their lives.

4. People have very strange view of the preacher. Some think that you’ve received the message on a mountain like Moses and so it must be unquestionable. Others think that the preacher is somehow not a real person and so likes to be critique fodder for the next two hours. Still others think the preacher is trying to entertain so they applaud the performance and head back into real life without any sense that there might be something actually for them to receive in a life-changing way.

I’ll add another four tomorrow, but feel free to chip in at any time via comments!

Review of 2011

December 31, 2011December 31, 2011 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again when everywhere on the web has a summary and review of the year now drawing to a close. Not wanting to miss out, voila! This has been a year of gentle innovation on the site, what with daily images (look up the site on a tablet if you get the chance), removal of ads, and recently with weekly themed series of posts. We recently had our first guest post, and continue to host a post every couple of weeks over on the Cor Deo site. Posts are now regularly being re-posted on SermonCentral.com and ChurchLeaders.com, and it was nice to see the site get a little award this year too (thanks for your comments on the site, which surely helped the site to win it’s category!)

I have also started using social networking a little to support the site, with the Biblical Preaching facebook page (click here to go there or just click “Like” in the box on the right), as well as the Biblical Preaching Network group on LinkedIn (click here to visit and please do join the group). Oh, and before I forget, tonight the door shuts on the opportunity to win two great preaching books in the Facebook promotion – if you haven’t entered yet, please do so quickly!

Innovations in 2012? I don’t know yet, feel free to make suggestions. So, to the stats! The top post of all time on the site has long been the 2007 post on the tricky little notion of Sermon Titles, but that has now been officially surpassed by Moving Toward Noteless from this past August.

As with last year’s review, it is hard to determine which posts were most popular since most people read the posts as they sit on the home page. So I will continue with the arbitrary measure of most comments (potentially meaning the worst post of the year could be deemed most popular!) Perhaps the most provocative posts of the year, then, are…

Notable mentions with five comments – Don’t strangle the gospel, but do wear the right strait jacket, preach on what you should, trust the Bible and look wider as you read a text.

Notable mentions with six comments – Part of the longest series of the year (7 posts on genre), this one on biblical history, plus posts on interaction, preaching in worship, and when children listen.

In sixth with seven comments – Famous names popping up here – Lloyd-Jones and impositional preaching, and CS Lewis on the KJV. One on sharpening the big idea, another on distraction and a dose of eternity. But what about sensitivity to non-Christian listeners, and integrity before listeners? And just recently the tension between preachers and listeners on ability to handle the Bible well!

In fifth with eight comments – A post on the aging preacher was matched by a recurring theme on this site: preach the text, not just from a text!

In fourth with nine comments – Touching on tricky topics a lot this year. For instance, the preacher and pride, dangerous false assumptions about which God we are preaching, and while it was a hot issue in the sports news, the danger of hinting at racism in our preaching. Lots of response to asking preachers what would help them improve. But the most response, another controversial one, the memorable outline myth (especially when you add in another five comments on part 1!)

In third with ten comments – How many ways can a preacher half-preach a text?

In joint first, with twelve comments – There it is again, moving toward noteless. And . . . a late surge on a post daring to challenge Robert Murray MCheyne on Bible reading plans!

So there it is, a review of 2011. Thanks for popping in and engaging the site from time to time. I really appreciate all the interaction on the amazing privilege of preaching God’s Word! (Before I finish, let me mention a septuplet of my favourites that slipped under the comment radar – it’s all about Christ, the war of the words, non-Christian preaching, passionless preaching, bring back ba’al, and reflections on John Stott and Christopher Hitchens.)

Saturday Short Thought: Let Man Not Separate Holy Spirit and Personal Accountability

December 31, 2011December 28, 2011 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

This week I have been thinking out loud about how we can fall into the trap of separating the Bible and aspects of preaching from the work of the Spirit. This is a dangerous divorce in ministry. I’ve thought about this in terms of Bible study and sermon preparation. I’ve pondered it in respect to sermon content and sermon delivery. One lingering thought remains…

There is a dangerous temptation for some to separate themselves from personal accountability by presenting things under the label of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe you’ve had one of those conversations with a lovestruck person who tries to hide from their responsibility by saying that God has told them to divorce their spouse and marry that other person’s spouse. Or maybe the single who has the exception clause that God has told them to marry that person who has no regard for the Lord (but suddenly has a tenuous Christian connection through ancestry or somehow is a seeker whose salvation can be guaranteed). It is so frustrating to pastor somebody hiding behind the shield of untouchability, because, after all, well, you wouldn’t want to argue with God, would you?

The same thing applies the other way around. Listeners can be frustrated by preachers who claim God told them what to preach on, but then the message bears no thumbprint of God’s deep and fresh work in the preacher or the preaching. Followers can grow weary of every decision a leader makes being the fruit of their personal heavenly hotline that therefore can never be questioned. Surely the fruit of the Spirit should lead to deeper relational connections, not to greater relational superficiality?

By all means be someone who prays and longs to hear from God. Be someone that only wants to do what the Spirit empowers. Be someone that has a close and real walk with the Lord. But don’t hide yourself from any personal responsibility by making that a shield behind which you hide.

As we move into 2012, let’s be preachers and leaders who walk very closely with the Lord, who saturate our ministry and lives in prayer, who yearn to know God more closely and please Him more profoundly. But let’s not protect ourselves from potentially legitimate correction, instruction, and accountability from others by inappropriately hiding behind a front of unquestionable spirituality.

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Next Week:

Confessions of a Preacher

Let Man Not Separate Holy Spirit and Sermon Delivery

December 30, 2011December 28, 2011 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Yesterday I urged the preacher to not abdicate the role of text explainer, or text applier, but rather to do both in full prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit. Apart from Christ we can do nothing, but we are not asked to do nothing. Now a third danger of illegitimate separation of Spirit and ministry in preaching, the issue of delivery:

3. The idea that any overt attempt at effective communication is somehow a slight on the Holy Spirit, who would much rather the preacher was completely ineffective so it could be “all of God.” Another strange one, and again, quite inconsistent. While it would be ridiculous to make the presentation all about the preacher’s ability to perform, leaving God out (and we’ve probably all sensed that now and then with some), surely it is equally ridiculous to try to abdicate our role as communicators.

The Holy Spirit is preeminently concerned with effective heart to heart communication (that is the ongoing ingredient in almost all His roles in Scripture, it seems). We don’t honour the Spirit by communicating as poorly as possible. Equally, we are inconsistent if we make any effort to be loud enough to be heard, or if we at least speak with coherent and distinct words – why bother at all? Just mumble quietly. No, in reality the Spirit is the One who is at work in peoples’ hearts and lives, yet for some reason He also works through us as we preach. Preacher, lean fully on God’s strength and pray continually for the Spirit to be at work, and communicate as effectively as you can, that’s part of your role.