How to Preach Less Than Christian – Part 4

September 26, 2013September 24, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Preacher, Bible, sermon, sorted. Christian preaching. Perhaps. In this series I have been nudging us to consider whether our preaching is genuinely and fully Christian. We have considered issues of which God we preach, what it means to be made in His image, the full extent and nature of sin, and let’s finish with one more area of focus – God’s solution to the sin problem.

4. Fail to recognize the relational and transformative nature of God’s grace.

Grace is a tricky word. To read of sin and grace was standard fare in the past, but today there is often a push back against the notion of grace. I think this comes from a misrepresentation of God’s grace that goes soft on sin in some circles. This is so unfortunate. Grace is not just a reference to God’s goodness toward us in all the biblical dimensions, it is also used as a theological label to stand for God’s provision to overcome the sin problem. Here are a couple of thoughts on the solution to our sin problem:

A. God’s solution to our problem fully addresses our problem. We are sinners who stand condemned legally. Grace has to take care of that, and it does as we are justified and not under condemnation, it is by grace we are saved. And we are also sinners relationally – our hearts are dead toward God and we lack God’s Spirit as we are separated from the life of God. God’s solution to our sin problem is not merely to offer legal status change, wonderful and foundational as that is, He also transforms the heart and gives the Spirit (regeneration and reconciliation as well as justification!)

B. God’s solution to our problem results in genuine life change. When people focus only on the legal change brought about by God’s grace in justification, there is a tendency to fear the potential for that grace being abused. With good reason! If salvation were only status change, but no heart transformation, then the flesh would still rule in every situation. But the gospel brings change to the very motives and values of the heart. If people are inclined to abuse grace, the solution is not balancing grace with some sort of burden and coercion, but to do a better job of presenting grace in all its fullness (and clarifying that grace does not equate to nice-ness or lax-ness – God’s love and grace are written in the crimson red of Jesus’ blood).

C. God’s solution to our problem is not merely the plan for initiating the Christian life. Grace upon grace. By faith from first to last. Gaze fixed on Jesus. The Christian life is not about turning our focus back onto our own efforts, but about growing in our love for and response to the God who loved us first.

Preaching the gospel is a wonderful privilege. Let’s be sure to preach it both simply, and in all its fullness, with relevance to both the lost and to believers.

How to Preach Less than Christian – Part 1

September 10, 2013 / Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Christian preaching is easily recognisable – you need a preacher with a Bible in a church. But what about less than Christian preaching? Can you have a preacher with a Bible in a church, but actually have something less than, something sub-gospel? Absolutely. Here are some warning signs:

1. Fail to identify the “God” being referenced.

In the West we have grown complacent with the term “god.” Perhaps due to a strong Christian heritage, or perhaps due to a lack of awareness of our Bibles, we can easily fall into an assumption that people know who we mean when we use the term. Consequently there is a generic set of truths that are assumed to be true about God before the biblical content is added on top for a fuller, richer presentation. This is nothing new, it has been happening for centuries at the highest level of theological scholarship as well as in the pulpit.

But in the Bible, which God is being referenced tends to be carefully clarified. Elijah was not satisfied that the false prophets on Mt Carmel also believed in a single powerful god figure. Paul on Mars Hill was not prepared to start from where the philosopher-theologians had already arrived in their conceptions of a single divine being.

Perhaps one of the following should be underlined when referencing God in preaching:

A. The Person(s) of the Trinity. Perhaps it is appropriate to clarify who is being referenced in the passage. For instance, in the New Testament, the label “God” typically will refer to God the Father, although there are places where the whole Trinity is in view, or even God the Son. Why not be sure to identify the persons of the Trinity in order to help clarify that the text is speaking of the Father-Son-Spirit God rather than some sort of generic OmniBeing (as I’ve heard Glen Scrivener label this alternative approach).

B. The Character of God. Another way to identify and distinguish the true God from all false gods is to make reference to His character. This was Paul’s approach when preaching to pagans in Lystra and pagan-philosophers in Athens – he described God’s character as the life-giving, generous, patient, kind God who providentially works in circumstance and in the sending of His Son so that people will seek for Him and find Him as they turn from the worthless fashioning of gods in their own image (and this invitation has a terminus). Within the context of the passage being preached, there will be something that can be offered to distinguish the God who is revealed there from the gods who need little revelation since we come up with them without any trouble on our own!

Next time we’ll pursue another less than Christian approach to preaching.

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 46-50

August 29, 2013August 26, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Here we are, the final five of the big summer fifty.

46. Read some descriptive writing. If all you ever read is biblical commentary and theological textbooks, it will show in your preaching. Find someone who can write effectively and spend some time with them. We need to be able to paint pictures with our words, not just offer precise abstractions.

47. Pray about improving your preaching. I too easily treat this as a given, so I’ll mention it again. If you are a preacher, you should be praying. Apart from me you can do nothing. So why not pray specifically for God to show you areas to improve and to help make those improvements happen?

48. Nail a landing. I’m always impressed when a preacher knows where he is going, gets there, and stops effectively the first time around. Why not make that the goal next time you preach? Even if you don’t write the whole sermon, at least write out the last couple of paragraphs and then nail it!

49. Schedule a break. Summer is coming to an end and it is probably all systems go, but why not plan now for a break? Find a couple of Sundays and book them off. Make an appointment with a B&B or with a church visit somewhere else and just go sit. If you always give out, you will not be serving your congregation well.

50. Prioritize a prayer list of preaching concerns. Just to reinforce the earlier point, maybe it is time to make an actual list of preaching prayer points. Maybe you track illustrations, maybe you have a preaching schedule. But why not have a page of specific prayer points related to your preaching – include matters of preparation, of delivery, of growth, of longed for goals, etc.

Thanks for thinking through these. Have any stood out as new? Helpful? Relevant to you?

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 36-40

August 27, 2013August 26, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Another five tweaks to add to the 35 we’ve covered so far:

36. Preach a whole book in one. If you have never done this before, maybe it is time to try. Instead of preaching slice by slice through a book, give people the whole thing in one. Obviously Philemon is fairly easy, but why not try Mark or Romans, or even a major Prophet? Don’t just preach the study Bible introductory outline, that is dull. Grasp the book for yourself and offer it as a coherent and relevant whole.

37. Preach a tiny text in context. This is the opposite extreme. Grab hold of a tiny text and pull on it to see the whole of its context come into play. Perhaps “God so loved” or “I am the way” or “Before Abraham was born, I am” or something more unfamiliar. People may be able to walk away with a little truth drilled deep into their souls, with all the meaning and significance it actually has in its context.

38. Up the eye contact. Whatever you can do to increase eye contact, do it. Less notes. No notes. Overcome the habit of looking over people, or picking two points and “watching tennis” as you preach. Make meaningful eye contact for several seconds before moving on. Don’t flit and don’t stare, but do make the kind of connection that friendly relationship is made of.

39. Prepare your people for a future evangelistic message. If you are preaching an especially evangelistic message in the coming weeks, don’t just tell folks to bring people. Instead, tell them what you will be doing, how it will come across, how you will conclude. Allow your people to make an informed decision over whether or not to risk their relationship by bringing their friend to that particular event.

40. Evaluate your visuals. What people see communicates massively. Evaluate your expressions, your gestures, your posture, your attire. Also give some thought to your powerpoint – is it clear, is it helpful, is it necessary, is it clip-arty, is it grainy, is it coherent, is it exhaustive, is it distracting, is it turning the message into an information download? Good visuals make a huge difference, both you and your projected presentation. Never offer any visual without thinking it through first.

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 31-35

August 26, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Here are another five suggestions to consider . . . September is almost here!

31. Add a Bible tip or two. When you preach, don’t just explain the text and make its relevance clear, take the opportunity to equip your listeners to handle the Bible for themselves. Don’t turn your message into a lecture, but reinforce the importance of understanding a text in context, the need to make sense of it “back then” before applying it to today, etc.

32. Express expectation and encouragement. It is easy to turn application of the Bible into pressure and burden. Mix in a bit of negativity and the hoped for life impact is quickly undermined. Take the temperature of your application and conclusion – see if it can be increased. Encourage and expect . . . perhaps it will help.

33. Learn the local lingo. It is possible to speak a generic form of English and get by in England, America, Australia, South Africa, etc. It is also possible to learn the local dialect and fit in so much better. Maybe the same is true in the Bible. Instead of just speaking Biblish, why not speak the Johannine dialect when preaching John, or Lukan when preaching Luke?

34. Simplify the message. When we plan messages on paper we can easily make them more complicated than necessary. Try making the structure and shape of the message as simple as possible. This is not about dumbing it down, it is about helping listeners be able to follow, no matter how deep or weighty the content might be.

35. Map the message. In fact, instead of outlining the message as you would an essay for college, try mapping it as you would a journey. Where will we go first, and then, then after that? I often end up with a sermon map on the whiteboard, rather than an outline. Some people like to tie the landmarks to physical landmarks in the church space. Somehow the sense of movement and progression becomes stronger with this approach.

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 26-30

August 23, 2013August 15, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Five more suggestions that may or may not be helpful as you ponder moving your preaching to the next level:

26. Go on an illustration hunt for a week. Take a week when you are not preaching, carry a notebook and try to fill it with material for messages. It could be traditional anecdotes, quotes, etc., but also look for normal life observations that people will resonate with . . . an illustration does not need to sound like it comes from an anthology of illustrations (please).

27. Evaluate a masterful communicator. Pick someone you think is a great communicator and watch them as if they are preaching in your classroom. What are they doing well? Why does it work? What can you learn? Perhaps take a traditional and a contemporary communicator, maybe even one from another culture . . . watch and learn.

28. Preach through a prayerful rehearsal. If you think it is unspiritual to run through a message out loud, perhaps the time has come. Pray, and go for it. Some things will only become evident when you hear them with your own ears! If you can preach where you will preach, all the better!

29. Pray for the people in their places. You know where certain people sit. Pray for them and the effect of the forthcoming ministry on their hearts and lives. It will help them, and it will help your preaching to invest in them in this way. Bless the church is a bit more vague than any prayer you will find in the Bible! Take a deep gulp of Colossians 1:9ff and then pray for people in your church.

30. Preach a grain instead of a slice. We can get very stuck in the pattern of preaching a chunk of text. Consider preaching a grain instead – that is, a theme as it develops through a book or section. You could even do this beyond the borders of a book and give a biblical theology of something. Don’t over reach, but variation can be so healthy for listeners as well as preachers!

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 11-15

August 19, 2013August 15, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Continuing my random assortment of preaching tweaks to consider before the next year of preaching:

11. Watch yourself on video. If you have never done this, maybe now is the time. It does not need to be Hollywood quality filming, but I guarantee you will learn a lot when you watch yourself preach. There really is no alternative that will achieve the same value.

12. Go somewhere different in the Bible. Are you an epistles preacher? Always in the gospels? Push the boat out and try wisdom literature or a minor prophet. Try a Psalm that isn’t an obvious one sitting up ready to be preached. Pick a book you have never preached from. You will enjoy, others will be helped, and you will grow as a result.

13. Avoid the moral finish. And so the moral of the story is . . . don’t finish messages this way! Wrestle with and recognize the insidious danger of moralism in preaching. It is the most tempting option to get the most affirmation and feel most Christian in your ministry. But moralism is not the gospel. Moralism is not what we are called to bring to society, or to the community of believers. Try finishing a message with a warm invitation to respond to the Christ offered in Scriptures (and watch the moral fruit!)

14. Add vocal variety. Watch a great communicator and you will see more pauses, more pace variation, more pitch range, more volume extent. Listen to yourself and see where your voice freezes into a certain zone. Vary there.

15. Prune that distracting mannerism. Most people have slightly distracting mannerisms. That includes you. Ask or watch until you discover it. Shoot it. Preach without it. It will just be better that way.

50 Summer Preaching Tweaks: 6-10

August 16, 2013August 15, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Continuing my random assortment of preaching tweaks to consider before the next season of preaching begins:

6. Target relevance in your introduction. Try to plan an introduction that demonstrates the relevance of the preacher, the message and the text. How can you make sure, in those first two or three minutes, that people lean forward because they know you are not out of touch with them, the message will make a difference to them, and the text is going to be on target?

7. Call on the REF as you conclude. When you come to your next conclusion, call on the ref for a simple and effective wrap-up. R stands for review – take a moment to survey where you have come together in the message. E stands for encourage – end with an encouragement rather than critique or guilt. F stands for finish – land the plane first time, don’t keep circling, and saying a bit more, and continuing on, and reinforcing your earlier points, and adding new materials, and . . . ok, enough.

8. Slow down through the curves. Specifically evaluate the transitions to make sure they are not too sudden or brief. Make sure your listeners can come with you and not suddenly wake up and wonder where they are!

9. Read a preaching book. If you haven’t read a book to help you as a preacher lately, make the investment. If you click on “Review” in the right hand column, you’ll find a selection on here, or ask your friends for a recommendation on facebook. Books to help you preach better are typically not tomes, but usually beneficial.

10. Get some helpful feedback. Ask certain people for certain feedback. Ask about your content. Ask about your personal warmth. Ask about your delivery and mannerisms and gestures and so on. Make sure they know they can be honest. You will improve as a result. Practice makes permanent, but evaluated practice makes for improvement!

Preaching Myths #8 – Delivery Equals Circus

August 10, 2013August 5, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

How about a pair of myths?

“As long as the content of a sermon is true, that is good preaching.”

“Delivery doesn’t matter, the church is not a circus.”

According to the dictionary a circus is “a frenetic disorganized disturbance” or “a performance given by a travelling company of clowns and animals.” I should probably leave that alone and affirm the notion that the church is not supposed to be a circus.

However, to reject any effort regarding the delivery of preaching because that may turn into a performance of entertainment is like refusing to exercise in case you turn into Mr Olympia.

Preaching is not about performance, and neither is it about a set of words. It is about communication. This is crucial to grasp. The prophets, Jesus, the apostles – they were effective communicators! Good communication is always concerned with what the recipient hears and understands.

Take a solid biblical sermon and preach it without any thought as to the delivery, what might be understood?

1. This is not important. Why? Because the preacher’s body language, posture and energy levels indicate a lack of conviction.

2. This is not relevant. Why? Because the preacher’s dress sense and lack of eye contact made the message feel distant and aloof.

3. This is not true. Why? Because the preacher never looks at us and is decidedly shifty in mannerisms.

4. This is not good news. Why? Because the preacher never smiles and gives off an aggressive I-don’t-like-you vibe.

5. This is not comprehensible. Why? Because the preacher gives no thought to annunciation, and the delivery is not engaging, so the bored listeners perceive the message to make no sense.

Delivery can never substitute for content, but bad delivery will always sabotage good content.

If preaching were just the content, we could mail a manuscript and save time from our Sunday mornings. Preaching is content appropriately clad in the clothing of relationship, communication and connection.

Preaching Myths #5 – Short Talk Required

August 7, 2013August 5, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

People still like to wheel this one out:

“The current generation cannot concentrate as long as in the past, so reaching this generation requires shorter talks.”

Uh, no. There is no evidence to support this. People always like to cite the rapid-fire nature of contemporary TV, or they buy into the increasingly high-paced and frantic presentation at some youth events. But what about other evidence? Films are longer than ever – gone, it seems, are the days of 80 minute action films. And of course, preachers popular with the younger generation are all only giving 12 minute mini-talks, right? I listen to a lot of 40 minute messages, and then there’s the folks attracting the younger generation with their 60 minute messages!

The evidence is not all stacked up in favour of bite-size preaching.

1. People could never concentrate for 30, 40 or 60 minutes years ago. People have always been gripped and regripped by good preachers every few minutes. People have always been bored to tears by dull and unengaging preachers. 10 minutes is far too long to tolerate some preachers, others can hold attention for an hour.

2. Gripping content and effective delivery, combined with engaging persona and prayer-prepared people will add up to concentration. Notice that it isn’t delivery alone. Great content poorly delivered will always be an open invitation to mental drift. But poor content delivered well will still lose you.

3. Concentration is not optional. As a preacher you either keep people with you or go learn how to do it. Preaching to drifted minds and distracted hearts is not acceptable. Get their attention and keep it. If they aren’t listening, and you are ok with that, what are you doing? Please don’t preach just to fulfill some sense of obligation, or worse, for the money . . . preach to connect and communicate!

Whether you preach for 15 or 60 minutes next time, make sure it is appropriate to the occasion and the listeners, and then do everything you can to avoid the charge of going on too long – that is, make it so good that folks leave pondering the punch of the message, not the pain of its protraction.