How to . . . ?

Vast Trouble

/ Peter Mead / 4 Comments

Permit me to persist in quoting from James Stewart’s, Heralds of God, although only briefly this time (p190):

“Preaching,” inquires Bishop Quayle, “is the art of making a sermon and delivering it?” – and he answers his own question: “Why, no, that is not preaching.  Preaching is the art of making a preacher and delivering that.  It is no trouble to preach, but a vast trouble to construct a preacher.”

I suspect this is a tension every homiletics instructor feels deeply.  It is possible to instruct the method of passage exegesis, sermon formation and effective delivery.  But what does it take to form a preacher?  Surely that is a lifetime work of God Himself.  A couple of comments to ponder:

Are you a preacher, or do you just preach? That is to say, does your life live up to the ministry you give from the pulpit?  Are you continuing to grow, to be shaped, to pursue maturity while resting in God’s work to shape you into the image of His Son?  Have you been so committed to studying preaching and ministry and hermeneutics and theology, but lost direction in your personal spirituality?

Are you pouring into the lives of other potential preachers, even long before they ever preach? Again I raise the issue of mentoring.  How can we claim to be involved in biblical ministry if we do not actively pursue opportunity to mentor others?  A preacher is not made in the course of a training course, although I affirm the value of good training as a good steward seeking to fan into flame the opportunity and gifting God has given.  A preacher is made in the course of a lifetime.  Let’s look with a long-term, strategic view . . . how can we invest ourselves into others?  It’s not ultimately about skill formation, but character formation, spiritual formation, life.

Let me encourage all of us to look for ways to help others develop in the necessary skills required for preaching.  But let’s also look with a greater goal, for ways to help shape the lives of those who can then minister (in whatever form) to others.  This is the vaster trouble, but surely the greater goal.

Demand

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

I’ve really been encouraged by reading James Stewart’s classic book, Heralds of God, again.  Here’s a quote that might be relevant before tomorrow’s message:

If you are wise, you will not in your preaching mask or minimize the overwhelming, absolute nature of Christ’s demand.  Men are ready for a Leader who will unhesitatingly claim the last ounce of His followers’ courage and fidelity.  Field-Marshal Wavell has told, in his notable lectures entitled Generals and Generalship, the story of how Napoleon, when an artillery officer at the siege of Toulon, built a battery in such an exposed position that he was told he would never find men to man it.  But Napoleon had a sure instinct for what was required.  He put up a placard – “The battery of men without fear”: and it was always manned.  This is no time to be offering a reduced, milk-and-water religion.  Far too often the world has been presented with a mild and undemanding half-Christianity.  The Gospel has been emasculated long enough.  Preach Christ today in the total challenge of His high, imperious claim.  Some will be scared, and some offended: but some, and they the most worth winning, will kneel in homage at His feet.

In the 63 years since this was published it is not just the length of sentence and complexity of punctuation that has changed.  I suppose it is almost impossible to write something like that today without being vilified from various sides.  Still, does he not have a point here?  From one side we hear that Christian preaching is too full of male dominated illustrations.  From the other side we hear that church is lacking in anything to attract men.  But actually, the calling on a life implicit in the gospel and biblical teaching is not a male versus female issue.  It is a captivated passionate pursuit of God versus a comfortably self-obsessed issue.  Whatever the terminology, let’s not preach a milk-and-water religion.

Generic Sermons

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Is it possible to have a generic sermon?  That is, a sermon that is applicable to all people, to any church?  A sermon that is essentially lacking in specific character?  A sermon that is essentially untargeted?  The question should not be, is it possible, but rather, is it beneficial?

A sermon that is generically targeted toward all Christians, or all possible audiences, does have some advantages.  It allows for repetition in multiple settings without consideration of the listeners this time.  It allows for a pastor to reuse a set of sermons from an old church in the new church.  It allows for time to be freed up from preparation for other exciting ministry pursuits.

However…and it’s a big however…generic preaching is essentially guaranteed to be inadequate preaching, incomplete preaching.  A generic sermon is in some ways a disabled sermon.  Why?  Because a genuine biblical sermon is not only made up of biblical truth presented through the words and life of a preacher.  It is also targeted at a specific group of listeners both in delivery and prayerful preparation.  A generic sermon may be complete in respect to the Bible element and the preacher element, but it will be lacking or completely shrivelled in respect to the listener element and the Holy Spirit element.

Next time you’re tempted to preach a generic, untargeted, audience non-specific, sermon . . . don’t.  That doesn’t mean you can’t preach that sermon again.  It does mean that we need to put in the time in prayerful consideration of the particular listeners in order to make sure the sermon is not generic, but is targeted.

Generic may be possible, and in certain circumstances maybe even permissible, but it is not beneficial.  If real estate is location, location, location . . . then for this post at least, preaching is target, target, target.

Tool of Inestimable Value

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There’s a tool in preparation that should not be overlooked.  Of course there are many aspects of preparation that matter, not least the preparation of the life of the preacher, plus the various aspects of Bible study skills, pastoral awareness and involvement, etc.  But there is one tool that many preachers neglect far too much.

Most of us were trained to prepare our messages on paper – study notes, outlines, manuscripts, preaching notes, etc.  All of this is good, but don’t miss the obvious.  The goal in preaching is not to write a good outline, or write a good manuscript.  The goal is to speak a message.  So don’t neglect the value of talking through the message.

There is nothing unspiritual about good preparation.  But there is something very sensible about it.  When you speak through a message you will find that some parts don’t flow as they seemed to on paper.  You’ll find that some transitions are clunky, while others are practically absent to the half-listening ear.  You’ll find that some sentences are too long, some thoughts are too convoluted, some thought processes are unclear.  Every negative discovered in pre-preaching speaking is a good thing for you can strengthen your message.

But then there’ll be positives too.  A different way of stating a key point, or phrasing a transition, or even a helpful image or support material that comes to mind as you are listening to yourself speak through the message.  Speaking through a message is a great way to break a log jam.  Recently I was wrestling with a passage, or actually, with a message.  I understood the passage to a certain extent, but was struggling to form the message in any way other than straight information (i.e. tedious sermon alert!)  I decided to preach it through, and in doing so was able to reformulate the main idea to be more engaging and memorable.  I also came up with another illustrative image that conveyed the sense of the passage much better than what I’d written in my outline.

It may sound simple, but sometimes the best thing you can do is leave your desk and preach through the message as it stands.  It will usually improve your message and motivate you to press on in your preparation.  Simple?  Yes.  But definitely a tool of inestimable value.

Application Weak Spots

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Last week I was teaching preaching alongside another instructor in a preacher’s training conference.  At different times we both pointed to three levels of application, and we both pointed out a weak spot . . . but the two sets of categories were very different.  I suppose this should be two posts really, but here are the lists of three:

Targets of Application – Mark Meynell offered three levels of application.  The first, and the one we tend to be best at, is at the level of private application (for instance, our personal spirituality, ethics, devotional life, etc.).  The second level is the relational (for instance, relationships in the home, the workplace, the church, etc.) and he stated that we tend to do okay on this level.  The third level, however, is the weakest.  This is application at the social level (engaging with the world).

Personal Targets of Application – I offered the following three categories of application, again noting that one is usually considerably weaker than the other two.  The first level is the level of conduct, or “the hands” – that is, application in terms of what to do.  The second level is the level of belief, or “the head” – that is, application in terms of what to know/believe.  Depending on the preacher, one of these is usually stronger than the other.  Some seem very quick to present practical applications (often forgetting the inherent value of “belief” application), others tend to emphasize applications in respect to belief.  Both are necessary and often appropriate (depending on the passage and the listeners).  There is a third category that lies underneath both of the first two, but one which is often ignored.  The third level is the level of the affections or “the heart” – that is, application in terms of core values, love and spiritual relationship.  If people do, based on what they know, then there is still another step deeper into the functioning of humanity – to the level of the affections, values, desires, loves.  Consider Ephesians 4:17ff to see how Paul moves deeper than conduct to knowledge, then deeper again to the role of the heart.

Application is not easy.  Two different sets of categories, both pointing to an area of specific weakness.  How can we better apply in respect to engaging with the world?  How can we better apply in respect to the affections of the listener?

Clusters and Journeys

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Influencers are leaders.  So preachers are leaders.  But how much do we lead in our preaching?  Take the issue of preaching calendars, for example.  At one extreme we have churches that have no calendar planned, or only preachers planned (but no subjects/texts).  I suppose the ultimate example might be  church that relies fully on visiting speakers who all choose their own message for each service.  At the other extreme we have churches who carefully map out the entire year of preaching, so that you can know now what text will be preached the second Sunday of next October.

Some would hold that only the Holy Spirit should lead the church, and thus the random outside preacher approach is fine since God can work through whoever is preaching.  I suppose we could all agree to that in principle, but at the same time, I want to graciously ask a question of that approach.  Is there not the risk of simply presenting biblical truths without any sense of deliberately leading the church forward on its journey?  How much opportunity is missed by “simply preaching” without really tapping into the broader reality of the growth of the local church?

Now for those who have a well-planned preaching calendar.  Is it merely constructed by the gathering of series in some attempt to give a balanced diet?  That’s a good start, but again, are we failing to lead as well as the opportunity affords?  Do we fall into preaching collections of random messages strung together by the unity of a Bible book, or a series title, but fail to prayerfully plot the journey of the church?  Or are we plotting a journey 16 months in advance and failing to take stock of where we actually have travelled several months into the year?

One further thought.  Do we rely on one-hit messages to achieve change when really we would be far better with a cluster of messages approach? One-hit messages can be stand alone, or they can be a series that moves from one thing to the next, without the clustering power intended by a series.

Wherever our church sits on the scale of pre-planned preaching schedules, all of us are in danger of missing out on the opportunity to really lead the church as we preach.  Let’s prayerfully consider how God would have us carry the burden of leadership, every time we plan a preaching schedule, and every time we preach.

The Heart of Who We Are and What We Do

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Spiritual formation is the heart of who we are and what we do.  We spend our time helping people allow God into their lives to form their spirits.  We encourage others to make space for God.  Yet we so often fail to heed our own advice.

These are the words of Chuck Sackett, reflecting on re-entering pastoral ministry after a quarter of a century teaching in a seminary.  Allow me to quote further from his article on preaching and pastoral ministry, the lines leading up to the above quote:

For approximately fifteen years I met with a small group of professors for spiritual formation.  We studied together, prayer together, laughed and cried together, celebrated and commiserated.  To this band of brothers I owe my spiritual sanity.

Spiritual formation takes time and discipline.  Spending time with God requires. . . spending time.

Ministry concerns; sermon preparation and marriage counseling; vision development and staff relatonships all command your time and attention.  A segment of your day given to Scripture, prayer, meditation, journaling, solitude, silence (you name the discipline) is a luxury you feel you can ill afford . . . so you move on from the important to the urgent.  And in the meantime your soul withers and dies.

So we come back to the initial quote – spiritual formation is the heart of who we are and what we do.  But do we take our own advice?

A Rather Poignant Visual

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Apparently we live in an age where people need the visual.  The visual is not only on our televisions in the evening, but on the screen in front of us all day at the office, and now on the screen in our hands as we commute in the train.  We are bombarded by the visual everywhere we look.  Apparently this is so patently obvious that self-appointed experts in “people today” are always quick to point out that people need something visual during the sermon too.  After all, something that is only heard has little to no chance of being remembered, according to the same experts.

Consequently it is equally obvious, to these experts, that the only way for preaching to succeed today is by use of powerpoint.  I suppose we could express deep appreciation that God has blessed us to live in the only generation with such capability!  In reality, people have always valued the visual, in every culture, in every age.  So was it unfair to only allow the invention of powerpoint in these last days?

I don’t intend to negate the value of powerpoint or similar software here.  I would graciously point out that in the business world, in education and apparently, even in the military, there has been a pulling back from powerpoint in recent years (especially in the final third of presentations where there is nothing like face-to-face communication for the final thrust and appeal).  Powerpoint can be used well in preaching, I believe that, even if I haven’t often seen it.  Rather than unthinking commitment to powerpoint, I would urge us to ponder David Larsen’s warning over triangulation in communication.  Technology is not bad, but it can so easily move sermon-time into circus-time and show-time on the one hand, or into over-intellectualization and de-emotionalization on the other.

Believe it or not, this is not a post about powerpoint.  It’s a post about the visual.  Preaching has always been a visual as well as audible communication form.  Two important ways spring to mind:

1. As we preach the Word, images form. Good preaches paints pictures in the heart of the listener.  They hear what we say and they see what we mean.  Better, they hear what God says and see what He means.  They enter into the narratives, they see the truths, they see themselves living out the reality preached.  Good preaching is full of images, irrespective of our use of powerpoint.

2. As we preach the Word, they see us. This is nothing to get excited about in a vain sense, but it is powerful.  Far more powerful than any clip art or projected photo.  Despite well-intentioned prayers before sermons, listeners do see the preacher, and that is part of God’s design.  Truth through personality.  God’s message through His messenger.  We communicate with our words and tone, but also through our body language, gesture, expression.  We communicate with our words, but also with our lives.  We are, as David Larsen put it, a rather poignant visual.

Lone Ranger Preacher?

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Apart from all the spiritual dangers inherent in journeying alone in ministry, there are implications for preaching too.  As preachers most of us naturally fall into a lone ranger approach to sermon preparation.  The time constraints in ministry, the tendencies of personal temperament (many preachers are introverts, it seems), and often the background of training and observed behavior all push us into a solo approach to sermon preparation.  While some things must be done on our own in prayerful solitude with the Lord, we should proactively engage with others too.  Alternative perspectives strengthen preaching on every level.

While it is still technically a solo exercise, take stock of your reading.  Do you read things from different perspectives, or always the same old familiar authors?  It is easy to become comfortable in reading and lose the glorious benefit of being stretched, challenged, provoked, and perhaps even incensed!

Take stock of your preparation process.  Do you actively engage with others as you prepare sermons?  I’m not saying any of us can do all of these every week, but here are some ideas.  Obviously your spouse, if you have one – the perspective of the opposite gender can really help.  Other preacher or preachers?  Perhaps in your church (perhaps ones you are mentoring or being mentored by), or perhaps in another church – time spent talking through two messages together will probably benefit both of you more than spending that half hour on your own message alone!  A feed-forward group?  That is a group of people brought together to specifically share input for forthcoming preaching – could be content, could be support material, could be giving you insight into how differently people think on an issue, etc.

Being a preacher may be a solitary calling in some ways, perhaps lonely at times, certainly a regular overt entry into spiritual warfare, but is that all?  Let us not forget that God has brought us into communion with His people as well as Him.  Let us not forget that we need others just as others need others.  And let’s remember that what is true of us in life and ministry is also true in preaching – let’s not be lone ranger preachers.  Let us rather strengthen ourselves and our preaching by exposure to greater perspective.

Some Basic Building Blocks

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

Last month I attended a workshop by Dr Rod Wilson of Regent College.  I appreciated a couple of his introductory comments which I will share with you this morning, “We have a message, but we need a method – the Holy Spirit is not an excuse.”

I’m very hesitant to limit the field of homiletics to methodology, but I agree with what he was saying.  The fact is that we don’t have to come up with some sort of core message, we have that already, and no matter how badly we may preach, the message we have is still awesome.  However, simply having the truth does not make for great teaching or preaching.  And how many people lean on the Holy Spirit as an excuse to not prepare, to not develop in ministry, etc?  I find that homiletics is not pure methodology – in reality it tends to be a field in which many other aspects of biblical, theological, spiritual and ministry-related subjects converge.  Yet I would not deny that methodology is important, and I do get a bit concerned by the apparently popular dismissive tone toward homiletics.

Content and method both matter.  But then there is something else too.  Last week I enjoyed fellowshipping with Chip Kirk from OM in the USA (www.chipkirk.com) and appreciated his comment in conversation: “I know that if my ministry is going to achieve anything, I either need an angle, or I need fire.  I don’t want to find an angle.”  Amen to that.

Content matters.  Method matters.  “Anointing” matters.  Three core and critical building blocks of a preaching ministry.