Beware of Exemplar Persona Illustrations

February 21, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

This week I have been raising a warning flag toward preaching that makes Christ, or biblical characters, just an example to copy. While both may be offered as example, and biblical writers do just that at times, still there is always a danger of seeking to motivate a performance approach to Christianity that is not birthed from the inside-out transformation of being in union with Christ. There’s another area worth a mention: the use of non-biblical persons as examples.

It is so easy to offer people famous or unknown, past or present, with an implied “copy that” tone. It could be the prayer warrior who rises at 4am, or the self-sacrificial missionary who gives up all to go and serve, or the faith-filled achiever, or whatever. Again, there could well be real value in offering such an example. However,

1. Be careful not to paint a caricature. Humans are usually a mixed bag of motives. So while in anecdotal form an individual may appear perfectly selfless and wonderful, the reality is probably not so flawless. Even the greatest deeds and sacrifices can be made for the wrong reasons, which is what Paul addresses at the start of 1Corinthians 13. The greatest feats can count for nothing. So be careful not to imply that feat/deed/sacrifice/effort can trump the heart issue. We do need to inspire a new generation with those who’ve gone before, but let’s be sure to inspire with the faith and relationship that others have with Christ, spilling into those amazing anecdotes. Let’s invite people into the fullness of that kind of connection with Christ that can spill out in numerous unique ways in our lives today.

2. Be careful not to endorse a copycat approach. Just to reinforce the point made above, let’s be sure to invite people into the relationship with Christ by His Spirit that can spill out in wonderful ways. Simply copying the performance of another will not bring about the necessary heart transformation that will allow such a feat to count as anything (in 1Corinthians 13 terms such empty performance is “nothing”). Performance is not the key to Christian living–it may be the fruit, but it is not the source.

Delivery Dynamics: Do They Trust?

February 13, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Delivery matters because communication does. We have considered two important questions: can they hear and will they listen? Another important consideration relates to how listeners perceive the speaker.

Do They Trust?

There are many factors that influence whether listeners will trust or distrust the speaker. For instance:

1. Eye Contact. You wouldn’t buy a car from someone who refuses to look at you. Shifty eyes are a real turn off. If someone wanted to tell you about a wonderful place they visited, but kept hesitating and checking some notes, you might be suspicious. Eye contact is massively important in the whole package of sermon delivery. Whatever we can do to maximize appropriate eye contact, let’s do it. Don’t skip around or you’ll seem flighty and untrustworthy. Don’t linger too long or you’ll communicate intimidation or intimacy. But do make and maintain meaningful eye contact with listeners if you want them to trust what you are saying.

2. Belief. Bert Decker’s book, You Have to Believe to be Heard, is well worth a read. We are able, as listeners, to perceive whether someone believes what they are saying. The signals are made up of multiple factors in tone, articulation, gesture, expression, posture, etc. If people perceive cockiness, that won’t help. But if they don’t perceive belief, they won’t trust.

3. Body Language. So what are some of these visual signals of conviction? If something is important, then not only should the words chosen reflect that, but the communication of our bodies should reinforce it. A confident and secure posture is important. Don’t stand awkwardly and squirm. Be seen. Don’t hide behind a heavy pulpit, be as visible as possible. Leaning forward tends to underline an important point. Appropriate gestures help. Leave the hands in pockets casual look for a casual illustration.

Delivery Dynamics: Will They Listen

February 12, 2013February 13, 2013 / Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Yesterday I pondered the question “Can they hear?” and thought about projection, pronunciation and pace. But that is only one layer of a bigger issue. Here’s a follow up question:

Will they listen? Just because people technically can hear the preacher, this doesn’t mean that they want to listen. Here are three factors to ponder:

1. Personal Warmth. Dogs can tell when they are not liked. So can congregations. If the preacher lacks personal warmth, then the listeners may feel more critical of the preacher, or they may tune out what they perceive to be a critical spirit toward them. There is no need to act like syrup and present a fake flattery (people see through that, of course). But genuine warmth and care is critical to creating a true communication connection.

2. Prideful Attitude. Many people have a sensitive radar when it comes to personal pride. They can spot any hint of it in others (even while being oblivious to their own profound problems with pride!) So be careful not to show off, to drop names, to seek to impress, to be proactively self-conscious. When listeners thinking you are prideful, they tend to stop being good listeners.

3. Provocatively Annoying. Not to put too fine a point on it, don’t be annoying. I could list any number of habits that preachers might develop that might annoy their listeners, but the best way to find out is to humbly ask a few trusted listeners and be willing to listen to them. It could be a matter of a gesture, or a vocal habit, or a strategy for interaction, or whatever. It would be a shame for people to choose not to listen to your message because something you are doing is annoying to them.

Can they hear? Will they listen? Two key questions in considering the dynamics of delivery.

Too Strong a Term?

February 5, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The other day I saw a video clip of Ed Stetzer where he referred to “ministry pornography.” He was speaking of a group of megachurch pastors who might be perceived by normal church pastors in an unhealthy way. This is how he put it:

Ministry pornography is an unrealistic depiction of an experience you are never going to have that distracts you from the real and glorious thing. …It is an unrealistic dream that does not let you love the people you are with right now, and not see them as a stepping stone to something bigger.

The terminology is provocative, but the point deserves pondering. Are we guilty of “lusting” after a ministry image that has been airbrushed, or a preaching style that has been edited for radio? Does this interest in some of the contemporary big names cause us to lose a godly love for those we are supposed to be caring for? I’ve certainly seen churches left hurt by pastors who seemed to be using them as a stepping stone to the next bigger invitation.

What is the solution? Unlike true pornography, I wouldn’t say we should avoid looking at the ministries of those we appreciate. Cold turkey is not necessary here, but discernment surely is. Rather than develop a complex model of advice, I’ll just keep it simple. I think we need to be sure to keep the conversation going with our Lord, being real about all aspects of our feelings and motivations, asking Him to search us and know us. Surely He is able to help us learn from, but not be harmed by, the airbrushed world of big church ministry.

Book Review: Jonathan Edwards, A Life

January 28, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Written by George Marsden, 2003, Yale.

Mammoth? Maybe. Magisterial? Absolutely. Marsden’s 505 pages plus notes on the life of Edwards is an absolute joy to read. He neither falls into the culturally critical Edwards bashing of years gone by, nor into the presentations of Edwards as if he fit every theological mold of his tradition. He certainly avoids the bizarre agenda of separating Edwards’ genius from his vibrant faith.

The Edwards offered in Marsden’s work is the Edwards of history, a man profoundly gripped by the glory of the triune love of God, a man who remained resolute in his disciplined life of study and ministry, yet who progressively grasped the captivating wonder of God’s gracious intratrinitarian love and grew beyond a self-determined resolution approach to spirituality.

I won’t give Edwards biography here. However, for anyone who has only seen Edwards through the caricature of a single sermon title, Marsden is a must read. Bridging the historical worlds of puritanism and enlightenment, Edwards is a massive figure in theological, philosophical and modern church history. Marsden gets the Augustinian heritage of Edwards, shining light on the emphases sometimes perceived by some to be imbalanced, yet showing Edwards to be a brilliant mind coupled with, and guided by, a captured heart.

Since I suspect it is mostly preachers who visit this blog, let me suggest that we do well to spend time with the greats by means of good biography. Marsden has also written A Short Life of Edwards, which is not an abridgement of this work, but another biography cast in an entirely new way, as it were. I look forward to reading that now that my thoroughly marked up copy of A Life is no longer next to my reading chair.

Edwards is intriguing on many levels, and from many angles: Revival, Calvinism, Augustinian Trinitarianism, puritan theology, church polity, academic institutional history, philosophy, cross-cultural missions, religious affections, hermeneutics, and so on. Take the time to get to know Edwards with this biography and you will find your own life and ministry stirred in many ways, all beneficial.

Not wanting to give away the ending, let me share the final paragraph anyway:

How can the creator of such an unimaginably vast universe be in intimate communication with creatures so infinitely inferior to himself? . . . Edwards’ solution–a post-Newtonian statement of classic Augustinian themes–can be breathtaking. God’s trinitarian essence is love. God’s purpose in creating a universe in which sin is permitted must be to communicate that love to creatures. The highest or most beautiful love is sacrificial love for the undeserving. Those who are given eyes to see that ineffable beauty will be enthralled by it. They will see the beauty of a universe in which unsentimental love triumphs over real evil. They will not be able to view Christ’s love dispassionately but rather will respond to it with their deepest affections. Truly seeing such good, they will have no choice but to love it. Glimpsing such love, they will be drawn away from their preoccupations with the gratifications of their most immediate sensations. They will be drawn from their self-centered universes. Seeing the beauty of the redemptive love of Christ as the true center of reality, they will love God and all that he has created.

(To buy Marsden’s work in the UK, click here.)

The Preacher’s Clock: Anticipation

January 25, 2013 / Peter Mead / 5 Comments

For the last couple of days I’ve been pondering issues of procrastination and preparation. But it is also important to consider anticipation.

Anticipating Future Preaching – The whole issue of preparation cycles is important. Robinson taught us that a five-day cycle was not long enough and he was right. This is only exacerbated by delays as you can end up with a message on Saturday night that has one night and one breakfast time to be embedded in your life as a preacher. That is hardly long enough to scratch the surface of personalizing experience of the message or forming any sort of conviction. You may know the material, but only in the head. A longer cycle allows for the Bible passage to do some work in you and on you, the preacher. But it could be argued that even a 10-day cycle is not really long enough if the goal is to let the message become part of your own life and experience.

This is why it is helpful to anticipate preaching for weeks or even months. Obviously you can’t be preparing months worth of sermons in any detail at all. However, knowing that a series is coming ahead of time does allow for an initial reading, some initial prayerful pondering, etc. I am considering preaching through Colossians later in the year. Awareness of that series, even without any sort of extensive study, can influence my life and thinking now. By the time the series comes, there should be some deeper rootedness in my heart and life.

Anticipating Future Interruption – Any talk of schedules and delays must also lead us to ponder the possibility of future interruption. Could there be a pastoral crisis, family illness, broken kitchen appliance, car trouble, unexpected guest or excessive administration between now and the sermon. I suspect there might be. That is why we need to build in margin to the schedule, rather than cramming things into every corner and relying on a smooth run through the week. This isn’t easy for most of us, especially when it means saying no to ministry invitations, but there is no other way to avoid seasons of overwhelming stress than to say no to things before the crisis emerges.

The Preacher’s Clock: Preparation

January 24, 2013January 23, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Yesterday I mentioned Robinson’s advice on moving from a five-day to a ten-day cycle simply by shifting the initial exegetical work back to the previous Thursday. I know that in my own experience most weeks are not consistent and so I have to be flexible on my preparation schedule (even if I have my own ideal). But I suspect that even many who have a standard weekly schedule still have to flex more than they would like. So what kinds of time go into a sermon preparation phase?

1. Blocks of concentration – Good sermons don’t get crafted in snatches between emails. Having significant blocks of concentration time is critical and need to be carved out of normal life. This can mean taking deliberate steps: turning off the phone, moving away from the computer or turning off the email notification, perhaps leaving the office and finding a “study” zone that allows for concentration. When we moved I left behind my favourite wooded area where I used to sit in the car and work without phone signal, but gained access to a church building that is quiet at key times.

2. Chunks of process progression – Some things don’t require being “in the zone,” but are needed to move the process forward. Perhaps researching a specific issue for an illustration, or chasing a quoted passage to gain familiarity. The key thing here is to know what needs to be done, and to have some days in which to get these chunks of work done. It doesn’t matter that it is only three times twenty minutes worth of work, if you are already at Saturday afternoon, these will get squeezed out.

3. Brief and extended moments for contemplation – Focused and planned prayer time is important. Taking prayer time when available also counts. Praying through a message in the car is better use of time than hearing the same cycle of news and chat on the car radio. I wouldn’t want to rely on car time for prayer. That makes it sound unimportant. But I wouldn’t want to be without those “non-traditional” times either. These times to think and pray are cumulative and valuable.

4. Focused prayer time – So as well as fitting in prayer and spilling out prayer as you soak in a message and anticipate preaching it, it is also worth scheduling and planning real prayer time. I like to spend some time praying in the church, focusing in on the people I associate with certain seats. Some like to pray and walk, others have a prayer closet. I don’t think God minds where.

5. Pre-delivery time – I value that time the night before and the morning of preaching to be able to run through the message. This is why I can’t just preach from old notes as if it were fresh. At this stage the work is done, but it is amazing how much can be improved when hearing the message through your own ears.

All of this time takes, well, it takes time. Hence starting the process earlier always allows opportunity for both the planned blocks and the smaller pieces in the whole puzzle to come together.

The Preacher’s Clock: Procrastination?

January 23, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Haddon Robinson was on target when he suggested the weekly cycle of sermon preparation is too short. Starting on Tuesday for the following Sunday is not soon enough and can messages under-cooked and preachers without the time for the message to be working authenticity into their experience. Robinson suggests putting in some preparation the Thursday of the week before. I think he is on target.

But what about when things go the other way and preparation gets squeezed?

I have a personal principle on this issue. If I genuinely have had unforeseen delays and have to prepare at the last minute, then I ask God for help and know that He understands. But then there is a second part to it too – if I have procrastinated and end up preparing at the last minute, then I confess that, ask for forgiveness and still ask God for help.

The first part of the principle has been forged in the relatively gentle furnace of family life and missions organization participation, and in recent years by the busy schedule created by combining ministry roles. Sometimes life happens and there is no way to prepare as you would like. God understands this. Last minute preparation is not ideal, but it is possible and it is still better to prepare as much as you can, rather than not prepare at all.

The second part of the principle is because I am human. I admire people with perfect track records in the area of self-discipline (but I also doubt them!) Rather than make up excuses and try to convince myself that I genuinely could not prepare fully due to life circumstances, I would rather be honest and admit when I have allowed other things, often very good things, to distract me from what was needed as a ministry deadline loomed. I may have lacked self-discipline, I may even have succumbed to some tempting distraction, but I don’t want to succumb to another temptation and seek to justify my procrastination. Hence, I sometimes have to repent and ask for forgiveness and then prepare at the last minute.

Let’s all be marked by the last fruit of the Spirit in our ministry preparation, making the most of every opportunity to preach the Word as good stewards of the privilege. And let’s be real with God and ourselves when we fail. Let us neither abuse grace, nor reject it.

Reading and Preaching

January 12, 2013 / Peter Mead / 8 Comments

I remember hearing about someone who made the mistake of writing down a book suggestion for someone he was discipling. The book was ideally suited to the situation, but the author was just too different. The man was chased out of his church.

What makes a Bible school “liberal?” In one sense the term refers to wide and free reading across the spectrum. Strangely, I hear that there are many of the more “liberal” schools that won’t include “conservative” books on their reading lists. At the same time, many “conservative” schools will recommend and even require the reading of “liberal” scholars. If this were all that a label referred to, then they would need to be reversed!

Seems like we should be reading widely (and I’m not really referring to facebook / blog surfing!) At the same time, it may not be wise to advertise the breadth of your reading habits in some circles.

Good reading should not only reinforce your understanding by affirmation, but also by challenging what you believe. And as maturity increases, so can the band-width of your reading spectrum. It seems to be a very immature trait to dismiss books simply because they are not 100% on target.

Read widely, disclose wisely.

Prayer and Preaching

January 10, 2013 / Peter Mead / 1 Comment

The sermon is coming and the preacher is praying. Sometimes this can be really passionate prayer. Sometimes there can be a sense of a spiritual breakthrough. Praying for the message, for the church, for the people, for the lost! This can be a time of great excitement and great expectation. And this can be a time of intense battle. We fight not against flesh and blood, but against the forces of evil. And in the intensity of battle the expectation for devil-destruction in the power of the glorious grace of the gospel can increase.

Then comes the sermon and it can all feel so, well, normal. The sermon goes ok, and the listeners say nice things, but this wasn’t what you prayed for and longed for and hoped for. It is just normal.

It is easy to let the normal-ness of ministry diminish our sense of expectation. After a while it can become as if we don’t really expect people to be transformed or the Spirit of God to be at work. This is understandable, but it is wrong. As Haddon Robinson once put it, “we’re handling dynamite, and we didn’t expect it to explode!”

The Spirit of God is at work, the Word of God is powerful, and whether we see it or not, we should prepare and pray with great expectation. (What about the disappointments and struggles that come internally after we preach? We pour them out to God and then press on, daring to dream again, daring to pray big and preach big for a big God!)

Preach the glorious gospel into the normal world of life and church. Preach the wonder of God’s grace so that it connects with people in normal world. But don’t preach as if preaching is just normal. It is not. It is a moment where the character of God is held forth in His self-revealing Word to draw hearts and lives into profound transformation. This life changing process may feel normal all too often, but it is not normal. It is supernatural.