Preacher’s Personal Life

Borrowed Light

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Thielicke, speak to us about Spurgeon . . .

For Spurgeon the really determinative foundation of the education of preachers was naturally this work on the spiritual man.  The education of preachers must not be directly pragmatic; it must not be immediately directed to preaching as its goal.  Otherwise the process of education becomes an act of mere training, the teaching of technical skills.  The preacher must read the Bible without asking in the back of his mind how he can capitalize homiletically upon the text he studies.  He must first read it as nourishment for his own soul.

This is vitally important, but easily neglected or misunderstood.  Too often homiletics is treated as a subject that fits only in some sort of pragmatic department of training institutions, somehow distinct from Bible, Theology, Spirituality, Divinity.  How wrong to view homiletics as the mere teaching of teachnique – tips for public speaking.  While there is real value in training in the skills of passage study, sermon formation and delivery, homiletics is so much more.  Ultimately the educator is not to teach a man to preach, but to teach a man, and to teach him to preach. (Adapt that sentence as you prefer for gender neutrality, but it simply doesn’t work to make that gender neutral by pluralising the terms.)  True biblical preaching is born out of the spiritual reality in the preacher, not just some assemblage of tips and techniques.  Let’s go back to Thielicke, this next part is priceless:

For the light which we are to let shine before men is borrowed light, a mere reflection.  He who will not go out in the sun in order to play the humble role of a mirror, reflecting the sun’s light, has to try to produce his own light, and thus gives the lie to his message by his vanity and egocentric presumption.  Besides becoming unworthy of being believed, he is condemned to consume his own substance and expend his capital to the point of bankruptcy.  Because he is not a recipient, he must himself produce and seek to overcome the empty silence within him by means of noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.  Thus he ends in the paralysis of emptiness, and his empty, droning rhetoric merely covers up the burned-out slag underneath. (p10)

Selah.

Of Inner Screens and Communion Closets

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Some more of Thielicke on Spurgeon:

When Spurgeon speaks, it is as if the figures of the patriarchs and prophets and apostles were in the auditorium – sitting upon a raised tribune! – looking down upon the listeners.  You hear the rush of the Jordan and the murmuring of the brooks of Siloam; you see the cedars of Lebanon swaying in the wind, hear the clash and tumult of battle between the children of Israel and the Philistines, sense the safety and security of Noah’s ark, suffer the agonies of soul endured by Job and Jeremiah, hear the creak of oars as the disciples strain against the contrary winds, and feel the dread of the terrors of the apocalypse.  The Bible is so close that you not only hear its messages but breathe its very atmosphere.  The heart is so full of Scripture that it leavens the consciousness, peoples the imagination with its images, and determines the landscape of the soul by its climate.  And because it has what might be called a total presence, the Bible as the Word of God is really concentrated life that enters every pore and teaches us not only to see and hear but also to taste and smell the wealth of reality that is spread out before us here.

Those who listened to these lectures of Spurgeon lived . . . in the atmosphere of the Bible.  They no longer needed to be exhorted to take the Bible seriously; it penetrated into what the psychologists call the “image level” of their unconscious.  Even the admonition to prayer was hardly needed, for the words that reached the hearer were spoken by one who himself had come out of the stillness of eternal communion with God, and what he said to the hearer had first been talked about with the Father in heaven.(v9)

Vivid preaching that reaches deeper than mere words ever could, aiming to transform the listener at every level of the heart, soul, spirit; penetrating to the screen in the inner man, so the vivid and striking reality of Scripture is lived even in the hearing, all coming from one who is personally intimate with the God whose Word he preaches.  It can’t get much better than that!

The Height of Application – 2

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On Friday I wrote about raising the bar without just cranking up the pressure. But any talk of application must also bring us back to take a prayerful look at ourselves.  I read a comment in Michael Quicke’s 360-Degree Leadership, a quote from someone, R T Warner, I think.  It said that the early church “out-lived the pagans, and out-died them, and out-thought them.”

Many of us today are living in unprecedented luxury compared to the rest of the world today and throughout history.  We have access to resources, and standards of living, and health care and on and on.  We shouldn’t feel bad about all that, but give thanks and make the most of the blessings we’ve been given in order to bless others.  However, we don’t want to become spiritually lethargic unawares.

We can urge others to respond to the teaching of God’s Word with total abandon, with radical commitment, etc.  But in a very real sense we can only “raise the bar” for others to the level it is raised in our own lives.  We don’t need to flaunt our own commitment or sacrifices, but they do speak loud and clear to our listeners.  So we should be sure to prayerfully take stock of our own responsiveness to the Lord.

Here’s a quick checklist:

1. Walk with God – all that is involved in that . . . listening to His Word, prayer, intercession, meditation, etc.  Do we . . . as much or more than we urge others to . . .

2. Resources – use of time, of money, of energy, of abilities, etc.  Just because some of us have more time freed up for ministry, doesn’t mean we are giving more.  Remember the widow’s offering – how would that apply to our use of time and other resources?

3. Sacrifice – do we really, or do we just, you know, sort of?

4. Holiness – easy to bang on about pet peeve sins, but how is the Lord dealing with issues in your life?  You know you’re not perfect, but are you complacent because your sins are not those sins?

5. Okay, I’ll stop, but we do need to prayerfully address the whole issue of personal “application” in response to God’s Word.  Actually, conversing with the Lord about these things can be such a blessing . . . perhaps it should really be an ongoing conversation – not about me, but about my response to Him.

A Gift for Your Preacher

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Perhaps you’ve stumbled across this post.  Perhaps your pastor or a regular preacher in your church has “accidentally” linked to it (if so, forgive them, they must have linked here unawares!)

What can you give a pastor, minister, elder, preacher?  I want to make one suggestion with various options built-in.  You can give them time.

1. Freedom from guilt as they guard their day-off and time with their family. If they aren’t available, pray that God will bless that time, but don’t make them feel bad about taking it.  If you can’t schedule a meeting with them at a time you requested and then discover their “appointment” was actually with their children, don’t complain, they are setting an example in God-pleasing priorities!

2. Provide for a retreat or training course. The church will reap the benefits of this, but still it will be a blessing to the person enabled and encouraged to attend.  For someone who preaches every Sunday it would be a real blessing to be encouraged to go away for a few days (even if it is over a weekend!)  Sometimes a cabin to be alone, other times a conference with other preachers, perhaps even a family holiday long enough to decompress and enjoy being together!

3. Why not push the boat out and start discussing a sabbatical. It might take a couple of years to prepare for a sabbatical, but it would be worth it.  If the person has served faithfully for several years, why not start discussions about the possibility of a sabbatical?  Perhaps they could travel for a few months and experience a ministry or missions setting that is on their heart?  Perhaps they could be freed up for a while in order to write that book they’re itching to write?  Perhaps they would like to take five months to participate in a study program like Cor Deo –click here. Again, the church will benefit massively from this apparent sacrifice, on numerous levels, but it will take significant planning to enable the person to feel free to genuinely be away from everything for this time of renewal and refreshment.

Majority Preacher – Part 2

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Continuing Stephen Gaukroger’s helpful list of necessary considerations for those who want to sustain a long-term preaching ministry in the same setting where they are the main or only speaker:

5. Know thyself – It is important to know your own strengths and weaknesses.  If you’re invited to a big event, then let your prejudices hang out, that’s probably why they invited you.  But in your own church be committed to long-term exposition.  Letting prejudices hang out too much will eventually annoy and cause problems.

6. Develop critical friends (not fans or foes) – Real and constructive feedback from real people will really help.

7. Have regular intentional review of your content and style – Be sure to compare what you have preached on with other lists, the lectionary, theology textbooks, other preachers and other churches.  This will help you spot holes in your own preaching diet.

If you’re preaching almost every week in your church, what would you add to this list?  I’d add something along the lines of “make sure you get breaks, sabbaticals, study breaks, etc. in order to renew your passion and vision.”

What If You’re The Majority Preacher?

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Some churches rely on itinerant speakers, others have a team preaching approach, and many churches have the solo preacher approach.  There are some unique challenges that come from being the main or the only preacher in a church.  At the BibleFresh preaching event, Stephen Gaukroger offered seven quick comments on what it takes to sustain a long-term ministry as the main preacher in a church:

1. You have to be a long-term preacher – That is, our personal integrity only becomes more important in a context where you preach over a long period of time, so you must be refreshing yourself under God’s Word continually.

2. Preach the Bible, the whole Bible – Don’t pick and mix your favourite passages based on personal or denominational biases, but allow the whole Bible to set the agenda over time.

3. Refresh your approach to preaching – Don’t get stuck in a style or always default to your default.

4. Work harder at multi-dimensional application – Not just to the individual and the church, but also to the society and global needs too.  (I would add that application should not just be relating to conduct, but also to belief and affection too.)

Tomorrow I will finish the list, but keep checking the Bible Fresh site as the talk should be uploaded sometime and is worth watching (look out for the quote of the conference about birds and mice!) – click here.

Pick a Preacher to Ponder

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All of us are naturally drawn to some people, and less so to others.  At the same time, all of us are busy and often live in the frenzy of the urgent.  But there is real value in stopping for a few moments and pondering a biblical preacher – that is, a preacher in the Bible.  Perhaps their situation will draw you, or their personality, or their apparent failure, or their success.  Perhaps in pondering their life and ministry you will recognize something for which to pray in respect to your own preaching, or perhaps an encouragement in difficult days.  So think for a moment . . . who?  Why?

The Lord Himself – Obvious choice I suppose, but not simply the agrarian story-teller people describe him to be.  His preaching polarised people, could be profoundly clear, or blindingly opaque.

Stephen – A masterful sermon that gets by far the longest summary in the book of Acts (a book where the speeches seem to be more action than the action!)  He nailed his opponents with a strong idea and followed through for maximum response.

Paul – Sometimes unimpressive, sometimes apparently unsuccessful, regularly opposed, yet faithful.  He was not just an apostolic brain, he poured out his life, his heart and love for the people he preached to and alongside.

The Preacher to the Hebrews – Engagingly biblical, alternating between exposition and exhortation, presenting compelling images and preaching a profoundly moving word of exhortation.

or perhaps, Elijah, Ezekiel, Micah, Jeremiah, Jonah, etc. – from eccentric to downright hard-hearted, from unheard to massive negative reaction, the prophets were covenant enforcers proclaiming in louder and bolder tones what God’s people had so long ignored, or what the nations needed to hear.

Noah – big on obedience, with the biggest of visual aids, perhaps the longest preaching ministry without fruit, yet an ancestor of us all.

Asaph – a worship leader who almost went over the edge, but felt the tension of what that would do to the generation he led if he spoke up.  A man able to see clearly because of drawing nearer to God and recognizing the significance of God’s dwelling with humanity.

Who would you choose?  Why?  What might the fruit of such pondering be in your preaching ministry?

Fear, Trembling, But Not Only

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I am just finishing up an excellent book on bibliology.  In the final chapter the author addresses the issue of preaching.  I need to re-read, digest some more and then write a review or something.  Excellent.  Anyway, just a point to ponder today.

The author quotes Karl Barth who suggests the question preachers should be asking is not “How does one do it?” but “How can one do it?”  It is critical to remember the greater issue is not our competence in preaching, but our dependence on the God for whom we speak.

The preacher is given the privilege of speaking God’s words, and yet has no power to determine any specific result – hence the preacher should preach in fear and trembling.  At the same time the preacher mustn’t be so fearful that resolve to know and proclaim Christ and him crucified is lost.

In boldness and trembling, in confidence and fear, we preach God’s Word.

Prayerful Preparation and Prayer

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I strongly resist the notion that learning about homiletics means that your preaching will automatically become professional, fleshly and spiritually cold.  Some do end up there.  Some do become mechanistic in their approach.  But I hold that it is right to be a good steward of the opportunity to develop as a preacher, as long as the process is saturated in prayer, as long as the personal relationship with the Lord doesn’t grow cold and become a thing of the past.

So when I teach a beginners intro to preaching, I always make it abundantly clear that the process I teach is not a machine into which a text is fed and a message emerges at the other end.  The process is a logical approach to developing a message, but it should be pursued in dependence upon the Lord through conversational prayer throughout the process.  Pray as you select a passage, pray as you study it, pray as you identify its purpose and pray as you clarify its main idea.  Pray as you consider who will hear the message, pray as you determine the purpose of the message, etc.

Having said all that, there is still a difference between prayerful preparation and just plain prayer.  Make sure that all your prayer is not running in parallel to preparation so that you fail to spend time with the Lord about the preaching opportunity.  Take time away from your PC, your notes, etc., and make sure you spend time talking to Him about the message, the people, the opportunity, your own heart and motivation in preaching, etc.

Time taken out of preparation to spend in focused prayer before the Lord is not time wasted.  Let’s be sure to prepare prayerfully.  And let’s be sure to pray as part of preparation.  Prayerful.  And prayer.  Both.

Most Important

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

How about starting the week with a quote from Pasquarello’s We Speak Because We Have First Been Spoken (p4):

“For this reason, the most important element of sermon preparation is the theological, spiritual and moral formation of the preacher through the Spirit’s empowerments of faith, hope, and love, which are completed by the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, knowledge, godliness, and fear of the Lord (Isa.11). Learning the ‘grammar’ of the preaching life requires cultivating habits of the mind, heart, and body – including speaking truthfully – that are intrinsic to the church’s vocation of knowing and worshiping the triune God. If this is true, preaching excellence will be the fruit of listening to God’s prior Word and act before we ourselves presume to speak.  And because the depth and riches of God’s Word are too great to absorb in a lifetime, we will have cause to listen for eternity.”

I’ll basically leave the post there, but it’s worth remembering that this week is not just about preparing this Sunday’s sermon . . . it’s more about the relational investment in response to the work of God in your life as He shapes you into the person, and the preacher, He wants you to be.  Suddenly sermon prep isn’t confined to one box in our schedule!