Religion

Review of 2010

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

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This is the time of year when people summarize and review the year that is coming to a close.  So I decided to do that.  At least for me it is good to look back over a year’s worth of posting on this site.  According to my stats, the top post continues to be one from back in 2007 on Sermon Titles, followed by another golden oldie on Preaching Psalms. Actually it is hard to review stats for 2010 since most people read the posts as they sit on the Home page.  So I came up with the very arbitrary standard of checking which posts received the most comments (which could mean they were the worst posts, of course!)  So here are the results . . .

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New Page

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Just a post to let you know that I have added a new page to the site.  It is called “Welcome & Intro” and offers an introduction to the site for newcomers.  Hopefully this will be helpful to folks who are new to the site and could very easily get lost in the overwhelming mass of posts (currently almost 1,200).  If you want to take a look at the new page, please click here . . .

PS A brief preaching article has just appeared on ChurchLeaders.com – take a look if you are interested!

Get the Idea? – Part 2

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This is the middle post in a series of three on Big Idea preaching.  Specifically, I’ve been struck by how many people recommend Haddon Robinson’s book, yet seem to not have grasped what it teaches.  I understand that they are impressed by the well written chapters dealing with various elements of sermon preparation and delivery (I was impressed first time through), but the powerful notion of the Big Idea is not instantly grasped (took me a while!)  So yesterday we thought about The Big Idea being about communication.  But more than that . . .

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Get the Idea? – Part 1

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Over the past few years I’ve come across quite a number of people who talk about preaching and recommend Haddon Robinson’s book, but don’t really understand Robinson’s teaching on the subject.  It seems that some people are impressed with aspects of the book, Biblical Preaching, but don’t really grasp some of the core teaching of it.  In particular, the nature and power of the Big Idea in preaching.  Today I’d like to focus on communication, but will continue the series tomorrow in respect to biblical studies, then finish with a focus on the Spirit of God.  Do we really get the Big Idea?

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A Point on Points

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As you outline your message you will probably have some points.  My suggestion is to write full sentences that are applicationally/relevantly focused on the listeners (rather than historical/biblical summary statements).

But, you may say, I like to preach the point inductively and arrive at the application toward the end of the point.  Of course, that is the normal approach.  My suggestion should not therefore be dismissed.  Why?

1. Because a brief taste of relevance early in the point will increase the listener’s motivation to listen. You can quickly go back to the text and develop things from there, ending up with a more focused applicational element.  Just like in a message, though, if your point starts historical and takes a while to feel relevant, listeners may not be with you once you get there.

2. Because what you write as your point in your outline does not have to be stated at that point in the message. It is a common fallacy that a sermon has to follow its outline so that every line is said in order.  The “point” can be the target toward which that section of the message progresses.  The advantage of this approach is that you preach with a purpose, rather than starting with a historical summary statement and then expanding that, eventually moving on to the next point after a token attempt at applying the text (sometimes not fully thought through).  In a sense, then, your outline point is your fully thought through main idea of that section of the text.  Whether you state that at the outset, or later on, is up to you (perhaps you can choose a marker in your notes to indicate that this shouldn’t be stated up-front).

3. Because the commentary-like summary statement is lacking on several fronts. As I already stated, it leaves you open to fading away before you arrive at the point of connection between the world of the Bible and the world of your listeners (you may not effectively build the bridge).  Furthermore, a commentary-like summary, or a pithy alliterated heading, is not typically a complete thought.  Better to plan a full sentence since thought is transferred by the speaking of ideas, requiring full sentences.  To preach with sub-headings sounds like a read outline and requires the listener to fill in the rest of the thought.  Generally it is not wise to trust the listener to fill in much of anything in a message (not because of their lack of ability, but because you may not have fully gripped their focus so that they desperately want to do part of your job for you!)

Full sentence, relevant points will make your outlines stronger.  They may not make the best 200 word Christian newspaper outlines, but remember, your goal is to preach a sermon.  Let your editor turn it into written language before you go to print, don’t make your listeners translate in order to understand!

Shop Window Evangelistic Preaching

/ Peter Mead / 5 Comments

Following on from yesterday’s post about making church accessible for non-regulars, I have been pondering what I perceive to be a short-sighted approach to evangelism.

I grew up in a church tradition that had a “gospel service” every Sunday evening.  This was probably a vibrant and dynamic approach decades ago, but by the time I was there it had become somewhat bizarre.  A weekly presentation of the gospel to mostly saved folks, with almost no fruit to speak of.

In various forms, we often seem to fall into this idea that if non-Christians are present, then the sermon has to be primarily or even exclusively a gospel presentation and call for response.  I know some will argue that every sermon should be that, but hear me out.  Every sermon should be good news, but not every sermon has to be exclusively aimed at converting souls.

I see the value in shop window preaching, for want of a much more appropriate label.  This is where we preach to Christians for their edification, but alert to the fact that non-Christians may be looking in.  It seems to me that sometimes non-Christians only ever hear one message until they make some sort of commitment, and then they get hit with this whole array of discipleship and spiritual growth and church life and sanctification and so on and so on.  Why not let them see Christianity in action in our preaching?

I think this kind of exposure to Christians being Christians can be highly effective evangelistically.  Furthermore it means that church can be church rather than evangelistic crusade every single week, yet at the same time be effective in evangelism.  My desire is to make every Sunday morning accessible to believers and visitors alike, and sometimes to be more directly targeted at the visitors.

Something to ponder as we head into another year of church ministry.

The Weeks After Guest Events

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

I am always encouraged to be around churches that put a lot of effort into guest events, or services where non-regulars are likely to be in attendance.  Let me encourage you to let that energy move further through the Sunday schedule:

1. Recognizing that certain Sundays are key Sundays. I know of some churches that press on with series without any concern for what Sunday it is.  You may value the next installment of that Old Testament epic, but I suspect the friends, neighbours and family visitors won’t though when it is the Sunday before Christmas (in fact, your people probably won’t invite them!)  So recognize that some Sundays are key Sundays – Christmas, easter, Mother’s day perhaps, other holidays that may be big in your part of the church world.

2. Put your best foot forward on key Sundays. I know of some churches that think it is a good idea to use once-a-year speakers on these stand alone days since they will have months to prepare and won’t need to coordinate with a series.  Oops.  Extra visitors coming in seems like the time to put forward the best speakers, best music, etc.

3. Don’t lose your gains by not thinking of the subsequent Sundays. What if some visitors come and really enjoy the welcome, the interaction, the service, the teaching.  And then they come back the next week and it is, well, it isn’t accessible and warm anymore?  Seems like you will have only achieved the inoculation of more people to hinder their return.  Think about the weeks after guest services and how they can also be accessible, warm, etc.

4. Why not have a consistency so you win the trust of the inviters? It is worth thinking about whether every Sunday morning could be accessible and warm for first-time visitors.  This way you will not miss golden opportunities when folks come to church for the first time, and you will build the confidence of the people in the church (how many are harangued about bringing folks, but will never budge because they don’t trust the church to handle their friends and neighbours properly?)

Expository Preaching – Showcasing What?

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I am strongly committed to expository preaching.  But a lot of what is called expository seems to fall short.  For many it seems to have become an exegetical showcase, or a structural/creativity showcase, or a prideful showcase of arrogant orthopraxy.

Exegetical Showcase. For many, expository preaching is essentially to be equated with effective outlining of a text to demonstrate the skill of the preacher in accurate exegesis.  Actually, I hesitate to say skill in accurate exegesis, because often outlining of texts seems to lead to a message other than the text’s message – perhaps a show of doctrinal orthodoxy, or an exercise in structural balancing.  Nevertheless, for many, expository preaching has become an opportunity to show the fruit of their exegetical labour as if that were an end in itself.  Be accurate, please, but don’t think that accurate presentation of a text is expository preaching.

Structural / Creativity Showcase. I hinted at this above.  This is where the sermon is an opportunity to demonstrate the ability of the speaker to create a balanced, parallel, aurally or visually appealing and supposedly memorable outline based on a text.  There tends to be a value placed on tripartite structuring and balanced insertions of “illustrative” materials.  The connections to expository sermonic expectations are clear on many levels, but the connections to the text can be strenuous at times.  This isn’t what expository preaching is about – this is a culturally defined expectation trained into listeners (and yielding very affirming feedback!)

Arrogant Orthopraxy Showcase. I suppose this is tied to the previous point.  This is where the preacher is concerned, perhaps subconsciously, to demonstrate that their preaching is in line with their heroes (usually in the current generation, sometimes historical figures).  The concern seems to be to declare that “I am a true expository preacher!”  It is amazing how much insecurity we see in the church as people seem desperate to play the association game, name drop, seek approval, etc.

Expository preaching is not about displaying the preacher’s skill in exegesis, or craft in sermon construction, or association with a certain camp of evangelical Christianity.  Expository preaching should come from an accurate understanding of the nature of Scripture, not a commitment to sermonic form or fashion.  Expository preaching should come from a passion for God’s inspired and relevant Word to be communicated clearly to specific people that they might respond to Him.

Preaching Proverbs

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

I’m pondering the possibility of preaching a few messages from Proverbs (very early days, it won’t be until the summer at the earliest).  Since this is a very unique genre and even sub-genre, I need to start thinking well ahead.  Here are some very early incomplete thoughts:

1. It is important to understand them in their historical context. These were sayings written in the context of a covenant that tied direct results to obedience or disobedience.  While we continue to reap what we sow, we don’t live under the same conditions as ancient Israel.  Somehow the preacher has to navigate this without making the text feel irrelevant.

2. There is more structure to the book than people tend to think. I have been impressed to see some explanations of structure in the apparently random sequences of proverbs (yet unless it really adds something, I don’t want my listeners to get bogged down in my inadequate explanation of that).  I also think it is vital to understand the book as a whole and the role of personified wisdom and folly.  I can’t just jump in and preach a verse here or there without taking time to consider the whole book properly.

3. Wisdom is a rare commodity today. The Proverbs call to pursue wisdom seems as necessary as ever.  There is an amazing level of spiritual lethargy and applicational dumbness in the church today.  Somehow I need to preach in such a way as to motivate the listeners to pursue the God of wisdom and to live out the wise teaching of His Word.  Yet at the same time I mustn’t simply pile rules on rules and create a gospel-less sense of adding burdens to guilt-prone fleshly spirituality.

4. The pithy nature of the genre is powerful. So as a preacher who may often preach much longer chunks of text, I must resist the urge to pack information into the sermon, flatten the point and dissipate the punch.  As a convinced believer in big idea preaching (a spoken communication commitment, as well as a recognition of the nature of inspired revelation), what more could I ask for than a powerful and memorable main idea already packaged and perhaps ready to preach?  Yet it is so tempting to pack in information rather than pursue application and transformation.  One truth driven deeper is better than multiplied truth scattered liberally.

That’s my thinking for now . . . gradually over the next months I will return to Proverbs and build toward a series.