Yesterday’s post touched on an important point – that preaching is not primarily about method.  There is something much more significant going on in terms of our view of God, of His Word and as a result, of preaching itself.

Saturday’s post prompted a couple of comments.  In the post I noted how I had run two very unprofessional polls.  In one, preachers noted what would help them improve; and in the other, people were asked the greatest weakness in the preaching they hear.  Almost no preachers selected the need for further training in biblical studies, while the runaway winner in the other poll was that the greatest weakness lay in the area of poor Bible handling.  Hardly a scientific poll, but a discrepancy that does ring true, I feel.  It is very hard to spot poor Bible handling in the mirror!

In response to a comment essentially raising the issue of personal spirituality, as opposed to issues of technique and practical matters, Lonnie made a comment that included this statement: “Wouldn’t handling the Bible better result in a closer walk with the Lord, for you and your listeners?”  Let me quote my response and add a few comments:

I think there is a dangerous divide forced between Bible study and personal spirituality.  I don’t want to hear from a preacher with great exegesis but poor devotional life, neither do I want to hear from a preacher with a great devotional life but poor exegesis.  The two must must must go together.  Good exegesis is not the only ingredient in spirituality, but the Bible must be a primary feature of genuine Christian spirituality, so good exegesis can never be an optional extra, or simply something left to certain “elite” teachers.

It is my conviction that all of us, not just preachers, can enjoy a delightful and very real relationship with God as we meet Him through His self-revelation in the Word.  I find it frustrating when Christians give the impression that their walk with the Lord is going well, even though they don’t have much of a taste for the Bible (or conversely that their studies are diligently pursued, without much of a taste for God Himself).  I find it frightening when I sense that a preacher doesn’t have both realities working hand in hand.

All this to say, in line with Lonnie’s comment, that I agree absolutely that better Bible handling is not just a matter of method or technique, but a feature of genuine spirituality and devotion to our Lord.

This week I am pondering how we might pursue improvement in our preaching ministries.  Last time I thought about training.  Today let’s talk time.  (If you want to see the poll on LinkedIn, click here.  There is also a poll on the Facebook page here.)

We probably all wish we had more time.  Truth is, we can only free up the time we have and use it better.  Some things cannot be avoided – demands on our time from a certain amount of pastoral crisis (although boundaries are important here to protect us from too much), and family responsibilities (boundaries are needed to protect this time).

I had an email from a friend the other day pondering the signs of superficiality.  Included in his list were such issues as prayerlessness, failure to get into the Word, failure to read solid meat materials, great time wasting, a passion for secondary issue pursuits and the latest fad.  We also need to take stock of the age in which we live – an age characterized by instant and constant communication, but not an age characterized by people of great spiritual depth.

Diligently managing our time is not simply about getting time to prepare sermons – a very pragmatic goal.  It is about having the space to soak in a deep relationship with God, so that out of that depth, we might offer to others the blessing of profound preaching and ministry.  I wonder if the next couple of weeks are a good time for us to prayerfully take stock of the time challenges in our ministry.  Perhaps some changes need to be made.  Perhaps some boundaries need to be installed.  Perhaps our hunger for the things that really matter needs to be cultivated afresh.

What have you found to be helpful in terms of managing your time as a preacher?

This week I am having a relaxed look at things that might help us continue to improve as preachers.  If you want to see the poll on LinkedIn, click here.  There is also a poll on the Facebook page here.  Here are a few thoughts on training:

The concept of training – As a younger man (just about), I am always impressed when I meet older men who are hungry to keep learning.  I’ve been humbled by the attitude of some in classes I have taught – I think being eager to learn from someone who is much younger is a sign of real maturity.  I want to be like that.  I want to take advantage of opportunities to learn more and keep growing.  Wasn’t it one of the teaching gurus that stated the day you stop learning, you stop teaching?  Some are so eager to influence others, yet stubbornly unwilling to acknowledge their need of being influenced.  I suppose it would do us all good to prayerfully consider what our attitude to learning says about us.

Training in Preaching – The poll option states, “Further training in preaching,” but the reality is that any training in preaching is a rare privilege, even in formal training institutions.  At the same time, by widening the scope of the definition, we must acknowledge that all preachers have received the training that comes from hearing others and from repeated practice themselves.  Both observation and practice have an impact on our preaching.  Nonetheless, why wouldn’t we be hungry for training from those that might have something to offer us?  I’ve been involved in teaching preaching in Bible college, seminary, conference, cross-cultural training seminar, church-based workshop, non-traditional mentored environments, etc.  All have their benefits.  What has been the most helpful training you’ve received?  What opportunities might you take advantage of in 2012?  (Remember, it is possible to get training courses on DVD, online, in book form too.)

Training in Biblical Studies – Such a significant part of effective preaching is effective Bible handling.  There’s no room for complacency here, but the opposite in this case is not dutiful diligent discipline (although it can be that if you prefer).  No, the opposite of complacency in this area is the blessing of deeper interaction with God in His Word.  I would ask serious questions if there weren’t a real genuine hunger for more of that in my life.  So let’s look for ways to learn more (formal training), for people to learn from (knowledgeable mentors) and for resources to help us grow in that area (a book on interpreting the literary forms, a refresher on biblical Greek or Hebrew, a book on hermeneutics – I’m really enjoying An Introduction to Biblical Interpretation at the moment).

In the mad and busy schedule of ministry I understand how training gets squeezed out.  But when the desire to learn and grow diminishes, something good has been throttled out of our hearts.

People often quip, at least in my country, about having roast preacher for lunch on a Sunday.  In our house we are training our children to listen well with a good attitude on Sundays, so we tend to have a quiz together as we digest the sermon over lunch.

Some Sunday lunch quizzes are more difficult than others for us as parents: sometimes the children struggled to listen and remember what was said, sometimes we parents struggled to listen and remember what was said, sometimes we have to navigate around sermons or preachers that didn’t really do so well, and sometimes we have to answer questions when our children start asking about the preacher’s content or demeanour.

Instead of fostering a critical spirit toward preachers, we want to encourage our children to be good listeners with hearts open to what they can learn.  As preachers, we need to be continual learners too, looking for how we can be ever better stewards of the ministry God gives to us.

So here’s a question for us as preachers: what would help us to improve?  Actually, I’m not asking about the generic class of “preachers” – but specifically, what would help you to improve, what would help me to improve?

I started a poll over on LinkedIn to get a few responses, and have added it to the facebook page too.  If you are on LinkedIn, click here to go to the poll and add your thoughts (you’d be most welcome to join the group too).  If you are on Facebook, click here to go to the page and you’d be welcome to “like” the page too.

Since I only had five spaces for possible answers, here are the five options that came to mind:

– Further training in preaching

– Further training in biblical studies

– More time for preparation

– More fellowship with other preachers

– More encouragement from listeners

In the next days I will share some thoughts on these needs, and for what it’s worth, I will collate the results at the end of the week.  Please do confuse matters by adding other suggestions too, either here or on either networking site.