Today’s post is on the Cor Deo blog (my post will be on there every two weeks). Please take a look by clicking right here.
Does It Matter If It’s Going Online?
Last Sunday I was preaching in a church and had to ask if the message would be going online. Every now and then you have to be aware of such things. But unless you’re sharing information that is sensitive, does it really matter?
I suppose the myth of online exposure is alluring for all egos. After all, millions could hear the message, right? Online statistics should help to dispel such ideas for most of us. A grand total of 7 hits tends to put a pin in a ballooned ego. The possibility of your preaching, or mine, going viral is minimal. So it would certainly be presumptuous, and it would sound weird to your live listeners, if you started making reference to potential online listeners across the globe (probably no need to offer in-line translation of a key word in Japanese, just in case).
But what if we’re more realistic, should we be thinking about online listeners? Generally I would say not. After all, you almost certainly don’t know who they might be. As a preacher you are preaching to the people in front of you. Preach to them. If others receive some help online, praise the Lord. Certainly the nursery workers may appreciate hearing what they missed on Sunday morning as they served behind the scenes. Generally speaking, online listeners are in the “bonus” category of beneficiaries in this unprecedented technological age in which we live.
However, we should be aware in respect to specific content. If a message is online, it is amazing what damage can be done. Just pull an illustration out of context, edit slightly, and suddenly you can become the villain for any number of potential offendees. Suddenly we have to be very careful in respect to comparison of religions, or description of cross-cultural missions, or accounts of evangelistic success, or humourous stories about old room-mates, or … you name it. Now, good integrity should overcome most potential issues. But as a wise and prepared preacher, it would be better to take a moment and think through the reach of a message before you preach it (and avoid the slightly unfortunate, ‘is this going online?’ question that I asked last Sunday morning!)
And Now For The Next in the Series
A little double entendre in the title. I want to write briefly about sermon series. But this is also another in the series of posts started yesterday. In that post I suggested that we shouldn’t be overly dogmatic about whether we project the text or not. I have my opinions, obviously others have theirs too. But my point was that this is not the main point (even though we are prone to make any preference into a definitive conviction). So today I’ll raise the subject of series, and again I’ll suggest that there are different perspectives, and perhaps again we’ll hear some readers share their reasoned positions.
Should we always preach through Bible books, or sections of books? Some would say absolutely yes. God gave us sixty-six books, He did not inspire a thematic table of contents. A balanced diet will best be found by sequential exposition that therefore does not and cannot shirk the tough subjects, tricky texts and the whole scope of the canon. The “whole counsel” is a term often coined in these discussions. It does diminish the time wasting that can go on in selecting sermon texts, or the personal hobby horses that regularly gallop through some pulpits.
But others would critique this approach for a variety of reasons. Some would suggest that while “all Scripture is God-breathed and useful” – not all Scripture is equally useful to all listeners all of the time. At a certain level we would probably all agree with that (you would be disappointed to take a friend to an evangelistic event and have the preaching text announced as Nehemiah 7). Some would suggest that varying the preaching text allows for a broader scope of biblical exposure than being tied into a very long series through a book. Others might point out that it is perfectly possible to preach expository sermons without being tied into consecutive passage selection (which must not become a defining feature of “expository” preaching).
Perhaps, again, there is a place for balance. Perhaps sequential series are a good staple diet, but recognizing some of the dangers of overzealous commitment to the practice (i.e. you might not be able to pull off a decade long series like your hero did in a different time and culture, and your listeners might actually get bored and lose interest!) Perhaps there is a place for series of non-sequential but related texts that allow an important theme to be reinforced repeatedly. Perhaps there is a place for stand-alone, non-series messages, pastoral or “prophetic” responses to specific situations or crises.
Where do I stand? I’m a gentle proponent of consecutive series through books or sections, but not exclusively. I suppose I’m probably in favour of the perhapses of the last paragraph. Again, instead of becoming overly dogmatic in our commitment to one “methodology,” perhaps we should make sure we keep the more important issues more central – like how we handle whatever text we preach, how we look to and lean on the Lord as we serve in the privilege of preaching His word, how we care for the people to whom we preach, how we make sure our preaching is theocentric and the gospel is clearly presented, etc.
Job Description?
I recently enjoyed reading The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. In the book they suggest that the role of the pastor has shifted from religious service provider to CEO in many churches. But they also suggest there needs to be a further shift, to trainer (i.e. multiplier of disciple making disciples). I agree with this perspective and want to make a similar suggestion in terms of the role of the preacher.
What was the role of the preacher in the past? Perhaps the preacher’s role was that of local community leader, or spiritual director of the congregation, or Bible/theology expert. It all depends on the situation or context. There may be some scope for considering what we’ve lost: for example, have we abdicated our role in society, or have we been kicked out? Or have we left behind the days of the “divines” in favour of the days of the networked and busy? But this post wants to push us to think of the future.
What is the role of the preacher in the present? Again this depends on the church. In some churches the preacher is a visionary leader directing the church community via the weekly team talk. In other churches the preacher is an entertainer needed to provide some semblance of content in the weekly gathering. In other churches the preacher is an overworked slave expected to do the work of the ministry while every other minister and priest in the church is satisfied to pay the preacher’s salary. In other churches the preacher’s role is to present and apply the Word of God with sensitivity to God, the people, and the times. I don’t want to suggest all is bad today, it certainly isn’t.
What could the role of the preacher become? The preacher’s task as expositor of God’s Word should not change, although the manner, style, etc., will change. I wonder, though, if there is a shift in the role of the preacher to include a more overtly training mentality – the preacher as spirituality coach, the preacher as Bible study tutor, the preacher as ministry and missions mobiliser, the preacher as mentor of preachers. All of these have been done and are being done. But what about in your church? Where has the ministry arrived at today, where could it go in the months ahead?
Should Bible Text Be Projected?
This is the kind of question that can easily become a strongly held conviction. But should it?
Well, people do benefit from seeing the text, and seeing it in the same translation as the speaker, and without the hassles, distraction, or potential embarressment of having to look it up in their own Bible, which of course, they may not have.
On the other hand, people who don’t need to bring their Bibles to church, won’t bring their Bibles to church, and won’t develop the ability to look up references, nor to see passages in their contexts – instead getting used to the idea that verses stand alone in picturesque vacuums.
Some will offer a compromise. The main text will not be projected, but the cross-references will be projected so folks can keep their finger on the main preaching text and not get caught up or discouraged in a melee of sword drills throughout the message (which, as a passing comment, I would suggest is not that helpful most of the time, even if folks can keep up).
So what to do? My suggestion is to be a bit situational. What kind of church is it? What kind of service? In an evangelistic service perhaps it is worth it to avoid any embarressment or discomfort, but in a Bible study for believers surely they would benefit from having a finger on the text in its context? What kind of sermon? Perhaps a special event is not conducive to people carrying Bibles.
Some have a tendency to make every matter one of strong conviction. This tends to dilute the effectiveness of such convictions. Don’t allow the deity of Christ, the relationality of our Triune God, the inspired nature and centrality of Scripture, the exclusivity of faith (not faith-plus), the importance of an expository philosophical commitment in preaching, etc. . . . don’t allow important convictions like these to get lost in a sea of passionate commitments to which version of the Bible people should use, or what people should wear to church, or to preach, or whether the south Galatia view trumps the north Galatia view, or whether believers should drink alcohol, or how long a sermon should last, or whether the Bible text should or shouldn’t be projected.
As preachers, even as believers, we have to form opinions about many things. But let’s reserve the passion of convictions for that which really counts. Should Bible texts be projected? Maybe. Sometimes.
Projected Perspectives
I think most preachers who have some level of commitment to an expository approach to preaching are fairly clear on the importance of understanding the Bible and their listeners. It is the two worlds that John Stott referred to in his great book on the subject. I suspect most preachers are less aware of the inner world that Haddon Robinson refers to – the inner world of the preacher.
It is easy to assume that I know more about me than anyone does, except God, of course. To a certain extent that is true. The problem is in the blind spots. We all have them. We all struggle to spot them or recognise their influence on our preaching. Let me suggest a few aspects of the inner world of the preacher and how such things will influence our preaching.
The Value System We Assimilated Growing Up – Perhaps you grew up in a family situation where some things were valued higher than others. Actually, you did grow up in such a situation, for good or bad. Perhaps a strong work ethic, or a weak one. Perhaps a high concern for what others think. Perhaps task over people. Perhaps a view of the class structure of society. Perhaps a skewed definition of success. Perhaps under the pressure of perfectionism. Perhaps in an atmosphere of racism, or sexism, or any other -ism. Whatever value system you absorbed, it is influencing you. Even if you think you’ve processed, rejected, reacted, or adjusted, it is still important to be aware of the grid through which your value system may process information, situations, biblical texts, and applications thereof.
The Emotional Baggage We Carry From The Past – Some of the items listed above result in emotional baggage. So too does past trauma, relational breakdown, personal sin, the sin of others, abuse, grief, loss, etc. While some of us have been spared the agony that others have had to face, and the burden they’ve secretly carried, none of us are free of emotional baggage. Guilt, pressure, failure, pain, loneliness, grief, hurt, etc., will all influence our preaching imperceptibly (to us, but listeners will pick up a vibe at some point). It is easy to project hidden issues onto texts and application. We need to prayerfully and conversationally process these things in order to know the inner world of ourselves as preachers.
The Personality Preferences and Tendencies We Assume To Be Normal or Right – Everyone else has issues. I’m normal. You probably are too. But actually we need to be aware of our own quirks in order that we don’t press them onto others. Introvert or extrovert. A way of thinking. A sense of humour. A view of the world. An inner wiring to desire to be liked, or to be right, or to be accepted. An approach to interpersonal communication. A preferred conflict resolution style. A level of energy or enthusiasm for certain things.
I don’t want to advocate for self-absorption or self-obsession. We need to keep our gaze fixed on Christ. Nevertheless, as we look to Him, let’s be honest with Him and ask Him to help us be aware of how the inner landscape of our lives might be influencing how we handle the text, how we preach it, how we live it.
A Reader, A Wise Reader
Preachers need to be, as well as many other things, readers. But unless you are single and financially set for life, you probably don’t have as much time as you’d like for reading. Join the club. So this post includes some thoughts, then perhaps you can share your suggestions and experiences too.
1. Reading book reviews can offer a varied input without massive time. I find it helpful to scan through and read some of the reviews in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, as well as a couple of other journals. There are many sources of book reviews, both academic and popular level, for Christian and wider reading.
2. Break the buyers obligation mindset. So many people I know feel trapped by an unwritten rule that states if you buy a book you must read cover to cover, including preface and foreword, before moving on to another book. Loose yourself from such a yoke of slavery! If you pay ten dollars, pounds, yen or whatever for a book, and one chapter is all that you really need to read, then you paid ten dollars/pounds/yen for that chapter (the other chapters were a free gift from the publisher for you to keep on your shelves or give to someone else!)
3. Read wisely, which isn’t just word by word. Preview a chapter before you read it, scan the pages, check out the conclusion, survey the headings, etc. Read for learning rather than simply achieving the page goal.
4. Be ready to read in snippets. You have five minutes to wait before your ride arrives at the mechanic’s place to pick you up . . . so you read two pages (and when they are a few minutes later, you’ve read more!) You think you’ll have no time to wait when you pick up the car, but without a book the opportunity is wasted when they take an extra thirty minutes to be finished (does this sound like something that just happened to me?)
5. Perhaps a balanced diet approach might help. I heard of one minister who had a daily regimen of reading for two hours. Thirty minutes of Bible. Thirty minutes of a christian book. Thirty minutes of a non-Christian book. Thirty minutes of a cricket book. Diligent habits like that result in a lot of knowledge of cricket, or Bible, or whatever you care about. Maybe that’s why I know almost nothing about cricket. Actually, I know about the things I care about, because I make time for them. Which is my point.
What do you do to help you be a reader, a wise reader?
Vary Text Length
On the one hand there is a simple guideline when selecting passage length to preach – preach a unit of thought. On the other hand, there are many sections that allow for combining units of thought and thereby preaching longer or shorter sections. The epistles, for instance, allow the preacher to combine several paragraphs. Equally, the gospels often allow for the combining of narrative units because that is how the authors often made their overarching points.
I suppose it almost goes without saying, but we can vary length of preaching text.
Sometimes select the smallest possible unit of thought. This might be a couple of sentences that make up a complete thought in the epistles, or a single verse in proverbs, or a very short narrative, etc. If you usually cover more ground it will allow you to give more application, to go deeper in the text, or just to not overwhelm listeners with too much too quickly.
Sometimes combine associated units of thought. This might involve paragraphs that flow together in an epistle or a sequence of narratives in the gospels, or potentially a pair of psalms that go together. Many preachers default to only preaching one unit, or always preaching one chapter, or never really preaching any text, but instead bouncing off one to go everywhere else. Listeners might be very blessed by a combined unit approach.
Sometimes preach whole sections or books. This can easily slip into application-less overview with commentary titles, but it need not be that. The flow of thought in a passage or book is a key discovery. Remember that the epistles were written to be heard in one sitting. Why not give people an overview of the flow of thought, while at the same time being sure to drive home the main point and application of the text. For people used to hearing the same short sections every week, this would be refreshing. It can make a great intro or conclusion to a series, too.
There are other approaches too. How about preaching the same section more than once? How about combining two passages that show the progress among the recipients – such as tracing the story of the church at Ephesus from Acts to Ephesians to Revelation chapter two?
Simple point about preaching text length . . . vary it.
Spirituality – Which Room?
When I post on the Cor Deo blog, I link to it on this site. Today’s post is relevant for us all as believers, and as we consider the effect of our preaching on others. Please take a look, and if you wouldn’t mind, please leave a comment too – that would be really helpful!
Preview for Clarity
Some people like to take the complexity and intricacy of preaching and turn it into a one-size fits all template. This is unfortunate because preaching has so many variables to be enjoyed and utilized. Take, for instance, the preview. As part of the introduction to a message, the preacher may choose to give an outline of what is to follow, thus giving a sense of direction, of structure, of purpose, of intent. Here are some preview options:
1. Specifically outline all the points. This would be a deductive preaching approach for the purist. What it loses in intrigue and interest, it adds in clarity and precision. It helps the listener know what is coming, how many points, how they relate to one another and to the text. But recognize that clarity isn’t the only strength to pursue in a message. Remember that interest and intrigue are also important. A strongly deductive outline for the whole message will be helped by an inductive approach within each point. While the whole may be clearly previewed, the points will be helped by offering only part of the package, leaving something to be developed for the interest of the listener.
2. Structurally outline the passage’s flow of thought. Instead of giving your whole outline at the start, sometimes it is very effective to simply overview the chunks. I heard a very effective message recently that used this approach. By no means an exact quote: “In the first ten verses Paul shows it does mean to stick with Christ, then in the last six verses what it doesn’t mean to stick with Christ.” Simple. Clear. Listener’s familiarised with the terrain and ready to press into the details. Sometimes this kind of simplified preview prepares listeners for more detail without overwhelming them in advance.
3. Outline within the points. In a more inductive sermon, the preview by necessity is more restricted. Instead of giving the full idea (subject and complement) and outline of the message, a message preview might give just the subject and maybe a super-simplified sense of the text’s shape or purposein order to assure the listener that the full idea will be achieved in the course of the message. In such cases it may work well to use previewing during the message as a new point or movement is introduced. While not giving away the whole, it does satisfy the listener’s desire for direction. So perhaps the solution to the stated problem is still to come, but in the first movement of the message a false solution will be presented and found wanting – this could be clearly previewed without undermining the inductive nature of the message.
There are other approaches to previewing a message too. The important thing is to deliberately include a preview that will most help the listeners as they receive this particular message. No one size fits all, but custom made previews crafted for a unique combination of text and listeners.
