Don’t Presume They Know

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Effective preaching requires good understanding of both the passage and the people.  Purposeful audience analysis helps the preacher know how to tailor the study of stages 1-4 into a message in stages 5-8.  Obviously the preacher will try to aim for relevance and pitch the messaeg at the right level.  It is this level that can easily trip us up.

At one extreme it is possible to hyper-patronize listeners by spelling out every element of the message as if they understand nothing.  At the other extreme it is possible to bamboozle listeners and go completely over their heads with technical vocabulary and assumed awareness of information needed for the message to make sense.  While these are two extremes, it is worth noting that the danger in one direction is greater than in the other.

As long as the attitude of the preacher is not overtly patronizing, people will listen to basic material, even if they think it is for the sake of others who may be present.  However, people struggle to stay focused when things are going above their heads.  Be careful not to assume people know everything necessary to understand what you are saying.  Don’t assume they know when the story fits in Bible history, or what that theological term means, or what had happened previously in the life of that character.

You don’t have to speak like you are talking to a group of children, instead try to make the message seem “easy” just as a competent sportsman or woman makes their sport look easy.  A great tennis player, ball player, or whatever, doesn’t make it look intricate and complex.  Perhaps we can follow suit in the pulpit.  Our aim is not to bamboozle or impress, our aim is to communicate and equip.

The Preacher’s Heart – Part 3

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Culture and call, community and communion.  All arenas of life, sub-plots in the story God is writing in us.  All are arenas of critical importance for us, since it is in respect to these that our choices in response to God’s initiative determine how God shapes our hearts.  The final two arenas:

Arena 5: Conflict – Conflict is guaranteed in leadership (it may be personal, relational, demonic, or organizational).  Criticism is also part of the package.  This is no less the case for preachers.  How do you engage with the inevitable conflicts that come your way?  These are not distractions from your growth as a leader, these are key moments in shaping your heart for leadership.  (Again consider how Moses was shaped by conflict in Egypt, and criticism in the wilderness.  Or think of David versus Saul, and versus Absalom.  And Paul faced challenges from the church as a new convert, conflict with Barnabas, persecution from Jews and opposition within the church regarding his apostleship.)

Arena 6: Commonplace –  In the ordinary mundane things of life you are being shaped.  The normal routine, when no-one is watching, when you are “plugging away” in your role, in your relationships.  To be shaped well: look for God in these times, keep learning, say yes to God (obey in the small stuff), stay grateful.  We can sometimes rush toward the exciting end of ministry, but remember how God shapes us in these low-key times.  For Moses it was decades in the desert, for David there were the years on the run, for Paul there was obscurity for the first years, and so much more.  For us, perhaps we have wilderness seasons, but also the repetitious routine of time in the study.

It all counts, as long as we choose to respond well.  God uses every element of life to shape us as preachers, as leaders, as men and women after His own heart.

The Preacher’s Heart – Part 2

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Last time I introduced the first two categories in Reggie McNeal’s book, A Work of Heart.  These six “arenas” are the sub-plots of our lives through which God is shaping us as his followers, as preachers, as leaders.  How we respond to these initiatives will determine what we become.  Last time we considered briefly culture and call.

Arena 3: Community – We are, by nature, creatures of community.  Your family of origin, current family, relationships, friendships, all are shaping and sustaining you for leadership.  Issues here include love, forgiveness, identity, and purposeful relationships (mentoring).  Consider the influence of Moses’ families of origin, Jethro, Joshua.  Consider David’s family background, his mighty men, his Abigail.  Consider how Paul was shaped by Barnabas, Timothy and Silas, Luke, Epaphras, etc.

Arena 4: Communion – Your conscious cultivation of your own relationship with God – rest, conversation, devotion, worship.  It is so easy, with hindsight, to see the value of Paul’s time in obscurity, or David’s years on the run, or Moses’ decades in the desert and then the weeks on the mountain.  How much they fellowshipped with God, what sweet communion they enjoyed.  Yet at the time, without hindsight, so many would choose rather to dry up in the heart.

Any understanding of the Christian life that is not, at its core, about relationship with God and with others, is surely grossly inadequate.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to take some time to evaluate your own state of heart in respect to communion with God and community (how easy to fall into the trap of “lone rangering” in ministry…how dangerous!)

The Preacher’s Heart – Part 1

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Whenever you teach a preaching course you are faced with the same challenge.  It is possible to teach skills and principles, but it is not possible to fully train a preacher.  There is that element that can only come from God’s work in a person’s life.  Partially it is a matter of spiritual formation and maturity.  Partially it involves gifting and even natural ability (also a gift).  I’d like to take a couple of posts to scratch the surface of this vast subject.

Reggie McNeal’s book, A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders is a first-rate volume.  I refer to it as my favorite book on leadership.  As preachers, we are leaders.  Whether or not the other trappings of leadership and organizational structure exist, when we preach, we lead.  McNeal rightly points out that leadership is ultimately a matter of the heart.  God is always at work, shaping the hearts of leaders.  Our privilege is to respond to God’s initiative in at least six arenas of life.  The choices we make in response to God’s initiative “are the story of your life.”

Arena 1: Culture – Moses was shaped by Egyptian, Hebrew and Midianite culture.  Paul drew on his Jewish and Roman cultural background.  We need to study our own culture, and other cultures.  No culture is neutral, each has positive and negative elements.  So how do we respond to where God has placed us culturally?  God calls us to engage with culture, and also transcend it or be distinct within it.

Arena 2: Call – A sense of destiny and purpose is important in ministry.  Though each story is different, there is usually both critical moments and an ongoing discovery process.  Moses had the burning bush, and a whole lot of process to work through.  David was anointed by Samuel, followed by much time for soul-searching.  Paul knew both the crisis and the process.  Why you are here on earth, now, wired as you are (gifts, talents, skills, personality), for what purpose?  What is your sense of destiny and direction, passion and purpose? 

The choices we make in response to these realities are critical in the shaping of our lives.

In the next two posts I will share two more pairs of “arenas of God’s heart-shaping initiative” in all our stories.

Does Stance Just Happen?

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There are central issues in preaching – interpreting the Scriptures, applying with relevance, relationship with God and with listeners.  But there are plenty of other factors worthy of our consideration.  Not central, but worth considering since our goal is effective communication.  One of these is stance.

The visual presentation of a speaker is a complex series of issues – dress, body language, facial expression, proxemics, etc.  One element is stance.  How we stand communicates.  I am not advocating a one-size fits all approach.  There is no such solution.  Consider the following:

The setting – is the occasion for preaching more formal or informal.  A casual approach at a funeral tends to backfire!  What kind of church is it?  What is he tone of the service?  Who are the people in the congregation?  Since every preaching context is different, there is no one-size fits all approach.

The message – there needs to be consistency between what is being communicated and how.  A super-somber convicting moment presenting the most important thing they will ever hear generally does not work well with hands in pockets, leaning against the side of the pulpit.  On the other hand, perhaps in some settings, with some messages, having you sit on a high stool in a relaxed manner would work wonders.

The options – while many rightly resist the notion that anyone can prescribe the right stance for every preacher on every preaching occasion, we naturally fall into the inconsistent position of haing a default stance that we use whatever the situation (thereby functioning as if there is a one-size fits all after all!)  Take some time to think through your options.  Behind a podium/pulpit, coming out from behind it, removing it, leaning forward with more urgency, leaning back against something, sitting on a stool, moving to different areas of the platform, standing still, etc.  The deliberate move from behind a desk to standing in front and leaning on it helped to transform a president who was an ineffective communicator into a likeable and more effective leader. 

Sometimes small things do matter.  Anything that will remove a communication hindrance or inconsistency from our preaching of the gospel is worthy of some attention.  Take a few moments to think through stance, our communication is no less important than the president of a superpower!

If You Could Preach Any Passage

/ Peter Mead / 7 Comments

Just imagine you weren’t in the middle of a series.  Imagine you could free up two or three days to study any passage and then prepare a message just because you want to.  What passage would it be?  Would it be an old favorite that you haven’t looked at in a while?  Perhaps Psalm 23 or John 3 or maybe 1Corinthians 13?  Would it be something more obscure you’ve always wanted to study, but haven’t had the opportunity?  Perhaps a minor prophet, a story from Kings or the final few verses of an epistle?

If you could study and preach any passage right now, which would it be?  I’d love to hear.

Oh, and one more question – when are you going to do it?  Either in your church, create a gap and preach something just because you want to.  Or maybe find a small local church and offer to speak in their midweek service if they have one.  Or maybe get creative in some other way.  However you do it, just do it.  Every now and then it is good to preach something just because you have the desire.

Drop Down the Ladder

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Many great sermons turn out to be good sermons.  Sermons looking set to be good often end up average.  How is it that the last few minutes of a sermon can change it from powerful to pleasant?  One key element is the final descent of the preacher down the ladder of abstraction.

The text must be understood in its original setting for the detail to make sense.  Then the process of theological abstraction moves the preacher toward relevance for the contemporary listeners.  But this is not enough.  It is easy to stop at this stage of the process, and a natural place to let off the preparation pressure (after all, surely listeners can take the abstract and apply it specifically in their own situation?)  Actually no, listeners do not generally apply abstracts to their own lives.  Don’t stop with “trust God!” or “love God more!” or “love one another!” or “be faithful in your relationships!”  These are all abstracts.

To really cement the message as a great, not for the sake of your reputation, but for the sake of lives changed to the glory of God, push through for specific application.  This means re-contextualizing the application for the sake of your listeners.  What will it look like to trust God for some of them this week?  How would greater love for God show up in their daily lives?  What specifically might one do to demonstrate genuine love for another believer in the church this week?  Where is faithfulness tested and proven day by day?

Don’t finish a great message in mid-air and thereby transform the great into the good.  Be sure to earth the message through specifics, stepping down the ladder of abstraction so that the rubber can meet the road of real life.  Listeners generally struggle to take hold of an abstract and apply it specifically, but they are very adept at hearing a specific that fits the life of another in the same pew, and translating that specific into a specific that relates to their version of real life. The Bible is relevant, just be sure to demonstrate that reality for some of your listeners.  The rest will gladly translate for themselves!

Discourse: The Danger of Spiritualization

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We’ve noted that there are discourse passages in almost every section of Scripture – history, wisdom, prophet, gospel, etc.  Awareness of the broader plot within which discourse is placed is helpful both in understanding the passage meaning and purpose, and also for preaching the passage with contextual understanding and tension.

So if we decide to preach a discourse in a typical analytical manner – for instance a deductive sermon – what should we be wary of?  Be wary of direct transference of relevance to a different audience.  Joshua 1 does not give direct promises to contemporary readers that wherever we place our feet, we can claim for God.  Equally it does not mandate military action on our part.  Yet the passage yields much that can be so relevant to us.

Be careful to work through the process of exegetical analysis (in that context), drawing out the abiding theological implications (in any context), and recontextualizing the principles (in this context).  Be careful not to then re-attach original phrasing in a careless manner that might imply direct transference of details by a spiritualization process (i.e. let it show that you are not simply reading the text and then telling people to “claim land” as God instructs us to “march” over what we should “conquer”).  By showing some process in our preaching, we can protect our people from bad practice in their own Bible study.  By showing awareness of audience (original and contemporary) and passage purpose (original and preached), we guard our people from inappropriate application.

What is Your Center?

/ Mike Roth / Leave a comment

Haddon Robinson says this of preaching:  “If preaching is not your center, then you will not preach. You will give all of your time, all of your energy, and all of your heart to other areas of ministry. However, if you are called by God to preach, if you burn to preach, if preaching is your center, then you will do whatever is necessary to make preaching central to your week of ministry.”

As you prepare to preach today, pray for God to work in power.  As you finish your pulpit ministry today and start to prepare for another week, prayerfully consider these words.  Perhaps you will find a renewed passion to make preaching central this week.  If preaching is your center, then you will find yourself doing just that.

When Discourse Sits in Narrative

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Discourse text often sits within a narrative.  Consider the teaching sections of the Gospels, how a Jesus sermon is set in the context of the story of His ministry or passion.  Consider the speeches in Acts as they move the story forward time and again.  Consider the direct communication of God to Joshua at the key transition point in Israel’s leadership, or the direct communication of the prophets as they address a specific issue at a specific point in Israel’s history.  Whatever form the book may take generally, these specific instances are essentially discourse Scripture.

When a discourse text sits in the midst of a broader narrative, what do we do?  We should analyze the broader plot to see the function of the discourse within it.  The narrative plot then serves as context for the details of the discourse.  Of course we could choose to preach the text in some kind of narrative form, but equally we can choose to keep that plot-work at the level of context and purpose analysis.  A discourse type text can yield clear and effective outlines through careful analysis.  By giving time in our study to the plot within which the discourse sits, we can add tension and interest to the preaching of the discourse.

This applies to epistles too, incidentally.  Just because an epistle may consist entirely of discourse, we should not lose sight of the broader narrative of history in which it sits.  An epistle is a point in time, a point on the plot line of the story of that particular church or individual.  At a key juncture in the story of the church at Rome, or in Colossae, Paul wrote to them.  We have his discourse, but we can also trace the tension of the church’s history to that point, and be left with the tension of how they would respond to his instruction in the letter.  Awareness of the broader narrative can always add tension and interest to the preaching of a discourse.

Discourse usually sits within a broader narrative framework.  Awareness of that helps our interpretation of the passage. It can also help our preaching by adding more life to the living words!