Old Testament Stories – part 2: Good Illustrations?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

It is often tempting to use Old Testament stories as illustrations in a sermon, but before doing so, here are five questions to consider:

1 – Do they know the story? Many listeners do not know the stories of the Bible. This means we have to explain our illustration. Does it make sense to have to make something clear, that is given in order to make something else clear? If your listeners need to get to know these stories, why not preach on them?

2 – Is there a better illustration? This may sound heretical, but in a hierarchy of illustrations, most biblical stories actually sit low on the ladder – experienced by none, learned by few. Biblical stories should be preached, but that doesn’t mean they must be our primary pool of illustrations for other biblical texts.

3 – What’s the main idea of the text? A different biblical text will have a different central idea than the one you’re preaching. There is the ever-present danger of misrepresenting a biblical text.

4 – Are you going in the right direction? If people don’t accept your point from one biblical text, offering them another often won’t help. However, if they do accept what you are saying, then why move backwards to the Old Testament instead of forward into their lives with a relevant illustration of personal application?

5 – What example are you giving? To listen to some preachers, some might get the impression that all they need to live the Christian life is the New Testament, and a passing acquaintance with the Old. If the preacher does not model the highest respect for the whole canon, who will?

There may be good reason to use a biblical illustration, but before doing so, consider these questions first.

Old Testament Stories – part 1: Preaching Texts?

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Some people take the view that the texts for preaching should come primarily, or even exclusively, from the New Testament. In order to preach “the whole counsel,” many use the Old Testament as illustrations in their sermons. Should Old Testament stories be illustrations, or preaching texts in their own right?

There are some reasons to hesitate before using an Old Testament story as an illustration in a sermon. Part 2 of this post will give five questions for the preacher to consider before using the Old Testament for an illustration.

Steve Mathewson (The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative – review coming soon) lists four reasons many preachers struggle with preaching Old Testament narratives.

  1. Tendency to view stories as fluff.
  2. Minimizing of the role of Old Testament stories in the canon.
  3. Intimidating features of Old Testament language and literature.
  4. Enslavement to a particular style of exposition. That is to say, Old Testament stories usually feel forced when preached using analytical outlines and “impaled on the frame of Aristotelian logic” (to use Fred Craddock’s phrase, As One Without Authority, p45).

It is not easy to preach Old Testament stories well, but “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful . . .” All of it. Preach it all.

Notes or no notes? – part 2

/ Peter Mead / 3 Comments

In part 1 of this post I presented the “why” of no notes preaching from my perspective. The relational connection through increased eye contact is the biggest reason for me. Also the side effects of less complicated messages, more text-related messages, and staying-put-in-your-text messages, these are all positives as well.

So, how? Well, it is not by memorization. Trying to memorize 30-45 minutes of material is a sure way to achieve the following negative results: performing like an actor, freezing like an amateur actor, and failing to have any relational connection because you seem aloof (trying to remember the next “line”). It is probably worth memorizing the big idea, perhaps the statements of each move or point if you are going to state them explicitly, the opening few lines and the concluding few lines. Beyond that, it’s all about internalization.

Having studied the text as fully as possible, you then prepare a message that fits closely to that text and makes good sense. If possible, it is worth typing out a full word-for-word manuscript. This manuscript allows you to work carefully on specific word choices and phrasing. The work of giving close attention to the manuscript is surprisingly effective at internalizing the wording so that it comes out again when you practice the message and/or deliver it.

In the busy schedule of ministry life, typing a full manuscript is not always possible. So writing out a full outline and then preaching through the message out loud also serves to internalize the message.

Preaching without notes is not about special memory skills. It is about full preparation that leads to the preacher being very at home in the preaching text. It is about prayerful preparation that allows the message to soak into the very fiber of the preacher’s life.

For many preachers the fear of forgetting where they are, or freezing during delivery, hinders them from trying no notes preaching. I thank the Lord for my preaching professor that took away all other options when I had to preach in class. Maybe you should find someone to require no notes preaching of you?

Notes or no notes? – Part 1

/ Peter Mead / 11 Comments

I preached with notes for a decade, sometimes extensive, sometimes brief. Three years ago I switched to preaching without notes. I would not go back. I’m pretty sure that Mike preaches with some notes and does so very effectively. We’ll get his thoughts on this subject soon. There are more important things than whether you preach with or without notes. It’s more important to be Biblical, to have clear big idea, specific purpose and relevance. So I would not make a definitive case for no notes as opposed to with notes or with manuscript preaching (although to be honest I have yet to see someone who can read a manuscript effectively in preaching). However, this issue is important since delivery is a key element in preaching.

So why do I advocate and encourage no notes preaching? Preaching without notes increases eye contact beyond belief! Greater eye contact increases the sense of connection and intimacy between listener and speaker. We are living in a day when people are increasingly resistant to “pre-planned” speeches. While my preaching is completely pre-planned, it feels more authentic and relational because I am not following notes. For eye contact alone, it is worth it for me.

But there are other benefits. Preaching without notes forces you to make sure the outline makes sense. As Haddon Robinson says, a good outline remembers itself. An outline on paper can be deceptive, giving the impression of logical ordering, but an outline that does not flow or make sense will be very hard to internalize for preaching without notes. Preaching without notes also forces you to tie the message as directly as possible to the text. The text is your notes, so the message needs to logically flow from the text. Furthermore, you are more likely to stay put in the text you are dealing with rather than skipping all over the canon (a good habit to get into for many reasons!)

So that’s the “why?” In the next post I will explain the “how” of no notes preaching . . . and it is not about memorization!

Preaching Parables – Two Thoughts

/ Peter Mead / 2 Comments

Last Sunday I preached from Luke 18, where there are two parables at the start of the chapter. A couple of thoughts about preaching parables:

Jesus told stories that packed a punch, don’t deaden the force – Of course the preacher’s role includes the need to explain the story, but we also need to preach the story in such a way as to achieve a similar effect as Jesus intended. For example, as I preached on the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, how could I help the listeners today to feel the force of that story in the way that Jesus’ listeners felt it? Well, I couldn’t just read the text. Nor could I just tell the story as it stands. As Jesus set the scene in verse 10, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax collector,” his listeners would immediately have significant emotional reaction. One was a good guy, the other a very bad guy. But for my churched listeners, their emotional reaction would be muted at best, the exact opposite at worse. For churched folk listening today, one is a bad guy (the one who typically opposed Jesus and ultimately got Him crucified) and the other is probably ok (the one who Jesus would hang out with, the one who might be like the other former tax collector that gave us our favorite Christmas readings in a Gospel). This is the opposite emotional reaction than Jesus intended. So, I chose to tell a contemporary story, in some ways equivalent to the parable, but not a forced equivalency. Having felt the force, we were ready to go back, read the text and have it explained. When it comes to preaching stories it is easy to kill the specimen by dissecting it. Stories are best observed alive, rather than cut up.

Incidentally, I could have chosen to do the same thing with Luke 18:1-8, but chose not to. I felt that story would work with a more straightforward “read a bit and then explain” approach, while maintaining the flow of the story. On another occasion I might use a contemporary version first.

The Gospel writers recorded stories in carefully packaged contexts, don’t rip them out – Whenever I preach from a Gospel passage, I am very aware of the double context. There’s the original historical context when Jesus spoke the words to the people around him. Then there’s the written context when Luke arranged, edited, commented on and put together the Gospel (different audience, different point in time, sometimes with different purpose). So when preaching a parable of Jesus, I am not dealing simply with a story Jesus told, but with a story Jesus told in a context Luke put together. So it is important to recognize the blending of both contexts. In the case of Luke 18, I focused primarily on the stories as Jesus told them (as presented by Luke), but was careful to notice the written contexts stretching back into chapter 17 for 18:1-8, and then on through the next two stories for 18:9-14.

God told you? Really?

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

I wish more people were careful not to carelessly throw around “God told me” vocabulary. When the preacher slips in this statement, what does it communicate? What do people understand? Did the preacher really receive a supernatural revelation, a voice resounding in the study? That is what people hear the preacher say, and they wonder why they never hear God say anything to them. I am sure there are many churches filled with people feeling intimidated by their lack of personal supernatural revelation. There are churches full of people who are learning to use this vocabulary for less dramatic experiences and thereby intimidating other believers. There are churches full of people who could be truly gripped by the wonder of hearing God speaking through His Word, but instead wishing for an experience that others may or may not have in their quiet times. As preachers we must be very careful of the words we use and how they might be taken, we must be very careful of the example we set our listeners.

Review: The Passion Driven Sermon, by Jim Shaddix.

/ Peter Mead / Leave a comment

Subtitle – Changing the Way Pastors Preach and Congregations Listen

ShaddixPassion

This is a book with both strengths and weaknesses. To be honest, this is not a classic.

Jim Shaddix is a pastor and teacher of preaching at New Orleans Baptist Seminary. He co-authored Power in the Pulpit, a preaching manual, with Jerry Vines. This book, The Passion Driven Sermon, is not a manual, but a theology of preaching. In this book he wrestles with what preaching is, and what it should be.

The Passion Driven Sermon, according to Shaddix, should be a sermon driven by passion for the glory of God. His passion is evident throughout the book as he addresses issues relating to preaching and the Bible, preaching and the pastor’s role as shepherd, then preaching and the sermon.

There are some real strengths in this book. His style is uncompromising. The recurring idea throughout is that preaching should be filled with “God’s stuff” rather than just “good stuff.” The passion for God, for His glory and for His Word, is commendable. The repeated swipes at non-expository felt needs preaching is certainly needed in certain circles.

However, there are also real weaknesses in this book. Often the swipes taken at non-expository felt needs preaching swipe too broadly. The reader soon has the sense that any specific relevance to the daily life of the listener is a compromise that should be rejected.

Is it not possible to preach Christ and Him crucified, to preach theocentric and Biblical sermons, making clear the claim of Christ on the lives of the listener, but to do so with relevance and application? True expository preaching demands both Bible and relevance.

Pendulums swing far, often too far – but it is important to get the point of the swing. Shaddix’s book is a pendulum swing away from man-centered, unbiblical, rhetorically driven ear-scratching preaching. He swings too far and rejects too much, but we should hear his message anyway.

We do need the message of this book today, but I would be nervous if a preacher followed this book to the letter. After reading this, it would be healthy to read another book that places the importance of relevance in Biblical exposition back in its rightful place.

To be honest, at times it felt like Shaddix was in a bad mood when he wrote the book. Strengths and weaknesses, but not a classic.

What if I have a question, or idea for this blog?

/ Peter Mead / 8 Comments

The way this blog is set up, only Mike and Peter are able to publish new posts. However, if you would like to add something to the site that is not a comment on a previous post, all is not lost! If you have a question, or a text you are wrestling with in preparation for preaching, or a book review, or an idea for a post on the blog . . . simply write a comment after any post, including this one. Before the comment is published we will see it and move it into an appropriate new post. We look forward to receiving your input … it’s all about stimulating Biblical Preaching!

Balance Between Caution and Boldness?

/ Mike Roth / Leave a comment

In an article titled Considering Hearers, Haddon Robinson writes, “But if we focus too hard on not offending, or if we read too many letters from the offended, we can become paralyzed. We start qualifying every sentence. We end up with weasel sermons that are defensive, cautious, and spineless.”

I must admit, these words were much needed exhortation. Preaching on a regular basis to graduate educated, post-moderns, I have received my share of letters! Some letters are encouraging, some are rightfully corrective, but the vast majority are nitpicky. While we must do everything within our ability to preach sermons that carefully and lovingly consider the words we use, the tone we speak with and the illustrations we tell, we must not become overly careful and cautious. If we do, we risk speaking so broadly and generally, that we end up saying nothing at all.

So, how do we balance necessary caution and the proclamation of truth with boldness? Here is one suggestion: imaginary friends. Yes, you read it right – imaginary friends. Robinson calls this, “taking the listeners’ side.” As you write your sermon, imagine yourself surrounded by three, four, even five diverse people. For example, my five friends are named Chris, Victoria, Jeff, Ken and Elsa. Chris is deeply theological and socially oriented. Victoria is a product of the feminist movement, highly educated and politically savvy. Jeff is simple, homeless and wonderfully pragmatic. He loves to say, “so what.” Ken is white-collar, an MBA gradate, highly motivated and helpfully cynical. Elsa is a single mom, with many needs, endless strength and a passion for Jesus. I sit with these friends in my study every week I preach. I ask them questions and think through their answers. I make statements and ponder their responses. Considering these friends as I write sermons, helps me to be appropriately careful. It keeps me lovingly cautious.

A side benefit to this is that it also helps me to be relevant. Of course, I change my friends around every now and then. I add a young single man here and an elderly woman there… The purpose of this is to strike a balance of caution and boldness in the sermons I preach. I have found this to help.

Other suggestions?

Is one sermon enough?

/ Peter Mead / 4 Comments

Dr. Sid Buzzell of Colorado Christian University made a comment worthy of consideration.  He has one foot in pastoral preaching and the other in education.  He suggested that if preachers started to think of preaching schedules with the mindset of an educator there would be one obvious difference.  If preachers were truly concerned with the outcome in mind,  what the listeners should become as a result of the preaching, then many sermons would become series of sermons.

Perhaps preachers do have a tendency to cover material once, move on to new material, and expect too much change from such short exposure.  So maybe it’s time to ask ourselves, in light of the Biblical passage before us, and as those seeking to see life change that will bring pleasure and glory to God, and knowing our people as we do . . . is one sermon enough?