Today’s post could not be more relevant to preachers. But to get to it, you need to click here.
Narrative Lived
Why did God give the majority of His Word in the form of narrative? I suspect part of the answer lies in the incarnational nature of narrative. It is theology fleshed out in concrete. Real lives, real situations, real challenges, real responses. Narrative engages us, and that is exactly the way God would have it. Why? Because He seeks to engage us.
So as I am studying a couple of narratives for forthcoming messages, I am struck by how my life this week has been a sequence of micro-narratives, within the larger narrative of my year, within the macro-narrative of many lives intersecting, within the supra-narrative of God’s history. Just like we see in the Bible, the world is a stage where lives live in response to each other and to God. Some trust Him, others trust self. Some live out love for God, others live out love for self.
I suppose most, if not all, of the story lived out this week will be consigned to unrequested history books in the annals of heaven’s library. Most of each Bible character’s life was not the action snippet that we see in children’s bible story books. I was talking with my children this week about how the Bible characters were full people, not just caricatures. There was much more to Noah than a beard and a saw. Full lives, full characters, full stories. Most not getting into the book, but all of it mattering profoundly.
Which makes me stop and think as I head into another Sunday: what kind of character am I in God’s great story? The Bible proves it isn’t about brains, or beauty, or brawn. The Bible points to heart response to God’s Word, which then spills out in every aspect of life.
In the visual silence of an unseen God, how does my life live out its response to His Word?
People speak of the great tapestry of history. My life is just a thread in that whole work of art. This week is probably only a micro-fibre. But it counts. It is coloured. And in all the complexity of biblical narrative we see every shade of colour, and yet everything seems to boil down to love or hate, trust or self-reliance, faith or fear.
Let’s be sure God’s Word is marking our lives as we seek to help others be marked by it in the coming weekend.
Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 5
This week I have been getting my head and heart in gear to prepare messages from the book of Ruth. I’ve pondered issues of contextual unawareness, perceived irrelevance and the challenges of application. I am not saying any of this should come before issues of study and interpretation, but before the messages can be prepared, these issues have to be faced. I’d like to raise one more issue:
What is my strategy for preaching through the book?I have four sessions to preach through Ruth. Slam dunk, decision made, right? Four weeks, four chapters. Voila! Perhaps. But I’m not a fan of instant obvious decisions. I want to think through it first.
1. Preaching a narrative means preaching multiple scenes, not multiple chapters. It may be that there are four scenes in four chapters, but I need to check that first. Going with chapter breaks is lazy and sometimes naive.
2. How do I keep the unity in mind? Ruth wasn’t written to be read over four sittings in four weeks. It was written to be heard in one sweep. I have to ponder that. Should I preach the whole narrative in one go? I could do that week 1, but then what? I could take three weeks to revisit the text and zero in on specific aspects of the story. Or I could review the whole narrative at the end. Or I could let it build week by week, as if people don’t know what is coming.
3. And what about other options given by four weeks? Maybe I need to take a week on the opening verses and engage the complexity of divine providence, suffering and life as experienced by most people. Perhaps there are a couple of chapters that could flow together. Perhaps the ending that points forward to David is worthy of a wrap-up message on its own. So many options.
Simply splitting it into four roughly equal chunks with a big number at the start does seem a bit too hasty at this point. I need to spend some more time in the text of Ruth, and be prayerfully considering what would be most helpful to our congregation.
Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 4
So I am preparing to preach Ruth. I know that all preachers are tempted to overcome the perceived lack of relevance by multiplying applications from the details of the story. Yesterday I suggested that the details are there for the sake of the plot, rather than as automatic teaching points. But there is more to be said on this matter of applying the text.
Furthermore, (2) I have to remember that narratives were not given to us merely to instruct our conduct. It is not just conduct that matters in facing the horrors life can throw at us (Ruth 1), it is also truths applied at the level of personal belief, and even affection. Ruth didn’t cling to Naomi, and give up everything to go with her, based on knowledge of “the right things to do in this situation.” She did it all because of the God that had gripped her heart.
I don’t want my listeners to have lists of behavioural applications, but untouched hearts. That would make a mockery of the force of Ruth. Relevance doesn’t have to be just a to-do list. Relevance is more to do with the impact of the text on the heart of the listener so that they leave the service as a changed person.
Finally (although not definitively), (3) I need to recognize that the relevance in the text is not on a merely human level. It is tempting to look at people interacting with people and consider applications that can come straight over into our seen world. But all biblical narratives are about the seen intersecting with the unseen. There is a God alive and yet often not seen. The narrative is about lives lived under the constant question of trust or non-trust in the Word of God. If my listeners finish with great insight into an ancient narrative, but without a greater sense of God (both then and now), then I have failed to be truly relevant.
Tomorrow I’ll ponder another practical issue in preparation…
Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 3
I am preparing to preach a series from the book of Ruth. This week I’ve been thinking out loud about aspects I need to keep in mind as I head into the preparations. I’ve thought about the unfamiliarity of the context for the listeners, as well as their perception of the irrelevance of something so far removed from today.
Today I’m pondering a temptation I know I’ll face in preaching the narrative genre.
It is always tempting to multiply applications. I suppose this is a response to yesterday’s concern with apparent irrelevance. The preacher can fall into the trap of turning every detail of the text into a point of application. “Look, Ruth isn’t an irrelevant book, we are only five verses in and here are four principles for keeping your family together!” Oops.
As a preacher with a desire to be relevant to the listeners, I have to guard against illegitimate application of details in the narrative. Just because a character demonstrates it, doesn’t make it an instruction for the reader. Just because it happened, doesn’t mean it should.
As a general approach, perhaps I should put it this way – (1) my effort in preparation should go into grasping the thrust of the whole passage, and then seeking to clearly apply that main thrust. And there will be ways to multiply the applications of that main thrust. This will be better than multiplied mini-thrusts based on particular details plucked out of their unique role in the passage as a whole.
That is, all the details matter, but not all the details need to be applied. Every detail in a narrative is working together to make the whole plot work. But not every detail is there as a teaching point. The plot as a whole (either the whole plot, or the plot of a scene if I preach it section by section), the plot as a whole carries a certain thrust that we would do well to open our hearts to and be changed by.
Tomorrow I’ll add a couple more thoughts on applying the narrative.
Preparing to Preach OT Narrative – 2
Yesterday I pondered the challenges of unfamiliarity of context. When we preach from the Old Testament, if our listeners are more used to the New Testament, then this will be a challenge. We thought about the canonical context, as well as the historical context. There’s another challenge:
Low expectation of relevance. I have to remember that by the time I come to preach from Ruth, I will have spent many hours in studying it. It will have taken root in my heart again and God will have stirred me through His Word. This will not be the case for the listeners.
They will be coming into the meeting with minds and hearts on all sorts of things. They will be thinking of anything but pre-monarchical Israelite history. So if I start into the message with an assumption that Ruth is a motivating destination, I may well be starting into my message alone. I’d much rather take folks with me. How can I do that? A couple of thoughts:
1. Introduce with relevance. I have written this before, but I’ll reiterate because it is important. It is not dishonouring the text to start with an introduction before reading it. I think the text can be dishonoured by reading it before people care to hear what it says. So one approach is to craft an introduction that overtly seeks to connect the listeners and their current state of disequilibrium with the text as relevant to them. This is not to “pander” to felt needs, but to recognize the reality of life and what it is to be a listener. Getting relevance into the introduction makes all the sense in the world. The listeners need an early appreciation of the fact that the preacher is relevant, the message is relevant and the text itself is relevant.
2. Let the narrative bite quickly. This does not necessarily contradict with the previous point. With a narrative the preacher has the advantage of the inherently gripping nature of the genre. TV show producers know that there is a better way to grip viewers than a long series of opening credits with promises of big name actors and actresses (as they did thirty years ago!) The best way is to let the narrative begin and bite quickly. Once bitten, viewers will then tolerate the 40 seconds of opening credits (sometimes several minutes into the show). This illustrates what I am saying here. The listeners should be gripped if the first three or four verses of Ruth are presented effectively. Maybe it would be worth getting into the tension of the plot before pulling back to make sense of context, etc.
Preparing to Preach OT Narrative
I am preparing a series of messages from the book of Ruth. Consequently I am processing some of the challenges that come with preaching through an Old Testament narrative. Perhaps some of the thinking might be helpful, or at least there can be a sense of conversing together about this important subject. As ever, no claim here to being exhaustive, but hopefully mildly provocative in a good way.
In our church it is fair to say that the majority of messages, from both in-house and visiting speakers, come from the New Testament. This means that the Old Testament is much less familiar turf. As I prepare to preach Ruth, then, I must take that into account.
Less familiar literary context – I have to be careful not to assume anything here. Ruth comes in a period of about four centuries covered by the bleak book of Judges. Here is the jewel on the dark velvet. But I can’t assume folks understand the book of Judges. For some it will be a collection of children’s stories (where protagonist is always portrayed as a full-on hero, whatever the text may hint). For others it will mean nothing at all. So I need to think through how to make sense of the fact that “In the days when the judges judged” is the opening line of Ruth.
At some point I might think about showing where Ruth came in the Hebrew ordering of the canon. Not after Judges (in the former prophets), but after Proverbs (in the writings). Specifically, after Proverbs 31 . . . a wife of noble character, who can find? Again, I can’t just drop that in without confusing people. It will need a bit of explanation, perhaps I might use a powerpoint slide to help visualize the difference. Perhaps.
Less familiar historical context – Not only is the Judges context unfamiliar, so is the culture of this time frame. It is considerably further removed from today than the more familiar world of the New Testament. This is pre-monarchy. This is before the prophets and their impact on the nation of Israel. I don’t want to preach it with assumptions, and have some listeners envisioning the action in the context of the Roman occupation, or whatever.
I need to think through what is pertinent about the context, the culture, the politics of the day, etc. And I need to think through how to communicate that in the messages.
Where’s Your Drain?
This week I’ve written about things that make us tempted to half quit. Some things make us want to totally quit. Other things just drain energy away without us really noticing. I have to be honest, I am kind of glad I am not preaching this week.
It is just a stubbed toe (swollen, painful, etc.) But that is enough to be a distraction and make concentrating a challenge. At the same time I am looking forward to preaching next week. What is draining you? It could be something physical, it could be a family relationship, or a soured friendship, or an ongoing challenge in the church, or, or, or…
There are any number of potential energy drains. Maybe it is just me, but there’s this weird inconsistency. Sometimes something is going on that drains energy and becomes the central focus of my prayer life. Other times I seem to just try to cope. What is that all about? I haven’t really prayed much about the toe, I suppose it doesn’t seem important enough. But what if my energy is sapped, my concentration is broken, perhaps my attitude is a bit more negative, etc.?
I suppose this isn’t too profound a thought, but I wonder if something is draining you, and I wonder if you are trying to cope in your own strength? Let’s be sure to be fully abiding in the vine as we head into another Sunday, whether we’re preaching or not.
The Long Term Half Quit – pt.2
What are some of the reasons that preacher’s lose the motivation and half quit over the years of ministry? Yesterday I pondered the issues of church battle scars, spiritual warfare fatigue and emotional drain. Let me finish the list now, although this is only intended to start us thinking. What would you add?
4. Physical Weariness – A preaching ministry is not a natural vocation in which to be physically fit. Sitting, reading, thinking, praying. We would do well to be good stewards – watching what goes in, watching how much or how little we do, etc. Over time there are also the challenges of physical ill health, not always related to fitness. Preparing to preach with a tired body and foggy mind is hard, and we’ll be increasingly tempted to just do “enough.”
5. Seasons Without “Success” – There are seasons of ministry that just feel like a hard slog. Every inch gained feels like it took it out of us. People can seem unusually unresponsive. Hearts can seem extremely hardened all around. Somehow our ministry seems to be like a slog through mud, and we don’t know why. These seasons can really take the wind out of our sails.
6. Seasons With “Success” – The opposite is also true. Seasons of unusually responsive people can lead to us being drained and somehow weakened. Like Elijah we can come from great success into great inner turmoil and struggle. We need to watch out for the good times that we always pray for during the tough times – neither are easy to navigate well!
7. Distracted Heart – This could and should be a post on its own. How easily our hearts get distracted! The list of potential other loves that could draw us from our devotion to Christ is probably endless. Hobbies. Power. Illicit fantasy. Pursuit of fame. The love of money. The only One who can search and know the state of our heart is the One before whom we must keep our hearts forever open.
And…?
The Long Term Half Quit
There are ups and downs in ministry, often from week to week and even day to day. But there is another danger too. It is the long term half quit over the years or decades.
Ministry is not automatically rejuvenating. Over the years we can find our motivation and attitudes wearing down. What can cause this? Here are some factors to get us started, a list of seven:
1. Church Battle Scars – Church ministry can be a real battle ground, sometimes out in the open, often under the surface. For some reason people seem to choose the church as their venue for political significance and they can really go after those who have any up-front ministry. Gossip, slander, attack, critique, and so much more. It shouldn’t be, but it too often is.
2. Spiritual Warfare Fatigue – There is a spiritual warfare dimension in ministry. The enemy loves to attack those with any prominence. We should not be unaware of his attacks, and over time we may well feel worn by the experience. There are times when stepping out of the ministry feels genuinely tempting. The half-quit is the more acceptable option that too many fall into.
3. Emotional Drain – Someone said that preaching is the closest thing men come to giving birth. I’ve been at a few births and I wouldn’t want to push the analogy, but there is something to it. We give of ourselves in preaching, and then again, and then again. It can be emotionally draining to pray so intently, hope so absurdly, preach so intensely and then go at it again. Over time the drain can leave us functioning in second gear through the whole process.
I will finish the list tomorrow…
Biblical Preaching 