We live in an age marked by resistance to authority. The idea of submission has fallen on hard times. But don’t miss either the logic or the blessing of this concept:
The Logic – Submit yourselves to God (James 4:7). This is logical. God is God, and you are not. And being a Christian involves a thorough acceptance of that reality. Nobody else has ever achieved even a tiny fraction of success in their attempt to usurp God’s role in the universe. It is so simple. God is God. And I am not. It makes sense not to pretend otherwise.
The Blessing – The Christian faith is not simply about logic, however. James 4:8 goes on to describe how we can draw near to God, and he will draw near to us! What an amazing thing! If we try to usurp his place, we create a conflict between ourselves and God. He opposes the proud. But if we will humble ourselves and submit to him, he gives grace to the humble (see 1 Peter 5:5-6). The blessing of submission to God is closeness with God. And since he is a good God, this is a good thing!
So the first posture point to ponder: Be under, not over, the Word!
It would be bizarrely arrogant to think that my finite mind and experience can evaluate and judge God’s Word. Who am I to imagine that I can decide what to accept, what to dismiss, etc.?
In Acts 17:11 we read about the Jews in Berea. They were commended for receiving Paul’s message with eagerness, and then checking that teaching against the Scriptures. May that be our posture too . . . leaning forward, hearts open, head nodding, eager to hear from God’s Word!
Post point two: Receive God’s Word with eagerness!
Definition matters massively. One person might say, “professional preachers are the problem!” Then another person might say, “amateur preachers are the problem!” And both might be right. It all depends on what they mean by what they say.
1. “Professional” can be referring to very different issues. What image does the term “professional” bring to mind? You might think of a person’s skill, or how they handle their communications with customers, or their manner in person, or their motivation for what they do. That is already four variations of potential meaning for the term “professional.” Perhaps an electrician is called to solve a problem in your house. They might be a real professional in their work (positive – they knew exactly what to do), their invoice was very professional looking (positive – good communications), their conversation and manner in conversation might have been a bit professional (negative – cold or aloof communications), and their reason for working may have seemed too professional (negative – it was all about the money).
2. “Amateur” can be referring to very different issues, too. What image does the term “amateur” bring to mind? You might think in the same categories as before. Perhaps the electrician was amateur in their work (negative – they did not know what to do), their invoice looked very amateur (negative – sloppy communication), their conversation might convey the enthusiasm of an amateur (positive – they love what they do), and their reason for work may have been the best side of an amateur (positive – they do it for the love of their craft).
3. In terms of skill, be professional. I don’t want someone showing “amateurish” skill levels when they fix my car, cut my hair, or operate on me. Skill is good. In reality, some of the most skilled people in the world may not be paid for what they do, while some who are paid should not be allowed anywhere near your car, your scalp or a scalpel. So actually, pay is irrelevant. The point is about skill. So as a preacher, it does not matter to this point whether you are paid to preach or not. In terms of skill, be as professional as possible. Read, learn, study, grow. Be a good steward of the ministry opportunity God has given you.
4. In respect to motivation, be amateur. When someone’s vocation has been “professionalised” then their motivation becomes suspect. This is why a nationally known car exhaust company may not be trusted (did they do more work than was needed in order to get more of my money?) Or why it is a problem if your medical practitioner is incentivized by drug companies to prescribe treatments to as many people as possible (whether they need the treatment or not!) In this respect, skill is not the issue. The point is about motivation. A highly skilled mechanic who rips off the customer is not to be celebrated. A brilliant clinician who risks lives to increase their income should be prosecuted. So as a preacher, your skill level (in this point) is not my concern. In terms of motivation, be as amateur as possible. Love God, love people, and love your craft. Be driven by the privilege of getting to speak God’s Word to people for their benefit.
5. And in the area of interpersonal communication, be genuine. I have underlined issues of skill and motivation, but interpersonal communication is also part of the package. Coming across as too professional can be problematic, even when you are not preaching. Coming across as an amateur might be an issue too. Instead, how about we settle on the need to be genuine? It does not resolve all the complexity of conversational dynamics, but it does leave us with two clear points to finish.
6. As a preacher, let’s do what we do as well as we can. If that means being professional in some sense, so be it. We certainly don’t want to be amateurish.
7. As a preacher, let’s do what we do with heartfelt motivation. If that means being amateurs in some sense, so be it. We certainly don’t want to be professionalised.
The definition of labels is important. This is an example worth pondering as far as preaching is concerned and how we might view our ministry. We should preach as professionals in the sense of “to the best of our ability” and as amateurs in the sense of “with the passion of a captured heart.” We should not preach as professionals in the sense of “relying on our own ability,” or “just for money,” nor as amateurs in the sense of “to a poor standard.”
It is also an example to keep in mind in a world where labels so easily get applied as a pejorative, and the mud sticks because people don’t question what is really meant.
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In the next week or so I will be completing my short video collection through the Psalms. Please do check it out and share with any who may find it helpful as a reference, or better yet, as a companion through the Psalms in 2023!
This might seem like a really obvious thing to say, but I think it needs to be said. We have to really work hard in order to really know a passage before we preach it.
It is very easy to assume we know a passage. It is very hard to recognize how much we don’t know. But learning to think clearly about your own thinking is a critical skill for the preacher.
Here are some thoughts to consider:
1. Knowing a passage involves more than knowing some highlights or landmarks in it. After reading a passage and spending some time in study, you may be able to identify some key features of the passage. You might be able to say that there is the truth in verse 3, and the truth in verse 5 and then the conclusion in verse 9. Do you know the passage? No, you are aware of some highlights in the passage.
2. Knowing a passage involves more than being able to launch preaching points from phrases in it. You might feel ready to preach because verse 3 mentions justification (and you have some things to say about justification), and then verse 5 mentions hope (and you have a nice illustration you want to share about hope), etc. Are you ready to preach the passage if you have some good preaching points ready to launch? No.
3. Knowing a passage involves more than being able to talk about each phrase with theological truth. But what if your preaching content is not illustrations, but rich theological truths? Maybe you have a whole theology of justification that you can launch in verse 3, and then you can make a presentation on sanctification because of a key word that appears later in the passage? Surely if it is rich theological truth, then you are ready to preach? No. Not if the passage is not saying what you are planning to say. Just because wind appears in John 3 does not mean that I should preach about God’s view of changing weather patterns from it.
4. Knowing a passage involves more than reading some commentaries about the passage. It is not a bad idea to have some conversation partners in your study. Other live humans can be super helpful. As can published ones. But even if I can quote from impressive commentaries, it does not mean that I really understand the passage yet. By all means use the best resources you can access, but remember the goal is still for you to understand the passage, not just to have studied things written about it.
5. Knowing a passage involves understanding the details as they work together in a coherent whole. This is where many preachers seem to stumble. They do reasonably well with the details. They speak theological truth. They associate that truth with the wording in the passage. But if they don’t recognize how the details are working together in the passage, they don’t know the passage. Remember, your goal is not to study a passage in order to find a sermon. Your first goal is to study it in order to understand it.
6. Knowing a passage involves understanding the flow of thought in the passage, with an awareness of context. A passage sits in a book, as part of the whole. If you don’t understand how the passage works in the book, how can you really grasp what the passage itself means? So we need to study each passage in its whole book, as well as whole Bible, context. The point is, each passage was written to communicate something specific, and we need to figure that out. Our job is not to generate meaning by creativity, but to find meaning by dogged humble persistence.
7. Knowing a passage means being able to explain it so that the original author would affirm your grasp of its essential meaning. That sounds like a bold goal. It is. That is why we can’t just study until we feel a message emerging. As preachers we can generate messages out of nothing. But God has given us something very specific. And unless we grow in our confidence that it is possible to communicate the essential meaning of a passage to a level where the original author would affirm our explanation, then we will not put in the work necessary to be ready to preach.
Implication? The big implication of this post is simple. Don’t be so confident that you know the meaning of a passage. Study more. Study longer. Study humble. Study persistently. Make it your goal to know the passage better than you ever have before, to be able to handle questions about specific aspects of the passage, and be willing to explain the meaning of the text even to the original author himself…and then start thinking about how you will preach it!
As we come to the end of another year, the finish line is in sight. Christmas plans are in place, and all those events will soon be over. Before you know it, we will be into 2023 with all the familiarity of a New Year and the uncertainties of a new year. We know people will join the gym and try to read through their Bible, but we never know what is about to happen.
Between the Christmas events finishing and the launch of 2023, let’s take a moment to take the pulse, actually, several pulses. If you are involved in church ministry, then here are some pulses you need to be checking:
1. God. How does God feel about your church? How does God’s heart beat for all that matters to you? God’s heart is your ultimate concern. Knowing God’s heart doesn’t require mystical guesswork. It requires time in the Bible and time in prayer. We should prayerfully prepare every sermon we preach, and I think it is wise to seek God’s heart for each passage and how it should land in the hearts of your listeners. But why not take the year-end as an opportunity to seek God’s heart about your church, your ministry, and your part in His plans?
2. Society. Are you aware of what is going on in society? There is a whole edifice presented by the media, the news, and the current catalogue of acceptable issues and concerns. We need to have our finger on the pulse of society, whether we agree with all of it or not. That sense of what is normal will throb in the veins of the people you encounter daily.
3. Reality. Are you in touch with what you are not supposed to think? There will usually be significant parts of society that are not convenient for reality as presented in the media. It is good to have a sense of what people are thinking but not saying. Or what they are saying but you are not allowed to hear. It is good to know what is happening, and sometimes others will need you to point beyond the cultural narrative they are constantly hearing.
4. Congregation. Your congregation is not a perfect representation of your society. The culture is pushed along by sophisticated ideas and/or unsophisticated entertainment. Still, your congregation is a specific group in a particular location. The country could be thriving while your part of town is economically depressed, or vice versa. The nation could be gripped by avant-garde notions, while your congregation may seem to be living a generation behind. Who is in your church? What are their concerns? How are they doing? The culture may be focused on saving the planet, but your people may be more worried about staying warm and paying their bills this winter.
5. Future Congregation. It is understandable that we tend to focus on the flock God gave us. But it is also wise to ponder what the future may look like for your church. If you have a very established congregation, you still need to preach to people new to the church. They may not even be coming yet, but preach to them anyway. Your congregation will not feel comfortable bringing them along if you don’t make it a suitable environment. So, what kind of people might God want to add to your church in the coming years? Why not prayerfully think about preaching as if they are already attending so the church is ready to receive them when they do?
6. Co-Workers. If your church program gives you room to breathe, be sure to prayerfully consider the health of your coworkers. You know that your church is not your church. You cannot do everything yourself and your church would be in dire straits if all your coworkers were to quit or burnout. Whether they are paid staff members, or busy volunteers who give sacrificially of their “spare” time, how are they doing? Pray for them. Reach out to them. Write them a note to thank them. Make sure that you do not head into 2023 unaware of warning signs from those around you.
7. Me. Ministry can take its toll. How are you doing? Are you in a good place with God? How much has your ministry depleted your energy reserves? Are any situations weighing heavily on you and setting off warning lights? Are you letting yourself slide in any areas, succumbing to temptation, or developing unhealthy habits? The end of the year is an excellent time to take your pulse before launching into another year. Take your pulse spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. How is your walk with Christ? Are you looking after yourself properly? Do you have the relationships you need to thrive? Is someone mentoring you? Are you mentoring someone? Who can you be open with as a peer? Who is looking out for your heart? Are you proactively meeting people outside of church circles? Oh, and don’t trust yourself to self-evaluate. Ask God to search you and try you, and ask those close to you for their perspective as well.
8. Family. Ministry can take its toll. How is your family? It is easy to sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry, but is God honoured when you do that? Suppose you have a child who is not thriving spiritually. Would it make sense to devote more time to your primary responsibility of parenting? You might even do well to consider a sabbatical or taking a step back to pursue their heart for a season. I know it is complicated if you depend on ministry for your income, but many readers are not receiving a salary. And whether you are or not, it could be a significant example to others to see you put family first and seek to win the hearts closest to home. It is not a simple decision. Nevertheless, I raise it because too many of us would not even consider stepping back from the ministry that gives us too much of our identity to care for the people God has most entrusted to us. Nobody else can be your spouse’s spouse, and you only get a limited window with that child still under your roof. Of course, you may find such drastic changes are not needed. But perhaps you need to tweak some things at home so that your church ministry can flow out of greater strength at the family level?
I know we are taking a deep breath before the chaos of Christmas. I pray that your Christmas events will proclaim the peace that only Christ can bring into this desperately needy world. And I also pray that we will all get the opportunity to take a deep breath after it is all over. May we all take the opportunity to check the pulse in these areas and head into the New Year looking to Christ for each of the needs we discover!
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This year’s video quest through the Psalms will soon reach the finish line. Here is Psalm 139:
1. They can know God’s will. Bruce Waltke made a fascinating point in his book about guidance. He says that divine guidance is often treated as a bit of a conundrum. However, he points out that in the ancient world, pagan religions were obsessed with finding some sort of guidance from the higher realm. They would diligently study the ashes, entrails, or whatever other indication they could find in order to get a hint from beyond this world. Sometimes Christians act like we are in an ancient superstitious religion trying to make something out of nothing. In reality, we have an entire collection of books inspired by God. In some churches the Bible is subtly (or not so subtly) pushed aside in favour of some kind of speculative new revelation and guidance from God. People engage in a game of celestial hide and seek with a God who is never easy to pin down. And yet, we have the Bible. Properly read, it will not tell you which specific college to attend or person to marry. But it will tell you the kind of wisdom needed to make such decisions. It will reveal God’s values so that as you know him more and more, you can better reflect his values in the decisions you make. And in chapter 4 of 1 Thessalonians, it does underline something that should be self-evident if you have spent time in God’s Word – his will for you is your sanctification. You do not have to wrestle with whether or not God wants you to succeed in your sinful scheme. He does not. And if your goal is to please Him, then you already have the Spirit of God, so live holy.
2. They can know a human shortcut for decision-making. There is always complexity in making decisions, but sometimes the Bible gives us some simplicity too. For the Thessalonians, they were loving one another, and they simply needed urging to do so more and more (see 1Thess.4:9-12). It is a bit like Colossians 3:12-14, where Paul gives a list of instructions and then says, “above all these, put on love, which binds them together in perfect harmony.” They should live in such a way that they are not making an unnecessary show of themselves, or being an unnecessary burden on others, or giving an unhelpful testimony to outsiders. Do the loving thing. I know there is complexity in that, but let’s be thankful for the simplicity too!
3. They can know encouragement in the face of death. This young church was introduced to the hope of Christ’s return during Paul’s brief visit to their town. Bizarrely, we live in a time when secular reporters and political leaders might use the language of “disasters on a biblical scale,” “Armageddon,” “apocalyptic,” etc.. Yet, the church can be eerily quiet on our subject of eschatology. The Thessalonians were not concerned with sinister global plots. They were concerned because some of their fellow believers had died. When death hits a congregation, the focus is understandably localised. Did those who had died miss out on Christ’s return? Paul wrote to encourage them, and to encourage them to encourage one another. That’s what a biblical understanding of the end times will do for a church – it will stir hope and a heavenward, Christ-ward gaze. Death is brimming with the pain of separation. But we have a hope that answers that pain. Those who have died will be brought “together with” Jesus when he comes (v14). When Christ calls, we will be caught up “together with them” in the clouds. Together, our forever state will be “together with the Lord” (v17). Death, for believers, stirs anticipation of being together! As death becomes a more prominent feature of your congregation’s experience in the coming years, let’s encourage one another with these words (v18).
1. Young believers need to be prepared for suffering. Paul understood their context. They were in a city and a society that would react antagonistically to their newfound faith. So Paul had prepared them for suffering, and as time passed, Paul knew that they needed to be supported in their struggle. He knew the enemy would be on the attack against these new believers. Maybe we need 3:1-5 to direct our path more in our ministry? Do we understand our context? Our believers are in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic to their faith. The enemy is very much prowling around today seeking to pick off vulnerable believers. As much as ever, and perhaps more than ever, we need to prepare believers for suffering. There is the immediate and usually subtle antagonism of our time. And surely we can’t be so naive as to think that our cultures can undergo such radical shifts as we have seen in recent years, and yet remain essentially unchanged in the coming years? Are our people prepared for living in a society that may bear more resemblance to countries we used to pray for than the countries we used to live in?
2. Don’t just let vulnerable believers drift. Paul’s team adjusted to offer support to the Thessalonian believers. Timothy was sent back and returned with an encouraging report. Let Paul’s statement bounce around your heart for a moment, “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.” (3:8) For now we live . . . I wonder how often I hold back from this kind of concern for the sheep under my care? It is true that life change is God’s business and I can’t force it; and it is true that sometimes people need to drift in order to become sensitized to their need for Jesus; and it is true that with limited ministerial resources we will inevitably prioritize the sheep that are leaning in to be fed and cared for, etc. However, with all the practical wisdom of real-life ministry acknowledged, let us never grow calloused and comfortable with people drifting away from Christ.
3. Is there a more important ministry than prayer? Remember Acts 6:4 – the apostles didn’t want to get dragged into serving tables (which included negotiating inter-racial tensions within the new church: a significant and important role!) But what did they not want to be dragged away from? The ministry of the Word and prayer. And prayer! Is there a more important ministry than prayer? For many in ministry, it can appear that the priorities are preaching and leadership. Or preaching and organisation. Or preaching and publishing. May we all gain a secret reputation before God for the priority of prayer in our ministry. And somehow, let’s also encourage our whole church to be prayerful. Look at the Paul-team and how they prayed in 3:10-13. “Most earnestly night and day” and, “may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all,” and “that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God…” Earnest prayer for growing love and established holiness. What believer would not want to be the beneficiary of that kind of concern?
Paul’s brief visit to Thessalonica and his follow-up letter makes for a goldmine of ministry insight for preachers. Last time I thought about the reverberating impact of the Gospel in chapter 1. Let’s look at chapter 2 and get a glimpse into the ministry dynamics of Paul and his team. There are some vivid lessons here for us:
1. Ministry motivation matters massively. They pushed through suffering in order to declare the gospel, selflessly seeking the best outcome for the people and to please God. I am sure we would all aspire to that in our settings too. But there are a host of alternative motives listed. Error, impurity, attempting to deceive, trying to please people, with flattery, greedy, glory-seeking, self-elevating…what a list that is in 2:1-6. Why do I preach? Knowing my fleshly tendency to self-deceive, perhaps it is wise to take a list like this to God and ask him “to search me and try and see if there be any wicked way in me.” And it would probably be wise to bring one or two others into that conversation too. Any hints of impure motivation in your ministry? It would be better to face it, rather than allow something bad to become established.
2. Godly ministry is just like godly parenting. We’ve all seen parenting navigated as if it is a distraction from more important personal pursuits. You can provide a home, food, resources and a bit of guidance, all the while watching the calendar until they leave home and your life becomes freer for your own hobbies and interests. Many do parent that way, but it feels like an imitation of the real thing. The real thing involves a selfless love that literally gives yourself away for them to thrive. The real thing requires labour and toil, setting a consistent example, and being willing to exhort, encourage and charge these blessings from God. The heart of a mother and a father are poured out in the ministry of parenting. So it is with godly church ministry too. Paul says so in 2:7-12. Paul, Silas and co were not insecure men competing to look tougher than each other. They were like a nursing mother in their giving to the new church, and they were like a father too. How is your church ministry in parenting terms? Is the congregation becoming a hindrance to your personal goals? Are you just throwing some food in front of them and hoping they will entertain themselves in front of a screen so you can get on with your own pursuits? Or are they like children you love dearly?
3. Church ministry is an invitation to profound enrichment. Paul was only in Thessalonica for a short time, but consider how he continually longed to be with these people (see 2:17-20). They were his hope, joy, crown of boasting, and glory. The logic is fairly simple, but let’s ponder it anyway. The nature of God’s character should flow into our ministry, which will then characterise our connection with the church. You can guarantee the enemy will try to disrupt that, but the invitation remains in place. We can easily view Paul’s description as challenging – “I should work harder at ministry because I’m not sharing his sentiment for the younger believers God has given to me.” Instead, let’s view Paul’s description as an invitation – “I get to give myself away for these people, and in the process gain the kind of connection that many in the world around us would give their left arm to experience with anyone.”
4. Gospel ministry can really hurt, love anyway. Paul wrote these words to the church because he was separated and wanted to be there for them. He felt the pain of a parent’s heart when they are forced apart from their children. You don’t need me to tell you that getting hurt in ministry is not at all unusual. And it would be totally understandable to grow calloused in order to cope with that pain. Maybe even in Paul’s separation and longing we can be reminded that ministry does hurt, but we can love others anyway. In the end, we will get to our forever home where there will be no pain, no separation, no hurt, no sin, no church splits, no backstabbing, no misunderstanding, no failing bodies, etc. I am not saying we should choose to burn ourselves out, there is selflessness in genuine self-care too. But let’s not choose the calloused coping approach. For this brief moment, let’s keep our eyes on our suffering Saviour as we prayerfully press on.
1 Thessalonians chapter 2 is like a ministry training manual, what would you add?
I remember sitting high up in the Royal Albert Hall for a schools concert some years ago. Impressive venue, electric atmosphere, and stunning music. All of the music was very good, but there is something unique about the 1812 Overture once the cannons are fired up in the rafters – it was so fun to watch the children’s faces (they didn’t know it was coming!) I am no classical music fan, but that always feels like a high point in any concert.
The thing is, music can’t all be a thrilling crescendo. And the musical impact is not all achieved by crescendo. There are variations of melodic themes woven together, changes from major to minor key to influence the mood, variations in rhythmic intensity, and so much more. It would not make for great music to simply string together and elongate every possible crescendo (or add cannons to every piece)!
The same principle is true in preaching. There are various ways in which we can start to lean on a powerful crescendo too much, and thereby weaken our preaching. Here are a few examples:
Your Voice – Undoubtedly you can run into a crowded room and get everyone’s attention by screaming. That doesn’t mean you should scream your way through a sermon. Naturally, when we are excited about what we have to say, our voice will tend to climb upwards. It will go up in pitch, up in volume, and up in pace. And the ability to pause meaningfully? That will go up in smoke! As a preacher, you will do well to learn the benefit, and the skill, of going down for emphasis too. You can go down in pitch, down in volume, and down in pace – all for a non-crescendo variation on emphasis. And bring the skill of pause back down to earth too, it really can help!
Your Points – It is so easy to find a formula that works for a point in a message and then find yourself repeating that same formula for each point. Perhaps the flow moves from stating the point to explaining it textually and then applying it with an exhortational forcefulness that works well in point 1. That does not mean that point 2 must also have the same crescendo at the point of application. Be sure to look at how your points serve each other. Sometimes a point works better without forcefulness – let it fulfil its function in the message.
Your Support Material – It is always tempting to think that a certain type of “illustration” will always work well because one particular example did. Maybe your sermon seemed to soar when you recounted the moving story, shared the humourous anecdote, or let rip with the fiery rebuke (you know your tendency in terms of preferred “illustrations!”) Great. Be thankful that it worked. But don’t start to lean on that type of material to the exclusion of others. People grow tired of perfectly placed emotional stories, side-splitting humour, or repeated rebuke. The repetition will not achieve greater impact but will move listeners to start to see your preaching as manipulative, your goal as to entertain, or your pastoral concern as haranguing.
Your Series – Last Sunday I was preaching the passage after God rescued Isaac on Mount Moriah. That had been a crescendo message in an Abraham series stretching back for many weeks. People commented and appreciated and responded to the emotional impact of that sermon. So what to do the week after? It was tempting to try to continue the crescendo. Why not keep up the same emotional pitch for maximum personal impact? Instead, I chose to deliberately preach in a much more relaxed “teaching” style that allowed us to consider the new passage before us. I think it was the right choice. There was still some emotional impact, but it was not through the perpetuation of the crescendo. The message was in a different key, the music made its own impact, and it didn’t try to roll out the cannons again.
Where else can we find ourselves leaning on crescendo to the exclusion of other helpful options?
When a car has very little fuel in the tank, we say it is running on fumes. It is moving forward, but warning signs indicate the vehicle is in trouble. It won’t go very far unless something changes. And the something is simple – it needs fuel.
The same thing happens with Christians too. They give the impression of keeping on spiritually, engaging with the church, and so on. But there are warning signs, and they won’t go very far unless something changes. Again, the something that needs to change is relatively simple – they need fuel. Simply being around Christians and using Christian language is not enough. Without a vital personal relationship with Christ, they are merely running on the fumes of Christianity.
Warning Signs – In a car, you have warning lights on the dashboard to alert you to an issue before it becomes a problem. If you proceed far enough, the engine will start to sputter and make unusual noises. What are the warning signs when a Christian is running on the fumes of Christianity?
Loss of Joy – There are many reasons for a loss of joy, so do not assume that the spiritual tank is always empty when joy fades. However, any warning light is a reason to investigate. Indeed, when someone’s tank lacks the fuel needed, delight in the things of God and church life will only come in fits and starts. The classic biblical example is Martha in Luke 10:38-42 – she was doing the right thing, but the joy was gone.
Alternate Fuels – Is work or a hobby suddenly becoming more significant? Are they starting to find motivation and purpose in something other than Christ in a way that was not true earlier in their Christian journey? Alternative fuels are attractive because someone struggling will see the alternative as more readily accessible and the goals more attainable.
Blaming the Church – It is very rare to hear someone drifting from church life and being honest, “Oh, I am staying away because I am not fuelling my soul, and so I feel awkward being around other Christians right now.” It is much easier to talk about how the church does not meet their needs, and they don’t fit, the programs are not helpful, the other people don’t like them, etc. Not every person being critical of the church is in a bad place personally, but many are.
Verbal Paper Cuts – Sometimes it is not the full force explosions that hurt, but the subtle paper cuts. Someone in a low place spiritually will often make little paper cuts with their words. Little bits of gossip. Little criticisms. Little digs. Maybe nothing significant enough to confront or challenge, but enough to leave you feeling that sting of an open wound when they walk away.
Emotional Outbursts – Sometimes, things do come out in full force explosions. And, like a cornered animal, someone feeling spiritually empty can lash out and attack rather than admit their need and open themselves up to help from others.
Emergency Measures – What do you do when someone is running on empty and about to run out of fuel and grind to a halt?
Re-Fuel – To be blunt, they need to be in the Word of God and allow Him to minister to them. But they may struggle to feed themselves if they have let their tank get too low. Perhaps a friend can help them get into the Word and start back into a healthy pattern.
Recognize the Emergency – How often do we pridefully persist on our path, ignoring all the warning signs? Many a stranded motorist thought they could go a little farther before stopping for fuel. Part of solving the problem will be humbly admitting the problem. As long as pride continues to stir excuses and explanations, the fuel cap remains in place. They must humbly acknowledge how they have allowed themselves to drift, how they have arrogantly felt they did not need to be in the Word personally, or how another sin has built a blockage between them and God. Whether that is a giant skeleton in the closet or the “respectable” sin of personal pride, confession will be like a doorway to help for the struggling believer.
Reach out for Help – These are in the reverse order. We need to be fuelled again, but often that won’t happen until the nature of the problem is recognized, and often that is hard to achieve without first calling out for help from another. If you see the warning signs in a friend, encourage them to face the reality of their situation. If you are desperate, you could point them to this post and ask if it resonates with them because you are concerned. If you see warning signs in yourself, then get a friend immediately. We tend to think that a renewed effort in my quiet times, or perhaps some alternative, will fix the issue. A thimble of fuel won’t get you too far. Call a friend and walk through it with someone.
When I used to live close to London I sometimes visited the British Library. There you can see some amazing treasures, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Alexandrinus. It is amazing to see such ancient books, but they are not the easiest things to read and understand. For one, they were written in uncials: ITISNOTEASYTOREADTEXTWITHOUTGAPSORPUNCTUATION. Oh, and they are in Greek, just to add to the challenge.
Thankfully we don’t have to read Greek text written in uncials (unless we want to, then praise God that we can access so much!) We are blessed to have the Bible very accurately translated into our language and readily affordable (or free online). They even add in spaces, lower case letters, punctuation, etc. How blessed we are! I suppose I should also mention the chapter and verse divisions, which save a lot of time. And there are the somewhat and sometimes helpful section headings.
But remember that to many people in our churches today, the text feels as inaccessible as an ancient uncial codex! To many, it feels like a big block of text with thousands of words running into each other.
And so the preacher goes to work each week, diligently studying a passage in order to first understand it, and then to preach it. That work moves from the initial simplicity of familiar words, through the complexity of trying to grasp an author’s flow of thought, and out into the warm sunshine of studied simplicity. Hopefully, the preacher is then in a place to make sense of the flow of thought, to identify the major thoughts and to see the supporting role of each subordinate thought. The passage no longer feels like a random set of instructions and assertions.
When we preach our task includes the need to make a string of words clear. We don’t have to start with an uncial script, but to all intents and purposes, we practically are. Listeners hearing a string of verses often grasp very little during their first exposure. As we preach we look for ways to emphasize the main thoughts, we look for ways to demonstrate how the “support material” in the text explains, proves and/or applies the main thoughts. Without technical jargon, our preaching needs to verbally achieve the formation of something like a clausal layout in the minds and hearts of our listeners. Certainly, by the time we are done preaching, they should not see the text as a string of random words or thoughts . . . it should be much clearer than that!
Preaching goes way beyond clarification of the meaning of a string of words. But preaching won’t go anywhere good if it bypasses this critical element of the task.
Biblical Preaching 