Expository Preaching

The Hardest Genre?

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What is the hardest genre to preach well?  Every genre has its own challenges.  Here’s a list of biblical genre with some brief points on why each can be hard to preach well.  I’ll tell you what I find the toughest, but your top three toughies might be different.  Let’s not avoid the ones we find tough, nor grow complacent in the “easier” genres.

Epistle – Many would list this as the easiest genre to preach.  The original audience is closest to ours, the direct communication translates relatively easily into a sermon and application is often straightforward.  The challenge can be over-familiarity and how to preach with a sense of tension or intrigue.

Gospels – Most of the stories are very familiar, but sometimes small details can really pose problems in interpretation.  It is challenging to really see each unit of thought as it fits in the flow of the text.  It isn’t always easy to sift Jesus’ motives in the action and the author’s motives in how the action is presented.  If you are not good at telling a story, then the gospels can be really challenging.

Story (History/Narrative) – Some stories are very familiar, others are borderline bizarre.  As with the gospels it is not always obvious what the author is doing in stringing episodes together.  With Old Testament narratives you also have the challenge of communicating the story with a sense of relevance to today, as well as the burden of appropriate application.  Then there is the difficulty of unknown geography and lack of familiarity with biblical history among our listeners.

Tomorrow we’ll complete the list of the biblical genre.  I’ll list my hardest three, for what it’s worth, and you can comment with yours . . . feel free to add pointers to the challenges you face in any particular genre – this would be helpful for others to ponder too.

Pseudo-Expository Preaching – Part 2

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Yesterday we saw how it is possible to preach a pseudo-expository sermon by failing to live up to all four elements of an expository preaching definition.  We looked at preaching without relying on God’s Spirit (making it a human-powered exercise).  We looked at preaching from a text, but not really preaching the text (a common form of pseudo-expository preaching).  Now for the other two elements:

3 – The issue of effective communication. I suppose this is somewhat subjective, but I would argue that a preacher deliberately not improving in their ability to communicate (perhaps due to a misunderstanding of 1Cor.2:1-5), is undermining their own stewardship of the ministry opportunity.  Furthermore it is worth noting that our communication is not just about logos and pathos during the delivery, but the ethos of the entire life.

4 – The emphasized relevance of the passage. It is not the preacher’s job to “make the text relevant.”  It already is relevant.  But it is our job to underline, to emphasize how it is relevant to the particular listeners before us.  Pseudo-expository preaching that is pseudo because of inadequacy in this respect is easier to spot if you’re looking for it.  The text is explained, but application is ignored.  “Now may the Spirit of God apply to our hearts the truths we have seen in His Word . . . “ that’s a confession of pseudo-expository preaching!  The whole thing is the Spirit’s work, not just this bit.  The issue of relevance and application part of our task as preachers.  We have to be concerned about the text and about the listeners.

I suppose we could deploy a task force of pseudo-expository detectives.  Some pseudo-expository preaching is blatant and as easy to spot as a daylight ram-raid on a high street jewellers.  However, other pseudo-expository preaching would require a team of detectives with forensic back-up (I’m thinking of the “sneak thieves” in that great children’s book, Flat Stanley!)  But it is not our task to deploy task forces of pseudo-expository detectives.  Instead, let’s imagine such a task force visiting us.  What would they find?  Would they unearth some aspect of pseudo-exposition?  Could they, in grace, of course, put their finger on a lack of spirituality, or exegetical rigor, or communicative effort, or concern for listeners in need of biblical encounter with God?

Pseudo-Expository Preaching

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If you have a commitment to expository Biblical preaching as it is understood on this site, then some versions of preaching obviously stand out as poor.  The anecdotal platitudinal rambling with a verse attached won’t fool many of us.  The non-expository topical sermon where verses aren’t handled with care and the Bible isn’t in authority over the message, we can usually spot those too (note that it is possible to preach an expository-topical message, so not all topical is bad!)  But the category I label as pseudo-expository can be much harder to spot.

Pseudo-Expository Preaching defined – Pseudo-exp preaching is where the preacher appears to be preaching the text, but falls short of any of the four elements in an expository preaching definition.  The four elements are (1) the work of the Holy Spirit in preparation and delivery, (2) the true meaning of the passage understood, (3) then effectively communicated through the preacher, (4) emphasizing the relevance of the passage to the listeners present.

1 – The Holy Spirit. True preaching cannot be simply the application of a mechanistic preparation process, or simply the fruit of good learning.  True preaching has to be a work of God.  This is very difficult to genuinely discern in others.  Sometimes you can tell from a preacher’s attitude or lifestyle.  But these can be faked.  Yet if we turn the focus onto ourselves, it becomes a searching question – is your preaching done in your own power, or in prayerful and humble reliance on the empowering of the Spirit of God?

2 – The Bible text rightly understood. Some people will be fooled by preaching that bounces off words in a text to say whatever the preacher wants to say.  But true preaching reflects genuine study and understanding of the text. Genuine study and understanding will not be equally profound in every preacher.  If you feel inadequate in this area, don’t be intimidated and give up.  Keep growing in your study skills and your Bible knowledge.  In respect to the next message, try to stick in your passage and grasp it as effectively as you can.  The basics done well will be a blessing to all.  But if you short-cut by bouncing off words, or using the text to give your own message, then that’s pseudo-expository.

Tomorrow I’ll deal with the other two elements and note how they can be missed to create a pseudo-exp sermon.

Verbal Variations

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We’ve looked at the important issues in voice and non-verbals over recent days.  Both of these have to reinforce and support the work being done by your words when you preach.  But before we move on, just a couple of comments on the verbal aspect of delivery . . . the words you choose to use.  I’ll keep this post brief since the others have been so long!

Your goal is not to impress people with big words. Don’t try to make people think you are clever, or have studied really hard, or are super-spiritual, or super-humble, or funny, or whatever.  Your goal is not to create a specific impression of yourself.  It is tempting to impress, decide not to fall for this.

Your goal is to communicate. So choose words that people can understand.  Explain big Bible words that people need to understand, but explain simply and clearly.  Try to use words that are vivid, not bland.  Describe things well so that you don’t just give infomation or abstraction, but you paint a living picture on the screen in their minds and hearts.  Use words that bring in all the senses.  Be engaging rather than flat.  Be lively rather than ponderous.  Be creative rather than predictable.

Words matter, they matter very much!

Visual Variations

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Yesterday we gave some thought to the vocal variations needed for effective delivery.  Today let’s remind ourselves of some aspects of visual delivery – the non-verbals that are so powerful.  The key here is for the visual (non-verbals) and the vocal to work together with the verbal (words) to make the communication consistent and impactful.  Words must reign supreme in the thoughts of the preacher, but words can be undermined by inconsistent visual presentation, or poor tone of voice.

Visual delivery issue – eye-contact. This is absolutely and definitely number one on the list.  Eye contact is so powerful.  Without it there is no trust.  With too much there is perceived intimidation or inappropriate intimacy.  We need to make sure we’re making genuine eye-contact with the people we speak to … perhaps 3-5 seconds at a time, then on to someone else.  Beware of “blind spots” (mine is the people in the center of a spread out group, yours?)   Beware of having your head in your notes all the time (and it is probably much, much more time than you think!)  Beware of looking over everyone to the clock on one side and a fascinating emergency exit sign over the door on the other side.

Visual delivery issue – gesture. To put it simply, gesture needs to be consistent with words, increased in size for larger audiences and not repetitively monotonous.  It takes practice to point to the right when you say left, or when referring to the past, because this is backwards to you the speaker.  It feels unnatural to make gestures bigger when in front of a large crowd, but it looks weird to them if you don’t.  And be careful of any repetitive habits . . . anything can be annoying or distracting once it’s repeated a few times – the finger point, the spider on a mirror, the hand in pocket, the werewolf, the T-Rex, the glass ceiling around the waist, the fig-leaf, the fig-leaf flasher, the Clinton, the face scratch, the arm twitch, the weight shifting, the rock’n’roll four-step, etc. (thanks to Bert Decker, Hershael York and others for the labels picked up over the years!)  Any of these are fine, once or twice, but repetitively can become highly distracting.  If you don’t know what you do a lot, ask someone!

I’ll finish this list tomorrow . . .

Vocal Variations

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Delivery of a message is a complex issue.  While this shouldn’t create tensions in us that distract from working hard on content (Bible study, pastoral awareness, prayer, message shaping, etc.), we do need to give some thought to how we deliver a sermon.  Delivery consists of three elements – the verbal (words used), the visual (body language) and the vocal (use of the voice).  Let’s just review some basics for three days . . . not new information, but perhaps a timely reminder to work on one or two details of delivery…

Vocal variation through pitch. We each have an upper limit and a lower limit to the range of notes we can hit with our voice.  Some of us (well, me), can’t “hit” any note in particular, but we all have a range of possibilities!  By default we will usually fall into a limited range of pitch.  It takes effort to break out of that range and add variation to the voice.  Naturally, when excited, our pitch will rise.  It takes effort to learn to sometimes drop the pitch for the sake of emphasis.  This is worth doing to avoid screeching your way through an exciting sermon like a shrill dog whistle!

Vocal variation through pace. All of us can speak faster and slower.  Most listeners can cope with both faster and slower (as long as volume is appropriate).  However, listeners will struggle with monotonous pace.  It’s hard to listen to a 100mph preacher.  It’s hard to listen to a 1mph preacher.  Be sure to vary the pace . . . which takes effort to learn.  Just like with pitch, we have a default when excited – we go faster.  Problem is, with an exciting Bible message we can end up sprinting for half an hour and leaving everyone breathlessly in our wake.  Emphasis can be achieved by slowing the pace at the key moment, but it takes effort to learn this.

Vocal variation through power / punch. You can speak louder and softer.  We tend to fall into a certain level, it takes effort to add variation.  Again, for emphasis we naturally go louder.  But going softer can really be effective too, with some practice.  Here’s a post that addresses this specific issue –When Less is More.

Vocal variation through pause. Basic truths – speakers feel that any pause is really, really long, and they think that listeners think they’ve forgotten what they’ll say next.  In reality a pause is never perceived to be as long as it feels to the speaker.  In reality if you don’t look nervous, they won’t feel nervous.  Pauses really help.  They add emphasis.  They allow seconds for soaking in a truth.  They allow people (including you) to breathe.  So don’t undermine every possible pause with a verbal filler, you know, umm, like, just really, you know, like, that.

Have You Ever Watched A Movie Twice?

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Most people have.  Let me share the three reasons people gave at the seminar last weekend for having done this, then I’ll make my point clear:

1. It’s like children wanting the same story told over and over – it gives a sense of security.

2. You catch details you didn’t see first time through.

3. You still enjoy the satisfying bits.

All very true.  My point?  When your preaching text is a familiar narrative, it may be tempting to just talk about it rather than to tell the story again . . . don’t.  Tell the story!

1. If you tell the story well, all of these three things apply.  It’s not just children that appreciate security. In a changing and often worrying world, it is very reassuring at a deep level to be reminded of the unchanging truths of God’s Word – God is still on the throne, Joseph’s story still works out God’s greater plan, Daniel still honors God in the persecution, Jesus still tells Jairus not to fear, and ultimately, the story of the gospel is still true.

2. People do notice things when a story is well told that they may have never noticed before – “I never realised she understood Jesus that way!”  or “I never picked up his gentleness of tone with her before” or whatever.  Just because people have heard a story numerous times, it doesn’t mean they have really understood it.  (How many times has Jonah been told and the point been missed?)

3. It is very satisfying to again experience the resolution of tension in a narrative, even if you know how the story ends.  If this is true with a movie, how much more with true narratives of the Bible?  It’s satisfying to hear Nebuchadnezzar’s statement about God after the grass eating incident.  It’s satisfying to see the ram caught in the bush after having your heart pounding as the knife is raised over Isaac.  It’s satisfying to see everyone safely on shore after the incredible adventure of Paul’s shipwreck.

Narratives create security, they intrigue with new insights, they satisfy with tensions resolved.  Narratives tap into the human ability to identify with others.  Narratives stir the emotions.  Narratives drop the guard of the listener so that truth can hit home.  Narratives are powerful.  That’s why God inspired so many of them.  When you preach a narrative . . . be sure to tell the story well!

A Mentoring Prod

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I’ve written before on the critical subject of mentoring.  It’s easy as a preacher to be too busy to invest in mentoring relationships.  It’s also easy to miss the heart of what we are called to in ministry.  I’ve just started The Making of a Mentor by Ted Engstrom and Ron Jenson.  Pointing to Paul’s example in 1Thessalonians 2:7-12, they underline the importance of relationships in ministry.  I’d like to share their quote from Harry Stack Sullivan, an eminent psychologist in the field of interpersonal relationships:

“All personal damage and regression, as well as all personal healing and growth, come through our relationships with others.  There is a persistent, if uninformed, suspicion in most of us that we can solve our own problems and be the masters of our ships of life.  But the fact of the matter is that by ourselves we can only be consumed by our problems and suffer shipwreck.”

Two simple questions.  Who are you allowing to invest in you?  Who are you investing in?

Application: Specific Not Facile

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When it comes to the application of a message, there are many options.  One is to ignore it completely and leave it up to the Holy Spirit (not a good option since it’s part of our job as preachers . . . by this logic why do we preach at all?)  Another is to be vague and ethereal in application, positing plain platitudes (not a good option since people will affirm any attempt at application, but that doesn’t mean it made any difference in their lives).  Another approach, popular in some circles, is to always give a very specific action step in every message (again, this is open to question since some texts don’t lend themselves to facile or purely practical action steps, and listeners can grow burdened by the pressure of ever growing action lists).

So how do we make sure application is specific, without making the grandeur of God’s Word look puny by pathetic pedantry?  I would suggest that we make sure we are really understanding a passage as intended by the author, in all it’s beauty and power, before we start trying to come up with applications.  We have a tendency to leap to applications and then somehow make every passage into a “witness more” or “live better” kind of passage. Once you’ve come to a decent level of grasping the meaning of the passage, then you have a hope of good application.

It is always worth starting with the original recipients. What was the author trying to do in them by this act of communication?  If we can grasp that, then we are halfway to applying it today.  If the original intent was to motivate a specific action step, then ours might well follow suit.  If the original intent was to convince of a theological truth, then perhaps we should aim for the same.

Still, how do we earth the message in the lives of today’s listener?  How do we apply, whether it is to the heart, to the mind, and/or to the actions of the listener?  Remember that vague application will float around nicely in the vaulted roof, but it won’t change lives.  Think about yourself.  What is this passage specifically doing to me as I study it?  Think about specific individuals in the church.  What is the message of this passage looking to do in the life of Sarah the tired young mother?  What is it straining to do in the life of Harry, the retired retailer with financial worries?  What will it do if let loose in the life of Josh the recent graduate with no employment but a fiancee to make the future look bright?  For specific and helpful application, earth it in the lives of specific people.

Why Why Matters

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The question “why?” is critical for good preaching.

Why did the author write the passage? Wrestling with the intent of the author is critical if the goal is to understand the passage.  This means not only asking “what does the passage say?” – that is, content.  But also asking “why did the author write it?” – that is, intent.  Many people don’t consider the author at all, which is a big mistake.  Others consider the content carefully, but fail to ask “why?” This results in incomplete exegesis of the passage, which dooms the message to inherent weakness.

Why are you preaching this message? If this question is not asked, then we may fall into the trap of merely fulfilling routine, filling time, or even “doing our job.”  But really, it is important to ask why you are preaching the message.  This implies another “why?” question.  Why do these people need to hear this passage?  Prayerfully considering the needs of the listeners in light of the message of the passage will drive the preacher toward clarity in message purpose.  If my goal is to fill time, I am surely a master of that (who among us is not highly skilled in the rhetorical art of waffling?)  However, if my goal is driven by the text and the spiritual needs of those who will listen, then this will drive me to my knees in prayer and dependence on God.  The “why?” question matters because it forces clarity in purpose and reliance on God.

Why is that there? Not only does “why?” help in the big macro issues of understanding the text and determining the message purpose, it is also helpful in the micro issues of message detail.  Why is that illustration there?  Why use that quote?  Why am I planning to mention that historical detail?  Why does that exegetical note need to be stated?  Why do I take so long explaining that verse?  Why am I not explaining this term?  Every detail in the message should pass through the x-ray machine of the “why?” question.  Extraneous detail, whether in explanation or illustration, is not neutral, it is harmful.  Unnecessary stuffing, pieces without purpose, undermines the bigger “why?” of message purpose.

I’m not sure if it is possible to ask “why?” too many times in sermon preparation. “Why?” matters!