The Famine of Decent Preaching

Some years ago, one of the leaders in my church shared a perception his eight year old daughter had of preachers.  She asked, “Daddy, I know Pastor John preaches on Sunday, but what does he do the other six days of the week?”  It may be a question adults sometimes wonder as well.  Rick Reilly, who writes the back page of Sports Illustrated, tells about a moment his daughter asked a similar question—“So after writing this one page, what do you do with all of the other hours of the week?”, to which he replied, “Worrying about what I will say when I write this one page”.  It’s the same with pastors.

And there’s good reason for worrying.  As John Armstrong, in his recent column put it, the state of American preaching is anemic.  There’s not a lot of good preaching to be found.  No one has underscored this as clearly as Barbara Brown Taylor, a former pastor herself, who wrote a book aptly entitled, “When God is Silent”.  In it, she laments that the landscape of preaching is a swampland of mediocrity. Nourishing words are hard to find—words with no razor blades in them, words with no chemical additives.  Most of the words offered have been chewed so many times there are no nutrients left in them.  What we crave are fresh words from the mouth of God.  What I believe most hunger for, should they set their foot in a church door, is to hear a sermon that invites one into the presence of God, where something of life has the possibility of becoming transformed.  But all too often, this does not happen. 

There are lots of explanations for this mess we are in.  Part of it goes back to poor training.  For all too many pastors, courses in homiletics were long on stories and short on training.  My homiletic notes were lost shortly after seminary, and I confess I have never missed them.  To me, they were as relevant as instructions for growing tropical plants in Iceland. Nice for the shelf.

Part of it relates to the effort required to preach.  As I shared in an earlier blog, I know of few disciplines that require more careful thought, creativity, prayer, and tenacity than preaching. It is just about the hardest thing I do. There is a rigor that comes in knowing you must discover the intent of the text, and represent it well. There is mystery to work through—much of which you never work through.  Yesterday, I preached Heb 11:29—by faith Israel walked across the red Sea as on dry land.  But the story of Exodus leaves you wondering—where was the faith?  There’s something in the story demanding careful search.  On top of this, you are asking yourself not only what it says, but what this text is doing. It is rigorous because you are called to be a prophetic voice, and the last thing you want to do is misrepresent God. After all, carrying the Word of God is speaking at risk of one’s life.  It is, as Taylor put it, “like carrying nitroglycerin around in a crystal goblet.” 

It is a discipline that one must submit to, because you can go off on frightening tangents if you haven’t thought this through.  One day I was driving down I-205 listening to ESPN.  The announcer was talking about a controversial athlete who had walked into a room.  As he put it, “the room got so quiet, you could hear a rat pissing on cotton.”  I thought about how quiet that must have been, and in a sermon, in a weak moment, thinking off the top of my head, I used it to illustrate something I was saying.  Yes, I really did—only I softened the language so religious types would not be offended.  “It got so quiet, you could hear a mouse urinating on cotton”.  And those words fell as flat as an Intel wafer.  People wondered, did he really say that?  I wondered myself.  I forgot the adage that, while it is okay to head down a rabbit’s trail, the rabbit better have meat on it.

Some can just succumb to letting someone else do it, and buy their sermons.  A best selling author offers a "complete year of sermons”. This teacher promises that his preaching kit will take your congregation on a journey which will establish core values, teach practical applications, answer commonly asked questions, teach people how to control America’s number one illness-stress, and help them realize their true potential in God, all for 149.95 But unless a sermon comes out your own journey with God, is as tasteful as canned peas.

But there’s another part to the problem, one most people do not think about.  It is the willingness of the hearer to come with a heart that desires to hear.  That’s tough in an age of so much distraction.  It used to be only doctors walked into a service with a pager. Now everyone walks in with a cell phone.  Now we are all that important.  And given the excessive amount of information at our disposal, the tendency to text message, keep cells on during the service, preaching can sometimes feel like an airliner landing at Chicago-O’Hare.  There’s a lot of traffic to get through.  The reality is, it doesn’t matter how good a message is, if the hearer has not come to listen.  And listen we must, because the voice of God is not a scream, a shout.  The revelation of God is often a whisper.  And in order to catch it, we must lean forward and listen carefully.  The Word of God is not for distancing eyes, but for contemplative ears. 

But it is also fair to say—no one will listen to us unless we who preach offer evidence we have also listened.  We have also entered this silence.  Our authority to speak is rooted in our own ability to remain silent and hear.  Otherwise, we offer up a lot of junk food.  We chase rabbits down trails, rabbits that have no meat on them.  We become blowhards, rambling with no sense of restraint.

Comments

[Michelle D]

Thanks for keeping it authentic at VBC. I really appreciate your humility in letting God speak through you. You do a fabulous job. (bringing to the body challenges from God's heart!)

[pilgrim]

"Most of the words offered have been chewed so many times there are no nutrients left in them. What we crave are fresh words from the mouth of God."

I guess it would depend on whose words are being chewed. The written Word of God can never lose any of its nutrients, where as human teachings will eventually. Thus you learn what is true and what is false. It is even worse if the human teachings are "iced" with Scripture. This is why most, after nawing on the fruits of these teachings, spit out what was offered, because the fruit was nothing more than an ornament on a "fruitful" Christmas Tree--truly unedible and the tree, decorated but already dead.

And I guess it would also depend on who is "chewing the cud". Though the rabbit, the camel, and the coney chew the cud, these animals did not have split hooves, so they were unclean for the Israelites. And though the pig has a split hoove, it does not chew the cud. A clean animal is one who has split hooves (one who will not slip when standing anywhere, especially on the Rock, having a firm cloven foothold) and who chews the cud (continues in the word, feasting and meditating on it, and not egressing from it). These can be types for all people.

There is no need for fresh words from God. The washing of the given Word is enough to cleanse the Bride of Christ, to prepare her for His coming. The problem, which I believe you are saying, is that this is not happening.

If you look at almost all evangelical churches, the church service is built around "the pastor's message" (please take no offense). The next week is the same. And in some churches, mainly the popular and mega sized ones, the head pastor is almost like a "mini-Pope" with the church being his "Vatican". The same can be said with a series of messages. What happens after the series? What is the outcome? Usually, the church just moves on to "something new", forgetting whatever was supposedly the given challenge.

If all Christians want to hear are soft-fluffy words, then they are going to miss out on the truth. The truth is usually never nice to hear. But if it is heard, being spoken honestly by a "clean animal" and taken to heart, received by a "clean animal", it makes a drastic change in ones life.

[Romanós]

"The reality is, it doesn’t matter how good a message is, if the hearer has not come to listen. And listen we must, because the voice of God is not a scream, a shout. The revelation of God is often a whisper. And in order to catch it, we must lean forward and listen carefully. The Word of God is not for distancing eyes, but for contemplative ears."

If the above is true, then perhaps the place of worship and "decent" preaching should be a sanctuary, not a "Christian center."

Moses "took off his sandals" and came closer to the bush "that burned but was not consumed."

If the shepherds and the flock knew that there are protocols for entering the Presence, and knew what they are, and followed them, perhaps they would "have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches."

[JRM]

Interesting thoughts John. I liked it when you said "pissing," especially since you managed to weave "cotton" and a "rat" into the sentence....priceless, a pastor who walks among his people (which is what I like about you)!

Anyways, here are my thoughts: The call to preach was the full time vocation of Christ.

Is not the greatest pain for Christ caused by those who reject His freely offered love; and yet does He not continues to offer passionate and sincere love?

I imagine the planning and preparation and passion and pain and burdens and joy and love that carefully go into each faithfully preached sermon. And when the hour is at hand, you climb the ladder to the pulpit where victory shall come to stand. All of the passion and pain and burden and love and joy spent preparing the sermons for the week, finally explodes the love and truth from the parameters of your giving heart.

Though such steps to the pulpit seem to accumulate into miles through the years, when a pastor grows indifferent to blinded eyes and deafened ears then it is time to walk those familiar steps but one last time, yet only to say farewell to the seeing eyes and hearing ears.

It amazes me still that after the years of planning and prophecies, and after the purpose and passion and the pain of the life of Christ that He still loves the lost with sincere passion. His

I believe that a heart of a pastor resembles this love of Christ: Though he stands to preach again he stands to preach with passion.

Though a pastor preaches to deafened ears and blinded eyes, a pastor truly is never rejected. Yet every time a pastor stands to preach, Christ experiences more rejection (unless everyone has eyes to see and ears to hear—rare these days.)

In thinking how many miles a pastor has walked to the pulpit to preach, I imagine how much rejection Christ has endured; and yet He continues to love with passion and give him sermons that must be preached. Christ continues to give this pastor word to preach despite the lost present that will reject.

So in the end people may ask a pastor, "How have you continued to preach through all of these years with the same degree of passion." The humble soul simply replies, "I re-walk the steps to Calvary every time I take the pulpit."

Well done John! You are a life-long preacher for you are still affected by blinded eyes and deafened ears, and you still preach His love with passion!

Of course, the Holy Spirit is still in play. Keep walking that road to Calvary for those of us with seeing eyes and hearing ears have listened and still are here ... yet the passion remains in the hope that blinded eyes shall come to see while seeing eyes are further opened. The passion comes from retracing the road to Calvary.

[mike mcmullin]

Just found your blog today. I really enjoyed it. I'll be sure to check it out again.

[Fred]

Preaching, what a subject.
I can't think of anything that has affected my life more than good preaching. Now, to describe good preaching is no small task, and I am woefully ill-equipped to define it, but I'll share some of my thoughts.
To me there is a mystical quality to it; if a Preacher is hearing the voice of God on a subject,
(hearing God is mystical), I think he becomes excited to share it. He is enthusiastic when he senses the Spirit (more mysticism) in it and wants to share it in the clearest, most accurate way he can. His personality, training, and upbringing come into play as to how he will deliver it. Now just like I favor certain singers and the way they sound and deliver (perform), I also have preferences in the delivery of a sermon. But most of the sermons I hear come from books, with no delivery dimension what so ever.
But I find certain styles in writing keep my interest far more than others. Or, for example, If I pick up a copy of an old book that has been abridged, and I have read the unabridged copy, I recoil at the abridged version the way some recoil at a version of the Bible that isn't King James. So, how a preacher delivers, the illustrations he uses, the earnestness in his voice or face, all have an impact on me. They say that well over half of a person's attention is given to the body language. I don't know but maybe so? So when my hooves aren't feeling cloven, the manner in which the sermon is delivered can wake me, or cause me to slide forward in my seat.
I could go on with that aspect but none of it matters if the content is lacking. But I have heard many a sermon with good content that was difficult to receive because of oratory weakness in the speaker. In addition, if a preacher hits my hot-spots, this can really draw me in.
If I feel strong about evangelism, and the preacher mentions it often, I'm more attentive, if he quotes from my favorite authors or passages, I say, "what a great sermon!"
If I have been hurt or damaged by a certain sin or life-style, then my ears will perk up at the first mention of it. I remember one of the most passionate sermons you preached was on the damage alcohol does in our culture, and you mentioned that it had left its mark on family members.
So many things about a speaker that affect us. They can't be denied, but how can one appeal to all?
Impossible. So I guess you be who you are, hone your talents best you can, seek God in earnestness and leave the rest to Him.
I have wondered how on earth a preacher could preach the same sermon over three times a day and keep any kind of freshness in it. That in itself is a special Grace.
I have left out what the Pentecostals call "anointing", a common phrase in Pentecostal circles is "trust the anointing". I believe that God meets the sincere, devoted Preacher at the pulpit and gives His enabling (anointing) as well as to the hearer.
One of my best friends had a terrible Meth habit, was at a party where he was using Meth, drinking, smoking pot and watching Porn with a group of friends, in the midst of it God called him, right then and there, instantly he was sobered, left the party and was never the same, unusual, but not rare. God speaks and will be heard, I have no doubt of that, cloven feet or not.

[Romanós]

It doesn't take much for some people to unselfconsciously exhibit themselves, spiritually speaking. "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." (Proverbs 26:4-5 ESV) In this case, it's hard to know which to do. Is there a middle way?

Alas for the man who says "I can't think of anything that has affected my life more than good preaching." To preach well in the eyes of men is no testimony to anything but eloquence. I have heard great sermons which were nothing more than stolen ideas arranged to draw attention to the preacher. Someone may call this kind of preaching "mystical"— that is, "secret" or "hidden"—but beware, for the Word of God has laid everything out for us, without the help of earthly or human powers, which lead their captives into death. "'Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,' And to him who lacks understanding she says, 'Stolen water is sweet; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol." (Proverbs 9:16-18 NASB)

Jesus says, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27 NIV) This is the only entrance into "good" preaching, not what sounds good, not what makes us feel good, not what fits our "preferences", not what is "enthusiastic" in delivery, not the preacher's "body language", not hitting our "hot spots", not what makes us "slide forward in our seats."

"So when my hooves aren't feeling cloven…" can only mean that the animal doesn't have cloven feet at all, doesn't have the ability (through the Holy Spirit) to stand firmly no matter what or where. This is nothing to boast of, and nothing to mock.

"…how can one appeal to all? Impossible." But brother, the Word declares, "For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37 NIV) This applies just as much to the ministry of the Word, as it applies to anything else, in God's kingdom. The preacher of the Word has only to listen to the Shepherd's voice, and pass it on without adding to it or taking anything away.

Be careful brother, don't traffic cheaply with the Word of God, don't bring "the Anointing" into contempt by "speaking wild words about Yahweh." What the Pentecostals call the anointing is not necessarily what God calls "the Anointing." It's not something that comes and goes. "But you have not lost the anointing He gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. The anointing He gave you teaches you everything. You are anointed with Truth, not with lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in Him." (1 John 2:27 Jerusalem Bible)

A famine of decent preaching? "God speaks and will be heard, I have no doubt of that, cloven feet or not." No, brother, dead wrong! Only where the Word of God speaks by the mouth of a clean animal to the ears of clean animals. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27 NIV)

[Fred]

Dear Romanos,
forgive me for taking a good spiritual application, and in a pompous fashion, I just brushed it aside. I apologize, I should know better.
Fred

[Romanós]

Fred my brother, forgive me, Romanos the sinner, for pointing it out. Have a blessed Pascha. Kalí anástasi! (Beautiful resurrection!)