The message...

"It is the duty of the pulpit to say the same things over and over and over again. They must be clothed in different phraseology, and illumined by fresh illustration, and approached by a new line of thought; but the things that are really worth saying must be said repeatedly."

-Frank Boreham

Perspective: Mothers and Preachers

Yesterday as I presented my Mother's Day sermon and as I looked over my notes for my class on gender roles in the church, my mind was drawn to think of all the ways mothers and preachers are alike.

Good mothers and good preachers have to look for the best in people.  Just as a mother can find something positive in a midnight call from the local sheriff about some mischief a wayward son has found, so a good minister can find some redemptive quality in the midst of any member's crisis.  Just as a mother has to listen to the hours and hours of recounted teenage drama, the life of a local preacher is full of stories of other people's grandchildren, their gardens, their confessions and their dreams.  The best mothers and preachers don't mind this of course.  They both realize that often it is better to listen long than to be quick with advice.  They love the fact that their children and their parishioners trust them enough to share both their troubles and their triumphs.

Perhaps the quality that makes mothers and preachers most alike is this: they each believe that people can change.  Many a mother has spent many a sleepless night praying for the prodigal.  She can love her children to the point of pride while still recognizing their faults and wanting them to change.  She looks for every opportunity to be an influence and a guide.  She simply cares too much to stop believing.  Even in the face of overwhelming facts, a mother refuses to give up hope.  Her children will always be her children regardless of how they stray.

A good preacher is much the same.  He too has sleepless nights whether spent in prayer or in counsel with the hurt, the broken, the grieving.  He believes that the once-a-month member has potential to be a deacon.  He hopes that the new family that came last week will come back (maybe even for Sunday School next week).  He will plan his sermons so carefully to reach out to the heartsick, the hurting and even the hungover in the Sunday morning pews.  He struggles sometimes against despair, doubt and burnout.  He will wonder, like a mother does with her children, if anyone is really listening.  He, like every mother, will make mistakes, get tired and even forget his point from time to time.

Both mothers and preachers have difficult jobs.  Yesterday many of you thanked or remembered your mother.  Let me encourage you to also remember the preachers/Sunday School teachers/youth ministers/elders in your life.  Often these jobs expect much and pay little in earthly terms.  Few would choose the vocation for the financial or social perks.  Ministry, like motherhood, is a calling and a special responsibility.  Mothers and preachers don't do what they do for a "thank you," but a genuine expression of gratitude will be appreciated and will encourage them to even better service in what God has led them to do.

“We are not responsible to God for the souls that are saved, but we are responsible for the Gospel that is preached, and for the way in which we preach it.”

~Charles H. Spurgeon 

How to fill a church...

"I believe that the best, surest, and most permanent way to fill
a place of worship is to preach the gospel, and to preach it in
a natural, simple, interesting, earnest way. The gospel itself
has a singularly fascinating power about it, and unless impeded
by an unworthy delivery, or by some other great evil, it will win
its own way. It certainly did so at the first, and what is to hinder
it now? Like the angels, it flew upon its own wings; like the dew,
it tarried not for man, neither waited for the sons of men."

"The gospel has a secret charm about it which secures a hearing:
it casts its good spell over human ears, and they must hearken.
It is God's own word to men; it is precisely what human
necessities require; it commends itself to man's conscience, and,
sent home by the Holy Spirit, it wakes an echo in every heart."

"In every age, the faithful preaching of the good news has brought
forth hosts of men to hear it, made willing in the day of God's power.
Decked in the glories of free and sovereign grace, wearing the
crown-royal of the covenant, and the purple of atonement-
the gospel, like a queen, is still glorious for beauty,
and supreme over hearts and minds."

"Published in all its fulness, with a clear statement of its efficacy
and immutability, it is still the most acceptable news that ever
reached the ears of mortals."

- Charles H. Spurgeon

Just stepping out for a minute...

I spent the morning walking on the treadmill and writing Sunday's sermon.  Both those tasks are not finished.  For every mile I walk, I realize that tomorrow I will have to walk again.  For each sermon I prepare, I realize that I am also preparing my life to speak to others.  Every decision has consequences it is said.  Just this morning a woman from just down the street lost her life while walking to town.  Accidents are a fact of existence.  Life is as a vapor, a mist, that can ever so quickly vanish away. 

So now I am deciding to go visit my great-grandmother for an hour or so.  I saw her yesterday (one of the benefits of living so close by), but sometimes between all the preparing for what's ahead, we forget to simply be present in this world.  I will likely have many more days to walk and many more sermons to prepare, but the time spent with those I love is fleeting and precious.

I give a word of advice as a person not just as a preacher: cherish the moments of this life.  Redeem the time in this world that so constantly wants us to go faster and faster.  Slow down, call a friend, send a card.  Don't leave anything unsaid between you and the ones you love.

Have a blessed weekend.

What we study and who we are

One fact about me that perhaps many people don't know is that I studied primarily literature in college and not Bible.  The things that we choose to learn about whether formally or informally have a tendency to shape our views on life.  I believe that my background in literature and writing greatly impacts the way in which I think, teach, and preach.

Many men who are preparing to be preachers spend only a small amount of time in learning how to present ideas.  Most ministry students take two or three classes on the actual practice of preaching and spend much of the rest of their education in classes about the Bible text, Biblical languages, church history and church organization.  While it is certainly a benefit to learn Biblical criticism and ancient languages, these studies do not always inform a preacher's ability in the pulpit.  In my experience, it is just as needful to know how to express ideas in a meaningful way as it is to possess the ideas themselves.  One simply cannot be effective without both the knowledge of material and the method of presentation.

Fortunately, a background in literature informs both areas.  Knowledge of the Biblical text is enhanced when one understands the literary devices used by the writers of Scripture.  Also being able to compare the Bible with other literary works is valuable in seeing how human experience is universal and timeless.  In addition to aiding with knowledge, a background in literature also helps in the delivery of information.  Much of preaching is writing whether it be sermon outlines, bulletin articles, or study materials.  Having a more than basic skill level in the use of words is a great benefit to a minister.

I have often wished I had taken more text and language classes while in college, however, my extra time spent in the study of words and how to use them effectively is something I would not change.  Obviously some preachers will be heavy on the knowledge and lighter on the application and vice versa.  Hopefully we can all be used of God to draw more people to the point of a decision regarding relationship with Him.

Ravenhill speaks with such passion...listen in

Object of our worship

One trend that I see when I listen to men within our fellowship teach and preach is an apparent confusion about Who we worship.  In trying to assert the absolute authority of the Bible, many bow down before the printed page as the object of worship.  While it is true that Jesus is the Word, making the Bible the central focus of our worship can be a dangerous prospect.  We generally giving the largest portion of our assemblies to preaching and Bible study.  Prayer seems quite neglected in many churches and reflection even more so.  God has promised (as we know from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments) that He will be Lord of our lives in first position or we are not giving Him His rightful place.  To replace the Sovereign LORD with words about Him is to put an idol between us and God.  We know God through the Scripture, true, but we need to appreciate that our worship is directed by Scripture toward the Father.  Only when God is LORD to us does the Scripture find its proper place as a revealer of His nature and desires.

Preparing for Sundays

The longer I preach the more difficult it gets to prepare for a Sunday.  I would say that most of my preaching friends say the opposite is true: that the more you preach the easier it gets to prepare.  I think I have difficulty preparing these days for several reasons.

• It's been a long time since I heard someone else preach.  When you aren't hearing other people teach and preach you begin to forget how it feels to be in the audience listening to a lesson.  While I read other preachers' sermons and articles, it's not the same as a live church experience.  Also, I am not hearing new ways to present material and that can lead to being stuck in a rut style wise.
• I know more now and it is harder to know what to share and when.  I feel like through reading and prayer I know more about the Bible than I did five or ten years ago.  Just because I know it though doesn't mean I need to share all the details of every theory with the congregation.  I am having to learn that not everyone is wanting deeper study all the time.  I am trying to put most of my deeper teaching into the two Bible classes and making the sermon more general to fit the entire congregation.
• I have preached all my favorite texts more than once.  As much as I want to study the Book of Acts forever, I am having to learn to explore new, unfamiliar texts and topics.  My lessons are usually textual leading to application, but lately I have been trying some topical lessons like "Love for the Christian" and "Why I Preach Baptism."
• I sometimes doubt that my preparation matters.  This one is a hard one for me because sometimes if I prepare too much I can ruin a lesson.  Other times a passage will come to mind and I can go with it relying on past knowledge and common sense application.  It is also difficult (I think for all preachers and teacher) to know if what you are saying is making any impact.  As people leave the building and thank you for the lesson I have noticed they say about the same things whether the lesson was one of your best or not so grand at all.  I am blessed to have a few members who give an honest but kind opinion of my preaching each week.

I hope that gives a little insight into my Sunday preparations...better get back to it!

New Technique

Often in my preparing to preach I have focused more on what I wanted to say to the assembly than what God wanted to say through me.  The result has been some preaching on pet topics and petty, personal concerns and not delving deep into the message that God is graciously providing in His Word. 

Starting a few weeks ago, I started reading the Bible in a new way.  Instead of picking out my favorite passages and re-reading them with the same, predictable cadence, I started reading long sections of parts of the Bible which I had previously only skimmed over.  When I reached a profound or interesting section, I read it over again and again, looking at it from ever angle I could conceive.  I also began to think about specific members of the congregation and how these thoughts I was drawing from the Word would touch them.  After reading long sections of the Old Testament, I switched to the Gospels, which were of course more familiar.  I tried to read with new eyes, savoring the words and meanings and trying not to get caught up in conceptions I have long held about the purpose and plan God had with each account.

While I have only preached once after using this method, I can already tell I am going to have a new fire and focus in my ministry.  I am seeing new things in familiar places and I love it.  May God grant the wisdom to use this new method to His service.