The Primacy of Preaching
Yesterday I was blessed to be able to spend some time with some friends listening to a series of lectures by Don Carson on the Primacy of Expository Preaching. There was much to challenge me--and the others too, I trust.
Before teaching on the primacy of expository preaching, DAC taught for a while on the importance that the Bible (especially the New Testament) places on preaching. Sometimes I think that people think of preaching as something that we can take or leave. We treat it like it's a product of modernity and may well have seen it's last days of usefulness.
The New Testament has another view, however. DAC roots the priority of the spoken word in the nature of God--the fact that he is a God who speaks, and that is his nature. But then he listed a whole list of texts worth looking up and meditating on (in their respective contexts) which clearly show the New Testament's emphasis on preaching.
Since I wanted to do the work of looking the texts up anyway, I thought that I may as well make the list available to you as well. You can view all the texts by simply clicking here. Here is a great reminder that the priority we give to preaching is not cultural but biblical. It is good to be reminded of even the basics from time-to-time.
It's easy to see why reading and meditating on such a list would be important for a preacher or a pastor like myself. My question, though, is this: What does the average church member stand to gain from thinking about the biblical priority of preaching? How would it / could it affect you and your mindset as you go to church or serve in your church?
Don’t Get Bored
If you're in any sort of ministry in the church, I would recommend that you go and download the messages from the Basics Conference. In particular, Piper's messages, Begg's first message (he hasn't preached the second one yet), and Tim Challies' breakout session are worth your time.
If I tried to write out all the things that I've been learning and been convicted by this would probably become a long post. What I would like to point out, however, is the one theme that seems to be recurring that is remarkably encouraging to me.
The conference itself is called 'the Basics' and that's exactly what we've been reminded of. In the Q&A session, Piper was asked, 'What's the number one challenge coming for pastors in the next ten years?' He responded that the challenges in the next ten years is the same as it has always been: stay red-hot for God and preaching the gospel undiminished. We don't need to be culturally hip. We should bleed Bible, not movies. When Begg was asked what advice he would give to seminary students preparing for ministry, he responded, 'Read your Bible, and meet with God in the secret place.'
The simple fact is that in ministry, it is so easy to get bored with telling the same old story, preaching the same gospel, teaching the same doctrine for so many Sundays, over so many years. That is, it is easy to get bored if your own soul is not finding life in the gospel.
The challenge, then, is to preach the gospel to your own soul. Be in the word. Meet with God. As you see your desperate need, you will not grow bored. You will be faithful to preach with desperation if you are faithful to feel the desperation of your own soul on the brink of eternity, in desperate need of the gospel that gives life.
This time has been quite a blessing so far. I'm looking forward to more.
Preaching God
Pastors Delighting in God to the Glory of God Together
This coming Monday is the final monthly meeting of the Toronto Pastors Fellowship for the 2008-2009 season. While I'm sad that it will be over for the next several months, I can't wait for Monday to come, because the paper will be great!
I've just had a chance to read over Pastor Darryl Dash's paper on theocentric preaching; it is full of insights, challenges, and encouragements.
Here is a brief preview to whet your appetite for Monday's meeting. In this section, Dr Dash is detailing the pitfalls and flaws of moralistic preaching, and showing how even sermons that are textually based may be ultimately moralistic.
In Scripture, obedience is always a response to the gospel. Application that is not rooted in gospel leads to pride if the listener succeeds, and defeatism if the listener does not. The law does not give us power to obey its commands; we need good news (the gospel), not just good advice. The Bible does contain commands, but these are always applications of the gospel.
Moralism can creep into how-to sermons (e.g. “Four Steps to Better Parenting”), but it can also creep into expositions of a text. For example, preaching the imperatives of Ephesians 4-6 will be moralistic unless we link the imperatives to the gospel described in Ephesians 1-3. God's gift and his commands (theology and ethics) are always linked.
Make sure to join us on Monday morning at 10am to get the full paper, the Q&A, and all the blessings of fellowship.
See you there!
A Plug for a Preaching Workshop
My friend Nick Hill sent me some information on an event being hosted by Richview Baptist Church (where another friend, Darryl Dash, pastors).
Richview will be hosting a 'Workshop on Biblical Preaching' from March 25-27, 2009. The featured speakers will be David Short and David Helm (author of The Big Picture Story Bible).
While I've not had much exposure to Simeon Trust and I don't know David Short, I love Helm's work in the Story Bible and Nick and Darryl both highly recommend the workshop. I thought I'd put the word out there in case anyone is looking for a chance to work on developing their preaching abilities.
Workshop on Preaching Put on by Simeon Trust and Hosted by Richview Baptist Church
Preaching vs Lecturing
I've been thinking about preaching a fair bit over the past week or so. In particular, I got to wondering, What are the fundamental differences between preaching and lecturing?
I wonder if it would be safe to say that one of the most basic differences lies in the responsibility for understanding. Here's what I mean.
In a classroom lecture, the hearer (the student) is held responsible for learning and retaining what is being taught. In preaching, the preacher is viewed as responsible for making sure the hearer (the church-goer) learns and retains what is being taught.
From that basic distinction come all kinds of differences. Here's one example. In a classroom setting, a professor may mention a term like oligarchy or a person like Barth without having to offer any further explanation. If the listener doesn't understand, it's up to him to go do some research and figure out what the professor was saying. In a sermon, however, it's never okay to mention obscure terms or people. You are striving with everything in you to make sure the people who hear understand the truth and its implications, so you would not want to do anything to obscure the truth.
Here's another example. In a lecture setting, if the teacher is presenting a complicated theory, he needs only to cover it once and then move on. The students have the text book and have been assigned the reading, so the one explanation should be sufficient for them. In a sermon, however, the preacher must understand that most people don't read the text book and that even when they do, they need help understanding how to put concepts together. The preacher, then, illustrates, the truth in terms, images, similes, and stories that the people will readily be able to identify with.
There are many more examples, but I think I'll leave it with those two for now. Does it seem fair to suggest that one of the basic differences between preaching and lecturing is the placement of the responsibility for understanding?
The Word of God
Subscribe
Click the logo for posts by e-mail
Recent Comments
- Bersiya on On the ‘Inadequacy’ of Language
- Julian on My Little Monsters
- Don on My Little Monsters
- Celebrating beauty - Words of Eternal Life on The Beauty of My Wife
- Luciana Hamilton on Why Do You Hide Yourself, God?
Blogroll
- Darryl Dash
- Ian Hugh Clary
- Jake Rivers
- Louis Tullo
- Nick Mitchell
- Paul McDonald
- Paul W. Martin
- Tim Challies
- Trevor Peck
Other Useful Stuff
Pages
Our Church
Sermons from Our Church
- God, His World, His People (Part 2)
- God, His World, His People (Part 1)
- The Foundations of Understanding
- Praying to the Triune God
- The Battle for Humility