"I'm Just Not Getting Much Out Of My Preacher's Sermons..." (pt. 2)

BORING!

What's a Christian to do if they are just not getting much out of their preacher's sermons?  In some cases, it may be helpful to share this loving concern with one's pastor.  If you choose to do this, provide a few specific examples to help your shepherd understand more specifically where you are coming from.  Do this with humility and bathe everything in prayer (Prov. 3:5-6). Having said that, before setting up such a meeting you should acknowledge that the difficulties your experiencing may reside as much in your own heart/mind, or in your own unrealistic and/or unbiblical expectations, as it does in the human mouthpiece of the Word (note 1 Peter 4:10-11).  One must evaluate each situation on a case by case basis.  Of course in many real world situations the matter is both/and rather than either/or.

Biblical humility should temper your criticisms with the honest acknowledgement that your pastor has invested 4-8 years of his life via bible college and seminary and to countless hours preparing weekly expositions.   I remind myself of this very principle when walking into a medical clinic. Before informing my doctor that "I don't think he's doing his job right and needs to do this or that" I realize that the few hours I spent on Web M.D. does not make me a "subject matter expert" in medicine.  That's not to say we should never question a doctor.  Some medical professionals are really poor in what they do and we would be foolish to not get a second opinion (or to find another doctor all together).

In this vein, if your preacher has not received received adequate ministry training he may need to "go back to school" before assuming such a huge responsibility as is feeding the flock of Christ (see John 21).  Note Clint Archer's helpful article on "should men go to seminary before leading the church of Christ.".

Having said that, those in the pew should be humble enough to listen to their pastor's thoughts knowing that he's likely spent hundreds of hours reading books on expository preaching, has invested thousands of hours listening to classroom lectures on theology, hermeneutics, counseling, Scripture, and homiletics, and probably benefits from many of the same well known preachers that you do.  What Christian doesn't love the preaching ministries of Alistair Begg, Steve Lawson, and John MacArthur?  

On this note, one of the present dangers of the internet and the proliferation of "celebrity pastors" is that some Christians expect their local church preacher to sound just like you fill in the blank; not realizing that God does not give "five talents" to every servant (Matt. 25:14-30) and has given each individual a unique personality/style.  If your preacher does not herald the Word as well as John MacArthur (join the camp), this does not mean that this brother has not been called to the ministry.   All believers are expected to be faithful stewards of the talents that have been sovereignly dispensed on them by the Lord of the Church (see 1 Cor. 12-14; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; 1 Tim. 3:1f).  In this same vein, if you expect your praise leader(s) to sing like Matt Boswell or Chris Tomlin, or to write arrangements like Fernando Ortega or Bob Kauflin, you are setting yourself up for being a church member who is never content.  Be biblically realistic and remind yourself that the power ultimately resides in the Word of God not in the heralds of His Word!

Why Expository Preaching?

Matt Waymeyer teaches Greek and Systematic Theology at TES and serves on the pastoral staff of Grace Immanuel Bible Church in Jupiter, FL. Below is a brief conversation TES had with Matt about local church ministry.

"Why are you committed to expository preaching?

Let me begin with a definition. Expository preaching is the authoritative proclamation of God’s Word in which the preacher clearly sets forth the divinely intended meaning of the biblical text and brings the contemporary implications of its timeless truth to bear on the lives of the people. My commitment to this kind of proclamation flows out of my conviction that Scripture is the Word of God. Because the Bible is God’s Word, it possesses a trustworthiness, an authority, and a transforming power that no other source possesses. Therefore, to the degree that we faithfully preach the divinely intending meaning of the biblical text, our preaching carries that same trustworthiness, authority, and transforming power. But conversely, to the degree that we depart from the divinely intended meaning of a given passage, our message has forfeited its trustworthiness, authority, and transforming power, and we make ourselves not worth listening to.

What do you believe are the benefits for a pastor if he has a thorough understanding of Hebrew and Greek? What do you think are the potential limitations without a grasp of the original languages?

The primary benefit of knowing the original languages is that it enables the pastor to be more accurate and precise in his understanding of the biblical text. This is foundational to everything he does as a shepherd, from preaching to counseling to formulating his systematic theology. The original languages are especially critical to his preaching ministry. Every semester I tell my Greek students that precision in the study leads to clarity in the pulpit. In other words, if you want to be a preacher who clearly presents the divinely intended meaning of Scripture from the pulpit, you must be precise in your own understanding of Scripture in the study, and so much of that precision comes from the original languages.

10 Marks of the Distinguished Pulpit Ministry of Calvin

Calvin's pulpit ministry:  During his remaining years Calvin would preach up to 10 sermons a week.  Calvin's sermons lasted between 50-60 minutes (apparently he did not read Saving Eutychus).  During Calvin's first sermon back he picked up on the last verse he preached before he was exiled 3 years prior- "as I was saying."  No ancient preacher was more committed to verse-by-verse, Text-driven exposition than John Calvin.  One does need to agree with every detail of Calvin's theology to learn from him.

Characteristics of Calvin's preaching and teaching ministry. 

1) Calvin's preaching ministry was grounded in his bedrock convictions concerning the Bible.  

Calvin deep seated conviction that God's Word is inerrant, inspired, infallible, and sufficient impacted every facet of his pastoral ministry, including preaching.  The way a pastor handles the Word of truth will tell you everything you need to know about his personal doctrinal convictions. 

As such, 2) Calvin was committed to verse-by-verse exposition (Lectio Continiua).

It has been rightly said, "An inerrant Scripture demands expository preaching."  Calvin's commitment to exegetical exposition are without parallel in Reformation history.  Having said that, one needs to note that Calvin did not "invent" the Lectio Continiua method of expository preaching.  Many of the Church Father's were committed to book-by-book preaching; (and Calvin was a faithful student of church history).  Zwingli, for example, also preached through the Bible book by book.  

 For further research about this method of preaching, read Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, Volume 4: The Age of the Reformation.  

The Bible Is Not a Cafeteria!

One of the best ways to ensure that the body of Christ is exposed to the truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth- is sequential, Text-driven, expositional preaching (Acts 20:27)!

Topical and thematic preaching is much safer because the pastor can pick and choose which truths to communicate and which ones to pass over.  The will of the consumer is regularly feed so that the people generally only hear what they want to hear (see 2 Timothy 4:3-5).  Who wants to come to church and hear sermons about God's narrow view on divorce and remarriage (Matt. 19:1-11), the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation (Rom. 9; Eph. 1), the promise of persecution from the world against faithful disciples (John 15:8-16:4), the cost of discipleship (Luke 9:23-24), etc.?

Verse-by-verse preaching forces the pastor to deal with countercultural texts.  Many times I am left with the choice to either betray God (2 Tim. 2:15,) by not expounding the real meaning of such and such a text, or to honor Him, and let the chips fall where they may; (which is not wise if job security and pay raises are idols of your heart).  Too many pastors today treat the Bible like a cafeteria where they take what they want and leave the rest behind.  The fruit of this approach is what you see today in the American evangelical church!  May God forgive us and help us to preach more like Jesus (with boldness, love, and passion).