When the Word no longer WOWS us...

In February 1546, just a few days before he died, Martin Luther preached his last sermon in his hometown of Eisleben.

In that sermon, he said:

“In times past we would have run to the ends of the world if we had known of a place where we could have heard God speak.  But now that we hear this every day in sermons, indeed now that all books are full of it, we do not see this happening.  You hear at home in your house father and mother and children sing and speak it; the preacher speaks it in the parish church – you ought to lift up your hands and rejoice that we have been given the honor of hearing God speak to us through the Word.  ‘Oh,’ people say, ‘what is that?  After all, there is preaching every day, often many times every day, so that we soon grow weary of it.  What do we get out of it?’  All right, go ahead, dear brother, if you don’t want God to speak to you every day at home in your house and in your church, then be clever and look for something else: in Trier is our Lord God’s coat, in Aachen are Joseph’s britches and our blessed Lady’s chemise.  Go there and squander your money, buy indulgence and the pope’s secondhand junk!"

Rethinking Biblical Application (part 4)

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In the fourth installment of this series on rethinking biblical application I want to identify some  practical principles that will hopefully help us put feet to our faith.  As one reads the New Testament it is clear that the Spirit of truth always works in partnership with the Word of truth in order to conform believers into the likeness of Jesus (Col. 1:28; 2 Cor. 3:18).   Thus far we have addressed the biblical expectations of the preacher (2 Timothy 4:1-2; James 3) and the listener (James 1:21-25; Luke 12:48).  Here are a few more principles to keep in mind.

1) Not all sermons are going to have the exact same impact.  

Establishing realistic expectations is critical for both the expository preacher and the expository listener.  Not every message is going to have the exact same impact on our hearts; the same principle is true with regards to the worship songs/hymns that are selected during the service.  A lot of factors account for this:  A) The sermon itself (some messages are better than others.  By "better" I mean messages with great clarity, more direct exhortation, more passionate delivery, and more in-depth exposition).  B) the Text itself  (True expository preaching is always Text-driven.  A faithful expositor will try and make the main points of a passage the main headings of his exposition.   Some texts are weightier than others while other passages are more difficult to understand-see for example 2 Peter 3:15-16.  Some chapters are more doctrinal, Ephesians 1; while others are more application-orientated, Ephesians 5).  In saying this, I am in no way discounting the sufficiency of all the God-breathed Scriptures (per 2 Timothy 3:16).  C) The preacher (Members often have no clue what is really going on in their pastor's life).  D) The hearer (Preachers often know very little about what happened Sunday morning before his fellow members arrived at church, let alone, how their congregation members week really went).  

Suffice it to say, life circumstances often play a large role in the mind and heart of both the preacher and the hearer.  The way certain sermons impact us (more or less) sometimes comes back to this simple principle.  For example, if someone is going through a dark valley they may find certain exhortations and messages are especially encouraging to them.  On the other hand, if a believer is struggling with internet pornography they may find certain Texts to be particularly convicting, etc, etc.  When I was in seminary I read Spurgeon's lecture on the Minister's Fainting Fits and honestly was not really moved by it.  Eight years later I went back and reread this message and found it to be one of the most encouraging and helpful things Spurgeon ever said/wrote.  What happened?  My life experience had greatly changed.   I was now the man that Spurgeon was addressing in this famous lecture.

Rethinking Biblical Application (pt 3)

During a question and answer session at Grace Church Pastor John MacArthur offered some wisdom concerning the subject of expository preaching and biblical application.

"Through the years there is kind of a running discussion about how to preach and when you preach, what you should say and how you should say it. And I’m outside the box of kind of most contemporary discussions about preaching and I often have to sort of defend myself.

The criticism is this, MacArthur is biblical, he’s just not relevant. MacArthur is biblical, he’s just not practical. MacArthur is good on interpretation, he’s weak on application. And I think that people have said this and by virtue of the way they view what I do, they think they’re right, and I understand that. I don’t have a quarrel with that.

But I want you to understand, if you don’t already understand, what I think should happen in effective biblical preaching. You heard a testimony tonight in the waters of Baptism from Juan about how he kept coming to Grace Church. And in spite of the fact that he wanted to be a hypocrite, the power of the Scripture began to overwhelm him.

Rethinking Biblical Application (pt. 2)

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In a previous article I began to unpack the role of the hearer in the process of biblical change. Suffice it to say, James 1:21-27 should be considered a lifelong text.  In other words, a Christian never graduates beyond the implications and requirements of this passage.  I am not a tattoo person, but if I were, this would be a really good passage to have inked on my wrist.  Much more could be said about this foundational text but I'll save those comments for another time.

Today, I want us to consider the role of the preacher (teacher) when it comes to helping people mature in the faith as we strive to become more and more like Jesus (Colossians 1:28-29; 2 Corinthians 3:18).  

The apostolic mandate to carefully (2 Timothy 2:15) exposit the Scriptures is clearly established in 2 Timothy 3:16-4:5.  Preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  I have posted numerous articles about this chief means of grace (preaching/teaching) that God has instituted in His Church for His ultimate glory and our highest good.  Note this, this, this, this, this, and this.  Mark Dever is correct when he says that expositional preaching is the first and most important mark of a healthy church.   The pulpit has been rightly called "the rudder of the church."  As the pulpit goes so goes the church.  

Let me share three considerations with regards to preaching and biblical application:

Rethinking Biblical Application (pt. 1)

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One of the areas of Christian living that believers seem to prize the most is biblical application. Evangelicals hope whatever they are investing in, be it a Christian book, a sermon, or even a blog article is "applicable to their everyday lives." In other words, why am I in this Bible study, listening to this sermon, sitting in these counseling sessions, attending this small group Bible study, etc, etc ? What difference does this truth bear in relationship to the here and now? How is this going to impact my everyday life?  On one hand, these are important questions for preacher(s) and hearer(s) alike.

James 1:21-25 reminds us of the listener's responsibility in the process of biblical change. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. (See also Martha Peace's put off/put on study of Ephesians 4).

 

When it comes to listening to sermons however one of the most common misconceptions is as follows.  When a believer feels convicted (or encouraged, or challenged) during the message they often wrongly equate this feeling with biblical "application." During sermons that are especially application orientated it is not uncommon for a church member/attendee to thank the preacher or Sunday School teacher on the way out the door. "Great study today pastor!"  In this context it's very tempting for everyone to go home assuming all is well; but is that what James 1:21-27 teaches?  Is feeling convicted over our sin during a message the same thing as repenting and putting on the graces of Christ?  Is feeling encouraged about the "peace of God which surpasses all understanding" as the preacher waxes eloquently on Philippians 4:6-7 the same thing as appropriating Christ's peace (John 14:27) in the midst of uncertain circumstances?  Is feeling strongly about biblical church discipline (Matt 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5), the same thing as applying these principles when doing so upsets the financial apple cart?  Is feeling especially challenged about the mandate to evangelize the lost the same thing as sharing the gospel with an unsaved neighbor?   No, it is not.

2 Disturbing Trends Within American Christianity (and a Solution)

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When I evaluate the contemporary church I notice many disturbing trends.  In the interest of time allow me to mention two:

1)  The Continued "Juvenilization" of American Christianity. 

Or to borrow the verbiage of another commentator, "When are we going to grow up?  We are all adolescents now."  This same writer goes on to describe a typical worship service in America, noting "The house lights go down. Spinning, multicolored lights sweep the auditorium. A rock band launches into a rousing opening song. 'Ignore everyone else, this time is just about you and Jesus,' proclaims the lead singer. The music changes to a slow dance tune, and the people sing about falling in love with Jesus. A guitarist sporting skinny jeans and a soul patch closes the worship set with a prayer, beginning, 'Hey God …' The spotlight then falls on the speaker, who tells entertaining stories, cracks a few jokes, and assures everyone that 'God is not mad at you. He loves you unconditionally.'

After 'worship', some members of the church sign up for the next mission trip, while others decide to join a small group where they can receive support on their faith journey. If you ask the people here why they go to church or what they value about their faith, they'll say something like, "Having faith helps me deal with my problems."

A few paragraphs later the author notes, "Juvenilization is the process by which the religious beliefs, practices, and developmental characteristics of adolescents become accepted as appropriate for adults. It began with the praiseworthy goal of adapting the faith to appeal to the young.... But it has sometimes ended with both youth and adults embracing immature versions of the faith. In any case, white evangelicals led the way."

IS Bigger ALWAYS Better? 5 Simple Steps To Maximize the Growth Potential of Your Church.

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If pastoring a large evangelical church was the main goal of my ministry what would I do differently? 

That's a very good question.  

My short answer is I'd heed the counsel of the "church growth" experts and marketing gurus as closely as I could.  In order to attract more people I would pay much closer attention to the trends of the culture, especially to the mainstream Christian subculture, and I would adapt my ministry practices accordingly (I'd become a Christian pragmatist).  That means my pulpit ministry would need to complement "the Juvenilization of the church." 

Here are a few things I would specifically do IF pastoring a large church was one of my chief goals (please view this as a pastoral parody):

1) I would Preach Shorter Sermons

We live and minister in a "sound bite" culture that is increasingly technology-orientated.  As such, people have shorter attention spans (or so we're told).  Did you know that on average people check their phones 110 times a day?  Many, if not most Americans, take their entertainment, their recreation, and their hobbies very seriously (our Daytimers and credit card statements often reveal what our heart treasures the most-per Jesus' words in Mt. 6:21).  Suffice it to say, lengthy expositions of Scripture are quite passé.    

Besides, modern churchgoers have busy schedules to maintain.  Worship services need to be crafted in such a way so as to not interfere too much with the activities listed above (which partially explains why some evangelicals offer Saturday & Monday night services and even "church online").  At the end of the day since "1 Peter 2:2-3 Christians" are often few and far between one should tailor their messages accordingly.  The shorter the better!