The title is deliberatly cliched.
Every week the Pastor gets up to preach, normally for around 28-32 minutes, to do what exactly. For what purpose and what outcome.
Having been a preacher for most of my working life this is a topic I think about often.
The debate through all of my Ministry time has been do we preach exegetically or topically. I’ve always thought that debate was a little moot really. Both methods use the Bible. And a good topical sermon will include good exegesis from the scriptures. Scratch me deeply enough and I will say I think it is a matter of preference and personality. Our Western ordered way of doing church avoids surprises. Exegetical preaching through a book or books, seeks to keep us at a steady ordered pace. The preacher going through a book, or in some cases, through the entire Bible, and they know what is next. That can be good. It does become difficult when we realise the Bible is not in chronological order, and wasn’t written or compiled in chronological order. Like the people who wrote it, it is imbued with personality, culture and emotion.
A topical series can be shaped by a particular passion or present need. The local church pastor knows what their church needs in that moment. They preach to what the people need, in that moment, at that time. It does allow you to speak to a present church, cultural or societal need. It seems to me that Jesus was a topical preacher who none the less worked towards a conclusion, the Kingdom of God is here. When misused it can be shaped by a personal vendetta or passive aggressive leaning.
Lately the exegetical vs topical preaching debate has been sharpened somewhat with the question, do we preach the gospel. Debating what this actually means may be pointless because you can answer it many ways. It’s too simplistic to say the gospel is the good news about Jesus, saving grace. Because the good news about Jesus covers far more than the one time act of accepting Jesus as your Lord. In fact if we are going to categorise good news as needing a response, it’s about saying yes to Jesus at every point of your life. In every context, in every role you play. If you mean, did you talk about sin and salvation and grace, that message should be infused in everything, but there are moments it’s going to be more subtle than others.
I want to chat about what I do think are the important elements of preaching.
The Bible. Our scriptures are the authority. Whether you go verse by verse, topical, a broad sweep or just focus in on one phrase, the Bible is Gods revealed word. The standard and one of two transformational units.
The Holy Spirit. Even demons read the Bible and believe. Without the work of the Holy Spirit the words on the page are at risk of condemning us without helping us. They might be useful principles to live by, but they don’t change our heart nor our destiny. The Spirit illuminates, transforms and works on our heart. The Word of God won’t pass away, but it won’t be the written word we worship in eternity nor that we commune with. As one person said, it is not Father, Son and Holy Scriptures.
Don’t bore people. To bore people with the Good News is close to sinning. It might show a lack of care, passion, hard work, relational currency and God given creativity. We are not all gifted comedians, story tellers or empathetic, emotionally charged people. But as hard as you might work on your parsing, I suggest you need to work as hard on your connection. If you bore people, it is probably your fault.
Relevance. The Bible is full of stories of people. However as we delve back into the Bible, finding the point of connection between a people who had no access to Wifi, hot showers and penicillin is not as hard as it might seem. We are all people. Nearly all of us value relationships, family, children and hope. What are people in your context thinking about. It shouldn’t surprise us that people in Biblical times thought about similar things. Some Pastors are so caught up in the church bubble they have no idea what their people are dealing with at work, on the tram and in increasingly individualistic family and societal lives. Asking questions is the greatest tool you have as a communicator.
Purpose. I have been a local church pastor for over thirty years. The wrestle with preaching is constant. I am struck that it is neither as important nor unimportant as we think. One of the most defining moments was when someone I respect said to me, this might be the only 20 minutes all week that someone opens their bible. I found that striking, troubling and challenging. I think about the people who come to church each week, and at least in part, to hear the word of God being expounded. The importance of that moment is heightened. They want to hear what God might say to them in that moment, so I need to be as sure as I can that I am listening to God. What does He want to say to the local church in this moment, on this Sunday. Thats important. Yet. I am just a person, and I am not perfect. It’s not up to me to speak to them, it is up the Holy Spirit. In my obvious failures as a communicator I often butcher words, grammar and even structure. Someone I respect greatly said to me, ‘it frustrates me sometimes how your sermon is so misshapen, yet God used it to great effect”. I laughed out loud, at the accuracy of their statement, given as it was kindly yet so candidly. All I could say was, well I care, even if I don’t have the best and keenest mind. I preach to see people changed and experience the grace, love, and transformation of the Holy Spirit on their lives.
