THE GOSPEL AND BORING PREACHERS This is long post lol. Maybe Ill turn it into a video or blog. A few years ago, I remember speaking with a lady I worked with about a particular church I had visited. I told her I thought the teaching was pretty good. She replied, Yeah its okay. But he was too boring for me. I need some energy! He was just too plain. Unfortunately, many people feel this way. Some were raised in a setting where the preacher would yell, tell a lot of jokes, always have clever tag lines and quotes as the climax of the sermon would be accompanied by an organ. Now some of these things are not inherently wrong. I tell jokes in webisodes sometimes. I try not to do it to a point that it is purposeless and distracting from the message, but humor is a part of my personality. I don’t believe preachers should remove their personalities. God wrote through the personalities of men when he wrote the Bible. But I want to point out that many people are missing out or dismissing sound preaching simply because the delivery of the message does not suit their auditory or semantic preferences. Look at the apostle Paul for example. This was a man who wrote letters very boldly, but apparently, his demeanor in person didnt seem all that commanding to some (1 Cor 10:10). His speech contrasted noticeably to the Greek rhetoric of his time. The sophists made a living by their eloquent speech. At one time, the sophists actually cared about articulate solid truths, but at some point gained a reputation for just being slick talkers that sounded very wise, but ultimately the core of their content was quite weak. Now, Paul could have chosen to speak in a weak manner, but it was also probably just a part of his natural personality make-up. He just probably wasnt the greatest public speaker. He likely wouldnt have had his own spot on TBN. In either case, the point is that Paul had one particular purpose and that was to preach Christ. Sadly, many believers today probably wouldnt have even paid attention to the great profound truths this man had stored in him simply because He was too boring for me. I need some energy. He was just too plain. The fact that your main basis of good preaching is eloquence of ones speech, may show that you value being entertained more than you you value being taught truth. Im not saying being a good public speaker is an inherently bad thing or even that being a boring preacher is somehow more honorable. Im not saying pastors should not focus on content as well as trying to become better orators when communicating Gods word. I think there may even be a duty for preachers to do their best at driving home points of Biblical truths in ways that are clear, captivating, and compelling. Im just saying style of preaching in and of itself is not the basis for solid preaching, and is quite a carnal way to judge whether you will listen to a particular preacher or not. Some of the greatest and most profound teachings Ive ever heard were from men of God who were quite plain in their speech. I mean they werent terrible, but they were no Martin Luther King Jr.s or T.D. Jakes, thats for sure. Beware of the sophists within the Christian circles though. There are many preachers online, on TV, and possibly at your church, who speak very well, with great commanding power and clever tag lines that you can easily fit in 140 characters for twitter, but they lack true Biblical content or right handling of the Word of God. Their theatrical deliveries may even be distracting you from or blinding you to the reality that they arent really preaching the supremacy of Jesus and the implications of the Gospel. -- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 03:55:50 +0000
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