In some cases sermon-listening in church can be frustrating, difficult, or sometimes downright impossible. What do you do when the sermon is boring? What do you do when the preacher is not teaching the truth of Scripture? What is the appropriate response to a dull sermon, a biblically inadequate sermon, or a heretical sermon? And how can you know the difference?
Let’s remind ourselves that the preacher is not singularly responsible for maintaining his preaching ministry. We listeners also share in that responsibility. The Apostle Paul commanded young Timothy, a preacher: “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Tim 4:13). Good advice, but what if the cities in which Timothy ministered didn’t want that kind of ministry? What if they threw him out of town? Well sure, he’d keep on preaching, but he’d take his preaching elsewhere. That’s what the Apostle did on numerous occasions (Acts 13:50–51; 14:5–7, 19–20; 16:39–40; 17:8–10, 13–14; 17:32–18:1). He left the disinterested (and often, angry) group and found a new group who wanted to hear what he had to say. So the necessary implication is that the congregation must desire the reading and teaching of God’s Word, otherwise it will not and cannot happen.
Now, I am not a proponent of congregationally lead churches, but there is an element of congregational buy-in when the elders and pastors determine what their corporate commitments are going to be. Therefore, the church’s demand for biblical preaching is just as important as the pastor’s commitment to supply it.
So how will you create a demand for good Bible preaching and what will you do if it’s not delivered in your church? In order to know how to respond to poor preaching let’s divide it into three categories: dull, biblically inadequate, and heretical.[1] I’ll treat these three categories in this and the next two blog posts. First, what do you do if your pastor’s sermons are dull?
What if the
Sermon is Dull?
Let’s face it—some preachers are a little
dry. They could use a few more illustrations, incorporate some humor, take
their noses out of their notes, and better engage with the people before them.
The Bible is not dull but some preachers unknowingly make it so by their
demeanor. Maybe they’re deliberately trying to emulate Jonathan Edwards’s
monotone style in an attempt to not be like the “worldly” preachers of today.
Maybe it’s their own personality (or lack thereof) that makes it difficult for
them to speak with any kind of enthusiasm. Maybe your pastor is a wonderful man
who engages quite “normally” in person but transforms into a mind-numbing bore
in the pulpit.
Some preachers are not organized communicators. They process information differently than the rest of us. It all makes sense in their own mind, but when it comes to passing it on, the logical movements of thought are not apparent to many in the congregation.
Make no mistake, in this category of bad preaching, I am talking about communication, not content—style, not substance. In fact, often the sermon content is great! The substance of the sermon is biblical. The preacher is a careful student of Scripture. He puts in many hours of diligent study. He prays over his sermon and depends upon the Lord to bring about significant change in the lives of his hearers. But simply stated, his sermons are either boring, overly academic, encyclopedic, chaotic, unstructured, or hard to follow. Not even PowerPoint could help. His cake needs a little icing.
The first question to ask is this: Are your expectations fair? Remember, your pastor cannot compete with the rockstar-preachers of today. He probably doesn’t have a creative team behind him, making him look good. He has probably served the church in many ways throughout a very busy week and cannot devote as much time to “icing the cake” as even he would like. So check your own heart on this issue. Be sure you’re measuring your pastor by a right standard! If you expect him to emulate your favorite pixel-pastor, or if you want your ears tickled, then maybe it’s your own heart that needs to be realigned.
John Newton cautions: “There are hearers who make themselves, and not the Scripture, the standard of their judgment. They attend not so much to be instructed, as to pass their sentence. To them, the pulpit is the bar at which the minister stands to take his trial before them.”[2] Fellow listeners, let’s not have unfair, extra-biblical expectations.
The second question to ask yourself is: Have you consistently prayed for your pastor and his sermons? Consider how you might better support him in prayer as he crafts his sermons and delivers them. And pray for yourself, that your reaction to his sermons would not be determined by his delivery style, but rather by the Scripture itself.
The third question is: Has the congregation allocated sufficient time in the week for your pastor to prepare adequately? Your pastor can experience overwhelming ministry demands. How have you protected your pastor’s sermon preparation schedule? Are you expecting him to do too much throughout the week? “Preaching is the fundamental component of pastoring,” says Mark Dever, so, “Grant your pastor time during the week to prepare good sermons.”[3]
The fourth question is: Are you a good sermon-listener? Did you prepare well? Did you read the passage ahead of time, reflect on the topic, ask questions of the text, and consider personal application? Did you take good notes during the sermon and allow them to guide your discussion points afterwards with family and friends? If your pastor is a faithful preacher, focus on the content of his sermon, not his delivery. Make sure you go home every week with something from the sermon that is right and needed for your heart and soul. This is not a suggestion. This is your responsibility.
The fifth question is: Are you encouraging your pastor each time he shows signs of improvement? If he is a young preacher, he’ll grow in confidence and will become a better speaker. Give him time and room to cultivate his preaching abilities. Depending on your relationship with him, you may be able to help your pastor complete a preaching course or receive help from a more seasoned preacher. Be careful with this, because sometimes your attempts to help and encourage can come across as negative and critical.
The sixth and final question is: Are you thankful that your pastor is a faithful man of God? If you’ve found a pastor who loves God more than he loves you, you’re in a good spot. He might not be the most scintillating speaker, but he loves God and faithfully proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ. He tries his best to teach sound doctrine. He spends more time in prayer than practicing his inflections. Thank the Lord for this man and devote yourself to his ministry. He might not be flashy but he’s the man God has placed in your life to shepherd and lead you.
Next week, I’ll discuss what to do if your pastor’s sermons are biblically inadequate.
[1] These three categories of poor preaching are discussed in
Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical
Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book
Company, 2009), 27.
[2] J. Todd Murray, Beyond
Amazing Grace (Webster, NY: Evangelical Press, 2007), 163.
[3] Mark Dever, What Is a Healthy Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Books, 2007), 68.
No comments:
Post a Comment