Retooling
Usually I spend more time
out in the hallways at conferences than inside, but this one was
different. The editor of our
denominations state newspaper couldn’t attend the California State Evangelism
Conference, so he asked me to cover it for him.
He wanted two articles; one of them was a wrap-up that would include a
quote from every major speaker. That
meant I had to be in every service and that I had to pay attention to every
speaker.
I was typing the keys off my
laptop, trying to take down as much as I could, that is, before an expert on
worship from the South took the microphone.
Here’s how he began his sermon:
"I want to convince you that evangelism should produce worshipers,
not just believers."
Convince, I thought, why does he think he
has to convince me? For a brief
moment, I couldn’t concentrate on his sermon or the reason I was there. I had a devil sitting on one shoulder talking
to me.
Who does this guy think he is anyway?
You’re a well-educated, veteran pastor, then I looked around- this room is filled with some of the best
pastors in California. Who is
this guy to fly in from the South and tell California that he is going to CONVINCE us?
Then an angel whispered in
the other ear. He’s our guest, and you shouldn’t be thinking like that. Anyway, where’s your humility? Besides, he’s right. Evangelism should produce
worshipers, not just believers."
The devil wouldn’t go away,
he chimed in, if you already believe what
he is saying and if all he wants to do is convince you, you really don't have
to listen. Tune him out.
That experience, made me
develop a check list to go through before I preach a sermon.
1. Will I be bruising anyone’s sternum
with this sermon? I don’t like people
pointing their fingers at me and I sure don’t like them poking me in the chest,
and I’m not alone. My job as a preacher isn’t
to step on anyone’s toes; it is to proclaim good news to hurting people. Many young preachers prefer to call
themselves communicators or teachers instead of preachers because preaching has
such a negative connotation. That’s why
people say things like, don’t preach at me.
2. Am I being cutesy? I’ve tossed out techniques like alliteration
and acrostics and try to just talk to the people. Now I don’t sit in my office for hours saying
what is a word that begins with R that means sinful? I don’t have to waste valuable study time
trying to impress people with how clever I am.
3. Am I using elements of narrative
preaching in the sermon? Not every
sermon can be narrative in structure, but even a propositional sermon can be
supported by good illustrations. Whether
it is a visual illustration, or just a good story, I try to help my people see
what I’m saying. Some sermons can be
narrative. This Easter, I didn’t talk
about the evidences for the resurrection, I simply told the story of his death
and resurrection. The story has power, I
didn’t feel the need to prove it, just proclaim it.
4. Am I being simple? I try to edit out theo-terms or make sure to
include a good explanation of what they mean.
But I want the message to be significant. So I ask another question.
5. Am I being too simplistic? I use what I call the 5/5 rule to judge the
weight of the message. I ask myself, could
the average Christian, who has known the Lord for five years be able to figure
this out on her own if she thought about it for five minutes? If the answer is yes, I go back to the
drawing board. I also ask, am I forcing
closure or oversimplifying complex truths.
For years I thought I had to have the answers, postmodern preachers have
taught me that all I have to do is honestly grapple with the questions, and God
will speak to His people.
Thankfully, I awoke from my
daydream, quit talking to myself and got a quote from the guy, but I’ve not
forgotten what happened to me that evening.
Because of the writing assignment, I had to listen and I made every
effort to follow him, but the members of my congregation don’t have to listen
to me, and if I offend them with my tone, they probably won’t.
