One of the best things about blogging is when several things come together on one day. My pastor Tope and I were talking face to face earlier today (yes I know thats so pre-blog!) about what kind of preaching impacts hearts and lives and not just minds. We had a great time, so imagine my joy to come home and bump into the following “by chance”:
3:17 lists his favorite books on preaching, and summarises this story on the vital place of imagination in preaching:
“Grandma Thatcher hobbles into church one morning. As usual, her unsaved husband had sent her off to church with curses ringing in her ears. She was in constant pain, and had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. She dreaded the arrival of winter and was praying that fuel prices wouldn’t go up again. If it weren’t for her Lord, her large-print Bible, and her Christian friends, Grandma Thatcher would have given up a long time ago.
When Pastor Bowers stepped into the pulpit to preach, Grandma Thatcher silently prayed, ‘Father, give him something special for me. I need it!’ The text was Genesis 9, and the message was the twenty-second in a series on Genesis that Pastor Bowers called ‘Beginning at the Beginnings.’
The sermon was titled, ‘God Talks to Noah.’ Pastor Bowers read the chapter and then gave the congregation his main points:
I. Creation Presented – 9:1-3
II. Capital Punishment – 9:4-7
III. Covenant Promised – 9:8-17
IV. Carnality Practiced – 9:18-23
V. Consequences Prophesied – 9:24-29As some of the saints dutifully wrote the outline in the space provided on the back page of their worship folders, Grandma Thatcher breathed a disappointed sigh. ‘Last week it was all S’s. Today it’s all CP’s.’ She settled back in the pew, turned the preacher off and began meditating on the psalm she’d read early that morning before George had gotten up to menace her day.
It struck me that that outline was like a lot of the preaching I heard around me (except from my own pastor). It wasn’t really a sermon, just a verbal commentary on the passage. Wiersbe’s book seeks to bring life and imagination into such stale sermons. He does so not by being innovative, but by being biblical. A significant chunk of the book is devoted to looking at the use of imagery throughout scripture. He then shows how we can use the Bible to guide our imagination in our sermon preparation so that what we say makes it into the lives of our hearers.”
Jollyblogger has a great post on the kind of preaching that reaches only minds and the kind that reaches hearts
People often miss the emphasis that Rick Warren places on preaching. He apparently has over 300 books on the subject and takes it very seriously. In his ministry email that I also got today he quotes the following scripture which he claims is the only passage which instructs us how to prepare sermons.
Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. (Eccl 12:9-13) ESV
Compare the NASB which Warren quotes:
In addition to being a wise man, the preacher also taught the people knowledge, and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. The preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails. They are given by one shepherd.
I included the last verse there because it seems to me that it is relevant to some tendancies we may have towards overly theologising the simple plane words of scripture. But I will give Rick the last word as he outlines what he feels this verse can teach us about preaching preparation in a post he entitles “On being a wise preacher”:
Notice all the preparation involved:
He ponders – In other words, he carefully thinks about what he will say.
He searches out – He researches and he studies before he speaks.
He arranges – As he searches out truths, he categorizes them. He sets things in a logical order.
He looks for just the right words – He doesn’t cut any corners by just arbitrarily picking his words.
This preacher is worth listening to because he does his homework.
As a result, Solomon says his words are like goads. A goad is a sharp stick that you use to guide animals. Think of it as an ancient, electric cattle prod. In the same way, your messages need to motivate people to do something.
Then the Bible also says his words are like well-driven nails. The best-crafted messages make a truth memorable. Like a nail, the truth is driven in and you can’t pull it out. People remember what is said.
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