Wednesday, March 6, 2002
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Wednesday, March 6, 2002 |
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Does your preacher tell you what you want to hear? By REV JOHN HATCHER Since I stand in the pulpit week after week, I think I can say a few things about the pulpiteer. For your sake of identification, that's the man (or woman) who stands in front on Sunday morning and either bores you to sleep or barrels down on you unto an awakening. Pulpiteers today, standing in their pulpits, are in a serious hubbub of confusion. With staggering budgets to support, they dare not tamper with the flow of giving. Many preachers, in fact, have just decided to go with the flow in the direction of man's ultimate desire: money. Yes, I like money like the next guy. But, the acquisition of money is not the telling sign of faith. According to Hebrews 11, the sign of faith was "hanging in there" even if it meant literally hanging for your faith sorta' like the founder himself, Jesus of Nazareth. But what do people want to hear? They want to hear that greed is good and the love of money is not the root of all evil. So, that's what many pulpits are giving the gathered crowds. But, there is even more confusion in the pulpit. Thousands of preachers have adopted the style of a few preachers and every Sunday tell their congregations "how." "How to get up in the morning." Or, "How to build a great family." Or, "How to live a prosperous life." Not that I have not preached my share of "how" sermons, but I deeply feel there is more to say that five ways to avoid emotional hiccups. "How" sermons often skip over the biggest points and they are sorrowful repentance and unfailing faith. "How" sermons tend to overlook the place of God in the wholeness and healing process. Many people's "how" is an awesome deliverance from a mighty God. "How" sermons also promulgate the proof-text style of preparation. If I have to come up with five "hows" to an abundant life, then I will have to track down at least five choice Bible verses which will support my five theses. In preacher talk, this is called a "context in search of a text." The verses may be totally unrelated. Many preachers have gone so far as to mistake "how" preaching with the discipleship of their people. I believe discipleship happens when we as preachers equip our people to understand Godly values and truths that come from specific texts. Because of the predominance of "how" sermons, we are raising a whole generation who have never heard the story of Daniel in the lion's den or Joseph and his dreams or Paul and the road to Damascus. For the last several months, I have been taking our people on a study of the early church as presented in the Book of Acts. No "how" sermon could ever be as powerful, church-changing as this journey through Acts, verse by verse. Let me challenge you to start listening to the prejudices of your preacher. Whose sermons is he preaching? Is it a "how" sermon every week? Or, does he plow into a Biblical text and let the chips fall where they may?
\ The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville. |
