Since I have spent more than 50 years preaching, often several times a week, I am always interested in learning more about what kind of preaching God is pleased with, and what kind of preaching the Holy Spirit uses to transform the lives of the preacher’s hearers. “Preach the Word,” Paul exhorted Timothy in his final loving admonition to his protégé, defining what to preach and also how to preach: “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (II Tim. 4:2)
Having introduced the subject then of preaching, I want—in this and maybe some ensuing posts—to share some thoughts from various teachers and preachers, past and present, that may be to my readers (both preachers and those who are recipients of preaching) the blessing they were to me when I was fulfilling my commission to “preach the Word.” God calls all sorts of men to preach, all sizes and shapes, from various and sundry cultures, with unique personalities, idiosyncrasies, training, levels of education, years of experience, and on and on. So, I will share some principles of preaching that hopefully will help any preacher in some way, as well as those who are regularly receiving your pastor’s preachments.
For years I received a publication called Pulpit Helps, edited by Spiros Zodhiates, a Greek-American Bible scholar and director of AMG (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) International. Zodhiates wrote a column, “Delivering a Message,” in which he shared several salient tips regarding our preaching. Here are a few of them: “(1) Know as much as you can about your audience; speak to them as one who is part and parcel of their problems; (2) Avoid addressing your hearers with a negative attitude as though they were your adversaries; they are there because they want to hear you; (3) Don’t try to imitate any other popular preacher; be yourself; (4) Don’t generalize; (5) Don’t condemn all because of something that one has done wrong; (5) Try to meet the people before you get into the pulpit to speak to them; (6) Pick a few friendly faces and develop eye-contact with them; their expressions will help you in your expression of ideas and relationship with the people; (7) Never read your messages; people will unconsciously think that they could stay home and read a message of their choice instead of your choice; Don’t use more words to convey an idea than you have to—remember that the time of the people is precious; (8) Don’t speak so fast that your listeners do not have time to absorb your thoughts; (10) Never memorize a sermon and give it word for word; (11) Speak from an outline and notes, but don’t feel you have to deliver within the allotted time everything that you have prepared; (12) Speak with authority, but not with authoritarianism; (13) Do not try to present the entire Bible in one message, for instance giving Scripture after Scripture….”
I never heard Zodhiates speak in person; but, though he died in 2009, his advice is just as pertinent for preachers as any you might hear from today’s contemporary spokesmen for God.
Another preacher/teacher of yesteryear, J. Vernon McGee—pastor, Bible Teacher, and author of a whole commentary on the Bible—once challenged his contemporaries on the subject of preaching on Hell. He had read an article written by a seminary professor with a Ph.D. who was “letting us in on a new way of preaching. The subject was formerly called hermeneutics, and it instructed young men to declare the whole counsel of God. That would include a sermon on Hell at least once in a lifetime. The new thing, according to this young professor, is to avoid being negative. ‘Be positive, pleasant, pleasing.’ The important thing, according to this young theologue, is to sell yourself. The article was largely psychological. It was fine for the Fuller Brush man.”
McGee concluded: “This new method of preaching may also be the reason why some folk think it is great fun being a Christian and that the lost may even throw snowballs in Hell! Isn’t it about time we start rescuing sinners who are on the way to Hell? Fads and fancies will pass away. Entertainment has its place, but people don’t go to Hell laughing. There is a Heaven to gain and a Hell to shun.”
And, Dr. Edward Caughill, when he was on the staff of Tabernacle Baptist Bible College and Seminary in Virginia Beach, wrote on “The Priority of Preaching,” reminding us that preaching is not loudness (“While a monotone preacher may be dull, a screaming one is irritating”), nor is it length (“A sermon does not have to be eternal to be immortal”). Caughill listed, instead, several components of good preaching: “communicating truth; declaring a message; heralding forth good news; telling the ‘old, old story,’; sharing the gospel; informing hearers; teaching the basics; exercising a gift; soul-saving; fulfilling a calling; reaching others for Christ; pleasing God; building others up in the faith; awakening faith”—and, finally, Dr. Caughill said, “preaching is a solemn responsibility.”
Chuck Swindoll, Chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, writing to preachers, asked: “Is the pulpit a priority to you? Are you investing sufficient time in your study? Do you still search the Scriptures in depth and with diligence? When was the last time you purchased several solid volumes for your library? Have you become predictable in your delivery, maybe even a little dull and boring? Should you renew your commitment as a preacher…as one who stands boldly for that which is right?”
Preachers, I hope these challenges are used of God so that you, through His Spirit, might stir up the gift that was bestowed upon you. “You and God” will have more posts, from time to time, in this “On Preaching” series.
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself…that I might testify the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)
YOU and GOD 