I read an article recently about a subject I often ponder. My thinking goes something like this. Since the letter I received a few years ago that called me an entertainer and not a preacher, I have been very sensitive to how I present the gospel. Some have told me they consider the speaker even coming out from behind the pulpit to bring undue to attention to the himself and not the message. Some consider real preaching to be necessarily boring. It is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to hold the listener's attention they say. These people cite the Apostle Paul as their example. He told the church at Corinth "I did not come to you with excellence of speech or of wisdom." There was another example of Paul preaching so long that Eutychus fell asleep and fell out of a window onto the street below.
However, most of us who preach and teach God's Word on a consistent basis know that people do not come to be bored. If a preacher continues on that track then he will be preaching to his family and close friends, if he has any. Isn't the idea to get the Word before as many people as possible?
The fact is we are not to become entertainers. We should not be the center of attention. Leading people to be transformed by the hearing of God's Word is my utmost aspiration. I want them to come to know Him and know Him well. And to do that I try and find balance somewhere between the extremes of boredom and amusement. I cannot strive to be boring. It goes against my theology. I believe God is the Creator. He created the butterfly, the peacock, the clown fish and the rose. His artistry is displayed throughout His creation. How then can I speak of Him without using the creativity he placed inside of me? However, my cause is not to merely amuse. Amuse comes from the root word "muse." It means to think or ponder. By placing the "a" in front negates the word. So to amuse is to cause one not to think or ponder. That is certainly not the object of preaching. Sometimes while preaching, I actually bite my lip because I think something is funny, but I refuse to say it because it does not contribute to the message.
So as I prepare this week's message I walk between the two extremes of boredom and amusement. I want to excite, anger, enlighten, and confront my congregation. My goal is that they believe the 40 minutes or so they have listened to me teach was time well spent. I want them to leave different than they arrived. It is not always a matter of hearing something new every week. Sometimes it is just to remind them of truths they have somehow forgotten. If I can't do that then you have my permission to go and hear someone else or sleep in on Sunday. I would rather have you sleep in your bed than during my sermon!
I have never wanted to sleep through any of your sermons. There is always a take away point that invariably finds it way into some situation that I face the during the week. I would much rather listen to your style of preaching than to be l...ulled into boredom so that watching the paint peel on the ceiling was more interesting than what some folks call a "proper" sermon. Have I laughed at some of your humor mixed into your sermons-yes, have I wept as you teach about Jesus suffering for my sins-yes. I find that you have a perfect balance and respect for God's word while being able to reach folks on many different spiritual levels. God called you and God blesses you with the love and skill for preaching. I am proud to call you my Pastor and my friend.
Posted by: Kelley Mitts | July 08, 2011 at 08:59 PM