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I hear a lot of speeches in church gatherings, but not too many sermons. Many opinions, but not many words from God. I asked my spiritual warfare class if their worship gatherings tend to center on “a sermon or a good talk.” One of my brighter students asked what’s wrong with a good talk?
Good question. I see several problems. If people come to a church gathering expecting a word from God (sermon) and get a word from human (good talk), at least two bad things happen.
First, people forget how to tell the difference between humanist meandering and God’s word. We of flesh and bone become comfortable with humanistic entertainment in place of Christ-centered motivation. We see this everywhere in North America as we’ve become a people in love with consumption and ear tickling.
Second, people who anticipate hearing God’s word grow very tired of speakers who call themselves preachers but do not deliver. No likes broken promises. Who knows how many people skip church because when they went they heard no God-sized messages? How many Christians want to hear the day’s word on what to do but find themselves disappointed?
My wife and I travel to many churches and find ourselves numb over the number of preachers who cannot preach. We would probably be happier had we heard a few good talks, but most if it was plain oatmeal. Hardly the stuff to make churches want to stand against the schemes of the devil!
Perhaps it’s time that North American church gatherings repented of soft-sell entertainment and regurgitated motivational blather. If we want holy results to fight the unholy enemy, we might use the tools God gave us. We might gather with less focus on looking good and more prayer for lost souls, by name, out loud, in public. We might pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Africa, China, India, and the Middle East. We might jettison the 30-second arrow-to-heaven prayer and really pray together, on Sunday, when everybody’s there.
We might insist the music be less “special” and more worshipful. Less “sacred tradition” and more in a language we can understand.
We might forego the “fake shake” and let fellowship happen more naturally at another time. People do not make friends with a greeting and a greeting–despite its warm intentions–ALWAYS breaks any sense of worshipful momentum.
Most of all, we might insist that preachers preach a sermon. Stop rewarding them if they don’t, and start following them if they do. Stop tolerating people who criticize biblical preaching, put them out! Stop giving status to people who unfairly criticize, build factions, or distract other listeners.
I am NOT advocating long, harsh angry sermonizing. Lord, spare us from mean, long-winded pulpiteers. The best sermons I hear–the ones that offer hope and make me want to keep fighting–are under 30 minutes, to the point and based on a biblical text. They rarely rhyme and almost never alliterate. Good preachers rarely depend on Power Point. They have a remarkable way of demonstrating confident humility, love, and holy living. If a preacher cannot preach, perhaps we can love him toward another job. By all means, let us stop playing into the devil’s hand by putting up with boring or humanistic talking.
Preaching is not boring, nor is it harsh. It’s God talking to us through a person. We need it. We need church gatherings to advance the kingdom of Jesus in an increasingly dark world.
