Thoughts on Preaching

Doin' what I do.

I have spent most of my adult life preparing and then delivering sermons. I have written and preached hundreds of sermons. I enjoy listening to sermons by other preachers. I do this to get fresh ideas and learn from their styles.

I am pretty fussy when it comes to who I listen to. They need to be able to communicate well, but they also need to display some depth in what they communicate. Recently I have been listening to several well known pastors of very very large churches in the States.

What I deduce from the majority of these type of preachers is that they are using the Christian world view and the Bible to address contemporary problems such as marriage, work, meaning of life, etc. That is a good thing.

But it is not enough.  People will come to Jesus for a felt need in their life, but they will only stay with him once they recognize their need for a saviour. And this is what I find lacking in most contemporary preaching. Jesus is reduced to a therapist, life coach, or a vocational or marriage counselor.

The primary message of the gospel is the cross. Any preaching that bypasses the cross will by definition no longer be preaching the gospel. The preachers that I learn from the most are fairly traditional and theologically erudite scholars. These include Martyn Lloyd Jones, John Stott, James S. Stewart and Dick Lucas.

Every single preacher in the above list is British! Jones pastored Westminster Chapel in London. Stott pastored All Souls Church in London. Stewart pastored St. Helens Church in London. Stewart pastored a few churches in Scotland.

I'm not sure what that means, perhaps the Brits hold theology in higher esteem than other cultures. I would include J.I. Packer in the above list. Although, neither a pastor or preacher, I listen to his theological lectures and find myself inspired.

For North American preachers, there are two I listen to. Darrel Johnson in Vancouver and Tim Keller in New York. I had the privilege of being taught homiletics by Darrel at Regent College. He is now at First Baptist Church, where I both interned at and was on staff. Darrel is a preacher who has a primal belief in the power of the Bible to transform lives. It is also evident that he has a vibrant and dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ. His love of Christ overflows into passionate preaching Sunday mornings.

Tim Keller is that curious hybrid of "celebrity preacher". Dangerous combination for those who are called to preach. I have been following Keller's remarkable ministry in New York City for the past 8 years. I have every book he has written and have 132 of his sermons in my itunes catalogue. To say he has influenced my preaching would be an understatement. Keller has the unique ability of weaving contemporary cultural philosophical moods, orthodox biblical theology and the cries of the human heart in a way that no other preacher I have ever heard has been able to do. And Keller always ends up the cross. No matter what the topic is or the biblical text he brilliantly points us back to the only thing that can solve our real problem.

The majority of preaching in North America has now been reduced to good advice: pithy admonitions that will help our lives run smoother. But transformative preaching needs to go much deeper than that. It needs to address the fundamental issues of sin and salvation. Everything else might be helpful and good, but it does not point us to our primary need.

Only a recognition of our state of being sinners alienated from God and then the remedy offered through the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross can truly transform our lives from death to life. Much of the "other stuff" in preaching can be more easily discovered and obtained through whoever the most recent pop psychologist is on the scene.

(Hope I don't sound too crusty).