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We all have mentors and models, and it is not uncommon for a young pastor to seek to emulate the preaching style of such an influencing person. However, there's also danger inherent in such an action. In his book Preaching and Preachers, Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds us, "What one man can do another cannot, and it is dangerous for him to attempt to do so. It not only depends on the particular person of the preacher, it also depends upon his stage of development. A preacher should be always growing and advancing and developing, so that what he cannot do in his younger days he should be able to do in middle age and old age." In other words, even for preachers the old axiom "Be yourself" contains enormous wisdom. Be the person God called you to be. Rather than trying to imitate another preacher -- no matter how talented that person may be -- develop the gifts God gave you. You have been uniquely crafted and empowered by God to fill a distinctive role in the Kingdom -- don't abdicate your special calling by trying to stand in someone else's shoes. Michael
Duduit, Editor There will be no issue of PreachingNow next week. The next issue will be dated July 11. Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael’s blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: Why it's dangerous for Americans to win at soccer; Mainline churches and gay clergy TIP: Be sure to include "preachingnow@preaching.com" in your email address book; that will help insure each issue makes it to your inbox and not your junk mail file.
Tell biblical stories imaginatively Wayne McDill's book 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching (B&H Publishing) is now out in a revised and expanded second edition. In his discussion of preaching biblical narratives, he observes, "When you preach a passage that carries a story line, you will want to make sure that story lives again in the sermon. The narrative passages of Scripture are not fairy tales or Disney fantasies. They are actual accounts of historical events. The people and places and happenings are real. Unfortunately, however, many preachers retell these stories in such a manner as to make them seem remote, dull, and hardly believable. "I have heard many a sermon from narrative texts that reported on the story rather than telling the story. Like an autopsy on a dead body, the preacher gives a technical theological analysis of the story. But the narrative texts are best preached with the telling of the story along with theological interpretation and application. . . . "I can remember as a boy going to a church camp and hearing for the first time a Bible story told as though it actually happened. It was the story of Naaman and his healing in the river. The preacher described the chariots and the dust they raised as they approached the home of the prophet. I have never forgotten it. I saw it. I was there. "Some preachers may be reluctant to tell biblical stories with such realism. It may seem to be adding to Scripture to tell more than is there. There is no violation of the sacredness of Scripture to retell its stories imaginatively. It may be a violation of biblical intent to tell them in such a way that nobody can believe them." (Click here to learn more about the book 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching)
Preaching Books Project off to great start PreachingNow readers will remember last week's introduction of our project to help some New Orleans seminary students and professors rebuild libraries that were lost due to Hurricane Katrina. I've already heard from a number of you, and your generosity is making a difference! Thanks to Bob Todd at Augsburg Fortress Publishers, who sent a case of books, and to my own pastor, Mike Glenn (Brentwood Baptist Church), who is using his 15th anniversary gift from the church to rebuild a faculty member's library. If you have a special story to tell about your involvement in this project, let me hear from you -- just send a note to feedback@preaching.com. If you'd like to help, then pack your donated books and send them to:
Thanks for what you are doing to help these ministry colleagues!
The Postmodern dilemma Though many people want to affirm the postmodern rejection of absolute truth because of its cultural standing, the inconsistencies inherent in such a position can often lead people to rethink their views. In his book True Truth (InterVarsity Press), Art Lindsley says, "If someone is not yet willing to admit that evil exists, perhaps that person could be gently moved toward the logical conclusion of his or her false assumptions. . . . A believing friend of mine took graduate classes under Richard Rorty, a leading postmodern philosopher. In one such class he met a woman who was Jewish by heritage but was actually an atheist and a feminist. Being influenced by Rorty's teaching, she claimed there were no absolutes. My friend, knowing what she cared about, said, 'I can prove to you that you believe in absolutes.' "No, you can't!" "Yes, I can. I'll give you two: rape and the Holocaust are morally wrong." She thought for awhile and said, 'You're right.' Yet she had no basis on which to hold these values." (Click here to learn more about the book True Truth.)
ILLUSTRATION: Speed, Time Marc Newman of MovieMinistry.com offers an article about the new Pixar/Disney movie Cars, and some of the messages in the film. He writes: "Lightning McQueen is the new kid on the Piston Cup Tour, and is threatening to win it all. Lightning is so concerned with finishing first that he ignores his pit crew's advice to change tires before going into the last laps of a race. The results are disastrous, forcing Lightning into a 'race-off' a week later in California. As happens in any 'road trip"' movie, Lightning has some problems along the way and winds up in Radiator Springs. . . . "Americans live in the fastest-paced culture the world has ever known. I remember back when I had a daisy-wheel printer and sat amazed as it spit out text at 25 characters per second (much faster than I could type). Now, many years later, I get anxious when my laser printer takes more than 5 seconds to deliver my first sheet. Delays are now measured in nanoseconds. This is why the world of Cars is such a great metaphor for American life: it's all about speed. "Lightning is 'faster than fast' but his mouth is often speedier than his brain. He alienates his entire crew by touting himself as a 'one-man show.' You can see it coming. If Lightning is going to grow up, something will have to happen to apply the brakes. That 'something' is an unscheduled detour into Radiator Springs, a town so unfamiliar to Lightning that it may as well be The Twilight Zone. There he learns to appreciate natural beauty, cultivate friendships, and do a good deed or two -- all of which take time, meaning Lightning has to slow down. "The Psalmist tells us that the heavens declare God's glory -- of course you have to stop and look in order to see it. The Apostle Paul explained to the Romans that God's eternal attributes are revealed in nature -- but that assumes we look at nature. Try this exercise. Think for a minute about all of the things with which you have come in contact in the last week and ask yourself if any of them were natural -- meaning not manufactured. Many of us get up in the morning, walk across acrylic carpet or ceramic tile, get into a car to ride on rubber tires across concrete and asphalt roads, park in a garage, and then head to an office, store, or school. Not once have we touched anything natural. "Cars vividly demonstrates that you cannot appreciate the scenery if you are speeding along. Lightning is so busy that he has no friends. He learns that relationships take an investment of time. It is also time-consuming to do a job well and be of service to others. What begins for Lightning as a frustrating, irritating detour away from the object of his pulse-quickening desire, turns into calm, measured appreciation and a realignment of priorities -- particularly away from trophies and toward people." (Click here to read the full article. And for information about more movie-based illustrations, go to www.preaching.com/movies) http://www.movieministry.com/articles.php?articles=featured
ILLUSTRATION: Faithfulness, Infidelity According to her surveys, Dr. Holly Hein reports that nearly 70% of all men and 60% of all women are unfaithful at some point during their marriages. Every ten to thirteen seconds, another couple gets divorced, and 90% of all divorces in long-standing marriages involve infidelity. Remember the Marine slogan adopted in 1883: Semper Fidelis, a Latin phrase meaning "Always Faithful." For the Marines, it's more than a motto; it's a way of life, and it expresses the commitment they feel toward our country and each other. That's why there are no ex-Marines, only former Marines. "Semper Fi" is the slogan for every successful marriage. Can your husband or wife count on you? Commitment is the glue that holds together the happy home. (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 6-19-06)
ILLUSTRATION: Evangelism David Jeremiah recently said, "Some people say to me, 'What is your evangelism program?' I say, 'I don't have a clue, I just preach God's Word and people get saved. The reason people get saved is because at the center of God's holy Word is the Gospel, which is the power of salvation. We need to strip everything else away and get back to the basics, get back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ."
ILLUSTRATION: Loneliness In the movie The Hiding Place, one scene portrays Corrie Ten Boom telling the Lord she wants him to use her in whatever way he pleases, even if it means in obscurity. Soon after that, she is taken prisoner by the Nazis, along with her father, from whom she is separated. Her father dies in the death camp, and then she is forcibly removed from her beloved sister. The Nazis shove Corrie into a cold, damp cell in Germany. As the scene closes, she is lying in a corner, shivering. And with tear-filled eyes she whispers to the Lord, "But God, I didn't know I would have to be alone." (Rick Ezell, One-Minute Uplift)
ILLUSTRATION: Offering Three ministers are talking over lunch and before long find themselves discussing how much of the weekly offering is appropriate to keep and how much to give to the Lord. The first minister says, "I just draw a line on the floor, put one foot on both sides, and throw the money into the air. Whatever lands on the right side of the line is God's and whatever lands on the left is mine." The second minister notes that he uses a similar method, but "I use a small coffee table when I throw the money in the air and whatever lands on the table goes to the Lord and whatever lands on the floor is mine." They both contemplate each other's answer and finally turn to the third minister who isn't saying anything. "Well, how do you do it?" one finally asks. "Well, I do as you both do and throw the money into the air, but I figure whatever the Lord wants, He'll grab, and I keep whatever hits the floor."
"People of accomplishment rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and happen to things." (Elinor Smith)
From the sponsor of this week's edition: Preaching With Power Preaching insights from some of today's most gifted Christian communicators have been gathered in this collection of interviews from the last ten years of Preaching magazine. Edited by Michael Duduit, the book includes interviews with Chuck Swindoll, Rick Warren, John MacArthur, Haddon Robinson, Ed Young, Jr., Andy Stanley, Lloyd Ogilvie, David Jeremiah, and a dozen more effective preachers. Click
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A New York man was forced to take a day off from work to appear for a minor traffic summons. He grew increasingly restless as he waited hour after endless hour for his case to be heard. When his name was called late in the afternoon, he stood before the judge, only to hear that court would be adjourned for the next day and he would have to return the next day. "What for?" he snapped at the judge. His honor, equally irked by a tedious day and sharp query roared, "Twenty dollars contempt of court. That's why!" Then, noticing the man checking his wallet, the judge relented. "That's all right. You don't have to pay now." The young man replied, "I'm just seeing if I have enough for a couple more words."
"It is a very serious thing to grow rich! Of all the temptations to which God's children are exposed, it is the worst, because it is the one that they do not dread. Believe me, there is no trial as great as no trial." (Charles Spurgeon)
Life observations from little ones STEVEN (3) hugged and kissed his Mom goodnight, saying: "I love you so much, that when you die I'm going to bury you outside my bedroom window." BRITTANY (4) had an earache and wanted a painkiller. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration, her Mom explained it was a childproof cap and she'd have to open it for her. Shocked, the little girl asked: "How does it know it's me?" SUSAN (4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. "Please don't give me this juice again," she said. "It makes my teeth cough." DIANA (4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: "So, how much do I cost?" MARC (4) was carefully observing a young couple hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: "Why is he whispering in her mouth?" CLINTON (5) was in his bedroom looking worried. When his Mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, "I don't know what'll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in?" JAMES (4) was listening to a Bible story. After his dad read: "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt," James asked: "What happened to the flea?" TAMMY (4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her Mom knew. Tammy looked at her for awhile and then asked, "Why doesn't your skin fit your face?
And finally . . . Even the cable guy has to catch a few winks when he can. According to a June 26 Associated Press story, Comcast fired an employee for sleeping on a customer's couch during a house call. The company learned about its errant employee after video of the incident became a popular Internet download. A Philadelphia apartment dweller called Comcast for service when his Internet connection encountered problems. The Comcast service rep called the company for help but was on hold for more than an hour. While he waited, he decided to stretch out on the customer's couch and catch a few winks. The customer posted a video of the sleeping technician and told his story on YouTube.com, a site that lets users share videos; he added an Eels song with the lyrics "I need some sleep." The 58-second video has been viewed more than 227,000 times since it was posted. The customer says that his service has now been fixed. I think he should just be glad the cable company actually makes house calls.
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