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John Ortberg is one of those preacher-authors whose insights usually make me think. In a recent meditation published in the Christian Century, he observed, "One of the marks of the human condition is that it is not simply depraved or lost; it is also ridiculous. Paul says that as we relate to each other we are to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord in our hearts and giving thanks to God at all times. But even in the church we end up spending more time fighting about the kind of melodies we should sing, and whether the Lord God prefers organ or guitar. People split churches over how loudly the songs should be amplified. We are ridiculous. . . . "Of course, folly in the tradition of ancient wisdom literature involves something more tragic than wasting energy trying to get into the Guinness Book of Records. Foolishness, in this way of thinking, is not so much a disease of the intellect as of the will. The fool says in her heart that there is no God; or that she will live as god, which is perhaps the same thing. The fool thinks he needs bigger barns for the riches that he in his cleverness has accumulated, and forgets that the night when his construction project is finished is the night he has scheduled a massive coronary. You can be a fool and still find good work in Cambridge, Massachusetts, or on Madison Avenue. Sometimes it helps. "Paul said of fools: 'Their god is their stomach.' They have a philosophy of life that was perhaps best articulated by Sesame Street's Cookie Monster: 'See cookie. Want cookie. Absorb cookie. Seek ye first the cookie.' Some of the highest-IQ people in our world stay up late at night trying to find new ways to convince us that we are nothing more than a collection of appetites. See. Want. Absorb. What would Paul say to a society whose magazine covers feature well-coiffed, aerobicized versions of the Cookie Monster? 'Thou shalt not be ridiculous.'" That's a good word for those of us who preach God's Word. Let's keep our focus on the right target. As Ortberg concludes, "The fullness of the Spirit comes only when we are emptied of all the ego and self-preoccupation that promises so much and delivers so little; emptied of all that is foolish and dying and ridiculous." Go therefore, and be not ridiculous. Michael
Duduit, Editor There will be no issue of PreachingNow next week. The next issue will be dated Sept. 12. Correction: Several readers have reconfirmed my cultural confusion, as modeled in last week's issue (click here if you missed it). Turns out Ray Stevens actually sang about a squirrel in church, not snakes; it was gospel singer Wendy Bagwell who sang about snakes. As for me, nobody asks me to sing about much of anything -- generally a wise choice. Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael’s blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues.
Horizontal preaching not enough In his essay "Preaching and Biblical Theology" in the summer edition of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Thomas R. Schreiner argues that a faithful minister must center his message on the Gospel because it is the fulfillment of all of Scripture. Sermons on marriage, raising children, depression and conquering fears have their place, he writes, but all must be understood in terms of Christ, who is the central focus of Scripture. Schreiner, who is Professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Seminary, writes, "In many conservative churches pastors almost always preach on the horizontal level. . . . Many congregations do not realize what is happening because the moral life that is commended accords, at least in part, with Scripture and speaks to the felt needs of both believers and unbelievers. Pastors believe they must fill their sermons with stories and illustrations, so that the anecdotes flesh out the moral point enunciated. Every good preacher, naturally, illustrates the points being made. But sermons can become so chock full of stories and illustrations that they are bereft of any theology. "Our task as preachers is to proclaim the whole counsel of God. We will not fulfill our calling if as preachers we fail to do biblical theology. . . . We are not faithfully serving our congregations if they do not understand how the whole of Scripture points to Christ, and if they do not gain a better understanding from us of the storyline of the Bible." (Click here to read the full article.) http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23797
Leaders need to be unlearners In his book Practicing Greatness (Jossey-Bass), Reggie McNeal talks about the need for leaders to practice self-development, and part of that is being a lifelong learner -- or "unlearner": "Lifelong learning actually means lifelong unlearning. Mike's capacity to grow through the years rested on his willingness to put yesterday's ideas, attitudes, and approaches under the knife of new insights and new challenges. The unlearning curve often proves steeper than the learning curve. . . . "The church is having to play catch-up to the Spirit again, just as it did in the book of Acts. The Kingdom Age is fast eclipsing the dominant Church culture. The Christian movement is again taking to the streets, to the marketplace, to homes, moving out of institutional settings and beyond institutional control. Spiritual leaders who have trained for institutional leadership, who anchor their leadership in positional authority, and who rely on educational credentialing don't understand the new expectations for leadership rooted in personal credibility, legitimized by followers, not external agencies. Leaders locked in the old world still believe that people think in secular-versus-sacred dichotomies and are expressing their spiritual quest by looking for a great church to join. Only unlearning those tried-and-true assumptions and practices will equip leaders to move with and meet these new conditions. Leaders who refuse to engage in lifelong unlearning set themselves up to be relics of a world that is fast passing away (except where it is preserved in self-contained religious clubs). They run the risk of not only missing greatness but of sliding into ineffectiveness, as they and their organizations become irrelevant. They stunt their growth. They die in place, even if they don't get 'buried' for several more years." (Click here to learn more about Practicing Greatness.)
Engage children in sermons In her book Captivating Children's Sermons (Baker), Beth Edington Hewitt writes that in presenting children's sermons, it is important to full engage the kids. "Children use their whole bodies to learn. They love to move, to touch things, taste things, smell things, and see things. Sitting and listening rank low on the list of 'Things Kids Really Love To Do.' Therefore, you should limit sitting and listening activities for children in church. A good children's sermon gives kids something to do. "The best way to tell Bible stories to children is to say to them, 'Today, I am going to tell you an awesome story from the Bible, and I need your help.' This participation can take a variety of forms. Children can act out the story. They can make sound effects. They can hold props. They can wear costumes. They can say repeating words or phrases from the story. Give children something to do in the Bible story, and they will listen and learn." (Click here to learn more about the book Captivating Children's Sermons)
ILLUSTRATION: Labor Day, Work A Public Agenda Foundation study, coauthored by Daniel Yankelovich, came up with these top ten qualities that today's workers want in a job: 1.
Work with people who treat me with respect (Dallas Seminary Daily Devotional, 6-23-06)
ILLUSTRATION: Work, Labor Day Dad frequently talked about his job at home, and Amy, his young daughter, had always expressed great interest. So Dad thought it would be a treat for Amy to spend the day with him at the office. All through the day, Amy seemed excited to meet each co-worker Dad introduced. On the way home, however, she seemed somewhat down. "Didn't you have a nice time?" Dad asked. "Well, it was okay." Amy responded. "But I thought it would be more like a circus." Confused, Dad asked, "Whatever do you mean?" She said, "Well, you said you work with a bunch of clowns, and I never got to see them!" (from Cybersalt Digest)
'Preaching Truth' conferences resume in September A new series of Preaching Truth in a Whatever World events are planned for Fall 2006. These one-day preaching conferences explore strategies for effective biblical preaching in a postmodern world. Led by Preaching editor Michael Duduit and a variety of guest speakers, these conferences offer a valuable time of insight and refreshment for those who proclaim the Word. Preaching Truth conferences will be held in the following cities: Shreveport,
LA -- Sept 14 For more information or to register, call (800) 288-9673, or visit the website at www.preaching.com/truth
ILLUSTRATION: Deception A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher only wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull. The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store. The attorney for the railroad immediately cornered the rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking. After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!" The old rancher replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that doggone bull came home this morning."
ILLUSTRATION: Urgency, Blame A prominent West Texas rancher-oil man had an unmarried daughter. In hopes of finding her an appropriate husband, he invited all of the eligible bachelors in the county to a barbecue at his ranch. As they gathered around the swimming pool for the festivities he made an announcement. He said, "This swimming pool is filled with man-eating sharks and anyone who will swim across it can have the hand of my daughter in marriage and one-half of my vast fortune, or they can have $1 million in cash." He had hardly finished his announcement when there was a splash and one of the men went swimming across the pool, lickety-split. As he climbed out on the other side, the rancher rushed over, shook his hand, and said, "Son, congratulations! I suppose you would like to have the hand of my daughter in marriage and one-half of my vast fortune?" He said, "No, I don't want that." The rancher said, "Well, then I suppose you would like the $1 million in cash." He said, "No, I don't want that." "Then," asked the rancher, "what would you like?" He said, "What I'd like is to get my hands on the fellow who pushed me." Sometimes we need a push in life. (Paul Powell, How to Start a Church Fire)
ILLUSTRATION: Baptism On August 12 and 13, Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas took a page out of the first century church and organized a spontaneous baptism. "The New Testament tells us that on the Day of Pentecost 3,000 people were baptized that day," said Senior Pastor Ed Young. "I simply challenged the congregation to step up and be baptized if they were already Christ-followers. I told them that they could make this day, that day," Young added. The response was overwhelming as 583 people responded to Young's invitation to be baptized, a church record for one weekend. "It was amazing to see so many people respond to Christ's command to go public with their faith. And it was a powerful show of support from the congregation as they stood and applauded as people came forward," Young said. Doris Scoggins, director of baptism for the church, organized the massive effort and ensured that there was plenty of room for people to change into shorts and t-shirts. The scene was repeated at Fellowship's three satellite campuses located across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Plano, Downtown Dallas, and Justin, Texas. "Baptism is one of the fundamental steps in any Christ follower's life. It's our job as a church to remind people of that. And I want to take every opportunity to help people move forward in their walk while they are white hot. I don't want those excuses to creep in. It's funny how many people will become a Christian and then balk when it comes to being baptized," Young said.
"There's no labor a man can do that's undignified -- if he does it right." (Bill Cosby)
Come to Cambridge next April The third International Congress on Preaching will be April 17-19, 2007, in Cambridge, England. The theme is "For Such a Time as This: Preaching Truth in an Age of Idolatry." In this historic setting you'll enjoy addresses, sermons and practical workshops led by a remarkable team of preachers and teachers, including David
Jeremiah and many more! Registration is now available at a big discount -- register by October 1 and save $100 off the normal rate. (Enough to buy a bunch of fish and chips!) To learn more visit the website at www.preaching.com/icop or call (800) 288-9673 (outside the US, call 615-312-4245.)
A Russian scientist and a Czechoslovakian scientist had spent their lives studying the grizzly bear. Each year they petitioned their respective governments to allow them to go to Yellowstone to study the bears. Finally, their request was granted, and they immediately flew to Yellowstone. They reported to the ranger station and were told that it was the grizzly mating season and it was too dangerous to go out and study the animals. They pleaded that this was their only chance, and finally the ranger relented. The Russian and the Czech were given portable phones and told to report in every day. For several days they called in, and then nothing was heard from the two scientists. The rangers mounted a search party & found the camp completely ravaged, with no sign of the missing men. Following the trails of a male and a female bear, they finally caught up with the female. Fearing an international incident, they decided they must kill the animal to find out if she had eaten the scientist. They killed the female and opened the stomach to find the remains of the Russian scientist. One ranger turned to the other and said, "You know what this means, don't you?" The other ranger nodded and responded . . . "I guess it means the Czech is in the male."
"Tomorrow is Labor Day, I suppose set by an act of Congress. How Congress knew anything about labor is beyond me." (Will Rogers)
Academic lingo The following list of phrases and their definitions might help you understand the mysterious language of science and medicine. These special phrases are also applicable to anyone working on a Ph.D. dissertation or academic paper anywhere! "It has long been known" -- I didn't look up the original reference. "Three of the samples were chosen for detailed study" -- The other results didn't make any sense. "Typical results are shown" -- This is the prettiest graph. "In my experience" -- once. "In case after case" -- twice. "In a series of cases" -- thrice. "It is believed that" -- I think. "It is generally believed that" -- A couple of others think so, too. "Correct within an order of magnitude" -- Wrong. "According to statistical analysis" -- Rumor has it. "A statistically oriented projection of the significance of these findings" -- A wild guess. "It is clear that much additional work will be required before a complete understanding of this phenomenon occurs" -- I don't understand it. "After additional study by my colleagues" -- They don't understand it either. "Thanks are due to Joe Blotz for assistance with the experiment and to Cindy Adams for valuable discussions" -- Mr. Blotz did the work and Ms. Adams explained to me what it meant. "It is hoped that this study will stimulate further investigation in this field" -- I quit. (from Cybersalt Digest)
And finally . . . Canadian Ulysee Mailett thought he'd won part of a $42 million prize after reading his lottery numbers in the Montreal Gazette -- until he later discovered that the newspaper had mistakenly reprinted the winning numbers from a previous lottery. Now Ulysee wants the newspaper to pay for his pain and suffering. According to an Aug. 21 Cnews story, "Maillet is seeking 'a fair settlement' from the newspaper for the 'devastation' he says he suffered." And if you think Ulysee was mad, imagine the guy who tossed his winning ticket after reading the incorrect numbers in the newspaper. The Gazette is now printing a disclaimer at the bottom of its lottery numbers story.
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