 |
|
|
Who knew that a major newspaper would consider it a story when preachers don't address a subject in their sermon? The Jan. 22 edition of The Dallas Morning News carried an article on how area Methodist pastors were not preaching about the debate over Southern Methodist University as the potential site of the George W. Bush Presidential Library. (He's leaning toward SMU, but no final decision has been made.) The story began: "Though Highland Park United Methodist Church sits at the doorstep of a debate, the Rev. Mark Craig's Sunday sermon belied all the attention. Instead of speaking about the controversy over a President George Bush presidential library being built at nearby Southern Methodist University, Mr. Craig reassured his flock that God will carry the faithful through life's figurative valleys. Mr. Craig is an SMU trustee and senior minister at the church to which Mr. Bush and wife, Laura, belong." (Click here to read the full news story.) Now that I realize there may be a market for such stories, here are some other possible headlines: Boston Globe: "Pastors fail to preach on New England Patriots loss (though some do consign Manning to unpleasant afterlife)" Seattle Times: "Preachers fail to mention opening of 10,000th Starbucks in local neighborhood" Chicago Tribune: "McDonalds brings back McRib; startling silence in area pulpits" Michael
Duduit, Editor Click here to visit "I Was Just Thinking" (Michael's blog) for insights and observations about faith and culture issues. Recent topics: Some inconvenient questions; I Have a Dream
4
Myths About Attending the Myth 1. I can't afford to go to Cambridge Truth: Travel to Cambridge does not cost significantly more than traveling across the U.S. Airfare sales offer reduced rates for travel to London (with more sales typically announced in the winter months for April travel). Sometimes it's as simple as going to a major gateway city to get a reduced fare. (See our Link of the Week below for a good travel site to consult. I found New York-London flights there as low as $576.) Myth 2. I don't know how to get around a foreign country Truth: The nice thing about travel from the U.S. to England is that we speak a similar language! That makes getting around relatively simple. In addition, the Travel Info section of the Congress website offers a load of information about getting around once you land in the UK. (Click here to learn more about ICOP travel.) Myth 3. It sounds like a good event, but I'll just go next year. Truth: This is a unique event that only takes place every five years. The first one was in 1997 in London, and then 2002 in Edinburgh. The next ICOP won't be prior to 2012, so this is your only opportunity to participate in an event like this until the next decade. Myth 4. This is probably just like other ministry conferences. Truth: The team of speakers and leaders at this event is unparalleled. With N.T. Wright and Alister McGrath, you have the two premier apologists in the English-speaking world. With David Jeremiah and Michael Milton, you have two of the finest expositors anywhere. Dave Stone is senior pastor of one of America's largest churches (and one of the best communicators around), while Calvin Miller is the poet laureate of the evangelical world (and a great preaching professor too!). Just go down the list of speakers (click here to see the list) and you'll encounter one of the most extraordinary groups of preachers and leaders ever assembled in one event. So don't "myth out" on an incredible event. You can still be part of the third International Congress on Preaching, April 17-19 in Cambridge, England. In addition to the speakers already named, you'll hear gifted communicators like J. Alfred Smith, Michael Quicke, Timothy Warren, Robert Smith, Mike Glenn, Randy Roberts, Carol Noren, John Huffman, Bill Self, Leslie Holmes, David Jackman, and many more. You'll enjoy stimulating addresses on the Congress theme, "For Such a Time as This: Preaching Truth in an Age of Idolatry." You'll hear challenging sermons, and you'll participate in practical workshops on a variety of preaching-related topics. There's still time to register, so make your plans now to be with us. To learn more (and register online), go to www.preaching.com/icop or you can call 800-527-5226 (toll free inside U.S.) or 615-386-3011 (outside the U.S.)
Stories need creative tension In his book Preaching With All You've Got (Hendrickson), David Day talks about the challenge of building an effective story in preaching. He notes that, "Very often it's the complication which is both crucial and difficult in sermon design. It will demamd creative thought on the part of the preacher unless it's already built into the story. "Something has to introduce tension into the story. Something has to surprise or puzzle or scandalize us. Maybe it tweaks our curiosity by promising more. Conflict is a standard way of complicating the plot. Even as artless a phrase as 'Everything went really well until Friday . . .' can do the trick." Day discusses several techniques for developing this "complicating phase of a narrative," including suspense, disequilibrium, tension, concealment, unease, and cliffhangers. Then he explains: "These terms embrace such plot devices as delay, ambiguity, incompleteness, chaos, surprise and conflict. We need to ensure that our storytelling employs them at the critical phase in the narrative; otherwise we forfeit the crucial element. If the listeners walk round stories like people at an exhibition then we can be sure that they will not disappear to the tea room when they have seen it all. We must try not to give them the freedom to wander at will. "A colleague said of sermons: 'Even when I am about to drift away, one phrase will always pull me back. It's something like: 'A strange thing happened to me last week . . .'' In other words, the complicating element in the story will engage the listener every time." (Click here to learn more about the book Preaching With All You've Got)
Don't confuse justification and sanctification In a new book called When the Darkness Will Not Lift (Crossway), John Piper seeks to help ministers deal with those who are depressed. Piper writes, "Justification is by faith alone apart from works of the law. . . . The best news in all the world to the 'ungodly,' who grieve under the cloud of darkness and guilt, is the news that God, by faith alone, counts them as righteous because of Christ. This is the rock where we stand when the dark clouds gather and the floods lick at our feet: justification is by grace alone (not mixed with our merit), through faith alone (not mixed with our works) on the basis of Christ alone (not mingling his righteousness with ours), to the glory of God alone (not ours). "Then, and only then, on the basis of this forgiveness and this declaration of righteousness, God gives us his Holy Spirit and progressively transforms us morally into the image of his Son. This progressive change is not justification, but is based on justification. This change is what we call sanctification. 'Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life' (Rom. 6:22). . . . "It is crucial in the fight for joy that we not confuse or combine justification and sanctification. Confusing them will, in the end, undermine the gospel, and turn justification by faith into justification by performance. If that happens, the great gospel weapon in the fight for joy will fall from our hands." (Click here to learn more about the book When the Darkness Will Not Lift)
ILLUSTRATION: Tithing, Stewardship When James E. Carter was pastor of University Baptist Church of Fort Worth, he shared an experience from younger days that he called "the greatest tithing testimony I ever observed." He said one day as he waited to see the manager of a grocery store, a widow came in to cash her old-age assistance check for $55. The grocer asked how the woman wanted it, and she replied, "It doesn't make any difference just so I have a five-dollar bill and a fifty-cent piece." As the owner gave her the money, Carter noticed that she tucked the coin into the bill, folded it up, and placed it in a corner of her purse. "This is my tithe," she explained. "I put it separate so I won't spend it." It was a scene Carter never forgot, and it later influenced his own faithfulness in the area of tithes and offerings. She didn't have much, yet that elderly woman honored God with her substance and with the first part of all her income. Stewardship is not merely a matter of obligation, it's a matter of love. When you love someone, you want to express your gratitude and affection. Our stewardship should be faithfully accomplished and lovingly practiced. Are we as wise as that wise old widow? (Turning Point Daily Devotional, 1/5/07)
ILLUSTRATION: Humility It is a paradox that the best people consider themselves the worst sinners. The greatest leader of Israel, Moses, was told by God at the burning bush to remove his sandals for he was on holy ground. His sandals represented his sinfulness. The great prophet, Isaiah, confessed, "I am a man of unclean lips." The great Christian, Paul, confessed that he was "chief of sinners." When the funeral cortege of Charlemagne came to the cathedral, they were shocked to find the gate barred by the bishop. "Who comes?" shouted the bishop. The heralds answered, "Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire!" Answering for God, the bishop replied, "Him I know not! Who comes?" The heralds, a bit shaken, answered, "Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth!" Again the bishop answered, "Him I know not. Who comes?" Now completely crushed, the heralds say, "Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ." "Him I know," the bishop replied. "Enter! Receive Christ's gift of life!" It is only when in humility we see ourselves as nothing that God can create something out of nothing. When we stop and think that God in Christ loves us by coming to earth to make us good, we are overwhelmed with gratitude. (John and Barbara Brokhoff, There's Always Hope)
ILLUSTRATION: Aging, Optimism A foursome of senior golfers hit the course with waning enthusiasm for the sport. One said, "These fairways seem to be getting longer and longer," said one of the foursome" The next complained, "And these hills are getting steeper as the years go by," another complained. The third said, "The sand traps seem to be bigger than I remember them, too." After hearing enough from his buddies, the oldest and the wisest of the foursome piped up and said, "Guys, just be thankful we're still on this side of the grass!"
ILLUSTRATION: Correcting errors Mom noticed her four-year-old son Stephen running out of the bathroom and yelling that he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So mom fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to his parents' bathroom and came out with mom's toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago."
"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." (Theodore Roosevelt)
From the sponsor of this week's edition: Inspiration Comes Standard with Every Gardner C. Taylor Resource Put his words and wisdom to work in your sermons with the Gardner Taylor Preaching Library on CD-ROM which includes:
For a complete list of features, visit www.judsonpress.com where you save 20% on this exceptional resource. Plus, Preaching Now subscribers take an additional $10 off! Use code PRNOW at checkout. 6-84674-67994-1 CD-ROM for PC, $99.00
ILLUSTRATION: Service A group of women from the church were calling on elderly Mrs. Diamond who was very ill. After a time of visiting, they rose to leave and told her, "Esther, we will keep you in our prayers." "Just wash the dishes in the kitchen," the ailing woman said. "I can do my own praying."
"Never insult an alligator until you've crossed the river." (Cordell Hull)
More church bulletin bloopers (part 1) Here's another selection of church bloopers from church bulletins, message boards, sermons, announcements etc. •
This Sunday's Sermon Outline: • Next Friday we will be serving hot gods for lunch. • If you would like to make a donation, fill out a form, enclose a check and drip in the collection basket. • Nov. 11: An evening of boweling at Lincoln Country Club. • Women's Luncheon: Each member bring a sandwich. Polly Phillips will give the medication. • Karen's beautiful solo: "It is Well With My Solo." • Congratulations to Tim and Ronda on the birth of their daughter October 12 thru 17. • If you choose to heave during the Postlude, please do so quietly. • We are grateful for the help of those who cleaned up the grounds around the church building and the rector. • Hymn: "I Love Thee My Ford." • Sign-up sheet for anyone wishing to be water baptized on the table in the foyer. • Newsletters are not being sent to absentees because of their weight. • Helpers are needed! Please sign up on the information sheep. (from Humorama newsletter)
And finally . . . When will these TV people learn to mind their own business? According to a Jan. 20 Associated Press report, the Fox network is launching a new game show called "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" that will be on the air within the next few months. In other words, "Every parent's nightmare -- being exposed for not knowing what's in your kid's school textbook -- will soon play out on national television. Adults will compete in a quiz based on questions from elementary school textbooks. Actual elementary school students will be on hand as 'experts' for the adults to consult with." A Fox executive said, "While most game shows measure how smart you are, this is a show that will measure how dumb you are." Great. Like my fifth-grader really needed to know that.
Not a current subscriber to Preaching magazine? Why not share PreachingNow with a friend? Missing
an issue of PreachingNow? Problems
with links? Received
this by mistake? |
|
PreachingNow
is a publication of Salem Publishing. Editor: Dr. Michael Duduit.
|