A Church for a Guy Like Me: Making the Case for Less Assumptive Preaching

Assume Less about Listener Literacy

Every preacher should force him or herself to ask, "Do I care more about being helpful than about sounding smart?" Too often the preacher assumes more about the biblical and theological literacy of the congregation than is justified. Just because many know who killed Goliath doesn't mean everyone does. "Turn in your Bible to…" without qualification is another reminder that "this isn't the church for a guy like me."

Instead, assume that a listener may be opening the Bible for the first time. Assume the listener doesn't know who killed Goliath. Assume those gathered can't believe this biblical account more than one of Dr. Seuss' tales.

"Less assumptive" preaching won't assume the listener is theologically and biblically literate. They put divine revelation on the bottom shelf so everyone can reach it.

Assume Less About Listener 'Buy-In'

Recently I was preaching on the eighth commandment: No Lying. I was encouraging people to tell the truth, to let their yes be "yes" and their no be "no." I suggested that lying hurts trust. Trust is essential for relational intimacy, and we all desire relational connection.

Makes sense so far, doesn't it? I'm preaching reasonable truth. The problem is that the hearers are hearing a subconscious voice saying, "Good advice, even biblical, but you don't live with my spouse. I can't tell her the truth; she'd blow a gasket. You don't know how angry she gets, and I can't live with that."

"Honor your parents." Again, a true and biblical proposition—but what does it look like when my parents are elderly, were jerks in the past and are demanding in the present? I can't help but hear the person wounded by a parent say, "What does this mean? I can't obey this. My situation is certainly an exception."

If that happens, no matter how true my preaching is, I have failed to address the part of the hearer that carries the greater weight as to whether Christian formation will happen. The less assumptive communicator will assume less and persuade more, while engaging the listener's rationale and emotional barriers. Doing so, we continue the instructions of our Lord Jesus when he appointed Paul "to open their eyes, turn them from darkness, so they may receive … a place among those who are sanctified by faith" (Acts 26:18).

"Less assumptive" preaching works hard to engage the hearer's hurdles that keep her or her from "buying" the sermon's content and making its application to life beyond the weekend. "Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22).

Last week, I observed a friend who brought a 24-year-old young man named Justin home to answer his spiritual questions. She and her husband stayed up late cooperating with God and hoping to persuade him to say "yes" to the implications of the gospel. Then, they invited him to attend their local community church the following Sunday.

I bet they were hoping this Sunday their pastor was preparing a "less assumptive" sermon. I bet Justin hopes their church is "A Church for a Guy Like Me."

Rod Casey is senior associate pastor at Woodcrest Chapel (Woodcrest.org) in Jefferson City, Mo., and an adjunct professor for A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary.