Preaching: You mentioned the reality of the generations that we're dealing with now, the lack of commitment to absolute truth. Within your own preaching ministry, what are you doing to try to communicate with that world view?

Merritt: That's a great question and my answer, quite frankly, may surprise you because it would be different than what some other people would say — people that I have a high regard for and a lot of respect for. I think the first thing a pastor must never do, is lose confidence in the power of the preaching of the Word of God. So with all due respect, I don't really start with felt needs; I start with God's Word. Because I believe that God's Word not only meets felt needs, I believe God's Word will uncover needs that people don't even feel.

I'll give you an illustration. I don't believe that sinfulness and the need to deal with sinfulness is a felt need in a person's life. If it was, our churches would be crowded next Sunday with people who would say, "I've got a sin problem and I want to get rid of it." The fact of the matter is there is a world out there that's sinning, having a great time and enjoying it. So it's not a felt need. You have to show them why that needs to be a need in their life. So I begin with the understanding that the Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword and the truth is still able to cut and penetrate whether a person believes it's true or not. The sun rises in the east whether you believe it does or not. And if you're facing west tomorrow at nine-o-clock it's going to shine on your back — whether you believe it or not makes no difference. I believe the same thing is true about truth. So I always begin with a foundation that the Bible is the Word of God and I believe that truth can penetrate even the hardest heart.

The second thing is that it is important that we creatively think about how can I show how this truth is relevant and how this truth is real and how this truth is practical and how this truth can make a real difference in my marriage, in my job, in my relationship with my kids, and how I feel about myself. I preached a message not long ago out of Ephesians 1 and I called it "The Secret of Self-Esteem," just out of the first six verses of Ephesians chapter one. You've got to be creative, you've got to think about it, you've got to keep asking that question: "so what?" You don't make that the all-in-all but ultimately you should be able to answer that question. Jesus always could. That's why He told parables. When Jesus told a story you understood the "so what." The parable about the rich man and Lazarus — so what? You better get right with God before you die, so what! Or a parable about the sower. Well, our job is to get out there and sow the seed and let God worry about the sowers. So you've always got to answer that 'so what' question.