i’ve had a problem with our contemporary expressions of preaching for quite some time now. i’ve grown tired of the "how to…" and the "12 steps to…" types of sermons and I wonder if I’ve finally discovered the underlying reason for my disdain or what i call "sermonic drivel". it seems that all of these types of "how to.." & "12 steps to…" sermons focus solely on outward expressions and actions. this in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, however most churches that subscribe to this type of topical preaching don’t balance this focus on actions with a focus on an inward transformation. it seems as if this type of preaching is all about cleaning the outside of the pot while leaving the inside to collect mold and rot. i think Jesus had something to say about this… and honestly it reminds me a lot of the pharisaism that is recorded in scripture. we wonder time and again why the people in our congregations don’t seem to be "getting it" when it comes to discipleship and growth, i believe a lot of it has to do with this type of preaching. we think that if people would do these "4 things" then everything will be hunkey dorey but the reality is unless there’s an inner transformation, people won’t want to do these "4 things" in the first place… rendering preaching virtually useless for the masses. contemporary preaching today has virtually nothing to do with the inside, and everything to do with saving the appearances. it’s almost as if we expect people’s lives to change, their marriages, finances, etc, to be in complete order after we’ve finished the most recent 5-week, "how to…" series. we are the church of "quick-fixes", yet nothing is being fixed. we need to realize that spiritual formation isn’t something that can take place in a few weeks but rather is a life-long process. instead of focusing on our outside morality, we need to draw near to jesus and cling to him (heb. 4.14) allowing him to transform us from the inside out. it is then and only then that our actions will be in step… it’s about an inner transformation, not an outer expression. all of our preaching focuses on the end result without, seemingly, ever touching on the only thing/person that will create that end result. preaching for transformation is a marathon, not a sprint.
Related posts:
- preaching Jesus.
- exactly.
- manifesto of frustration./// (a rant)
- home sweet home
- a postmodern meditation on romans 12. (part 2)
