Sunday, December 13, 2009

two questions for preaching

"A preacher is no good unless he answers two questions: 'So what?' and 'How?'" Lon Solomon

My senior pastor at McLean Bible Church said this tonight during his sermon and I think it's so insightful. The 'So What' question explains why a particular Bible text or topic matters in everyday life. The 'How' question explains how (obviously) you can actually implement what's being taught.

Whenever we preach, those two questions are actually objections, conscious or subconscious, in the minds of our audience. And, unfortunately, sermons are, too often, just conceptual and not practical. They give you lots to think about but no direction as to what to DO about it.

If we want to see them become doers and not just hearers of the Word, we have to address those two questions.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

now i know

I used to think a pastor should be the smartest, most qualified person in the church.

Then I became a pastor.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

richard baxter on pastoring

I just read this about Richard Baxter, an English pastor and theologian in the mid 1600's:

"He aimed to spend about an hour a year with each family in his flock questioning their understanding of the catechism and giving them spiritual direction. He found that nominal Christians could be shaken out of their complacency more effectively by half an hour's personal discussion than by ten years of preaching."

Wow.

Friday, October 16, 2009

preaching as biography

i had a thought today:

i want my preaching to be as biographical as it is instructional (if not more).

i want my preaching to not just show people what to do but, through my preaching, to really be painting a vivid, accurate, overwhelmingly compelling picture of God. i want my preaching to show people the character and nature of God as much, if not more, than it gives them practical ways to live their life.

matt chandler makes a very good point about the "de-churched" (i.e. people who grew up in church and left). he says that the primary reason they bail on the church is because they weren't being taught the character and nature of God, only pragmatism and behavior modification. he says that their theology is based on this idea: "if i do certain things or abstain from certain things, i will have God's favor." so inevitably, they face tragedy or some situation that totally shakes their faith and they roll out.

i think that's so true and i'm hoping that each sermon of mine would be a brushstroke, painting a clearer and clearer picture of God for the people listening, so that, over time, they would really have an accurate understanding of who God is and live in response to that.

Monday, October 5, 2009

an objective for every meeting

i was reading an article on planning effective meetings and one very basic statement jumped out at me. the author said "every meeting should have a written objective and a written agenda."

i think most of us agree with the agenda part but clarifying (and writing down) the OBJECTIVE is so critical. how many meetings have you planned or simply attended where you had no idea what you were trying to accomplish? you've met, you've talked, you've given updates, but it doesn't lead to any particular conclusion or goal.

i've been challenging myself lately to be much more intentional with my meetings. i'm heading out of town for vacation this week. so yesterday, the written objective for a short meeting with my team was "to make decisions on things that would require my input while i'm gone." clarifying that objective ahead of time was SO HELPFUL! it helped me keep us focused on specific issues that might come up this week instead of drifting into the many other things that, while important, don't require a decision this week.

hopefully instead of more meetings, we can all have more effective meetings.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

atheists worship too

It's interesting that in the ancient Roman empire, in the first century A.D., early Christians were seen as atheists. Why? Because they had no visible gods.

The Roman pantheon comprised of hundreds of visible gods who were appeased and worshiped as part of everyday Roman culture. Christians, on the other hand, worshiped the risen Jesus, an "invisible god."

Not much has changed today. Atheism isn't "worshipping no god"; it's worshipping visible gods while rejecting the one, true, living, invisible God.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

humor done right

i think the most effective humor in sermons is that which is used to disarm or explain rather than to simply entertain. Humor, done right, helps people identify with and even understand biblical truth. Humor, done wrong, is simply a joke, with no other purpose than to make the preacher feel good about himself.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

serving God

a lot of people struggle with the idea of “serving the Lord” because in reality we do all sorts of things that have nothing to do with God directly. you spend 50hrs a week building database software, not reading your Bible or singing Chris Tomlin. but serving God is not just doing “spiritual” things that are directly related to God per se; serving God is simply doing whatever God wants you to do. it’s carrying out whatever God’s will is for your life, for a particular decision, in a particular situation.

when Paul talks about "serving the Lord" in Romans 12:11, he uses the word douleuo which means "to be a slave." a slave serves his master not just by shining his shoes or making his dinner, but by doing anything the master commands. so even if the master commands the slave to serve someone else, that act of service is still in fact serving the master's will.

so the way to serve God is not to unplug from the rest of the world and sing all day. It’s to constantly be asking the question, “God, what do you want me to do?” and, before even getting an answer, being enthusiastically willing to do it.

Charles Spurgeon put it well when he asked: "Has it occurred to you frequently, and does it occur to you constantly to see what the Lord would have you do?"

Thursday, September 3, 2009

invest wisely

i was driving to work yesterday morning and had this thought:

Life is short. Eternity is long. Invest wisely.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

actions speak louder

this thought came to mind recently and it has really been pushing me to examine myself:

our living should outdo our preaching, by far.

listen to how Paul describes himself in 1 Thessalonians 2:10 - "You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed." the people he ministered to could vouch for his LIFE, not just his sermons. but they weren't the only witnesses. he, with all integrity and confidence, had the audacity to say that God Himself would testify of his personal holiness. this is the God who sees and examines our thoughts and desires (1 Chron.28:9b), who knows our lives when noone else is watching. and paul could confidently call God as a witness to his integrity.

i want my preaching to always be lagging behind my living. not the other way around.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

TMI

i was talking to a friend of mine, Will Pavone, today. he was on our staff as a worship leader, now he's finishing up his Th.M at DTS, and he's coming back on staff in December. he shared with me a pretty good preaching principle that he's observed in Tim Keller's preaching:

don't reference Greek (or Hebrew) unless its absolutely essential for understanding what the passage is trying to communicate.

it reminds me of what my dad once told me about preaching: "your fascination can become other people's frustration."

no need to "wow" people with everything you know. just share what helps them understand the passage better.

(by the way, tmi stands for too much information)

Friday, August 28, 2009

online study tools

Here are the standard sites that I typically use when I'm preparing for a sermon:

www.biblegateway.com - great bible search site

www.blueletterbible.com - basically all the Bible study tools you need

www.biblestudytools.com - i particularly love the NAS with Strong's Numbers but you can also click "include study tools" and it'll pull up commentary on each verse

http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/ - online Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

www.dictionary.com - self-explanatory plus their thesaurus site

what are your favorite online resources?

Monday, August 24, 2009

to be a christian

"It doesn't take much of a man to be a Christian--it just takes all of him."

A.L. Huxley

theology drives ministry

i was glancing through the village church's website and read something that is so true:

"theology influences philosophy which in turn determines practice."

wow. i know it's an obvious thing for people in ministry but how often is it overlooked? everything we do must not only be supported by but derived from the scriptures. so small groups should be formed from a biblical theology of community. outreach should be formed from a biblical theology of service and evangelism. and the list goes.

at every level of ministry in the church, there should be clearly articulated biblical reasons for the why and the how of what we do.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

locker room moments

Typically, before every event, there's that "locker room" moment where you gather all your volunteers to give last-minute instructions, pray, etc. Here's some steps I go through (in addition to prayer) to prepare for those times. I also included some examples from a locker room moment i had today:

1. Think through what your team might face.
How might they feel throughout the event (tired, discouraged, etc.)? What situations might they have to deal with? Who will they interact with? For example, earlier today we had teams of people going to do work at public schools in Washington, DC. I knew they would definitely be talking to and working with unbelievers.

2. Think about how God would want them to respond.
If you know they'll face frustration at some point, what would God want them to do or not do with that frustration? If they'll experience a lot of crowds, how did Jesus handle crowds? Knowing that our folks would be with unbelievers today, I wanted them to be sensitive to opportunities to share the Gospel.

3. Find a passage that clearly articulates that response.
Here, you're looking for a biblical idea to brand into people's minds that will hopefully inspire them to see a situation the way God would want them to see it and respond the way God would want them to respond. For our event today, Colossians 2:5-6 fit the scenario perfectly.

4. Summarize it into a concise, memorable phrase.
Hopefully that phrase will come to their minds throughout the day. It doesn't have to rhyme or work its way into a melody; it's just something to emphasize a driving "God idea." Today, mine was "Make the most of every opportunity." I repeated that over and over again and then had them repeat it to each other. I was hoping, for example, that they would be talking to an unbeliever, quietly hear "Make the most of every opportunity" (in a scary whisper voice) and then hopefully that would encourage them in that moment to share Christ.

locker room moments have so much potential. be prepared!

Friday, August 21, 2009

learning greek

i LOVE this website: http://www.ntgreek.org/.

struggling to write a sermon

sermon preparation is a very difficult process for me, probably because i'm relatively new at it and i'm still learning the process. but last night i was sitting and working on what i'll preach next week and i was STRUGGLING! i can't seem to break through all my random thoughts and grab hold of that driving idea. and then i wrote this in my journal:

"maybe i'm striving according to my flesh. maybe i'm trying to muscle this through in my own strength. maybe i just need to humble myself before the Lord, in fasting and prayer, and let him guide."

that was huge for me. i think sometimes we're working and striving and it's just not there yet. for whatever reason, God hasn't given it yet. i think in those moments you have to pull back, go do something else, clear your mind, pray, and come back to it fresh.

so i packed up, went home and had dinner with my wife. hopefully the Lord will clear the fog today.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

ingredients of effective bible study

as i've been teaching the Bible more regularly lately, i've noticed what i call "the three secret ingredients of effective bible study" (specifically for preparing to teach but applicable to general study also). here they go:

1- lots of questions - i've noticed that the best teachers challenge the text. they don't leave any stone unturned. that's what i've been noticing in my observations of great teachers and then applying to my own teaching preparation. "why did he use this word instead of that?" "why is 'the month of nisan' important to the context of this passage?" the difference between good teachers and great teachers is the questions they ask.

2 - lots of prayer - this is something i've learned in "the school of failure and fatigue" as i've heard some say. we as teachers get so absorbed in the study of the text that we forget to engage the Spirit who inspired the text. our studying must be soaked in praying. that's what makes a passage take life. that's where a 'burden' is formed in our hearts. that's what gives our teaching that "demonstration of the Spirit's power." (1 Cor.1).

3 - time to let it marinate - this is so crucial and all too often i'm pressed up against the last minute. there is a depth of insight and precision of application that rarely comes immediately. i'm sure you've had that "if only i had more time" afterthought. something you noticed later. clarity you didn't have at the time. an illustration that would've been perfect. we all know that feeling. but when we sit with a text, then leave it, and let it turn over and over in our minds, it has a way of working its way down into our hearts, and the Spirit brings it back up with a refined, spiritual quality to it that can only happen with time. so START EARLIER!

that's what i'm learning. take a passage of scripture, throw in lots of questions, add lots of prayer, then give it time to marinate and...now you're cookin! (yep, couldn't resist it. it was just too perfect.)