Powerful Preaching? — A Case Study

One of my favorite posts on this blog, was one I did in March 2006 on fundamentalist preaching: Stomping Toes and Stomping Souls: The Moralistic Bent to Fundamentalist Preaching. The title might overstate my case a little, but the problem is all too real.

Recently, someone posted a smart comment on that post, lamenting that I hadn’t listened to the fundamentalist sermons I heard in college. That is not the first negative comment I’ve received from that post.

It is quite polarizing, in part, I believe, due to the subject matter. Anytime someone attempts to criticize preaching or preachers, he is sure to reap righteous indignation. To an extent, this is admirable.

I may not have come across as humble enough in my first critique on this subject. I do hold strongly to my opinion on this subject, as I believe much damage is being done in the name of “powerful preaching”. In this post, I hope to provide a case study to show what exactly I mean by “moralism”, and what exactly I find problematic with fundamentalist preaching. I would encourage you to read that first post, though, as background for this one.

Thesis

Here is my primary point: preaching that majors on heaping guilt on the hearers in an attempt to motivate them to do better is not “powerful”. It is possibly moralistic, and it is likely carnal. This preaching does more harm than good. Unfortunately it is quite common in fundamentalism, although it can be found in many other circles as well.

Case Study

Here is the passage for our case study: Mark 15:32-42. We will focus on Jesus’ admonition in vs. 38: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.” You know the story, Jesus’ disciples had fallen asleep when they should have been praying. Jesus admonishes them to watch and pray. And yet when he returns from another prayer session, he finds the disciples asleep again.

Now let me develop 2 approaches to this passage, which might easily be found in a Sunday morning message. In comparing and contrasting these approaches, I hope my point about moralistic sermons will come home.

A Moralistic Approach

This message would major on the commands “watch and pray”. It would highlight the results of either obeying or disobeying the commands. It would imply that most or all of the listeners have failed miserably in this respect. Based on “the flesh is weak”, the message would set up the listeners to expect to have to struggle in this area. The message would end by calling the listeners to do better and pray more. People might be encouraged to come forward and make decisions to rededicate themselves to fervent prayer, or to confess their failures to pray and vow to change.

This kind of message might be labelled “toe-stomping” or “hard hitting”, as the preacher might very well drive his point home forcefully through screaming, theatrical antics, or tear-jerking illustrations. The listeners would leave the message acutely aware of their guilt and mindful of the preacher’s challenge that they watch and pray much better than they have before.

A Christ-Centered Approach

This message would again stress the commands “watch and pray”. Yet it would also give the fuller context of the passage. The disciples did not watch and pray, whereas Jesus did. Jesus would be shown to be absolutely faithful, whereas even heroes of the Christian faith, the disciples, are seen to be very weak and unfaithful. The message would stress that it is important to watch and pray, as a failure to do so leads to temptation, even as illustrated by the desertion of Christ by these very disciples. Yet the message would stress Christ’s kindhearted response to this lack of faithfulness on the disciples’ part. Rather than harshly rebuking them the second time He found them sleeping, he acknowledged their weakness. He had said the “flesh is weak”.

The message would go on to stress that our very weakness, what makes it so difficult to watch and pray, is that for which Christ died. Jesus knows we are weak, and so Jesus prays for us, even when we don’t. The ultimate victory over temptation is won because Jesus overcame the world, not because we have the innate ability to. We can win, when we depend on Christ and the victory He purchased. The message would end with a call to depend on Christ more in the area of prayer. It would encourage people to trust Jesus and His faithfulness, even as it would call on the hearers to excercise more faith in watching and praying more faithfully.

The message might not be very “hard hitting”, but it would be encouraging and uplifting. The preacher may well get excited as he proclaims Christ’s faithfulness and work on our behalf, but he would be unlikely to scream at or belittle the hearers for their lack of faithfulness in prayer. The listeners would leave the message in a thankful and worshipful state of mind, as they ponder how wonderful is Christ’s faithfulness and work on their behalf, weak and sinful though they be. They would determine to love Christ more and desire to be more faithful in their prayer lives.

I hope this case study proves helpful. I hope that preachers will aim to proclaim the glories and faithfulness of Christ more consistently. We need to realize that in every step of our Christian life we need to trust Jesus more fully. He can help us obey, and it is because of Him that we can. Believers need to be reminded of these truths. They need to be pointed to Christ and encouraged to trust in Him more. They don’t need to have guilt heaped upon them without an offer of hope. There is no hope if I have to depend on my own determination to do better. There is plenty of hope, inexhaustible hope, if I am encouraged to lean on the work Jesus has done for me.

Related Posts

Stomping Toes and Stomping Souls: The Moralistic Bent to Fundamentalist Preaching

Moralism and Christ-less Sermons

Powerful Thoughts on Preaching

Serious Satire

I recently came across a seriously funny site. The TomintheBox News Network is a blog by Thomas Slawson which offers parodies of evangelicalism, in the vein of Purgatorio and The League of Tyndale. Many of them are quite silly and harmless, while quite a few drive home a serious point. All of them are so well written, that you’ll be tempted to think they are true.

I read thru Tom’s whole blog the other night (its new as of January). And I must confess I was looking for entertainment. Being the Calvinist I am, certain posts made me crack up, like this one, and this one, and also this one (you have to go to those links by the way). He takes jabs at everyone from Robert Schuller to Peter Ruckman.

A few of his posts took aim at extreme fundamentalism. And I found this post absolutely hillarious. He leads you into thinking one thing, and then unloads his point. Now I say it is funny, (and I really want you to read it, so I’m not going to quote from it or anything) and it is. But it really isn’t. He makes an important point thru satire.

So I want you to read that post, and give me your thoughts, if you would. (I have personal connections which lead me to believe the post is not too much of a stretch.) And if you’re interested, there are two similar posts here, and here.

Before I go, I need to credit Rhett Kelley for directing me to that blog. I think I saw links from other places too, but Rhett gets the credit. I’m sure a lot of you will get a kick out of this blog, so go ahead and check it out.

And one more thing, click here to read something which should be satire, yet it isn’t. It’s the sad story of extremism gone wild, told by James White. (Note: The people in this last link are not what I think of when I talk about IFBx. They are far worse, and I don’t want to smear strict fundamentalists by suggesting they approve of or condone this kind of fanatacism.)

Like Hearts

Just a quick post here. This week in an exchange of emails with one of my readers, a phrase was brought up that has stuck with me. The gentleman mentioned that so many people strive for “like-mindedness” but what is most important is “like-heartedness“.

I tend to agree. Certainly if we are like-minded we can have more cooperation and greater fellowship, with each other. But there are many issues about which we will never be totally like-minded with anyone! But we can be like-hearted.

We can agree to hold to different positions on lesser issues and yet still acknowledge that we share a similar heartbeat. And if our hearts are pointed in the same direction, we should be able to have meaningful fellowship, even if our heads get in the way at times.

Since starting this blog, I have encountered many different people. And I have found that even when I differ with some on mind-issues, I can appreciate that their heart is pointed in the right direction. Early on I found that I needed to tone down my posts and acknowledge that there are many fundamentalists who are like-hearted with me. And many from even the more “hyper” circles have right hearts.

Scripture asks us and demands us to maintain the unity of the Spirit with fellow believers. We should yearn for such unity and look for the good hearts in people, even when our minds might be contradictory. Hopefully as fellowship continues a greater like-mindedness will develop. But ultimately it isn’t important if you agree with me, or if I approve of your distinct positions on any number of issues. What matters is that God approves of our hearts, and that we don’t disown and malign fellow believers.

By all means stand for truth. And defend your positions. (You know I will!) But please listen for the heart of those whom you may be quick to condemn. Let us all  strive for like-heartedness! [Oh, and take a moment and look up the verses supporting my motto  in the top right sidebar]

Hyper Fundamentalism and the Family

A few weeks ago I received the following comment on my blog:

I am not sure what your blog was talking about, but I gather that you understand about the strictness of fundamental Baptist churches.
My son is in one, and I am gathering information about this church. It is independent and the pastor controls everything the members do. I only see my son Thanksgiving and Christmas. Probably not at all now, since I will not attend his church. I was saved in that church and immediately left soon after, when I realized what it was about. I am attending another church. If you can help me, I would appreciate it. —A Reader

I wish the predicament that this dear lady finds herself in were uncommon. But, sadly, this is all too common in hyper fundamentalism. I have encountered several examples to a greater or lesser degree myself, personally. And I am sure my readers have their own sad stories to add here.

Long before I ever made a break from fundamentalism, I felt this was wrong. A certain relative of mine treated his wife’s parents very badly—with great disrespect, I believe. Although at the time they were driving a long distance to go to a fundamental Baptist  church they could agree with, he apparently viewed them as not good enough for him to spend any time with them. The decency of visiting and loving the family God gave him was downplayed and evidently separation and loyalty to his own church and movement emphasized. But hey, isn’t Deut. 5:16 still Bible?

My Dad always warned me to be on the lookout for any emphasis to distrust your family or to not go home over the holidays. And indeed among some students, the implication was that if you stayed over the summer, or if you stayed over the Christmas break that you were a more devoted Christian. Or at least that is the impression one could get (especially if they did not come from one of the churches which strongly supported the college).

I can’t say the church and college I went to explicitly taught us to distrust your family or to separate from them. In fact they emphasized that we go home and be a help to our churches. But in the teaching they gave concerning the family, they made it very clear that your family could be very wrongly influenced by your relatives and you needed to be extremely careful. Generally, I would agree, to an extent. But that advice was often taken to an extreme.

People whose children are still faithful Christians, albeit not fundamentalists (or not as much a fundamentalist as the parents would like), practice a firm separation from them. It is unnatural and ungodly. And yes, I have heard first hand of such goings on. And in this lady’s example above, she is facing such separation from her children.

Can’t strict fundamentalists appreciate that God is at work in their families’ lives—even if they aren’t fundamentalists? Can’t they agree on the big things like love for Christ, mutual faith, salvation, the fundamentals, etc., and then agree to disagree on the minor issues which define them as fundamentalists?

Does anyone else see this as a big problem for hyper fundamentalists (IFBx)? Is the problem wider than just this segment of fundamentalism? Does anyone else think that this trait of IFBx is one which seems very similar to a cultish characteristic?

I am interested in your responses. And lastly, does anyone have any hope to offer this reader? I encourage her to look to Christ and trust Him for support and love. She should also get involved in a good church where she can be ministered to. And then, she should try to love her son and family and try to show them she is a dedicated Christian, albeit not a fundamentalist. Any other thoughts?

I Don’t Wanna Know If the Answers Aren’t Easy…

In some recent posts on hyper fundamentalism (IFBx), I pointed out a devaluing of discernment and also explored some possible reasons that many people are attracted to this movement. One of those reasons, incidentally, was the removal of discernment. With hyper fundamentalism there is less need of personal discernment. Rather, one simply must conform to all of the positions mandated by the big personality who is in charge of that particular branch of the movement. Professor Lucas said it this way, “Well, one reason has to be that they provide very simple, black and white, answers to the challenges that face most American families…”.  

In my experience with this kind of fundamentalism, I found that many people really did not want to think through things on their own. It was easier to just go with what preacher said. And further, independent thinking, was not often explicitly encouraged, while conformity was.

I think that this mentality  of choosing to follow a leader, rather than exercise personal discernment, is part of human nature. It is more than just a fundamentalist’s problem. It is easier to just vote on party lines, or follow each item on the party’s platform. And it is easy to just follow a leader (like John Piper–I am not exempt from this human tendency…) and adopt all of his positions.

We all need to be aware of this tendency and also need to understand that Scripture calls us to exercise wisdom personally. We must discern. Yes it is wise to get counsel, and following godly leaders can be wise. But ultimately we must answer for our own actions, and we men must lead our own families.

All of this is an introduction to a song which expresses this tendency well. It is a song I hope you will listen to and let its message sink in. May God keep us from being the kind of person who wants to find comfort in “a new law”.


I  Want  a New Law

Derek Webb  

Verse 1:
Don’t teach me about politics and government,
just tell me who to vote for.
Don’t teach me about truth and beauty,
just label my music.
Don’t teach me how to live like a free man,
just give me a new law.

Chorus:
I don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy,
so just bring it down from the mountain to me.
I  want a new law,
I  want a new law,
gimme that new law.

Verse 2:
Don’t teach me about moderation and liberty,
I  prefer a shot of grape juice.
Don’t teach me about loving my enemies.
Don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit,
just give me a new law.

Chorus (again)

Bridge:
What’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything.
Do not be afraid,
do not be afraid,
do not be afraid.

 

You can actually get the entire CD that this song is on for free by spreading the word to five friends by email. Click here for details. For a good  review of that CD (Mockingbird) click here. For a free music video of this song, click here. For more info on Derek Webb, check out his website.