Secrets to Preaching -- a lay persons view. |
| Over the years I have had the blessing to sit under the preaching of a wide variety of preachers. From Australia to the UK to Africa, from Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting, Pentecostal, Charismatic to Independant home churches. There have been some really good sermons and some really, well to be honest dead sermons. I have often wondered why is it that some preaching sticks with me years after the fact and still impacts my life today, whilst other preaching leaves me cold, indifferent or sometimes downright mad because of the mis-use of scripture. What have some preachers and teachers got that others have not? Now some in Charismatic circles might say that 'good preachers' have the annointing and the bad preachers do not. Others in more Evangelical settings may say that some pastors have a teaching/preaching gift and others are better at counselling and administration. There could be some truth in what they say. After all we are all gifted differently and there are times when we Christians can acknowledge that God somehow with His Spirit annoints a speach, a sermon or a worship time. However I believe there is another element over looked in the above answers. There is an element to preaching the Gospel that if the preacher has it brings the annointing and if he has this element it willl make him a teacher or preacher even if it is not his primary gift. It has to be a living word......... For preaching to be really impacting the one who is doing the preaching needs to have lived the word. Yes it must be a reality in their life, something that God has shown them, something they have had to work or walk through. When God's word has become a hard hitting reality in our life, when we have learned the word through God's dealing with us, then we get the authority to speak on it. Our sharing of the word will bring life to the listener because we know the reality, the truth of what we are saying because God has revealed it to us. Head knowledge, that which we aquire by study may be true and interesting, but if we have not put it into practice it isn't really alive. It must travel from our head to our heart. It must be a part of us for us to really impart it to others Preaching that comes from the heart flows to the hearts of others. When something we have read in the word of God becomes a living reality to us then it captures our heart. Now it is obvious that no-one can ever fully experience all of God in their personal life, but the main message of the Gospel should be reality to all who are Christian. We should all have Jesus in our heart. We should all know about being forgiven and forgiving others. We should know about salvation if we are saved. We should know about carrying the cross if we have obeyed God and picked up our cross and followed His Son. If we have not done these things yet then I say we should not dare to teach others what we ourselves have not done. In the book of James it clearly states 'we should be doers of the word' 1:22 " Do not merely listen to the word, and so decieve yourselves. Do what it says." Surely this applies to preachers then they should have already put into practice the word they have heard before they share it with us. Let's face it Chrisitanity is not a mere religious observance (even though some practice it that way). It is a living relationship, with a living God. It is about how we live, what we do. It is about obeying God because we love Him. We love Him because He loves us. Since it is a living relationship we are called to then what we preach and teach upon should be alive to us. I have had many occaisions of sharing publically to an audience about my walk with the Lord, I however only share what has been real for me. I could not teach on something that I had no experince on because there would be no authenticity. I state this even though I have a degree in Theology. Just reading about it in class, or for an assignment is not enough. In my personal walk with the Lord I have also been called to give a 'prophetic word'. Now this is not about predicting the future, I don't class myself as a prophet. What I am talking about is God's word speaking into a persons situation at the time of giving it. When God has laid a word like this on my heart I can usually figure that I will get a practical application in my own life, before I get to give it. Take for example a word God gave me for a particular congregation about honesty and integrity. For a few weeks before this came God was on my case about being faithfull and honest in the small things. I remember having to go back a few times in this period to the supermarket because they had not charged me for something, to give them the money. Also during this time a couple of sales people gave me too much change. I had to give the extra back of course. There was a period of about 5 weeks where these things kept happening. It seemed everytime I went shopping some mistake would be made just to see how much honesty and integrity I had. All during this time God was quickening scriptures to me about 'honest scales' versus dishonest merchant etc. Then when this time had passed the call came to share with the said leader of the congregation the word about honesty and integrity. Whilst the word was not recieved well there was an authority in the word because God had implanted it into my life. I had to walk some of it before I could share it. God's word was real life to Hosea and his wife.... I think we can also see this in the life of the Prophets in the Old Testament. God called them to do things that made the prophetic word they were sharing 'alive'. Take for example Hosea, he was called to marry an unfaithful wife. This was a sign of the situation between God and Israel. Hosea knew what it felt like to have an unfaithful wife - it was life to him. Do you think it helped him get the idea God was trying to convey to Israel. I reckon it did. Hosea's wife probably also got the picture in the end of God's grace in forgiveness, because she firsthand experienced it from Hosea. It was real life to these people. So much so that the word is still alive today, helping us understand our God and His purpose. More and more today pastors all over the world are starting to 'download' their sermons from places such as the Purpose Driven pastor site. They are borrowing a word from someone else and this means there is a great chance that the word is not alive to them. I think it is a kind of cheating. I know Pastors are very busy people but if their priority is not first hand hearing and learning the word from God himself then what is it. Downloading a sermon is like getting T.V. dinners, you can subsit on them for a while but they lack the vitamins and nutrients and flavour of fresh food. Sometimes it's Ok to have a T.V. dinner or two, especially when there is an emergency in the house. But if they become the rule then maybe the house is not being run properly. If Pastors think its Ok to copy other people's overseas ministry at the expense of hearing the word of God for their congregation in their own country, who am I to tell them otherwise. Well I am their audience, I am one of the sheep they are supposed to be feeding, and I figure if the food ain't fresh and alive in this pasture then maybe another pasture would be more beneficial. In today's market driven society too many congregations are being given 'Guru take away' from Pastors who 'market their pulpit powers. Trouble is with take away food is that it can breed an over weight, fat and dare I say it lazy generation. Fat because it's not the real food we were meant for and lazy - well lif the leader cannot be bothered seeking God firsthand and learning the word in his life then why should I? So to all the pastors out there who know how to hear and obey, who know the reality of living God's word and then sharing this 'living word' with me THANK YOU because the word is still alive and growing in me. Thankyou for your integrity, your persistance, your holding on to God and getting food for this sheep. And to those who just gave me T.V. dinners well better leave it at that..........By Jacqueline Hancock P.S. God has now put me into a position where I get to preach His word in Church. The wealth of experience gained these last 18 years sitting under the ministry of others has been so valuable now that it is my turn to share. I don't copy their sermons - my memory is not that great! But I do try to copy their passion and their accountability and vulnerability in the pulpit. The word I share with others must be a living word to me. When I have had to wrestle with a word of God in my own life it shows in my preaching. When it has been real life to you, you remember it and you don't need a transcript to preach from because it comes literally from your heart because it has dwelt there. If you have read my other pages in the Outback Christians section you will have seen the article on Troubles, trials and testings. That is a truth I know in my life and I can testify that the troubles and trials which tested my faith also proved my faith. Not to God but to me. Learning to stand on God's word when all around is sinking sand makes for strong faith 'muscles'. It also makes for strong preaching. If you have lived it you are convinced of its reality. That conviction gives your preaching an air of authority. Not because you are smarter, for I am not. Not because God has made you more important, we are all on equal footing at the cross. It brings authority because it has passed the litmus test of real life and that is 'scientific proof my friends'. Proof that God's word is still as powerful today as it was when the Apostles and prophets first wrote it down. |
