Several of you will recall Bell’s controversial book, Love Wins. He rightly received a lot of criticism for his less than forthcoming view on the afterlife. Whatever your position on that book, you have got to love how he started his church…a church he recently left to pursue other interests:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2002/winter/4.45.html
I recently finished Ravished by Beauty: The Surprising Legacy of Reformed Spirituality. Belden Lane has written a wonderful book which I include in a piece soon to appear on Scot McKnight’s blog, Jesus Creed.
Lane makes the point that John Calvin wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, yet steered clear of Revelation. On the other side of the ledger, Jonathan Edwards did not really write Bible commentaries, but he wrote a lot on the book of Revelation. It is interesting to note the difference among these two stalwarts of the Reformed faith.
So how about you? Do you think there ought to be more or less teaching on the book of Revelation?
Over the years I have read hundreds of résumés. Actually, it is probably more than that. In any case, between interviewing many people on radio and TV, I have also given input to some churches on pastoral searches. Recently, I evaluated dozens of résumés for a preaching pastor position. Here are a few things which you may want to share with a friend who is applying for a pastoral position:
*First impressions are huge. I was amazed by how poorly several of the résumés looked. The lack of attention to aesthetics was shocking. I am not advocating lots of fancy stuff. I am saying that using Courier font and inconsistent borders is not quite passing muster.
*The lack of good writing was painful to see. Poor writing for someone going into a preaching ministry is troubling.
*The word passion is way overused. When I see someone has a “passion” for this or that, I grow impatient. I beg pastors to use some other word.
*Family is listed as hobby and many times not even the first one! Some put family under a category called “interests,” but the same problem remains. I have seen too many put gardening and golf or reading and travel on the same list as family!
*No reason is given for leaving a particular church. One candidate who was candid about the reason for leaving his previous position was put at the top of my pile.
*Stop using trivialities, sloganeering, platitudes, and playing to the crowd. Since this last church I helped leans toward dispensationalism it was painful to read the pandering descriptions of how committed some candidates are to this particular system of theology.
*No references given from previous church.
*Stop saying the predictable “my wife is the most beautiful and my children are simply amazing.”
*Dates of experience have gaps and these are not explained.
I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say, “Lloyd-Jones is the greatest preacher of the twentieth-century.” It is said with conviction. It is said with certainty. It is supposedly a self-evident fact.
No doubt the good doctor was impressive in many ways, but it is not possible for any human to say “he is the greatest.” First, what are our criteria? Second, who can know another man’s motives? And third, one would have to be aware of every single other preacher to make such an assessment, and who knows that except God?!
I read recently where someone said preachers need to stop introducing their wives as the most beautiful which indeed is good counsel. I would like to extend that to preachers and everyone else for that matter.
“My name is Rosalie de Rosset,” she told the class. “Isn’t that a fabulously feminine name? Clearly, my parents filled out the birth certificate before they met me. I assure you, that is the only womanly thing about me…
“I have one rule for this class,” de Rosset continued without smiling, “If you use the word ‘share,’ I will fail you. On the spot. I don’t want to hear one woman stand up here telling us that you ‘wanna share a bit of your heart.’ If you do, you will get an ‘F’ in my class.” I looked around and saw many women, smiling broadly, shaking their heads. “I want you to preach. You’re not schoolgirls sharing your dolls. You have a voice. You have something to say. And I want you to proclaim it.”
I have preached many times in different places, and over the years wanted a memorable way to evaluate my own sermon preparation. I developed the acrostic I CARE to remind myself of what is most important. The order is a memory aid, not what is most important to least.
Introduction should be strong and grab the attention of the listeners.
Christ-centered. Christ is the focus of the Bible, so it should be the focus of the sermon.
Authentically touches the preacher. When people ask me what is the most difficult aspect of preaching preparation, I find no difficulty answering: making sure that what I am preaching has genuinely touched me. This is the “preach to yourself before preaching to others” counsel of the Puritans. Finding good illustrations, understanding the flow of the biblical argument, though involving many hours, is a cake walk compared to the exposure of my own sin and subsequent repentance which happens before I ever get to the pulpit.
Redemptive. All sermons need to instill hope and encourage confidence in a God who can redeem any situation no matter how bleak and hopeless it may seem.
Ending should have a “so what?” which lingers through the week. Applications are crucial, yet I find two common errors preachers make with them: giving more than one application (one pastor I heard gave five!), and an emphasis on merely changing behavior rather than appealing to one’s loves, hopes, aspirations, and idols. In other words, the heart or inner motivations must be touched. I have a bias that some specificity of what to do is necessary, but again many preachers err by offering too much. At times, it seems the application is more the preacher’s own takeaway for his own life rather than being sensitive to the myriad of ways different people will actually seek to live out the central truth. So yes, broad principle should be stated, but leave room for the Holy Spirit to press the many ways He will move people to make specific application to their own lives.
