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PASTOR GEORGE VINK
REPORT ON THE 19TH ANNUAL
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PREACHING
Introduction:
We left Visalia evening after the council meeting and headed for Fresno. We had decided to “frontload” the conference with some time in Washington, DC. What a delightful choice! We savored the sights of our nation’s capital as well as some Civil War History in Virginia. A good getting-ready for a conference on “Preaching in the Public Square.”
Background:
The Conference was sponsored by several agencies, but primarily by “Preaching Magazine,” edited by Michael Duduit to which I subscribe. We stayed in Woodbridge, VA where the conference was held across the street from our Best Western. I will attempt to summarize some material covered and ideas learned. You’re welcome to react.
The Plenary Sessions and Workshops:
1.“Where Do Preaching and Culture Meet” by James Emery White, the Senior Pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church, Charlotte, NC and a former professor at Gordon-Conwell.
Dr. White began by defining culture as simply “the world in which we live and which lives in us.” He noted that our fallen world operates mostly with “Functional Atheism.” It’s not a philosophy or religion, but simply operating as if there is no god by simply ignoring him. Yet, the world finds that operating apart from God does not work. Nietche may have said, “God is dead.” But he also added, “We killed Him.” In our world, everything is opinion. There’s simply no knowing nor knowing everything. It’s a post-modern world! The absolutes are gone! Cf #16
The word of the year is “truthiness.” This new word ties directly to Postmodern’s concept of truth and no absolutes. He describes the contemporary man as “Metro-Man,” either male or female. This refers to those Metro spiritual. Whatever will do, as long as it’s some spirituality.
What is our vocational response? His answer under four headings:
- Topics- Speak to contemporary issues, including elections, home life, no sin awareness. There’s a need to have an integration of Christianity into all areas of life. (A Kingdom Perspective?) There’s a need for more prophets like MLK Jr.
- Style- He suggests more dialogical approach in preaching-Oprah style. It’s a matter of talking with the listeners and not to them.
- Method- Whether wooden pulpit, plastic pulpit, or bar stool. Like Luther, go from Latin to language of people and translate the gospel, not transform it. He thinks the film clip media is the modern-day stained glass of medieval days.
- Strategy-This flows from the method which is not Acts 2 but Acts 17. Cannot assume the knowledge of past history by the listeners, but inform, tell and explain. No assuming!
White closed with a powerful story about the need for passion in our preaching. If we believe what we’re presenting, would we be willing to walk across broken glass to tell it? A discussion by a panel of reactors followed as we digested White’s presentation.
Dr. Richard Allen Farmer, pianist, and composer led us in times of singing as well as summarizing in song form the material that had just been presented. A marvelous gift!
2. “Chase the Lion” by Dr. Mark Batterson based on 2 Samuel 23.
Mark is one of those gifted young pastors whom God is using to reach a different generation. He pastors the National Community Church in Washington, DC.
Mark yanked me back to Visalia with Isaiah 55: 9’s “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (This verse was Joe Diepersloot’s choice for his funeral.) Mark spoke about David’s Mighty Man Benaiah’s chasing a lion into its pit on slippery snow and killing it. Significant background to what happens with this son of Jehoiada. He spoke about a preacher’s “Hindsight Bias.” We know how the story ends before we read it. Maybe it’d be good to drop all previous knowledge and read it as a novice!
“Faith is a willingness to look foolish,” I Corinthians 1:27 style, with Jesus’ promise that the “Gates of Hell” will not prevail. He saw the gates as offensive, not defensive weapons, and challenged us to be on the offensive, realizing that our greatest sins are those of omission. We all have “Lions to Chase!” The challenge remains: “Which one is mine to chase?”
3. “You’re Special” by A.R. Bernard based on Jeremiah 1:4 was a sermon encouraging us to know that God deals with us in unique and special ways. Dr. Bernard pastors the Christian Cultural Center in New York which has 29,000 members.
“Promising to be brief, no matter how long it took,” he challenged us to realize how special preachers are in the divine plan of things and embrace our “Imago Dei.” We’re in the mind of God before our birth. He shared the story of his unwed mother’s journey to have him born and come to America. God knew us before He formed us. He concluded with, “If God did it for me—He’ll do it for you!” (We went back to our places to stay with some stuff to consider!)
4. “Culturally Relevant Preaching” by William Willimon who is the Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church as well as well-known author and speaker.
No matter what or where we preach, it’s about “Jesus who lived briefly, died violently, and rose unexpectedly.” At a Eucharist service, it’s obvious that we’re needy people when we open our hands to receive the wafer. It seems counter-cultural to be so open about our need. Our religion was never meant to be a private and personal matter. It has cosmic claims! After Luther, we’ve gone to no politics and having only a personal religion. Not Biblical at all!
After 9/11 we reached out to the Flag, not the Cross! MLK Jr. spoke out against the war in Vietnam because he was a Baptist, not as a political statement. Christ is on the throne! A living God can shake you, which is something that our own gods or idols cannot do. Willimon noted that our prayer requests are too tame, too oriented towards illnesses and aging infirmities. We’re too obsessed with health needs. “We’re dust, remember. We’ll return to dust, that’s it!”. When did we last pray for our enemies in church? We’re making church more boring than it should be!
Scripture has bigger game in mind than what we envision. Jesus’ definition of family is to upset them, not “10 Biblical Principles for a Happy Marriage.” The Lord commanded the disciples into the boat, and then was about the pass them by in the storm. He prioritized!
Willimon suggested:
- Misunderstanding is part of the game. Preachers will be misunderstood!
- Hymnody- We have too many songs unfaithful to the Trinity.
5. “To Preach or Not to Preach” by J. Alfred Smith who is the Senior Pastor at Allen Temple in Oakland, CA.
He spoke about Amos 7’s plumb line being put to the nation. The nation of Israel, much like America, is inclined to abuse its privileged position. He asked a rather relevant question that had us thinking, “Is the God of ‘God Bless America’ the same God as the‘ God who so loved the world’?” Amos addressed nationalism gone awry. Can preachers today do any less? We’ve mixed nationalism and religion, patriotism and Christianity. Separation is needed.
6. “Preaching and Public Square” by Charles Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship and author of a variety of significant books, including Being the Body and Essentials of Faith now being used by a Men’s Group at First Visalia.
He spoke about preaching as the fearful task that must not be undertaken unless led by God’s Holy Spirit. I appreciated his point on “belonging” to a local church, instead of “going.” Politics must not ever be the end all, and yet we’ve replaced truth all too often with therapy, as if that’ll do it.
He noted that people, believers, cannot seem to articulate their faith and as such, cannot defend their belief system or faith. Christianity is a faith based on the Logos, as in Jn 1:1. Jesus is the Truth and source of all energy and life. A. Kuyper’s one square inch thinking is still relevant. We have a “Cultural Commission!” Barna’s group shows 13 basic doctrines needed for all Christian faiths. J.I. Packer states that the need for the next decade is to “Catechize Our People!” One cannot defend what one doesn’t know! Yet, we’re also seen all too often as “Judgmental, Aloof, Hypocritical and Hemophobic” by the younger generation.
We need to know our faith and its history. Infanticide and Abortion have been with us for some time. We need to be ready to defend what we believe, including the Trinity as God’s way of revealing Himself to us. Our orthodox faith needs to stand on the shoulders of ancestors, to have a Kingdom perspective that calls for loving ahead of other matters, and then holding to the faith entrusted to us! We cannot win over those whom we first don’t love! Talk about method!
7. “One Pastor’s Approach to Preaching” by James Emery White, a previous plenary speaker.
He aims his messages at an average 35 year old guy! This is the way to reach most of the other listeners! That’s our men’s groups!
White shared his Culture topics, taken from Oprah and other newsmaking things/events. He does so conversationally, realizing that all are spiritual seekers who struggle with belief and doubt as well as disbelief. Need to realize when you (speaker) are losing your listeners. We need to address folks with the whole counsel of God, whether the needs are perceived by them or not.
Pastor/preachers need to remain informed by way of U-tube, videos, papers, periodicals and such. Get informed! Be a student of culture, the one where you live and that’s in you! Use titles that are hooks to people. Balance the horizontal issues with the vertical. Make sure to plan in advance and use visuals, the arts, the media etc. etc. Drama is 80’s & 90’s!
8. “Preaching the Politics of Jesus” by Will Willimon, also previously a plenary speaker.
The prophets of the Old Testament came mainly during the darker times in the history of Israel. They appear to come from nowhere, with little training. The prophetic mode was mainly in three types: 1. Judgment 2. Call to Repentance 3. Promise of New Life-Grace/Comfort. All areas of life were included in the prophet’s purview as he mixed it up with anyone or everyone.
Implications:
- Prophetic preaching happens when the Word is brought from a Sovereign God.
- Its purpose includes a production/formation of a community of truth tellers.
- Prophetic tended towards poetic/metamorphic with symbolic images.
- Prophetic worries about listening to God, not people. It’s not the “perceived” needs o the people but listening to the Word. (Pastors have turned to being listeners to the congregation and not God. We need to love God more than our congregation!)
- Prophetic preaching speaks because God speaks. There is a Word from the Lord!
9. “Growing Spiritually” by Rick Warren, Senior Pastor of Saddleback.
Rick shared his heart based on the words from Exodus 3. God asks Moses at the burning bush, “What’s in your hand?” He noted that God never asks a question to which He doesn’t know the answer already and He doesn’t do miracles for the sake of showing off. The staff that Moses held indicated his identity as it was determined by his vocation. He was a shepherd!
The 3 points became 1. Identity 2. Income 3. Influence God calls us all to surrender these to Him. After Moses followed God’s instructions, the staff became “The Rod of God.” We need to ask ourselves, “What’s in My Hand?” What of the 3 “I’s” do I have that can be used by God to accomplish His purposes? Psalm 72 and I Corinthians 9 speak of the need to give and share cheerfully what’s been entrusted to us. We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving! There’s a hurting world out there. “What’s in Your Hand?” What is your Identity, your Income and your Influence? Surrender them. God will use them.
10. “The God Who Reads” by Dr. Robert Smith, Professor of Preaching at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL.
This sermon was based on 2 Kings 18, 19 and Isaiah 37:14-20,36-38. It was a masterful presentation of a certain type of preaching, not heard often in our circles. Folks stood to respond and react as Dr. Smith proclaimed the truths of scripture. We must be careful he said, “Not to perpetuate proclamation of isolation.” God spoke in the public square as it was in 701 BC and we need to do the same, doing so in the language understood there. Make it idiomatically expressive and remember Paul’s use of examples recorded in Acts 17.
His challenge: “If you cannot say, ‘Thus says the Lord!” from scripture, you’ve already “resigned to preaching for profit.” Don’t be afraid to say what needs saying, speak God’s Word! We’re not as beautiful a people as we think we are. We glamorize the wrong things, we binge on food, and we don’t care about the hungry. Let the people hear God’s Word!
11. “The priority of Preaching” by Leslie Holmes, Senior Pastor of Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church in Lexington, SC.
Dr. Holmes spoke from Matthew 6:33 which is the verse that Shirley and I chose for our life verse when we got married. Holmes said that Mt. 6:33 was really the Lord’s life verse, such as Proverbs 3:5,6 also chosen by many. He built his message around the following:
- Priority—What drives you? If it’s not the Kingdom, then what?
- Purity—and its righteousness. We’re called to strive to God’s righteousness.
- Provision—all these things will be added, whether clothing or food. God will take care and we need not worry.
We are to be concerned in our preaching that we speak with an audience of One in mind!
12. “25 Things You Can’t Learn in School About Preaching” by James MacDonald, Founding and Senior Pastor at the Harvest Bible Chapel in Wheaton, IL.
Dr. MacDonald took this from a booklet that he’s written that spells it out better.
The Preacher:
1. Must come out of the preacher’s vital, personal relationship with Jesus.
2. Must be authentic-Be the same person in/out of the pulpit.
3. Means the preacher is in God’s word.
4. Must not preach if he’s not right with people.
5. Comes from reading broadly, both secular and religious writing.
The Truth:
6. Make no apology for the authority of God’s Word.
7. Remember that truth is intolerant
8. Do your job-Preach the Word!
9. What you preach determines who comes, not how many.
10. Power of preaching is in the balance of grace and truth.
The Sermon- (Remember, “A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.”)
11. Sermon preparation happens in stages
12. Preparation is hard work.
13. If stuck on something, don’t stay there, move on!
14. Craft your notes carefully to be consulted.
15. Finish what you start, no rabbit trails all over!
The Illustrations-
16. Observe life and write down your observations
17. See humor in things ie Simpson’s satire
18. Personal is all right, but not if to make you “look good.”
19. Learn to read people-see if they’re listening as you speak.
20. Insert “commercials” in longer messages, break the talk down….
The Message-
21. Get the Big Idea from the passage
22. Don’t preach your homework. Know your Greek etc, but don’t show it.
23. Bring applications clearly. It’s as important as interpretation.
24. Use different voices. Teachers make folks understand, Shepherds encourage. Prophets challenge. They deal with ignorance, discouragement and rebellion respectively.
25. Don’t bore people with the Bible-Make them want to read it!
13. “Hybrid Homeletics: the Art of Re-connecting Head and Heart in Biblical Preaching”by Dr. Robert Smith, plenary speaker previously.
In a masterful presentation, Dr. Smith gave valuable suggestions and discerning insights as he made it clear that he practices what he teaches in terms of appealing to head and heart. He emphasized the need to keep the balance of Word & Spirit. We don’t have one without the other! It’s a time of “Insipid Intellectualism (Big Headed) and Empty Emotionalism (Bad Hearted).” We need the Holy Spirit, who is really Jesus’ Public Relations Manager. His function is to point our listeners to Jesus.
If we always use the same style, “We’re dusting off plastic flowers instead of cultivating roses.” (Kuhn). Head and heart need to connect as we take seriously the genre from which we’re preaching. We can do so inductively or deductively. Truth known is truth felt and becomes truth done. Pastors are simply exegetical escorts who lead people into the Word, so that God’s Holy Spirit can transform the people. That’s not our task.
The action and attitude of the text must be maintained as pastors exegete both the text and the congregations. It’s a matter of a 3-fold message that’s proclamation, instruction, & encouragement or affirmation. He shared Sidney Greidanus’ 10 points on crafting the sermon.
14. “They Shoot Preachers, Don’t They?” by Timothy Warren, Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Based on the book of a similar title, Professor Warren talked about putting preachers out of their misery. Hardly necessary…or is it? He noted that we live in a time of “Functional Secularism.” Whereas in the 15th Century it was virtually impossible not to be believe in God, and in the 16th & 17th Century already possible not to believe, it’s now in the 20th Century almost impossible to believe in God. Our language betrays us, “Holy” days have become holidays and there’s little understanding about sacred/secular. Our oaths reflect the same.
The cultural elite consider religion either a delusion or dangerous. How do we respond? What does Deut. 6 mean in our culture? What do we pass truth on to our children? Teach and train is still the model, but are we letting the opportunities to do so slip away? “Example, example, and example?”
15. “Preaching in the Shadow of the Cross” by Michael Duduit, Editor of Preaching Magazine.
II Corinthians 1: 17-25 served as his text as he preached on the importance of our keeping the cross in focus. Corinth was a place that took delight in its intellectualism. We were reminded that there’s no success, no fulfillment outside of the cross. It’s not a matter of “Be like…Moses, Joshua, Peter….” which is a matter of doing things to get right, a form of work righteousness.
We need to be angered by sin and what it does to young people, families, communities and marriages. When we understand the cross and its passion, our worship and focus will be on issues that matter like abuse, racism, stewardship…..When preachers preach in the shadow of the cross, they’ll seek only an audience of One. He has nail-scarred hands and its those hands whose applause pastors much seek. Remember: “God wants me. God wants us….you!”
16. “The Postmodern Opportunity” by Greg Thornbury, Dean at the School of Christian Studies, Union University, Jackson, TN
Dr. Thornbury made it clear that he was up on his subject and at the top of his game. He looked like a high-schooler but spoke with insight and intuition. He defined postmodern as “an eclectic collection of ideas and attitudes about world views and their failures.” He noted that the 20th Century killed 100,000,000 people with its “modern scientific view.” He commented on the similarity to the Age of Reason as well as on Modernity and its failures.
Postmodernism is characterized by a skepticism and cynicism regarding reality and truth. There’s a suspicion of any meta-narrative and possibly it looks real, but…. It’s reflected in the nostalgia towards certain kitch clothing and mixes materialism and spirituality. At times there’s a hunger for a child-like faith, almost naiveté yet a hesitancy regarding any “easy” answers. There’s a flexibility of language with importance placed on community.
Some perspectives:
Postmodernism is reflected in movies like “No Country for Old Men,” “Dark Night,” and “Road to Perdition” which leave the viewer with moral ambivalence. Science appears to be able to do whatever it’s capable of doing, no moral or ethical boundaries. A moral vacuum.
Our response? Does it offer an opportunity for the gospel? The church needs to address human dignity and moral responsibility. The church must avoid simple solutions. They’ll walk away. There’s a need for creating community and the experiencing of fellowship. It’s really John 1:14’s incarnational theology that touches their reality. Ours is a religion-less time that calls for Bonhoeffer’s call for the church to be in the middle of the village and demonstrate that Jesus is Lord of the world. It’s “Christ in us, for us, and through us.”
Footnote:
The conference and interaction was a stimulating opportunity for me to reflect on what’s happening in the world of preaching, people and congregations. The challenges presented and the information provided helped me re-consider some long-held ideas. I was forced to ask, “What is my default position?” To what do I return in order to be comfortable? Is my mission one of proximity? Do I have friends who are not Christians and possibly caught up in postmodernism?
Can we have a “Cross-less Christianity?” “A Religion without Calvary?” Are we afraid to talk about what needs addressing? Is there an elephant in our church?
I’m thankful to the Council and congregation for the opportunity to attend and participate in such a conference. I was the only Christian Reformed pastor/preacher in attendance. It was a wonderful mix of people from a great variety of churches and traditions. Please feel free to inter-act and let me know if my reporting all this is helpful. Thank you.
Pastor George Vink
Questions:
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