My assumption in this list is a culture that values the preaching of scripture very highly. This of course should not be assumed at all! There are actually worse crimes than these that include doing violence to the text of scripture, or ignoring it altogether, or waffling and calling it 'spirit-led'.
1. Merely 'explaining/teaching the Bible' and not preaching the living Word of God. (I think we should ban the phrase 'we are now going to hear the Bible explained'. I don't need it explained. I need it preached.)
2. Introducing us to the text and not to the issue addressed by the text.
3. Providing overelaborate explanations of the biblical-theological background to no great end.
4. Moralising from the Old Testament.
5. Reading every OT text immediately in terms of Christology without regard to its own particular context and meaning and purpose.
6. Speaking down to the congregation; assuming we are simpletons and do not read or think for ourselves. That our questions just need better information in order to answer them.
7. Getting Penal Substitution (or whatever the hot-button issue is for your church!) from every single text.
8. Illustrations that confuse more than illuminate. That's...most of 'em.
9. Never referring to self and own Christian faith in sermon. (Of course, the opposite is worse: using the pulpit for autobiographical purposes. Yuck.)
10. Making ill-informed generalisations about culture/sociology from a knee-jerk conservative standpoint.
11. (sorry) Pop-psychologising.
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12. Full clerical regalia during an Australian summer.
Oh, wait, not that sort of habit...
12. Preaching as if last week never existed.
Not stopping when you reach the end.
Michael that's just about the best and most refreshing list I've ever read about preaching - and from a Sydney Anglican! well I never ;)
Can I just maybe balance out point 4 by adding in:
13. Never ever teaching any sort of moral or ethical content from the OT because we're too busy finding Jesus.
Trying to fit in that cute story even tho it has no relevance to the texts -- a story in search of a sermon my homiletics prof calls it.
Two good posts on preaching recently. Thanks!
On Point One, there is a lot of helpful material in Iain Murray's recent book 'Messenger of Grace.' The first half of it is a critique of Martin Lloyd Jone's preaching ministry. There is lots of fresh material in it, including three or four pages of notes Iain took from a session MLJ taught on the problems with preaching. It is devastating as a critique of much modern Anglican evangelical preaching. Thankfully he tells us what to do about it...
Superb! I can identify with every one!
For 20 years I made many of these mistakes (I used to serve as a Methodist presbyter for most of my ministry)... Then for some years I helped others to try and avoid them (I used to be the Dean of the Methodist Seminary in Southern Africa)...
Now, however, I am just a 'simple Church member' who constantly feels condescended. I sometimes wonder if the preachers I listen to have any idea of the struggles that we face, and the kind of challenge, comfort and encouragement we require to fulfill our discipleship of Christ in the world?
A great post! Thanks!
Great list. To agree with #9, I want to hear, at least in part, how a preacher struggles with the text in terms of her own faith and what is happening in the world today. However, I would add:
12. A sermon lifted off the front page or op ed section of the NY Times (or whatever major newspaper is in your area).
Michael,
On an unrelated matter, I just found your "Thirty-Nine" blog and it is most interesting. Might I ask: do you have any plans to add any more posts soon?
I'll explore this blog too!
Thanks Michael, these are great!
If we put into practice 1, 3, 4 and 5, how do we preach the OT?
I must admit that I've rather enjoyed Driscoll's OT moralising. But I'm happy to hear if there is a better way.
Can't stand it when preacher's do #10.
Could of course also be based on a knee-jerk liberal standpoint too.
Amen! I can't stand the waffling that gets described as 'Spirit led'. God ain't no rambler but always speaks with clarity. He burns bushes but doesn't beat about them :)
What do you think when preachers don't just do pop-psychology? What about psychologizing that's better than Pop? Tim Keller here in NYC does a little of that through the CCEF grid. Are you in favour of that kind of thing?
I guess it can be done badly, but I like preachers to have the courage to do social analysis. Mark Dever and MJ's uncle do that pretty well, imo.
Of course, those who just say variations on "Oh, society is just so terrible these days..." aren't much use...
What does "Moralising from the Old Testament" mean?
Tim I take it that moralising is treating the OT as if it's full or stories that have a moral story to them for all to apply, much like Aesop's Fables.
It's usually a simplistic message that gets pulled out of a story, like taking the story of Samson and Delilah and saying "God's showing us that we need to choose our girlfriends wisely".
Outstanding list. We would all do well to consider each of these.
re 11. (sorry) Pop-psychologising. , that's ok. i enjoyed it.
re waffling and calling it 'spirit-led', an amusing anecdote: the librarian at MTC had her pastor turn up with a half-written sermon, and said the second half would have be left up to the spirit.
The sermon feedback was that the spirit must have been having one of his rare off-days, coz the second half was crap.
"The sermon feedback was that the spirit must have been having one of his rare off-days, coz the second half was crap."
ROFL! Thanks, Psychodougie. That was awesome.
These are very helpful observations, Michael. A particular amen to 1 and 7-8, and 10-11. I'm probably guilty of 3 and 5 a little too much. I do agree with Stephen's point 13, though: we mustn't miss the ethical content of the OT. We're not dispensationalists, after all. Why 9?
Well I thought I had already kinda covered Stephen's point (with which I agree). Calvin is interesting on this... he always tried to let the OT text speak on its own terms, and didn't allow himself indulgent Christological short cuts...
Interesting that you are not getting much push back from this. Everyone basically agrees...
(Unless they are hiding).
Justin I think many of us are so used to listening to the type of preaching that Michael is critiquing that all he's going to get in this comment stream are 'amens!'
Perhaps this post serves to point out where our preaching is at in the evangelical anglican world and where many of us desire it to be.
A good question to ask would be: How do we go about changing the situation? Obviously we can monitor our own preaching but I personally think that there are bigger over-arching structures presently in place that will ultimately ensure that our preaching will be lacking in the ways Michael has pointed out (I'm thinking of apprenticeship programmes and certain preaching schools). What do you guys think?
Well it would be good to challenge those who are in charge of the preaching schools as to why we feel their models are lacking in the ways they are. I'd be interested in the responses. Partly, I think it is because there is an emphasis on technique and not on preparing the person. Can a preaching school ever deliver what it promises?
Hi Michael,
Yesterday I read your list thinking 'amen!' at each point, and then as it happens a few hours later read this poem by George Herbert:
Judge not the preacher; for he is thy judge:
If thou mislike him, thou conceiv'st him not.
God calleth preaching folly. Do not grudge
To pick out treasures from an earthen pot.
The worst speak something good: if all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.
No desire here to throw a wet blanket, but I personally found this a helpful rebuke to my tendency to be quicker to notice things that annoy me about preachers than things I can learn from them. (or at least from the text they preach from!)
Oh, I know: it is very easy to write a negative list, and in a way it is an easier sell. Bad news is easier than good news...
Can't wait to hear uncle preach at Australia day, Mikey. I'm sure he'll tell us what good folk we are.
I like it - not much to disagree with really
maybe related to 1 .
not actually summoning people to repentance and faith
Hi Nice Blog . I don't really know a lot about Knee or art, but that's just my 2 cents. Really great job though, Krudman! Keep up the good work!
Man, you'd hate the preaching at my church with a list like this...
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