Preaching in View of a Call

October 21, 2011 — 0 Comments

This weekend, I will preach in view of a call at a local church. That means that after I preach, this church will vote on whether or not to offer me the position of Senior Pastor. (Ed Stetzer has a great post explaining the process here.)

So I preach. Then they vote.

No pressure.

It’s not that everything is riding on the quality of my sermon (after all, I’m a fervent believer in the sovereignty of God and that He will place me in the church where He wills), but it would be silly to say that it’s unimportant.

So what do you preach on when preaching in view of a call?

First, let me admit that I’ve only done this once before. And even though I used a different text then, the main idea is the same.

Did I just use a poker hand to describe preaching? Yes. Yes I did.

I think you need to lay your theological cards on the table when you preach in view of a call.

I think you have the responsibility of making it crystal clear what you’re about, and what you believe the church will be about should they extend that call to you.

That means that you can’t take shortcuts and just preach your favorite, most recent sermon. Instead, you need to be diligent enough to search your Bible, search your heart, and search God’s will for the church.

Anything less creates confusion and develops a lack of trust down the road.

The goal at this point is not to slide under their radar, but to confirm whether or not God is calling you to serve this church. Part of that process is determining a common theological framework.

Don’t pretend to be strong on a point that you’re apathetic about. And don’t pretend to be flexible on a point that you have strong convictions about.

No one should have to “smoke out” what you really believe.

Be so clear in your convictions that they have something to vote on other than your nice smile, funny story, and cute children.

I think to do anything less is to do the church, your family, and, most importantly, your Savior a disservice.

What would you suggest someone preach about “in view of a call?”

image via flickr:racketeers

In church, preaching

What is your biggest preaching goof?

September 23, 2011 — 0 Comments

Matt Chandler, Mark Dever, and James McDonald share their biggest preaching goofs.

What’s yours?

via TGC

In preaching

What Should I Preach in my First Year

September 7, 2011 — 0 Comments

The first sermons in all of Texas!!!

There are numerous theories as to what exactly you should preach on during your first year at a church. This will set the tone for your ministry there and will give the most consistent insight into your personality and passions than anything else during your first year. So what should you preach?

Check out my contributing post at RookePastor.com

(image via flickr: crazysanman.history)

In preaching

How to Speak More Good

September 1, 2011 — 0 Comments

Why would someone spend years in seminary learning to preach when you could just learn to speak more good – like Kristen Stewart!

HT: DP

In preaching

What’s your thing?

August 4, 2011 — 0 Comments

Don Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper discuss.

I love that Tim Keller admits his need for guys like Piper and guys like Carson who force him to examine his own methods and manners in his interpretation of the Scriptures.

This video is the fourth installment of a conversation. You can see the preceding videos here, here, and here.

In preaching

Should a pastor spend more time on the text or the cultural context?

August 3, 2011 — 0 Comments

Don Carson, Tim Keller, and John Piper discuss hermeneutics.

There’s a lot of wisdom sitting at that table, but my favorite part may be Tim Keller’s long sigh about 2 minutes in.

In preaching, theology

From Seminary to the Pulpit

July 22, 2011 — 0 Comments

John Piper, Don Carson, and Tim Keller discuss the importance of moving from discussing Biblical interpretation to actually interpreting the Bible.

In preaching, seminary

Who applies Scripture in the sermon?

June 15, 2011 — 0 Comments

Jonathan Leeman:

The language application works when we regard words as little vessels of information that sail from one brain to another through the act of speaking. Give me data that I don’t have, and I will apply it. Notice the emphasis is on the preacher and the listener’s activity. It’s all on the human half of the equation. The preacher applies the text, and the listener applies it to his life. It also treats the human problem as one of ignorance.

But there’s more happening than just this. God has invested Himself in His Word. And God acts through His Word. In the Bible, God encounters us, and He changes us. Ignorance is indeed one of our problems, but even worse is the stiff neck and puffed-out chest of our self-rule. God gives us new information in the Scriptures, but He also confronts us with His crown. He confronts our idols and false gods. He confronts our pride and fear. He confronts our pain and weakness. He confronts our autonomy and impulse to self-help. He confronts the lies and false realities that we dearly love. Most fundamentally, He confronts our self rule.

And then – amazing grace! – He breaks that self rule. I was blind, but now I see.

God does all this when we pick up His Word to read it by ourselves. He also does this through the Sunday preacher.

No other medium of communication works quite like this.

Reverberation

In preaching

What are we relying on to build our churches?

June 14, 2011 — 0 Comments

Jonathan Leeman:

Church leaders get caught up in all kinds of power for building their churches: the power of ethnic and cultural affinity, the power of entertainment, the power of rhetoric and humor, the power of good organizational principles, and so much more. But does any power in the universe match God’s power to breathe our worlds or dismiss death simply with words? “Let there be light!” and “Lazarus, come forth!”? No; there is nothing like it. Yet this same power is available to the preacher through God’s Word. This is why people get converted when listening to anonymous radio broadcasts, or even listening to hypocritical preachers who preach “in pretence” (Phil. 1:18). Relying on anything else indicates a dramatic failure to recognize how radically new the new creation is.

Reverberation

In preaching

Deep or Muddy?

June 9, 2011 — 0 Comments

I don’t deny that Rick Warren and the Purpose-Driven philosophy of ministry had an incredible impact on my life and ministry. I wouldn’t be the man, Christian, or pastor I am today apart from it’s influence.

And yet today, I would place the ministry of John Piper in an even higher esteem. His books, sermons, and teachings have greatly influenced me theologically and opened entirely new depths of doctrine for me to explore.

In this clip, Piper asks Warren to clarify the importance of doctrine, and Warren describes the difference between being “deep” and “muddy.”

My question is not, “Who do you like more; Piper or Warren?” but instead is to consider where the delineation is between being “deep or muddy?” Is it as simple as Warren says? Or is there more to it than that? Do words matter? Would we say that it’s acceptable to teach 12 weeks on the incarnation without ever using the word?

Let’s hear it.

In preaching
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