I think there are two really, really basic mistakes you don’t want to make if you are an expository preacher. Yet the crazy thing is, I’m convinced these are two of the most common mistakes preachers make.
The first mistake is not to carefully exposit the passage you are preaching.
Exposit is not too hard a word to understand. When it comes to preaching we can say it means to expose people to the meaning of the text.
Not merely the words of the text, not merely the grammar of the text, not merely the setting of the text, the meaning of the text. (As the author intended it…) When we say we’re expository preachers that’s a big part of what we’re saying we’re trying to do.
That’s sometimes difficult to do but the idea itself is not that complicated. If I stood up to teach on the boy who cried wolf and I said my goal was to help people understand what it means, I would be lying if I said the point was about how to herd sheep. I’d be foolish if I spent all this time on wolves and the different kinds of wolves and what you should do if you see a wolf because that’s not the point of the text. I mean if I am going to do that I should at the very least not say that I’m expositing the story because I’ll give people the impression that I’m actually trying to help understand the story when in reality I’m just interested in using the story to say what I wanted to say in the first place.
The second mistake though is just as common and that is not to preach the passage you are expositing.
Now I’m getting on a little shakier ground. But hear me out. Again you just can go back to the word itself.
Preaching at the very least is communication. It’s more than that I’m sure, but it is that. It is taking a truth that you’ve learned from studying the text and finding a way to communicate it to other people so that they can understand that truth and change in the way God wants them to as a result.
I guess what I’m saying there are people who when they are preaching, you just wonder whether or not they have any concern about the text. They are not expositors. There are other people though who when they are expositing, you wonder whether or not they have any concern about communicating. Are they preachers?
Is it possible to be a preacher and not be passionate about effectively communicating the truth of God’s Word? To get more specific, is it possible to be passionate about effectively communicating the truth of God’s Word without a concern for God’s Word or a concern for the people you are communicating the truth to?
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
November 14, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Pat Howell
Well said! We generally err on one or the other side. Too much technical data (not theological truth mind you, but exegetical data), or too much exhortation without a solid foundation of truth. The old adage about preaching applies, “too much heat, and not enough light.” But for some it is “too much data, and not enough light—and no heat.”
After 11 years of preaching labs at TMS one of the axioms I attempted to drive home was—and is—”TEXT BEFORE TOPIC.” Too many in pulpits think (to the detriment of their ministry and the growth of their people), that expository preaching is off-loading exegetical data. People should listen “because it’s the truth.” Never mind that the preacher is boring people beyond measure. Lamentably, this failure as a preacher is often excused by the dismissive comment that “…they don’t want the Word.” Boring people with the Word of God is inexcusable for the man who occupies a pulpit every week. Genuine expository preaching is not boring.
So, unpack the text…not the technical data, but its meaning. If something needs technical support or explanation, keep it concise. If it is theologically critical, keep the degree of explanation commensurate with the importance of the topic. Keep the level of your explanation at that of your peoples understanding. Sure, aim high. But do not overshoot the target altogether. But please, by all means unpack the text.
Use an outline that faithfully captures and represents what the text is saying. I have found that preachers who cannot outline a text cannot really understand and communicate its message. (Moreover, many would agree that this is a critical element in effective, edifying preaching).
Having first understood the text himself and communicated its meaning, the preacher may exhort, edify, and comfort, on a foundation of truth that people understand—and understand in its proper context. I believe many people in churches are frustrated because they are regularly exhorted to be/do something, but they have no real, working understanding of how to be or do what Scripture requires. The purpose of knowledge is conduct—not theological volleyball—but that is another matter.
We need preachers who will deliver their soul when they preach. Solid, edifying, Biblical truth, delivered through a sanctified man, with sanctified passion will ignite the church. So, by whatever means of personality and giftedness God has entrusted to you—by all means, stand and deliver—or please, sit down.
May your tribe increase.
pjh
February 9, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Scott
How many a preacher (including myself) needs to be reminded of these things daily. How easy it is to turn to our flesh instead of staying in the text. Thank you for this reminder.