Value is attributed to particular items because they possess in of themselves a set worth. The establishment of pioneer trade was superseded by the development of artificial money which found its currency through the possession of gold. Though the representation of gold no longer is an undergirding basis for the publication of paper money, the set value of a particular dollar amount is attributed through the respective economical system.
Likewise, the importance of the pulpit is not, fundamentally, rendered through the instrumental means of the preacher. The value of the sermon is not indicative of the educational background of the clergyman nor his intellectual gifting. Preaching, like I have tried to convey to my fellow ministers, is not necessarily built upon the art of rhetoric or an extravagant presentation, but rather in the nature of the Word.
Preaching . . . is not necessarily built upon the art of rhetoric or an extravagant presentation, but rather in the nature of the Word.
The value of the sermon in the congregational gathering of the saints is mounted upon the fact that the church seeks to posture themselves in a manner of humility to hear the voice of God. The preacher is merely the conduit to which God uses to proclaim the Word of God via Scripture. Through the proclamation of the Word the Spirit does the work of illumination in bringing forth understanding and transformation—individually and corporately. The Word, as Louis Berkhof states, is not "only the principium cognoscendi of theology, but it is also the means which the Holy Spirit employs for the extension of the Church and for the edification and nourishment of the saints. It is pre-eminently the word of God's grace, and therefore also the most important means of grace."1 The exercise of preaching is not merely public speaking, but a supernatural engagement in hearing from the Lord and moving in obedience for His Name sake.
Theology Matters:
Most pulpits within the scope of evangelicalism, and for my particular context the Hmong District of the C&MA, do not move past the rhetorical component of a lecture. Most "sermons" are an attempt to convey information or, at best, mimic Ted Talks.
The fundamental reason for such a lack of proclamation is grounded, through my estimation, in the absence of doctrinal conviction. Conviction is built upon observing truth and allowing that truth through the power of the Spirit to penetrate the heart and bleed onto the canvas of every day life. Before it can become methodology (ex. preaching style, presentation, rhetoric, etc.) it must first be a flame within the belly of the preacher which has been produced through the supernatural commitment to the Scriptures. The Bible is not merely ancient literature, but the very words of God.
Conviction is built upon observing truth and allowing that truth through the power of the Spirit to penetrate the heart and bleed into the canvas of every day life.
Discovering the Distinction Between Sermon and Lecture:
I have heard Christians compliment preachers by saying, "Thanks for giving the Word of God." Not that I want to burst anyone's bubble, but I have come to question such a statement. What constitutes as giving the Word of God? By what standard are we measuring the giving of the Word?Early on in my ministry career I was hesitant to voice my concerns, but the more I sat through stretches of attempted stand-up comedy or cultural lectures the more I am concerned that our understanding of preaching has fallen to the wayside. If it goes unchecked we will produce a generation ignorant of the beauty of Gospel proclamation.
The Reformers understood the centrality of the Word; hence Sola Scriptura. They embodied not merely the conceptual component to that tag line, but personified the reality of it through the exposition of the text. John Calvin writes in his institutes, "We must come, I say, to the Word, where God is truly and vividly described to us from His works, while these very works are appraised not by our depraved judgement but by the rule of eternal truth."2 The Word in our preaching can not merely be proof-texted in order to affirm one's disposition, but rather should be the central basis of our thought pattern.
The Word in our preaching can not merely be proof-texted in order to affirm one's disposition, but rather should be the central basis of our thought pattern.
Listed below are a few thoughts in distinguishing between a sermon and a lecture.
Stick to the Text:
I was appreciative of Mark Driscoll's statement prior to his lecture at the Resurgence Conference in 2013 (available on YouTube: click here). He was adamant in communicating that what he was about to do was lecture and not preach. He went on to give statistical analysis and content in regards to the sociological shift of American culture in light of Christianity. Again, what he did was give a lecture; not preach.
The central tenants of preaching is not conveying one's research material, but rather the proclaiming of God's Word to the life of the saints. Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth" (Jn. 17:17). "In the pulpit," according to Brian Chapell, "we are expositors, not authors. Sermons explain what the Bible says."3 To feed the sheep we must give them life, and the life we give them is through the Word. This notion is reaffirmed by Timothy Keller when he says, "If, however, you believe that the preaching of the Word is one of the main channels for God's action in the world, then with great care and confidence you will uncover the meaning of the text, fully expecting that God's Spirit will act in listeners' lives."4
Proclaiming News:
In the art of preaching and teaching there are overlapping components. To some, preaching and teaching can be held conceptually as synonymous. If one preaches he teaches, and if he teaches he preaches. Yet, with further analysis one can begin to see that there are direct distinctions between the two.Teaching, which finds itself within the realm of preaching, is conveying, according to Lawrence O. Richards and Gary J. Bredfeldt, information in an orderly and structural format that allows the learner to engage in meaning.5 The art of teaching has as its core the transferring of information from one individual to the next.
Preaching, on the other hand, is proclaiming news. According to John Piper "preaching could be defined as the heralding of good news from a messenger sent by God."6 Preaching is not merely relaying information, but rather heralding a state of truth or proclaiming a reality. Teaching can fall under preaching, but only in service to the heralding of truth from God to the world.
We must be careful because in our pulpits we may be relaying information, but we may not always be heralding Good News.
We must be careful because in our pulpits we may be relaying information, but we may not always be heralding Good News.
Christ Centered:
If preaching is fundamentally the proclamation of the Word, then centering within His Word is the work and Person of Jesus Christ. Much of our preaching can be centered upon morality, cultural etiquette, or intellectual jargon; but if it lacks Christ we have not preached a sermon; we have merely given a lecture. Piper urges us in saying that "the cross becomes the ground of the objective validity of preaching and the ground of the subjective humility of preaching."7
Preachers must give their people Christ. If Paul is true (which I believe he is), "faith comes through hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17), the preacher must not only exposit the text but proclaim the truths of God's Word in revealing the majesty and grander of Christ Jesus Himself. Without the proclamation of Christ the preacher is not preaching but lecturing.
The Value of the Pulpit is Found in God:
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*footnotes
1. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Louisville: GLH Publishing, 2017), 521.
2. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Volume 1. ed. John T. McNeil (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006), 73.
3. Brian Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 59.
4. Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Viking, 2015), 35.
5. Lawrence O. Richards and Gary J. Bredfeldt, Creative Bible Teaching (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998), 115.
6. John Piper, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 2000), 22.
7. Ibid., 29.
8. John M. Frame, The Doctrine of the Word of God (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2010), 50.
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McYoung Yang (M. Div, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the husband of Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (8), McCoy (7), McColsen (5), and DeYoung (1). He has recently accepted the position of Associate Professor of Theology at Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN and will begin teaching in the Fall of 2017. He is currently serving as a Youth Counsel member of the Youth Ministry of the Hmong District in the C&MA. He hopes to use his training and platform as a means to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens. McYoung enjoys reading/writing, sports, and playing with his children.
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