Confessions on the Real Power in Preaching

Somebody said to me recently that the church has the most eloquent speakers in North America.  I'd never thought about that before.

It might be true, though.  If you listen to even a sampling of preaching podcasts and compare them to the speeches made by business leaders or politicians, you could make a strong argument that the church has better orators than the marketplace. 

Which raises a deeper question: why isn't the church as a whole growing or advancing?  If oratory skills alone wowed people and changed lives, why aren't most churches growing? And if your church is growing, is it growing for the right reasons?

That got me thinking about my own preaching.  Like most preachers, I want to be the best communicator I can be. So I solicit feedback on my talks: what worked, what didn't?  I listen to other preachers to grow spiritually and to shape my preaching. Once a month or so (although it's never a comfortable thing), I'll watch my own sermons and try to learn and grow. 

But if I'm not careful, what I'll try to do is to become a better speaker or try to come up with clearer outlines, structure and metaphors.  As I was thinking about this again over the weekend, the irony hit me: that's not what the Bible says changes lives.

About 1,950 years ago, there was a tension of sorts between two preachers.  One was a brilliant orator.  The second preacher wasn't much of a public speaker at all.  But the second preacher made the argument that it's not clever speeches that change lives - it's Christ and Christ crucified.  The first preacher was named Apollos.  The second we know better as the Apostle Paul.  Paul, a poor public speaker by his own admission and unimpressive to others , said that the real power in preaching comes by the Spirit of God. 

This week, I'm going to be personally reflecting/praying over the power of God as revealed in preaching.  If it's primarily how God uses preaching, I want to focus more on that.  If I'm not intentional in focusing on that, I'd probably just focus on speaking more clearly and convincingly.  (Not entirely wise.)  I'd love to hear from preachers/communicators on how you approach that.

Second, I'd love to hear from people who have been impacted by preaching.  How did 'the power of God' come alive in preaching for you?  In what ways have you experienced the demonstration of God's power in preaching apart from eloquence?

Comments

[Kathy]

For the most part of my adult life I have attended many churches and listened to a LOT of preaching. For me, God's power comes alive in simple, clear examples of how God wants us to live and walk with Jesus every day. Carey, you have a gift that delivers this. It is God's gift to you. If it takes eloquence to keep preaching solid, clear, biblical messages that teach us how we can become better Christians, I say go for it.

[Pat]

I think the best thing for me has been when preaching becomes practical. Just this past week I was listening to Andy's message on 5 ways God grows our faith. #1 was Practical Teaching. Later in the series he taught that another was spiritual disciplines. At the end of that message, he told people to simply pray every day for 30 days, and see what God begins to do. I'd been issued these challenges before but the way he framed it made so much more sense. So I've been following it, and it's been awesome some of the stuff that's been happening since. Not all of it is necessarily great, some of it has been tough, but it's been a way for God to show his faithfulness. I've never had that through reading my bible and praying before.

[Dave]

I really struggle with the whole paradigm of preaching. First the disclaimer: I haven't attended seminary and I have very little knowledge about church history, so what I "know" may be very shallow. That said, I see Sunday morning preaching as mostly "preaching to the choir". It's mostly preaching to a converted audience. What I see in the N.T. is preachers primarily preaching to an un-converted audience. The early church was devoted to the apostles' teaching, but I'm not sure we can equate that to a preaching venue. To me, the two are very different. I think churches, even churches with great speakers (even though there are certainly exceptions) aren't growing because of a lack of internalized teaching - deep discussion (not one way communication) about Jesus and the big story of God. I think preaching may be a great conversion tool, but not a great discipleship tool. Again - Jesus seemed to do most of his discipling in smaller conversations. I really think churches need to rethink when they use preaching and teaching. It would certainly change the way the local church looks, and the way our traditional pastoring works.

[Richard]

I have been attending church for many years and have listened to many sermons and have always found that when I sense a deep conviction from the pastor I get way more out of his message. You can tell as soon as someone starts their message if they have spent time in prayer and listened to God's voice. I'm not interested in fancy words or deep theological terms. I just want to hear the truth that Jesus wants us to hear.

[Rebekah]

I was taught by my Mom that every time you enters a worship service, God has something to say to you. (Not that God doesn't speak at other times, mind you...but she taught me this as a way of helping me to understand why I needed to listen during the sermon.) I admit, there have been times in my life when I've been in church thinking "God, why do I have to listen to THIS!?" Bad preaching is a pet peeve of mine.

On the other hand, there have been times where I sat in church (or, in recent times, in front of my computer) in tears because of the beauty of what God was communitcating to me through a preacher. Without a doubt - every time that happens it's because I am convinced that the person I am listening to believes what they are preaching, and can communicate it in ways that are accessible. Passion helps, too. :)

From a preacher's perspective, I understand the concern of being too focussed on one's ability to communicate and not enough on the fact that God is the one who changes lives. I will say that in my denomination we need more communicators, better speakers. Ultimately I know that whatever I say on Sunday morning, if anything exciting is going to happen at all, it's because God is at work, not because I've got the best sermon going. I want to speak clearly and convincingly, but I want God to speak through me so much more clearly and convincingly. That's where prayer enters into it for me: to be continually saying to God - Father, do what YOU will through what I've said.

Cheers,
R.

[Laurie]

In listening to the last talk on forgiveness, God somehow emphasized the comment you made that his mercies are new every morning. It hit me how great his ability and heart-felt desire is to forgive us. I wanted to shout - that's the love of God!! that is what changes us!! I have walked into a service and felt His presence even before the music started. I do think prayer and heart-felt searching for ways to communicate God's message are what is used to speak into people's lives. I read Isaiah 58 today. What a guideline for living His way.

[Dianne Hibrant]

Preachers must have a definite call from God and His anointing on their ministry. Then God ensures that His Word will be effective in those who are listening. Even the location is not that important. For example Carey, the responses to your preaching at the previous church amwazed us so much. Now we are in the theatres and the preaching is just as blessed as before. When God decides to anoint and use you He brings it about. It is about His Spirit taking His Word and making it alive through you. Humble dependence on God and being led by the Spirit of God makes ministry fruitful.
I thanks God for your willingness to be used by God. Keep up your relationship with Him and He will bless!
Dianne