Dad and I had a conversation this past week about the depth in Sunday morning preaching. Many churches in the current church growth movement are growing their churches by leaps and bounds, and their philosophy for Sunday morning growth is "keep it simple." That is, the depth of the preaching and teaching is at a basic, elementary level, requiring very little knowledge on the part of the hearers. This is much easier on the ears of people who are coming into churches for the first time, and don't know much about the Christian faith. Fair enough.
But what happens in a few years, when those new believers are ready to move on to deeper things? The reality will be that the preaching will never get deeper, and maturing believers will find themselves in need of deeper teaching and preaching, and Sunday morning is no longer the place to find it. One statistic would tell us that the majority of new Christians, after 4 or 5 years of attending any given church, will find themselves dissatisfied with the depth of preaching and teaching in their church.
Now lets swing to the other end of the spectrum. I watched a show one time featuring a church in California, where the teaching pastor was a woman with a Ph. D. She tore apart Romans 12:1, dove into the original Greek, then began comparing several early manuscripts in various languages (Latin, Aramaic, etc.), breaking down the etymology of this trademark passage in Romans. She was surrounded by huge marker boards that she was writing all over, writing in ancient languages I had never heard of and comparing them, making observations and such. My head was swelling as I listened to her "lecture" (couldn't really call it much of a sermon, I didn't understand most of what she was talking about). It was fun to listen to, and at the end of her lecture, the congregation applauded, and the program was over. As the credits rolled, I began to ask myself "was there any edifying spiritual depth to that message?" It may have been a fascinating lecture for someone who studied ancient semitic languages, but for the average layman walking into their congregation, or even many seasoned believers, it would have been pure jibberish, totally over their heads. Kind of a extreme case, but I wonder how a new believer can survive under the deep teaching of a pastor who assumes that his listeners have a sufficient knowledge of the bible.
So I'm asking myself... is there a happy medium? Put another way, what is the responsibility of a church to go deep in their instruction, whether from the pulpit or the teaching lectern? How deep should they go? If your messages are often profound and deep, for the purpose of feeding the mature crowd, you may lose your young believers. If you keep it simple, your mature believers will get bored and restless. Is there a level or depth of preaching and teaching that is appropriate for all stages of spiritual maturity?
I will throw in one bit of observation. Someone made the comment the other day that, sometimes, "mature" believers who are complaining about not being fed are those who, by this time, should be able to feed themselves (Hebrews 5:12-13) and others as well. On the other hand, if there is a two-year roll over rate in the level of instruction that a church puts out, having little or no emphasis on teaching growing believers the deep things of God, His attributes, and biblical doctrine, it will be a church of shallow believers which will fall for every wind of teaching that comes their way, with little ability to discern or to teach others rightly. This can produce an entire generation of ill-equipped believers who will only pass on what little they have learned to the next generation, producing perpetual stunted growth, and good soil for false doctrine and weak Christianity. This being said, a church ought to be a place and an atmosphere that is accommodating to those new, incoming believers who are in need of instruction, while at the same time, being exposed to mature faith of seasoned believers who are building one another up, and growing on their own and with others.
What do you think?
(I posted this on facebook as well, go see the discussion)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
May 8, 2009 - Desiring Repentance
I think the heart that is truly set toward the kingdom of God and the things of God will truly desire repentance.The heart that is merely suffering from the sorrow of this world will ache only because his sin has caused so much pain, but the thought of repentance is repulsive, because it requires so much commitment to not only principles, but a person, God.
But one who longs for closer fellowship with God - someone who is truly one of those of whom Jesus spoke, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – will desire to be rid of all sinful desires which they often fall prey to, because they know it severs a closer walk with God. They desire more than anything to tighten that bond, and in order to come closer to God, His truly called disciple will go to any length to break ties with the sin that so easily besets him.
You can always tell the ones that are only in it for the fringe benefits (i.e. heaven and not judgment, forgiveness of sins, etc.) but have very little desire to actually know God. Those are the ones who are Sunday morning socialites, but who roll their eyes at talk of holiness and repentance, as if though they were such distasteful topics. Indeed, there is nothing enjoyable about the prospect of a man or woman saying: “Wow, I truly suck! From the very core of my being, I am filled to the brim with selfishness and self-righteousness!” and then beginning the work of daily walking in the light, searching their own heart as God reveals to them their sin, and confessing it, repenting it, handing it over to God, not as another exhibit of evidence for condemnation, but as a wounded man yielding his scorched hand to a doctor to heal it, though the pain of the healing procedure is bound to be wretchedly painful.
I have lived long enough in and around Sunday socialite-ism, and it is, quite honestly, the most shallow way I know how to live, far more shallow even than to live as an honest atheist (I must admit that I have yet to really find one of these, either). One of the key features of this kind of fake religion is a love for the things of the world, but having been exposed to just enough (powerless) religion to appear to have been inoculated by it, while still clinging to those idols which God despises. Take to heart the query of Leonard Ravenhill, “has the world been crucified to you, or does it still fascinate you?” A heaven without God, then, may be closer to your liking. But you will not find one. Not in this universe.
The heart that desires fellowship God more than any other will be the heart that yearns for repentance, however painful it will be. It abhors those worldly things which so easily stand between the man and his God, and he will do whatever he can – sever a limb, if need be – in order to reach his goal.
Pass the scalpel.
But one who longs for closer fellowship with God - someone who is truly one of those of whom Jesus spoke, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – will desire to be rid of all sinful desires which they often fall prey to, because they know it severs a closer walk with God. They desire more than anything to tighten that bond, and in order to come closer to God, His truly called disciple will go to any length to break ties with the sin that so easily besets him.
You can always tell the ones that are only in it for the fringe benefits (i.e. heaven and not judgment, forgiveness of sins, etc.) but have very little desire to actually know God. Those are the ones who are Sunday morning socialites, but who roll their eyes at talk of holiness and repentance, as if though they were such distasteful topics. Indeed, there is nothing enjoyable about the prospect of a man or woman saying: “Wow, I truly suck! From the very core of my being, I am filled to the brim with selfishness and self-righteousness!” and then beginning the work of daily walking in the light, searching their own heart as God reveals to them their sin, and confessing it, repenting it, handing it over to God, not as another exhibit of evidence for condemnation, but as a wounded man yielding his scorched hand to a doctor to heal it, though the pain of the healing procedure is bound to be wretchedly painful.
I have lived long enough in and around Sunday socialite-ism, and it is, quite honestly, the most shallow way I know how to live, far more shallow even than to live as an honest atheist (I must admit that I have yet to really find one of these, either). One of the key features of this kind of fake religion is a love for the things of the world, but having been exposed to just enough (powerless) religion to appear to have been inoculated by it, while still clinging to those idols which God despises. Take to heart the query of Leonard Ravenhill, “has the world been crucified to you, or does it still fascinate you?” A heaven without God, then, may be closer to your liking. But you will not find one. Not in this universe.
The heart that desires fellowship God more than any other will be the heart that yearns for repentance, however painful it will be. It abhors those worldly things which so easily stand between the man and his God, and he will do whatever he can – sever a limb, if need be – in order to reach his goal.
Pass the scalpel.
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