Our third installment in this ongoing series of posts relating to integrity in the pulpit.
Integrity with Self — Questions About Authenticity
Questions & Queries:
Do we preach better than we live?
Do we preach better than we believe?
How does integrity come into play when we know we must preach a passage we know we’ve been struggling to live personally?
How does integrity come into play when we know we must preach a truth that we’ve been having quiet, nagging, doubt-filled questions about?
How does this relate to questions of theology we simply are not certain about? (e.g., timing of the rapture)
How do you handle discovering you’ve said something wrong in a sermon?
Notable & Quotable:
“I traveled with him in conventions and what he preached he lived . . . He was the greatest heart preacher I ever listened to. He preached out of his own rich dealings with God.” (Paul Rader speaking of A.B. Simpson)[i]
“It takes a tremendous amount of relationship to God for a man to be what he is.”[ii]
[i] Larsen, David L., The Company of the Preachers(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1998), 659.
[ii] Chambers, Oswald, quoted in Oswald Chambers: The Best From All His Books (Nashville:Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987), 135.
Continuing our exploration of just what integrity would look like in the pulpit.
Integrity with Scripture — Questions About Authority
Questions & Queries:
What does it mean to handle Scripture with integrity?
How may our preaching model integrity with the text of Scripture for our people?
In what ways may we violate integrity with the text of Scripture?
What does integrity with Scripture have to do with the shape and form my sermon take?
How does integrity with Scripture relate to the issue of authorial intent?
Can we say with integrity “This text illustrates the truth that . . .”? as opposed to saying “God’s purpose for having this text written is . . .”?
How does this relate to the work of setting forth a preaching calendar/schedule?
How does this relate to preaching in response to crisis moments in the church?
How does this relate to preaching a “prophetic” message to a particular situation?
What makes for authority in preaching?
Is our aim to preach with authority? Or to preach a message that has authority?
How might confusing the two potentially jeopardize our integrity?
Notable & Quotable:
“Our authority as preachers sent by God rises and falls with our manifest allegiance to the text of Scripture. I say ‘manifest’ because there are so many preachers who say they are doing exposition when they do not ground their assertions explicitly—‘manifestly’—in the text. They don’t show their people clearly that the assertions of their preaching are coming from specific, readable words of Scripture that the people can see for themselves.”[i]
“The issue of authority is inescapable. Either the preacher or the text will be the operant authority. . . . We are called, not only to preach, but to preach the Word.”[ii]
[i] Piper, John, The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1990), 41.
[ii] Mohler, Albert, “A Theology of Preaching,” Michael Duduit, ed., Handbook on Contemporary Preaching (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 15.
In this series of posts I’ll be speaking to the preachers. All others are welcome to listen in, but I’ll be talking to those who share my calling as a proclaimer of God’s Word.
Gentlemen, we all want to preach. God has put that compulsion within us. Rightly, we all want to preach well. History affirms that one can preach without integrity, but eternity will reveal that no one ever preached well without it.
So, may I ask: What is integrity? What does it look like in a preacher? Perhaps an answer to those questions lies on the other side of an answer to this one: What is the opposite of integrity? Is it compromise? Is it a divided heart or mind? Are there truths that we, even as preachers, simply tip our hats at, but fail to truly believe? We expound them. We can alliterate three points related to them. But do we believe them? How does this relate to integrity in the pulpit?
I have never found a better explanation of integrity than that of Warren Weirsbe in his book The Integrity Crisis.
What is integrity? The Oxford English Dictionary says that the word come from the Latin integritas, which means ‘wholeness,’ ‘entireness,’ ‘completeness.’ The root is integer, which means ‘untouched,’ ‘intact,’ ‘entire.’ . . . A person with integrity is not divided (that’s duplicity) or merely pretending (that’s hypocrisy). He or she is ‘whole’; life is ‘put together,’ and things are working together harmoniously. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. They are integers.[i]
What, then, does that look like in the pulpit? In this series of posts I’d like to suggest six areas to which integrity is essential, if we as preachers are to preach well — by eternity’s and God’s accounting. I will take the suggestive approach, rather than a declaratory approach. I want to invite (even instigate) your thinking. To that end I’ll set forth both some questions and quotations in each area. First, then, is . . .
Integrity with God — Questions About Accountability
Questions & Queries:
What makes for a “good sermon” in God’s estimation?
What makes for a “good preacher” in God’s estimation?
What issues do you picture God raising about your preaching when you stand for review at the judgement seat of Christ?
What issues do you think God won’t raise that we now concern ourselves with?
We often think of preaching with integrity in terms of our content and its conformity to the truth of God’s Word, what else may come into play as we consider preaching before God with integrity?
What practical differences does the knowledge of that accountability make?
What does it mean when we say, “I’m accountable before God for what I preach?”
What does it mean when we say, “I’m accountable before God for how I preach?”
Notable & Quotable:
“I know perfectly well that, wherever I go and preach, there are many better preachers known and heard than I am; all that I can say about it is that the Lord uses me.”[ii]
“The preacher—His throne is the pulpit; he stands in Christ’s stead; his message is the Word of God; around him are immortal souls; the Savior, unseen is beside him; the Holy Spirit broods over the congregation; angels gaze upon the scene, and heaven and hell await the issue. What associations and what a vast responsibility!”[iii]
[i] Weirsbe, Warren W., The Integrity Crisis (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 21.
[ii] Moody, D.L., quoted in Larsen, David L., The Company of the Preachers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1998), 510.
Through this series of posts we have been seeking to understand preaching as a God-appointed means to bring His people to maturity. In this pursuit we have employed the word “mature” as an acrostic. With this post we come to the final leg of our journey.
maturE = Evaluate
The final step in the process of moving toward preaching that builds believers up in Christ is that of evaluation. We preachers are notoriously subjective in our evaluation of ourselves and our preaching. We tend toward one of two extremes in self-evaluation. We may on the one hand be overly generous with ourselves. One Sunday a pastor preached what had to be one of his best sermons ever. He felt good about it–really good about it! As he drove out of the church he wondered what his wife would say in response to the message. They drove through town making their way to a restaurant where they were to enjoy a relaxing Sunday dinner. She said nothing. Finally, to break the ice, the pastor queried aloud, “How many really great preachers do you suppose there are in the world?” She responded, “One less than you think!” Ouch!
We may, on the other hand, be overly severe in our evaluation of ourselves. Even such a great mind as Augustine struggled here.
My preaching almost always displeases me. For I am eager after something better, of which I often have an inward enjoyment before I set about expressing my thoughts in audible words. Then, when I have failed to utter my meaning as clearly as I conceived it, I am disappointed that my tongue is incapable of doing justice to that which is in my heart. The chief reason is that the conception lights up themind in a kind of rapid flash; whereas the utterance is slow, lagging and far unlike what it would convey.
I can recall early in my preaching ministry the horrible tyranny of Sunday afternoons and evenings. My wife told me I had PMS. If it wasn’t Pre-Message Syndrom it was Post-Message Syndrom. Thursday through Saturday where shot by the one and Sunday through Tuesday were ruined by the other. Wednesday wasn’t too bad.
So how do we find some objective means of evaluation? I would like to suggest Paul’s final written communication to Timothy. With his last pen strokes Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim. 3:16-4:2).
It has been noted that the four-fold description of Scripture’s usefulness in v.16 is echoed in the four imperatives concerning preaching found in 4:1-2 (George W. Knight, III, The Pastoral Epistles, p.449). The nouns of 3:16 and the imperatives of 4:2 would line up like this: “teaching” (3:16) pairs up with “preach” (4:2); “reproof” matches up with “reprove”; “correction” links with “rebuke”; “training” pairs up with “exhort.”
This points to a unity of thought that may not be readily apparent because of the division of the chapters. This makes plain what we have already suspected, that God’s purpose for the Scriptures (3:16-17) is not removed from His purposes in preaching (4:1-2). Preaching should allow the Word of God to dominate and arrive at its intended purpose. How can this help us in evaluation? Perhaps the truths of this Scripture could be transformed into questions helpful to us in reviewing our ministry of building believers through preaching. Consider the following questions.
Ask yourself: Through this sermon how has God presented what is right? (“teaching”; “preach”) Another way of asking the same question is have I positively unveiled God’s Person, truth and way?
A second question might be asked: Through this message how has God revealed what is wrong? (“reproof”; “reprove”) That is to say, Have I negatively laid bare what is distorted, perverted or erroneous about their thinking of God, truth and discipleship?
A third question would be: Through this preaching how have I illumined the way back from sin to God? (“correction”; “rebuke”) Have I helpfully shown the way back to God’s Person, truth, and way?
A final question should be considered: Through this message have I established them in what is right? (“training”; “exhort”) Restated it might be asked, Have I helped them to trust in God’s Person, hold to God’s truth, and stay in God’s way?
Another set of questions might take our investigation even further. These too are based upon this passage. Have I led them to exult in the presence of God (“in the presence of God”, 4:1)? Have I led them to kneel under the authority of God (“and of Christ Jesus who is to judge”, 4:1)? Have I led them to desire the return of Christ Have I led them to live under the reign of Christ (“by His appearing”, 4:1)? (“and His kingdom”, 4:1)?
These questions do not remove the subjectivity inherent in self-evaluation. But they do help objectify the process as much as possible. They also become the format for helpful and intentional input from peers, parishioners, and even our wives.
What a glorious privilege is ours — called as co-laborers with Christ in building believers not only for a lifetime of faithful discipleship here, but an eternity of glorious service above! How shall we ever be faithful to such a Master and demanding charge? Take them to the Book! Listen to how some long since anonymous sage once described the Scriptures:
This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.
We must lead them to the Book that they might gaze upon Him who is true and that they might walk in His light. As we are faithful God will make us successful so that He might be glorified and His people MATURE.
Fidelity, not novelty, builds strong believers. Who among us has not felt the pressure to be clever, new, and different? Who has not set in their study looking over their message on Saturday afternoon and remarked, “They have heard all of this before!” The pressures to novelty are many. Some pulpits are in danger of becoming nothing more than Athenian soapboxes where “strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21, KJV).
George Orwell once noted, “We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” We in the church have come to that day. But it is not by accident, and it is not a new arrival. The Scriptures tell us that preaching to build believers means undertaking an intensive ministry of reminder.
Before you disparage the ministry of reminder, remember that the ministry of reminder is God’s work. Jesus told us, “The Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). God sent the Holy Spirit for this very ministry of reminder. Reminder is His work, and we participate in it as we become His channels for reminder in another’s life. This knowledge emboldens us in our ministry of reminder: “I have written to you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again” (Rom. 15:15). To Timothy Paul said, “Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God” (2 Tim. 2:14). Paul charged Titus, “These . . . are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority . . . Remind the people . . .” (Titus 2:15-3:1).
We need to make reminder a priority in our preaching. Paul told the Romans, “I have written . . . as if to remind you” (15:15). Peter said, “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking” (2 Pet. 3:1). If these books of the New Testament were written as ministries of reminder let us never conclude that a message is “just a reminder” of the familiar truths of God’s Word. Let us never underestimate the power of God’s truth as He reapplies it to the hearts of His people.
Everyone within the body of Christ is in need of the ministry of reminder. Those who struggle in their faith need it (1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 2:14). It is also for those who are growing and advancing in their faith. The Romans were those “full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another” (Rom. 15:14), but they needed a detailed reminder of the truth (Rom. 15:15). Paul reminded Timothy of important truths (2 Tim. 1:6). Reminder is for those who already has a firm grasp on the truth: “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you” (Jude 5). Peter reminded his readers, “even though you know them, and are firmly established in the truth” (2 Pet. 1:12).
Don’t assume that “just reminding” the people of truth they have already encountered is taking the easy way out. Note the words of intensity associated with the ministry of reminder. “So I will always remind you of these things . . . I think it is right to refresh your memory. . . . And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things” (2 Pet. 1:12-13, 15, emphasis mine). “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, emphasis mine).
Bill Hull has said, “In today’s church, the obvious is revolutionary.” Again he says, “The obvious restated and applied shakes the church at its foundations.” Love keeps prayerfully, diligently, sacrificially, faithfully, and repeatedly coming back to the multifaceted jewel of scriptural truth. Love holds that truth in awe and wonder before a congregation of hurting people and invites them to once again come and discover the unfathomable beauty of a clear look at that which they will spend eternity investigating.
F.W. Boreham said, “It is the duty of the pulpit to say the same things over and over again. They must be clothed in different phraseology, and illumined by fresh illustration, and approached by a new line of thought, but the things that are really worth saying must be said repeatedly.” As we do this, God will build His people strong in Christ.
