Sermons

There’s a trend going around and it’s not what your favorite influencer is doing. It’s the prescriptive three point sermon. Church leaders, especially in America, present sermons that have similar structure and prescriptive points. “Here’s the problem and these are the three ways to fix it.” Gone are the days of a narrative approach to sermons. What happened to the church leader spending his quiet time with the Lord in scripture (they still do this part) and then giving us, the congregation, the insight that they have received: not the prescription from what they have learned? Prescription works best on a one on one basis because the person can ask questions, giving the opportunity for better clarification. Narrative works best as the numbers grow so that there's a sort of diversification of courses of action. Jesus used narrative to teach the masses and specific prescriptive words when addressing smaller groups. The danger of prescription in front of large masses is the thought that other courses of action, which may be more beneficial, cannot be from God because they are not coming from the church leader. Prescription can also lead to church leaders falling into the trap of searching for scriptures that support an idea or concept that, in most cases, is fully formulated and serves their agenda instead of God’s agenda. 

This then brings up the question of the role of church leaders. What are they really supposed to be doing for the people they serve? I have heard it said that they are supposed to shepherd the flock. I do not think that this is a healthy way to look at it. In my opinion, they are supposed to be helping the flock hear the Shepherd’s voice: Jesus being that Shepherd. What that looks like, I do not know for sure. This is a question that every believer should be asking themselves. The leadership should be there to make sure that the church is hearing God and carrying out His commands. The leadership should not be making sure that each church member interprets God’s voice in the exact same way. They should be giving their people insight and encouraging them to have insight. They also need to be making sure that each church member interprets God’s voice in a safe way. 

I believe sermons would have more of an impact if the pastor or individual delivering them made it clear that what they were saying was just their interpretation of what they had heard, read and/or experienced. The pastor is supposed to make it clear to the congregation that their sermon is merely an interpretation of what God said. They should inspire the church to go and read the same passage to see what God is saying to them. The Holy Spirit living in each of us gives the scripture or the word the opportunity to be relatable due to the nuances present in our lives. Our experiences give the word of God a unique flavor that makes it palatable to people who may have experienced the same things or who understand things the same way. The pastor’s prescriptive points can take that away. They can produce a message that is one dimensional, short lived, and non-transformative. 

Each of us is accountable to God for our thoughts and actions and that should translate to each of us being accountable to God for our faith. The family should be the place where anything resembling prescription is given. I believe this is one of the reasons why church elders had to have a functional family before ever having the opportunity to lead the church. The family is the first system that an individual should interact with. The church should be a community of believers that sharpen our listening. They should be a community that gives balance to what we think we are hearing from the Lord. We need to use our community to test the prophecy we receive. 

Church leaders are there to promote scripture reading, maintain order, prevent abuse, foster unity, encourage diversity of function, stoke passions, moderate discussions, mediate conflicts, and all things relating to group dynamics. They are not supposed to be mediators between God and humans! They are supposed to model for the people because they are one of the people. They are one of the herd. When the Shepherd calls the sheep, the ones that are used to hearing Him need to start following. The ones  that recognize His voice need to start moving, giving the “younger” sheep the opportunity to follow. We need leaders in the church, but we need them to help us follow God. We need them to help us not need them, but need God. Leaders need to give sermons that say, “here is what I feel the Lord is telling me, what is He telling you?” “Here is what I have read, what have you read?” “Here is what I have done, what are you going to do?” A sort of “taste and see” that He is good.   

The secular world thinks that the Bible is one of the most influential books ever written. So if we, as believers, think that it is “the” best book ever written, let us act that way. Let us read more of it, discuss it, and sing it’s words. We believe that the scripture is God-breathed, so let us open it up and let the Lord breathe on us. Let us take in His words, meditate on them, and speak His words. Let us bring His life into our lives. The Bible is filled with stories of people who witnessed God’s faithfulness time and time again. Let us use those examples to encourage ourselves. Let us keep the main thing the main thing. Let us not get distracted by someone else’s interpretation of what God is saying. God speaks to prophets, but He also speaks to each of us too. Let us listen for ourselves and not be afraid of discussion.