In his book The Work of the Pastor, the late William Still wrote that one of the devil’s "most cunning tricks [is] to cause the Word of God to be dispensed by lazy, sleepy, moribund creatures, who find preaching to be the most burdensome part of their work and cannot help showing it." If not for the fact that we have experienced exactly what Mr. Still is talking about, we might have thought he was being harsh. The reality is that we have heard boring and unaffected men preaching the most affecting truth in the world. And that is a big problem.
Shouldn’t the living Word of God be preached with focused energy and heat? Mr. Still was warning pastors that the way they preach is an important factor in communicating what they are preaching. The medium impacts the message.
It must be stated, of course, that no man should preach with a false sense of earnestness, for that would be an acted lie. Nor should the energy of the preacher be like a relentless, raging river in both pitch and tempo. But for the sake of the glorious doctrine being preached, how can it be dull? For the sake of the awesome God we serve, ought the word boring be in the repertoire of adjectives used to describe preaching?
If you are a reformed Christian, you know that God wants his people taught by lively preaching. After asking whether images should be tolerated as teaching tools for the laity, the Heidelberg Catechism says: “[God] wants His people taught not by means of dumb idols but by the lively preaching of his Word.” God has intended to use preaching as the means of instruction for his church. But note the adjective. God wants his people taught by the lively preaching of his word. This lively preaching is, first, in contrast to dumb idols. Instead of idols that cannot speak, God wants his people taught by men who can. But is the Heidelberg emphasizing something more than just having an animate man behind the pulpit?
According to the dictionary, lively is defined in three ways. It can mean, “Full of life and energy; active and outgoing.” It can mean, “(of a place or atmosphere) full of activity and excitement.” Or, it can mean “intellectually stimulating or perceptive.” The first definition gets to the heart of what I am trying say in this article. Preaching should be full of life and energy. Since the preacher is animate he ought to be animated.
This will mean different things for different men because different personalities express things differently. Some men are naturally quiet and reserved and will speak with bold earnestness in softer tones, while others will speak with bursts of praise and vibrant intensity when applying a text of Scripture. Both are suitable and appropriate, and no man should force his personality into another man’s mold. Nevertheless, while enthusiasm is expressed differently, genuine enthusiasm ought not be optional.
Devotion is fanned into flame by doctrine. And devotion always carries with it an appropriate affectional response. Liveliness ought to characterize preaching precisely because it is an incisive address between God and his people.
All this means that preachers ought to pray in preparation that they not only accurately exposit a passage, but also affectionally present it as it ought to be presented—that they themselves are moved by the doctrine they are teaching. Preachers are not puppets on a stage; nor are they blocks of wood. They are men of God who are to zealously preach the word in season and out, fanning into flame the gift of God which is in them, bringing God’s word to bear over the people called by his own name.
There’s nothing boring about that!
Abounding Grace Radio