Blessed Art Thou When the Sermon Sucketh

I have been very grateful for the amount of genuine thoughtful feedback through both posts and emails that has come out of this most recent discussion about Seekers, Wanderers, Adventurers, Belonging and Believing.  One stream of conversation (more in emails than posts) has been about trying desperately to be connected and committed to a church that is far less than perfect.  What do we do when the worship is dry, the congregation cold, the programs dreary and the sermon dull?  We’re not talking about heresy or abuse or dysfunction, but churches that are just less than what we’d like, once had or even genuinely need. 

I have had friends with advanced degrees struggle honestly to find a church that speaks to their minds in blue-collar towns.  I have had friends from deeply connected small town churches get lost in the Christian Mega-Malls of suburban “worship centers”.  I have had numerous young adult friends come out of vibrant campus ministries or para-church ministries where they were as likely to go rock-climbing or attend a Christian “Rave” as a Bible study, feel absolutely stifled when asked to turn in their hymnals to hymn #467 (and we’ll sing all 15 verses today!)

Even worse, what if the preacher really isn’t very good?  What if the well-meaning soul that climbs into the pulpit is better at putting you to sleep then Nyquil with a beer chaser?

Well, here is a challenge from an unlikely source. 

In the Institutes of Christian Religion 4.3.1 John Calvin writes about the great spiritual blessings of having a “puny man” preacher.  (And believe me; I have seen some puny women, too!)

This is the best and most useful exercise in humility when (God) accustoms us to obey his Word, even though it be preached through men like us and sometimes even by those of lower worth than we.  If he spoke from heaven, it would not be surprising if his sacred oracles were to be reverently received without delay by the ears and minds of all.  For who would not dread the presence of his power?  Who would not be stricken down at the sight of such majesty?  Who would not be confounded at such boundless splendor? But when a puny man risen from the dust speaks in God’s name, at this point we best evidence our piety and obedience toward God if we show ourselves teachable to his minister, although he excels us in nothing.  It was for this reason that he hid the treasure of his heavenly wisdom in weak and earthen vessels (2 Cor 4:7) in order to prove how more surely we should esteem it.

So getteth thee to a bad church and listeneth to a dull sermon for obedience to Christ alone and ye shall demonstrate your devotion to the God who uses such puny folk as we.

Comments

[David M. Smith]

Hi Tod,

There is no doubt that God sometimes speaks through the puniest of us. God also equips us for his purposes. While I have never heard any of your sermons, it is my opinion that you are uniquely gifted to publish a daily blog. My guess is that you also deliver a pretty good sermon. However, even the best of preachers have to overcome a format called a sermon that is a notoriously poor form of disseminating information in a way that sticks.

You have convinced me that I, and other dissatisfied wanderers like me, need to be in church regardless of our feelings about the effectiveness of all of the church methods. However, church leaders also need to be more open to criticism and more willing to evaluate their own effectiveness. Perhaps, a pastor who is not gifted to preach should find a replacement who is gifted to preach or a non-gifted pastor should consider other teaching formats besides a sermon that puts listeners to sleep.

Football teams that win Super Bowls don’t just run the same plays as every other team. They design plays to take advantage of the strengths of the players on their team. Perhaps churches should do a better job of designing ministries that take advantage of the strengths of it’s members, not just run the same plays as all of the other churches.

[tod]

David, I agree with you in every way. I just also find comfort in knowing that even when "church is bad," God is up to something good.

[Rev. Mike]

ROFL! Tod, I am always grateful for Augustine and those others who opposed the Donatists (I think I've got the right group here!) for establishing that the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend on the holiness or character of the one performing them because I hope the same applies to the preaching of the Word. :)

[Rob A]

This piece from Calvin is thoroughly challenging. I've even taught on similar passages from Calvin and from 1Cor3 (hopefully not in too puny a fashion), and then found that it's hard to put my money where my mouth is when confronted with teachers or preachers who are more boring, tedious or self-involved than I am!

[Mark D. Roberts]

Tod,

Great thoughts, as always. Reminds me of C.S. Lewis on church music (the worse it is, the more I can truly worship by offering myself to God).

I'm going to work hard on suckething this week.

Mark

[Tim Thompson]

I read this during my lunch break and have been thinking about it for a couple of hours. In most of my years of church, I have not been blessed with great or intellectually challenging preaching. (Though not formally educated I do enjoy it when my mind is stimulated and forced to think.)

What I do look for from those who have pastored the church I attend (big time blue collar town) is their living sermon the rest of the week. This is my challenge as a Christian in a secular workplace and it saddens me that I haven't always seen Christian living from my pastor. Then again, I may just expect too much or be too judgmental.

Thanks for the words from Calvin. I will readily put up with puny preaching if the preacher loves his congregation. That, in the end will accomplish more, in my estimation, than a great sermon.

[David M. Smith]

Hi (Again) Tod,

First, let me say I agree with your main point. I sometimes hear God yelling at me from the mouth of my 5-year-old. I also find it comforting to know God doesn’t need to use a polished speaker to talk to me, and I don’t need to hear a great speaker to hear God. If God can talk to me when my car won’t start, he can surely talk to me when one of his preachers sucketh. I am certain God is present in some visibly unappealing churches, just as I am almost certain God is missing from some very successful looking churches. In my first comment, I was commenting on the implications of a Church leader who recognizes a personal weakness and then does nothing about it. I took your point in a slightly different direction.

The current state of any church is not as important as the process of the members becoming more like Christ. If a Pastor has a plan and a way to communicate where the church is going and how it is going to get there, the Pastor’s style of communicating is not so important. However, if the Pastor doesn’t have a plan or isn’t able to communicate the plan, the members have an obligation to find a new Pastor who can communicate a plan, not continue to tolerate a leader who doesn’t understand his or her own limitations.

It’s not a sin to be a bad church or be a member of a bad church. I think it is a sin, though, to not try to make the church better.

[J. A. Gillmartin]

Tod -

Thanks, I needed that! (HT: SteelerDirtFreak)

I told all the people who bobble head during my messages that if they were laid end-to-end, they'd be alot more comfortable.

[tod]

BTW, Extra credit for Rev. Mike for mentioning (appropriately I might add) Augustine and the Donatists. (It's one of my favorite controversies--yes, I have a favorite controversy.)

[Maobi]

Family sometimes stink but its what you go home to. That's because you know them well. The complaints you have about programs, finding ppl with common interests etc are actually marks that communication has broken down. It usually happens in a large group because compelxity in communication increase geometrically with every new node.

One way to address this is to have small groups in your church.