The Importance of Good Preaching
I was in Montana to speak at Fresh Life Church. This church was started only a few years ago, and yet they have exploded in growth under the dynamic leadership of a gifted young man named Levi Lusko.
Levi gives me hope for the future as a young guy who really gets it. He understands the importance of connecting with culture, but not at the expense of Biblical exposition.
One of my great burdens, next to getting the gospel message out to our world, is getting the Word of God to His people!
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The trend in some churches today is away from the teaching of Scripture. Instead, you are likely to hear more topical message, with the Bible merely referenced but not exposited. There is plenty of time for worship, video, and other things, but not much given to the teaching of what the Word of God says.
This is a dangerous trend and it is producing Bible illiteracy. I fear these sermonettes are creating Christian-ettes!
Don't be boring when you speak!
On the other end of the spectrum, you have preaching in churches today that is disconnected and frankly boring! This is the fault of the communicator who has not prepared properly.
I have no understanding of how speakers can take the dynamic, power-packed Word of God and make hearing it . . . dull! Listening to some of them is like watching paint dry!
Maybe some of these guys need a triple espresso before they speak, but I suspect that they are just "painting by the numbers" and really doing a disservice to the people they speak to.
Our "job" as communicators is to, as one commentator put it, "Get the hay out of the loft to where the cows can get to it." Or as another said, "Put the cookies on the lower shelf so the children can reach them."
There is nothing impressive about preaching over the heads of the people you speak to.
The effective communicator needs to connect. We are not in the pulpit to impress, but to feed; not to put on a show, but to call people to Christ.
So what is preaching?
One of the best definitions of preaching that I have have heard is "logic on fire!" There is indeed a place for both.
On one hand, there is preaching that has fire but no logic. There is a lot of excitement, illustration, even humor, but after the message you don't remember a word of it.
Then there is preaching that has logic but no fire. It is correct, accurate, and dull. Chuck Swindoll warns of the sin of being boring when we speak.
Back to Levi Lusko. Here is a guy who has logic on fire, and he is indeed making a difference in this area here that is called the Flathead Valley.
