Homiletics

Do not say everything you are thinking off the cuff. It may come across as ill prepared and scatter minded.

Speak with carefully selected words to effectively communicate with confidence, competence and conviction. Do not use unnecessary words; better to use fewer words to promote clarity.  

Prevent filler words (e.g. like, umm, know what I mean etc.) or frequently repeated words. Use variety of transitions of thought, if possible. 

Prevent distracting mannerisms. 

Remember your audience sees hand movements as mirrored (e.g. your right hand is seen as left).  

Voice projection must be natural or organic not forced or constrained. 

May be intense but not insulting to the ears as yelling. 

Be relaxed. Speak from your diaphragm not throat. Do not come across as yelling but rather elevated inflection and tone must communicate clearly confidence, concern and seriousness. 

Consider preaching or teaching as a conversation that requires at times vocal projection to include multiple people— without coming across as yelling. Do not compete with the microphone rather use it. 

Enthusiasm and excitement must be natural and organic. 

 

The DNA of Church

The DNA of Church

Churches have an organic make up that come in different shapes and sizes. They are communities of Christians that gather for preaching, worship, and fellowship. Some are conservatively small congregations while others are magnificently large. Church members can vary in age, ethnicity and socio-economic status. But each church is to have the same basic DNA as a Biblical church. Exegetical/expository preaching that makes the main point of a sermon the main point of the biblical text. It is verse-by-verse teaching with careful concern for the original languages words, tenses and cases. 

 There is to be accountability among pastors, deacons and members. Protecting and preserving one another in the faith. Bearing each other's burdens. This is all possible in a church with membership, discipleship and discipline. In order to develop biblical theology, godly affections and virtues, to the glory of God. 

Dangers of Churches 

(1) Theologically shallow. 

(2) Frequent low proficiency in exegesis, expository preaching and biblical theology. 

(3) Insecurity in Biblical theology thus susceptible to false teachings.  

(4) Biblical Trinitarian monotheism practically denied with subordination of the Father and Son to the Holy Spirit.

(5) Idolization of Spiritual Gifts. 

(6) Topical preaching with homiletics driven by a topic or idea outside of scriptures that is read back into the Bible for support via proof-texting. 

(7) Simple sermons to the congregation instead of gradually lifting up the congregation to greater and deeper insights of the Bible's complexity, beauty and elegance.

(8) Good works are absent. 

(9) Love is replaced with pride or fear. 

(10) There is concentration of either Biblical theology, worship or service over integration. 

Church Members Leaving?

I already posted on what may stunt the growth of any given church but I want to now recast it in terms of church members leaving their churches. 

There are obvious practical reasons why any given church member may leave his/her church. Job relocation, unbiblical doctrine, or doctrinal disunity, comes to mind. But what are some reasons that may not be as obvious, or at least, spoken less of?  Any thoughts? Here's mine. 

1. Ridged Ritualism that leads to an improper balance between external vs internal acts (e.g. Church leadership regulates all attendees to perform duties/rituals instead of simply trusting that God will motivate them to meditate, pray, and study). 

2. No checks and balances of leadership that can result in a pastoral dictatorship.
3. Pastoral opinion's and convictions are emphasized against clear biblical teaching.
4. Doctrinal teaching without carefully considering opposing doctrinal views to better learn, understand, and relate.
5. Church expectations for non-members that gives rise to sectarianism and pharisaical  doctrinal supremacy.
6. Church members hide their struggles and brokenness from others. Church members act morally superior that breeds depression, insecurity and alienation. 

7. Burdens are put on the backs of non-believers that even Christians daily fail to lift (e.g. Brokenness over sin, daily scripture reading, praying, etc.).

8. Preaching is narrow to only those that are in doctrinal agreement. It is one-sided preaching that lacks/suppresses empathy, understanding, or dialogue.  

9. Preaching that does not address the whole person but only the intellect.

How to possibly counter members leaving:

1. A proper balance is kept between external vs internal acts (e.g. Church leadership does not regulate all attendees to perform duties/rituals instead simply trusts that God will motivate them to meditate, pray, and study).
2. There are checks and balances of leadership between pastor(s), deacon(s), and members.
3. Pastoral opinion's and convictions are transparent against clear biblical teaching. 

4. Doctrinal teaching is preached carefully considering opposing doctrinal views to better learn, understand, and relate.
5. There are no church expectations for non-members to prevent sectarianism and pharisaical  doctrinal supremacy.
6. Church members are transparent about their struggles and brokenness. Church members are humble in Christ that breeds joy, security and unity.
7. Burdens are not put on the backs of non-believers that even Christians daily fail to lift (e.g. Brokenness over sin, daily scripture reading, praying, etc.).
8. Preaching is broad to those that are in doctrinal agreement or disagreement. Saints and skeptics are welcome! It is preaching that exemplifies/promotes empathy, understanding, and dialogue. 

9. Preaching that engages holistically the person: intellect, will and emotions. The spiritual health of the mind and heart is cared for by the preaching ministry. 

The Christian Worldview

Christian Worldview

We testify that there is only one God who is the greatest conceivable being, the most perfect being. God is one essence that is three distinct persons, coequal and coeternal, neither divided nor separated, namely, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

The Bible alone is the God breathed, inerrant, infallible, Word of God. It is sufficient, necessary, authoritative, and clear as our ultimate standard for all thought and human experience. It alone provides us with a worldview that is: the ultimate coherent explanation of everything, livable, hope and fulfillment. 

God created man in his image (i.e. with an intellect, will and emotions, ruling over creation).  But man sinned against God the results were man became sinners by inheritance, imputation and imitation. 

The Son became incarnate to rescue man from sin. Christ suffered and died upon the cross, and was resurrected three days later, to pay the penalty for our sins and purchase a place in heaven for us. Christ offers this as a free gift to all by faith. It is not earned nor deserved. Saving faith is trusting in Jesus alone for salvation. 

Christ alone is our living prophet, priest and king, never ceasing to teach, intercede and rule. 

Christ established one never ceasing, universal, united, church which is comprised of all believers; yet it is exemplified in a diversity of local churches. 

We know all these things to be true since this is God's testimony in the Bible. The Holy Spirit's inter-witness testifies this to us.  If it's rejected the alternative is utter irrationality. 

Christian Philosophy 

Christian Epistemology: All knowledge finds its source from God's revelation.

Metaphysics: All things finds their source, support and end from God. 

Ethics: All objective moral values/duties find their source, support and end from God's commands (that express God's essential goodness). 

Why I Love My Church

Call me a local church stalker but I often monitor local churches in my area; I listen to their sermons and review their websites. I like to know the theological contributions any given church makes to personal lives and the local community. This week I listened to a series entitled "Why I Love my Church," it was a series on the mission of a particular local church. The series marked specific characteristics a church ought to possess to exemplify the love of Christ: (1) love for the community, (2) love by serving, (3) love by giving and (4) love by sharing. Each characteristic is understood as relational and contributes to the healthy nature of the church. The church is to be a community of believers (insiders) that learns, loves, grows, and serves together in fellowship for the glory of God. Yet this community of believers cannot remain insiders (people in a church community alone) but must actively serve and give to outsiders of the church (with our biblical knowledge, love, service, and financial resources); the church must reach our local communities and the world with the love of God in the gospel evidenced by our service/good works. Thus the end goal is to take our theology and apply it to our lives. A healthy church is to develop the mind--- in exegetical/expository preaching, biblical theology, church membership, discipleship, church discipline, evangelism, and apologetics--to live the gospel out in the heart. What are common deficiencies any given Church may encounter? A fine balance, between the Christian development of the mind and the heart, must be kept. Too often churches can over emphasize one to the exclusion of the other. For example, charismatics can be overly focused on emotional experiences from God to the neglect of deep bible study and reflection that digs at the theological riches and beauty of the gospel. Any given church must strive for the nine marks of a healthy church.

Don't try to be relevant, be authentic, preach the Word.