Preaching is under attack.
Many have already abandoned preaching for newer, more trendy methods. Others have decided that Jesus and the apostles never preached the way we preach today. Still others have problems with authority. Finally, there are some who simply have never heard a good sermon or have never delivered one themselves and have concluded that sermons are ineffective in the church.
Some have not only abandoned preaching but have made it their mission to preach an anti-preaching message. They constantly oppose the straw man preacher who hides behind a pulpit and delivers a boring 30 minute monologue to a disinterested congregation.
This assault on preaching leads us to carefully consider the following questions:
What is the goal of preaching?”
“Is preaching still a helpful means of making disciples?”
“What are the features of a disciple making sermon?”
“How do we respond to those who have abandoned preaching?”
This post is the introduction to a series of posts that will seek to answer these questions.
I hope to encourage the preacher to persist in their faithful study and delivery of Biblical sermons. I hope to explore the role of preaching in disciple making. Finally, I hope to give parishioners some comfort and cautions so that they too don’t begin to devalue the preaching event.
Along the way, maybe some who are abandoning or attacking preaching will see the valuable role that preaching plays in making disciples. I want to invite people from all sorts of perspectives and backgrounds to join in the conversation (you might want to review my comments policy first).
The Disciple Making Preacher Series
Here is a rough draft of upcoming posts. I’ll be updating this page whenever I publish a new post. Feel free to link to this page and come back often. You can also subscribe to my blog via rss or email.
- Against Preaching: The Anti-Authoritarian Mood
- Against Preaching: Preaching In A Media-saturated Culture
- Against Preaching: The Rise of Relativity
- Against Preaching: Views on New Testament Preaching
- Against Preaching: Poor Preaching and Puny Preachers
- Definitions: What Is Disciple Making?
- Definitions: What Is Preaching?
- Definitions: What Is the Church?
- The Goal of Preaching
- Preaching Is Information (Logos)
- Preaching Is Inspiration (Pathos)
- Preaching Is Spiritual Formation (Ethos)
- The Practices Of A Disciple Making Preacher
- Is Preaching the Primary Tool for Disciple Making?
- The Features of A Disciple Making Sermon
- The Role of the Listener in Preaching
- The Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching
