The Preacher's Study Ezine - First Tuesday of March, 2000

* * * T H E P R E A C H E R ' S S T U D Y * * * U P D A T E & E Z I N E "Energize Your Preaching!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://preacherstudy.com First Tuesday of March, 2000 Subscribe free on the web at: http://preacherstudy.com/maillist.htm If you don't have Web access write to: subscribe_ezine@preacherstudy.com [Your email address will be kept fully confidential and will never be sold or given to anyone.] Unsubscribe info at bottom of this page Published on the first and third Tuesday of each month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Editor's note: The material in this Ezine is copyrighted. Reprint by author's permission only. You may forward it in its entirety to friends and associates. 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(Four Stars!) --- A recent review by Suite 101.com The Preacher's Study http://preacherstudy.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IN THIS ISSUE: [1] Greetings from the editor [2] Featured Article: PREACHING TO (UN)FELT NEEDS [3] Preacher's Study Website Updates [4] Contact Info ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [1] ***Greetings!*** It's a great privilege to preach for the King of Kings, isn't it? There is the exhilaration of the preaching itself plus the realization that we are making a difference for eternity. Who could have it any better? I hope you are being faithfull to the task of preaching the gospel. I hope you're headed through the strait gate and avoiding the deep ditches on either side of the narrow road. The featured article in this issue raises something that is a present concern for me. I wonder if it is for you also. Give it a read and let me know what you think. Also, I'd like to mention a helpful source of excellent articles and illustrations for you. It is a mailing list called simply "Parable." List owner Kevin Rayner is a gifted writer. All of what I have received from him has been very good. To see some back issues, go to: http://www.egroups.com/group/parable/ God bless. Dave Redick, Editor editor@preacherstudy.com [2] ***Featured Article*** PREACHING TO (UN)FELT NEEDS By Dave Redick Much attention today is given to preaching to felt needs. Those who major in church growth in numbers tell us that this is a key factor in our preaching - something that this preacher will not deny. As with many good things however, taken to extreme, such a focus can and does damage the cause of Christ. *A Definition of Terms When I speak of "felt needs" I refer to those needs the hearer already recognizes. For instance, a sermon about keeping a marriage together resonates well with the known need of someone in the midst of a rocky relationship. A message about child rearing seems very relevant to a couple with rebellious teens. Go to the "self help" section of any bookstore and you'll find a ready list of topics that claim to address felt needs. When ministers today speak of being "relevant" in their preaching, addressing "felt needs" is often what they mean. This article is not critical of preaching to the known needs of hearers. Such preaching is good and necessary. It is rather critical of the increasingly common practice of ignoring those needs that are not readily known or felt by the hearers of our sermons. *The Critical Need Cancer is frequently unknown and undetected in its earliest stages. Yet the need for some sort of corrective treatment is no less critical. In fact, an argument could be made that early detection, before there is a discernable feeling of peril, has the greatest benefit. Even after a visit to the doctor where I am informed of my illness, I still may feel no ill effect. Such lack of sensory awareness doesn't lessen my peril. What would we think of a doctor who only treated our felt needs? When I first came to hear the message of Christ many years ago, it was because I thought that perhaps God (I had only a vague idea of what that three letter word meant) might be able to help my rocky marriage. Providentially, I heard preaching that addressed that issue and I was very responsive. In the process though, I learned that I had some even greater needs than the restoration of marital harmony. I learned I was lost and headed for hell because I was outside of Christ. No one had ever told me that before (though I had been to church) and I had no idea of it myself. I'll be eternally grateful that the preacher took me beyond my felt needs. *Centered on Self Many so-called "felt needs" are actually very self-centered. That should come as no surprise since selfishness is the natural condition of mankind. Yet the genius of Christianity is to deliver us from self. Luke informs us of Jesus' words in Luke 9:23-25: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." Our task in preaching lies in bringing men and women beyond their natural, self-centered lives to the place where they see needs greater than those of self. My quarrel with some preaching today is that it never brings people beyond their self-centeredness. It may be right as far as it goes but it doesn't bring people "on to maturity." (Hebrews 6:1) So how do we preach to unfelt needs? *Be Interesting Preaching to unfelt needs must of necessity be as interesting as we can make it. When dealing with such issues we don't have the luxury of pre-existing interest. Interest must be created by what we say. By definition, such preaching calls attention to things hearers do not yet feel. This inattentiveness requires of us every ounce of effort and determination we can muster to get our points across. This is no place for slackers. We must spend the extra hours of preparation necessary and be sure we have done our best to reach out and grab the inattentiveness of our hearers by the throat and focus it on the issues at hand. Someone told me early in my ministry that it is a sin to bore people with the gospel. While I'm not sure of the validity of that concept since boredom can also be due to the attitude of the hearer, I have never been able to imagine how God could be pleased with a half-effort when the issue is speaking for Him. Paul told Timothy, "Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them…" (1 Tim 4:14-15) *Be Instructive Preaching to unfelt needs must also of necessity be instructive. We are dealing with people who do not know they have certain needs. They must be made to understand the what, the why and the how. We must raise their comprehension to higher levels. As with any instruction, this will involve some repetition. There may be resistance. We must be patient and not expect instant results. It will involve some bridging between where our hearers are currently and where it is they need to go in their understanding. Are your messages instructive? Do they impart knowledge of Biblical truth? It is not likely that a ten or fifteen minute sermonette will do that kind of job. *Be Passionate Preaching to unfelt needs must be passionate. How can you light a fire under cold wood if you yourself are not in possession of a fire? The critical realities and spiritual truths of the Bible must first be our realities. Does Christ's message still grip you? If it doesn't, can you look back to a time when it did? If so, what is it you have lost? Be honest and don't stop looking until you figure out what you must do to regain it. If you've never been passionate about your preaching, then perhaps you need to question whether you yourself understand the message. *Be Uncompromising Preaching to unfelt needs also requires that the preacher be uncompromising. Yes there are places for compromise in life and even in the church, but this isn't one of them. If the physician compromises his message to his cancer patients, they will die. They need to hear the truth, even when it isn't pleasant. The need to tell the whole truth and nothing more or less is even greater for those preach the gospel. At some point you must decide who it is you are preaching for. Not everyone will always be happy with your message. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Timothy 4:3-5) A certain minister was told by an angry church member, "Don't you know that I and these others pay you to preach?" His response was, "That isn't true. You pay me to live. I preach for God." And so it is. "Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28-29) *Tell the Ultimate Truth Preaching to unfelt needs involves preaching the ultimate truth. Jesus didn't die so I could have a good marriage. He didn't die so that I could get my worrying under control. He didn't die so I could always be happy here. He didn't die to make me a better husband or father or uncle. He didn't die so I could have an uplifting worship experience. These things are important by-products but they aren't the ultimate issue. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) The ultimate issue is that Jesus died to save my soul and yours and those of our hearers from hell. The wages of sin is death - not just physical death but spiritual death - eternal separation from God in a place of eternal punishment. He died to save us from that. The message we are to be proclaiming is the gospel. Unchanged, undiluted, and uncompromised - it must be central to our message. It isn't always understood. The need for it isn't always felt, at least not initially, but it must be preached. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." (Mark 16:15-17) It's the ultimate (un)felt need. (c) Dave Redick, The Preacher's Study, 2000. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission only. Please do not cut article out of this ezine and paste them anywhere else. You may, however, forward this entire Ezine to friends freely. [3] ***Preacher's Study Website Updates*** You'll find two new messages in the Premium Section of our Website this time. Here are the titles and excerpts: "Making the Most of Difficult Situations" Philippians 1:12-26 If your problem seems impossible, then you need to change your perspective. There are a few things that even the worst problems cannot do. They cannot separate you from God’s love. They cannot separate you from God’s family. They cannot separate you from God’s protection. They cannot deny you your eternal reward. They cannot keep you from serving Christ. The only one who can do that is you. Subscribers may view this message at: http://preacherstudy.com/premium/situation.html "Monitoring the Spiritual Heart" Matthew 13:1-23 There are lots of people around today with such superficial hearts. Many of them come to church. Just put on a big show. Promise them something for nothing. They jump on the Jesus bandwagon for the things that are promised. Their enthusiasm even sometimes temporarily eclipses that of the stalwart saints around them! But then the pressure gets on and they're gone. Subscribers may view this message at: http://preacherstudy.com/premium/heart.html [4] ***Contact Info*** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Preacher's Study Website & Ezine http://preacherstudy.com "Energize Your Preaching" Owner: Dave Redick Email: editor@preacherstudy.com To subscribe to this Ezine go to: http://preacherstudy.com/maillist.htm Back issues available at: http://preacherstudy.com/bkissue.htm US Mail: The Preacher's Study 1470 Westwood Lane Sweet Home, OR 97386 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~