Expository preaching becomes unfaithful when...
pastors use it to avoid dealing with the pressing needs faced by the congregation and the realm in which they dwell.
Examples of needs that desperately need addressed by our pastors, but aren't:
• Abortion
• Poverty
• Urban violence
• The global disparity between rich and poor
• Economic justice
• The influence of mass media/Media savviness
Those are a few of today's most pressing needs. Does God's word have something to say about these things?
"Gee, the Bible doesn't say anything about TV."
Don't be ignorant, OK? In addition to doctrinal truth about God, the Bible presents a way of thinking, a system of values and principles, which apply to all of life. This is what I mean when I talk about "holistic gospel". The reign of God through His gospel, as it is spoken and lived out by His people, covers the totality of our existence.
Pastors, I'm talking to you here. Stop shirking your responsibility (if you are) to confront your congregations with the mandatory implications of the gospel. Stop selling them—and the world around them—short by constraining your preaching to family values and personal piety. Start painting a picture of what holistic kingdom living looks like in your own time and place. Maybe you're the one who needs a heart revolution. Maybe you haven't considered all the ways the gospel should shape our behavior. It's time to get serious about it. We have no time to waste.
Souls are not all that matters. Sorry, Plato, you're history. God created a material world, and all of it matters to him. Start acting like it matters to you.
Examples of needs that desperately need addressed by our pastors, but aren't:
• Abortion
• Poverty
• Urban violence
• The global disparity between rich and poor
• Economic justice
• The influence of mass media/Media savviness
Those are a few of today's most pressing needs. Does God's word have something to say about these things?
"Gee, the Bible doesn't say anything about TV."
Don't be ignorant, OK? In addition to doctrinal truth about God, the Bible presents a way of thinking, a system of values and principles, which apply to all of life. This is what I mean when I talk about "holistic gospel". The reign of God through His gospel, as it is spoken and lived out by His people, covers the totality of our existence.
Pastors, I'm talking to you here. Stop shirking your responsibility (if you are) to confront your congregations with the mandatory implications of the gospel. Stop selling them—and the world around them—short by constraining your preaching to family values and personal piety. Start painting a picture of what holistic kingdom living looks like in your own time and place. Maybe you're the one who needs a heart revolution. Maybe you haven't considered all the ways the gospel should shape our behavior. It's time to get serious about it. We have no time to waste.
Souls are not all that matters. Sorry, Plato, you're history. God created a material world, and all of it matters to him. Start acting like it matters to you.
I agree with your passion on the subject. I have been blessed to enjoy expository preaching under a pastor who is able to bring these very real issues today into his sermons. Unfortunately, not all have that opportunity.
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