Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Ministry To Whom?
Frank Lauterbach recently wrote a very interesting post preaching to the saved and the unsaved.
He is absolutely right that no Christian should become so inculcated with life in the church that they lose the ability to communicate with the unchurched. We also have to remember the primacy of our mission to spread the gospel. Of this I have no dispute. I also agree that much of what we spend endless hours debating and dicussing is just not all that important.
But having said that, we are also a body of many parts, and all those parts are necessary.
I think the question should be, "Is the preaching uplifting?" It certainly should not become bogged in "endless disputes," it should seek to glorify God. It may reach the unchurched directly, or it may reach the churched that in turn reach the unchurched, but either way, the mission is accomplished. That which glorifies God will bear fruit.
Related Tags: preaching, audience, ministry, body of Christ, church
I am looking back on years of preaching and seeing certain themes addressed again and again -- sanctification, spiritual gifts, the church, specific of Christian ethics. It is clear that most of my preaching is addressed to believers, who share a common framework of thinking with me, and I am helping them awaken to live by what they know.I am reminded of the days when the Godblogosphere was a less crowded and less contentious place and we had a grand discussion on who was the audience for preaching - see here -- here - here. I am not sure we ever settled the issue, but we sure did talk it to death. Two quick thoughts on Lauterbach's comments.
But if I listen to my preaching from the perspective of some of my secular friends, it does not make sense. I can hear them now: What is this pretrib rapture? What is sanctification? WHY does God tell us to do or not to do certain things? Why is marriage inviolable? Why do you think you have absolute truth? Why do you get angry about certain things and not about others? Why do you speak so often about gender issues? What do you think of women being paid less for the same work?
I wonder if for the lost person sitting in our preaching services would be the equivalent of me sitting in on a lecture on engineering codes or new software design?
I wonder how many of our debates and discussions are intramural disputes? I am not saying they are insignificant as we must uphold the truth. I am wondering if I have lost touch with the questions that come when we engage unbelieving people with the Gospel.
He is absolutely right that no Christian should become so inculcated with life in the church that they lose the ability to communicate with the unchurched. We also have to remember the primacy of our mission to spread the gospel. Of this I have no dispute. I also agree that much of what we spend endless hours debating and dicussing is just not all that important.
But having said that, we are also a body of many parts, and all those parts are necessary.
1 Cor 12:14-21 - For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."Preaching is an important ministry, but it is not THE ministry. It is not necessarily the job of the preachng service to do everything - lift up the people of Christ, reach the unsaved, etc. Certainly not all at the same time.
I think the question should be, "Is the preaching uplifting?" It certainly should not become bogged in "endless disputes," it should seek to glorify God. It may reach the unchurched directly, or it may reach the churched that in turn reach the unchurched, but either way, the mission is accomplished. That which glorifies God will bear fruit.
Related Tags: preaching, audience, ministry, body of Christ, church
