Truth is ancient; it's grey hairs may make it venerable;
it comes from Him who is the ancient of days. --Thomas Watson

 

31 May, 2006   comments: (0) Changed Message   Do Different Times Require A Different Message? A recent book in the user-friendly genre includes a section entitled, "Different Times Require Different Messages". That title caught my eye, so I began reading. This author - who pastors a large, user-friendly church - says modern times have ravaged people's self-esteem so badly that people today actually need to hear a different message from what was appropriate a hundred years ago. This is an excerpt from John MacArthur's book Ashamed of The Gospel That user-friendly church author, writes: "In times past the human spirit was far more sturdy than it is now. Modernity has taken a high toll of the human spirit, as has the high cost of the American dream. The stress of modern life has had a greatly negative impact on the self-esteem of modern man. Consequently, there is a high level of fragility in the modern human ego. [Baby] boomers particularly have been fragmented and shattered by the fast pace of modern-day development. That's why our baby boomers today are in a very fragile state. Have you ever taken the time to read messages by some of the great nineteenth-century preachers ... ? If you have, you will probably have noted that [men of that era] addressed quite a different crowd than we do today and they addressed them in a very different manner. And because of those differences, I disagree with those who say that such messages are appropriate for our time. You see, people in our culture are truly broken and deeply wounded. They need desperately to be healed and put back together. But the process of healing, I believe, is different for every era and every generation, including this one. Yes, different times do require different messages." That author is unusually frank in stating his perspective. He candidly admits he believes preaching should accommodate the spirit of the age. (His book also carries unqualified endorsements from several of the top names in the user-friendly, church-marketing, and church-growth movements.) How does this pastor think we should determine what is the appropriate message for our time? He gives this list of suggestions for preachers: Visit those how-to sections in your local bookstores. Regularly have a small group submit a list of their greatest challenges at home and on the job. Similarly, acquire inventories of needs from several secular people in your community. Periodically, examine issues of Time, Newsweek and USA Today, as these publications tend to be on the cutting edge of the felt needs and fears that people are facing. Apply practical aims to every study, message or program in your church. Practice composing practical, catchy titles for your messages (sermons) from various biblical texts. Limit your preaching to roughly 20 minutes, because boomers don't have too much time to spare. And don't forget to keep your messages light and informal, liberally sprinkling them with humor and personal anecdotes. That list is a recipe for weak and insipid preaching. It is also diametrically opposed to biblical ministry. In a superb critique of the church-marketing movement, Douglas D. Webster compares biblical preaching to user-friendly methods: "Biblical preaching was God-centered, sin-exposing, self-convicting and life-challenging-the direct opposite of today's light, informal sermons that Christianize self-help and entertain better than they convict. There are so many illustrations in today's market-sensitive sermons that the hearer forgets the biblical truth that is being illustrated; so many personal anecdotes that the hearer knows the pastor better than she knows Christ; so many human-interest stories that listening to the sermon is easier than reading the Sunday paper; so practical that there is hardly anything to practice. No wonder nominal Christians leave church feeling upbeat. Their self-esteem is safely intact. Their minds and hearts have been sparked and soothed with sound-bite theology, Christian maxims and a few practical pointers dealing with self-esteem, kids or work. But the question remains: has the Word of God been effectively and faithfully proclaimed, penetrating comfort zones and the veneer of self-satisfaction with the truth of Jesus Christ?" The simple reality is that one cannot follow a market-driven strategy and remain faithful to Scripture. Preachers who concern themselves with user-friendliness cannot fearlessly proclaim the whole counsel of God. Those who aspire to preach a timely message will find themselves at odds with the timeless truth of the Bible. Ministers who take their cues from USA Today rather than from God's Word will quickly discover the message that seemed so relevant last week is now yesterday's news. Preaching that conceals the unchanging gospel behind the fleeting issues of our time cloaks the very force that makes good preaching truly powerful. After all, it is not our anecdotes, applications, how-to's, jokes, catchy titles, clever outlines, or other contrivances-but the gospel that is "the power of God for salvation" (Rom. 1:16). Most of the market-driven megachurches insist they would never compromise doctrine. They are attractive to evangelicals precisely because they claim to be as orthodox in their doctrine as they are unorthodox in their methodology. Multitudes are sufficiently reassured by such promises and simply abandon their critical faculties, thus increasing their vulnerability. Unfortunately, real discernment is in short supply among modern evangelicals. Church History Listen to a short audio clip By John MacArthur: The Preaching of the Reformers What did they preach about in the 16th century, and how? 6 minutes, 750k MP3 The truth is, it wouldn't matter much what doctrinal position some of these churches took, because doctrine is simply a non-issue with them. A friend of mine wanted to learn how the user-friendly churches integrate doctrine into their ministries. He selected one of the largest and best-known churches in the movement and ordered several cassettes from their tape ministry. He asked for tapes that focused on biblical doctrine and was sent several tapes and a catalogue. A survey of the catalogue revealed that the sermons preached in the church-by a ratio of more than thirty to one-usually dealt with contemporary topics, psychological issues (depression, eating disorders, self-image), personal relationships, motivational themes, and other matters ala mode. Messages dealing with doctrine-even sermons based on any biblical text-were rare. A tape titled "The Cost of Commitment" dealt not with commitment to Christ, but with the personal sacrifice required to build strong personal relationships with others. After listening to hours of tapes from this pastor, my friend concluded that it was impossible to tell what the man's positions were on any basic doctrinal issues. Most of the messages would have been immediately transferable to any context-a sales convention, a school assembly, or a businessmen's luncheon. They simply avoided doctrinal or biblical issues altogether, using Scripture for illustrative purposes only, often reserving the scant biblical allusions for the very end. Like the modernists a century ago, churches in the user-friendly movement have decided that doctrine is divisive and that peace is more important than sound teaching. Wanting to appeal to a modern age, they try to frame their message as a friendly, agreeable, and relevant dialogue. Unfortunately, it is often the most "relevant" topics that the church can ill afford to agree on. The pet doctrines of our modern age-radicalism, abortion, feminism, homosexuality, and other politically charged moral issues-pose the most obvious problems for user-friendly churches. Their undefined theology and seeker-sensitive philosophy do not permit them to take a firm biblical stance on such matters, because the moment they defy the spirit of the age, they forfeit their marketing appeal. They are therefore forced to keep mum or capitulate. Either way, they compromise the truth. Related Information and Resources: Read how today's pulpits are often pirated by pop-psychology Spurgeon: The Gospel Offends Because it is Intolerant of Sin Learn how churches have changed the message to 'relationships' David Wells shows how most of today's sermons are not even biblical Meet the Ferrari-pulpit preacher that says it's "all about YOU" Read about Robert Schuller's re-engineering of the Gospel Posted by: Jim B.   Link: http://www.oldtruth.com/blog.cfm/id.2.pid.180   Be the first to post a comment about this article        Home  |   About  |  Videos   |  Calvinism