blogical fallacy: April 2006

The Purpose of the Pulpit

As a result of my link to Doug Wilson's comic strip regarding the sermon, I have received some questions regarding my view of preaching. One of my good friends emailed me a question, so I thought I would post it, as well as my response here:

What type of preaching are you inclined to now? I ask this not as a challenge but as one that is very curious and eager to learn more. I have read some of the books that you recommended on preaching including "Famine in the Land" and have enjoyed them thoroughly. My struggle currently is that I see many sermons and methods that are in error, yet I don’t have all of the answers on what exactly to replace them with.

Here is the deal: I think a sermon should be an exposition of a given text. It should help the congregation better understand what God was saying when it was written, and how that has bearing on us today. I think it should be clear, well-researched, and leave the listeners with a bigger view of God, His Word, and their response to it. I don’t think it should be the main forum for introducing technical terms and serious intellectual scholarship (although this is necessary during the preparation for the sermon), rather the serious preparation should lead to a straightforward understanding of the true meaning and implication of the text being exposited. In other words, the sermon itself is not a seminary course, but it is a result of scholarly research that benefits all of the lay people. I do think we should require the congregation to put on their thinking caps and engage seriously with the scriptures, but I don’t think we should demand that they understand Biblical Greek or something just to be able to be admonished and encouraged by the word on Sunday Morning.

What do y'all think?

New Feature!

Well, I finally figured out a way to "add" pages to my blog (it's really more like jerry-rigging, but it works for me), and hopefully you'll see some extra options on this page. For now, I have added a reading list, which you can find over to the right under "Blogical Blinks." Check it out, and let me know if you have any other books that absolutely must be on this list. The list is not yet complete; I'm gonna add a "Family" category, and possibly a "Worship" category. Until then, go browse, and buy some books from amazon.

Painfully Funny

Can anyone relate to this?

The Bible as Grand Narrative

I have read the Bible in its entirety, although I confess to knowing it less than I ought. Nonetheless, one of the joys of being a pastor is the opportunity it provides me to deeply study God’s Word on a daily basis with the end not only of growing personally, but also of equipping others in their calling to become disciplined followers of Jesus Christ.

As the pastor of Children’s Ministries, I have had the opportunity over the past few years to lead the first through sixth graders through much of the Old Testament, and we will soon be turning our attention to the New Testament. My desire has been to help the children not only understand the major themes of the Bible, but to also see it as one grand narrative of God’s plan for his creation. Studying God’s Word in this way enables us to see where we fit in this story, and thus how we can glorify God by fulfilling our task as Christ-followers.

The scriptures are my foundation and presupposition; my life is molded by its words; my actions are ordered by its commands; my decisions are shaped by its wisdom.

What do you think?

Christian Worldview and Teaching

A worldview is the lense through which you view, interpret, and respond to, the world. Therefore, a Christian worldview is the lense which allows you to see that Christ is Lord of the world, and is reconciling it to Himself through His victory over sin and death. It is the lense which reveals that we ought to respond to the world by praying that His Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven, and by spreading this Kingdom though the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Since my worldview presupposes that Christ is the αρχη, I must come to the task of teaching with the foundational principle that anything and everything I teach holds together in Him. Any subject or fact that I teach must find its meaning and purpose in Him, and can only be properly understood in the light of His Lordship.

Thoughts?

Sorry

To my dedicated readers:

I apologize for my sparse blogging as of late. My younger sister got married on Friday, and all last week was dedicated to the preparations/celebrations. And since we had 11 people staying in my 1300 square-foot house, my home office was temporarily unavailable to me as well. All that to say I have had no time to blog, and it's not over yet. Tomorrow morning I'll wake up a little before 5 to come down to church and load up my truck with the belongings of Disneyland-crazed teenagers as we make our yearly pilgrimage to the happiest place on earth. Perhaps I'll get a chance to leave some thought-provoking audioblogs from my phone while I'm gone.

Now it's time to say goodbye to all the family... See ya' real soon.

Pompous Pretence and Solemn Platitudes

We often think that a teacher is good if he uses really big words, and impresses us with his ability to teach on a given subject for longer than our attention can hold it. "Wow, he's really smart; I can hardly understand what he's talking about. He must be a great teacher." But if we think about this for a minute, we'll realize that we're coming to a backward conclusion. What does a good teacher do? He makes a difficult concept easy to understand; and if he wants us to remember what we have learned, he'll value the economy of words. John Milton Gregory puts it very well in his book, The Seven Laws of Learning:

"There is a meaner, if not also more mischievous, wrong done by the teacher who seeks to conceal his lazy ignorance by some pompous pretence of learning, hiding his lack of knowledge by an array of high-sounding words beyond the comprehension of his pupils, uttering solemn platitudes in a wise tone, or claiming extensive study and profound information which he has not the time to lay properly before them. Who has not seen or heard all these shams practiced upon children" (45)?

New Feature

I've added a new audioblog feature, which I may occasionally use while on the road. Click the link above to test it out.

My Philosophy of Education

Just in case you were wondering what my thoughts are on education, I thought I'd post them for you here. Enjoy.

I believe that true education, wrapped up in all of life, must begin with the Hebrew Shema, recognizing that the Lord our God is one Lord, and that our purpose is to love Him with our heart, soul, strength and mind. Education must be focused on teaching this truth and its implications clearly and comprehensively. Education must have as its goal the revelation that Christ is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together. God has employed parents as the primary educators of their children, and their responsibility extends to both formal and informal education. Classical and Christian Education exists to support and partner with parents in this endeavor, and is only acceptable when parents are aware of and involved in the education process. The method of the medieval trivium coupled with the content of the Western canon succeeds in matching pedagogy with the mental and social maturity of a child, resulting in learning that is natural and satisfying, and is thus a superior tool for the Christian educator.