So about nine or ten hours from now....and hours afterwards as the time zone comes into play....pastors will enter their pulpits. Most will have heard how our President casually used the word godd*m in his North Carolina rally....twice. I wonder what the Vice President thought about it....and Franklin Graham....and Jonathan Cahn....(I don't think that Jehu would do that)....and the Texas mega-church pastor who has taken it upon himself to be President Trump's primary defender from America's clergy?
We had visitors yesterday.....family that had moved away years ago and who were back for a visit. They related how their old church back here was way down in attendance as so many had moved to a new modern church with a big screen and plenty of vibrant music. I have a different family member who moved from a sound biblical church to a less biblical church because of the music....and I have another family member who did the opposite.
Is this weak preaching that has come to symbolize evangelicalism today the fault of the pastor....or the congregations? Oh you didn't know that this is a weak preaching age? Sorry for the bad news but the good news in this is that there is no where to go but up. Well ask yourself. If you had out of necessity the need to change churches....what kind of church would you look for? My guess is that most answers would be they that would look for what would be considered a vibrant....successful....church....whereas on the other hand if a congregation demands that the cross of Christ be preached....most pastors would probably study up....and preach on it. There may be the answer.
I've related before how when we travel or go on vacation that I scan all the church websites that I can find.....in an attempt to find a church where the gospel is usually preached. It's always a difficult task. The average church website gives precious little information on what they even actually believe....but they can give page after page after page on all the ministries that they offer.
The most powerful preacher of Christ and His gospel that I have ever known personally spoke in somewhat of a monotone....with a faint stutter....and he wore a clerical robe in the pulpit. There were a handful of us who after the sermon were as if our shoes were nailed to the floor....for we just had to sit there for a few minutes and contemplate the majesty and the wonder of what we heard described......but the majority thought the pastor rather boring. He eventually moved on....on his own.
We all share in the guilt for what the modern evangelical church has become. I have contributed more than my share over the years towards our condition. Generally.....congregations choose their own pastors. I was on a pulpit committee once that made a very good choice.....but I also voted against the man who would turn out to be the second best preacher that I have ever known personally. Fortunately the other side won that vote. Then again the finest young preacher I could even imagine.....a young Spurgeon in my view....was turned away from a congregation by getting only six votes. No....I think that the congregations bear the greater burden of guilt for the poor preaching age we live in. On the whole....we have no idea what preaching from the past was like....and we're way too busy making America great again....therefore not in any way in need of or interested in finding out.
Note: The 'Isaac Crockett' link to your left is a very short novel that I wrote over twenty years ago and can be read in a few hours. Isaac is a very big name rock star from the group Pilgrim. He's a Christian....and a Reformed theology Christian at that....who is having doubts about how long he should stay in Rock & Roll. He meets by happenstance Anne....a Catholic girl with a devout Catholic father. Of course we know that even happenstance has a designer. They fall in love and then the Catholic/Protestant divide.....comes between them. The novella takes place in Isaac's hometown of Ocean City, New Jersey (my favorite beach town) and Anne's hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania where friends of ours live. There are not many chapters but a lot happens. I was raised Catholic and Anne's father is modeled somewhat after my grandfather. Folks....I'm not a professional writer....you probably already know that....but I had a purpose in the novella and even a lot of fun writing it. As I needed a name for a character I just quickly picked a name from out of my past....friends from Buffalo where I was raised until the age of 12....and friends from Pittsburgh....and even friend's names from the army. Anne's church is the descriptive of the church I grew up in....and Isaac's respect for both sides of our Civil War is modeled after my feelings. Finally Isaac's passion for disseminating Christian literature....is also from me.
We had visitors yesterday.....family that had moved away years ago and who were back for a visit. They related how their old church back here was way down in attendance as so many had moved to a new modern church with a big screen and plenty of vibrant music. I have a different family member who moved from a sound biblical church to a less biblical church because of the music....and I have another family member who did the opposite.
Is this weak preaching that has come to symbolize evangelicalism today the fault of the pastor....or the congregations? Oh you didn't know that this is a weak preaching age? Sorry for the bad news but the good news in this is that there is no where to go but up. Well ask yourself. If you had out of necessity the need to change churches....what kind of church would you look for? My guess is that most answers would be they that would look for what would be considered a vibrant....successful....church....whereas on the other hand if a congregation demands that the cross of Christ be preached....most pastors would probably study up....and preach on it. There may be the answer.
I've related before how when we travel or go on vacation that I scan all the church websites that I can find.....in an attempt to find a church where the gospel is usually preached. It's always a difficult task. The average church website gives precious little information on what they even actually believe....but they can give page after page after page on all the ministries that they offer.
The most powerful preacher of Christ and His gospel that I have ever known personally spoke in somewhat of a monotone....with a faint stutter....and he wore a clerical robe in the pulpit. There were a handful of us who after the sermon were as if our shoes were nailed to the floor....for we just had to sit there for a few minutes and contemplate the majesty and the wonder of what we heard described......but the majority thought the pastor rather boring. He eventually moved on....on his own.
We all share in the guilt for what the modern evangelical church has become. I have contributed more than my share over the years towards our condition. Generally.....congregations choose their own pastors. I was on a pulpit committee once that made a very good choice.....but I also voted against the man who would turn out to be the second best preacher that I have ever known personally. Fortunately the other side won that vote. Then again the finest young preacher I could even imagine.....a young Spurgeon in my view....was turned away from a congregation by getting only six votes. No....I think that the congregations bear the greater burden of guilt for the poor preaching age we live in. On the whole....we have no idea what preaching from the past was like....and we're way too busy making America great again....therefore not in any way in need of or interested in finding out.
Note: The 'Isaac Crockett' link to your left is a very short novel that I wrote over twenty years ago and can be read in a few hours. Isaac is a very big name rock star from the group Pilgrim. He's a Christian....and a Reformed theology Christian at that....who is having doubts about how long he should stay in Rock & Roll. He meets by happenstance Anne....a Catholic girl with a devout Catholic father. Of course we know that even happenstance has a designer. They fall in love and then the Catholic/Protestant divide.....comes between them. The novella takes place in Isaac's hometown of Ocean City, New Jersey (my favorite beach town) and Anne's hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania where friends of ours live. There are not many chapters but a lot happens. I was raised Catholic and Anne's father is modeled somewhat after my grandfather. Folks....I'm not a professional writer....you probably already know that....but I had a purpose in the novella and even a lot of fun writing it. As I needed a name for a character I just quickly picked a name from out of my past....friends from Buffalo where I was raised until the age of 12....and friends from Pittsburgh....and even friend's names from the army. Anne's church is the descriptive of the church I grew up in....and Isaac's respect for both sides of our Civil War is modeled after my feelings. Finally Isaac's passion for disseminating Christian literature....is also from me.
