This month's featured article is from AGC's Chaplain Jay Hanranft. Jay is a retired Army Chaplain who is doing work on ... you guessed it, Preaching and the Book of Proverbs. In this article there are concepts one should consider as to why Proverbs should be used in our preaching. Definite food for thought for all of us who are called to preach the "Whole Counsel" of the Word of God. This is especially true when Proverbs contain so many rich jewels on how we should live as believers. Read and enjoy.
The Case for Expository Preaching from the Book of Proverbs
Form “The concept of form has been applied since Gunkel to the small individual units representing the materials out of which the literary work is composed... Form...is a category for analyzing relatively small, individual units of literary material.”[16] Categories of forms are: Law, Dream, Lament, Parable, Miracle, Exhortation, Autobiography, Funeral dirge, Lawsuit, Pronouncement, Report, Royal accession, Passion.[17]
Proverb Here two definitions are offered.
The Need of Effective Instruction in Homiletics
The Case for Preaching Proverbs
Proverbs Everywhere but the Pulpit
The Case for Expository Preaching from the Book of Proverbs
by Jay Hartranft
Preaching is essential to the work of God. G. Campbell Morgan expressed it this way, “The supreme work of the Christian minister is the work of preaching.”[1] In his article listing Baylor University’s Preacher’s Hall of Fame, Woodard asserts, “For many Protestants - Baptists in particular - preaching isn’t everything: it’s the only thing.”[2] But it was Matthew Simpson who put it most eloquently when he wrote of preaching and the preacher:
His throne is the pulpit; he stands in Christ’s stead; his message is the word of God; around him are immortal souls; the Savior, unseen, is beside him; the Holy Spirit broods over the congregation; angels gaze upon the scene, and heaven and hell await the issue. What associations, and what responsibility!”[3]
This focus on preaching is centered on a particular method of preaching -- namely, expository preaching. The research and writing for this project has been undertaken after three years of intensive study under the tutelage of Dr. Haddon Robinson. Robinson impressed upon his students exactly what he wrote in his textbook on expository preaching:
God speaks through the Bible. It is the major tool of communication by which He addresses individuals today....Through the preaching of the Scriptures, God encounters men and women to bring them to salvation (II Timothy 3:15) and to richness and ripeness of Christian character (II Timothy 3:16-17). Something awesome happens when God confronts an individual through preaching and seizes him by the soul. The type of preaching that best carries the force of divine authority is expository preaching.[4]
A commitment to expository preaching carries with it a love for people and a desire for them to be changed and conformed to the image of Christ. G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “The preacher should never address a crowd without remembering that his ultimate citadel is the citadel of the human will.”[5] Andrew Blackwood amplifies further by writing, “People who sit under the right sort of expository preaching form the habit of living all week according to what they learn from the Bible.”[6] Expository preaching and pastoral care for people are congruent when “preaching [is] seen as the primary pastoral activity, the one from which all other pastoral leadership flows.”[7]
What is Expository Preaching?
An expositional sermon is an accurate explanation of the message of a biblical passage (passages) that includes a persuasive application for its listeners.[8]
Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through him to his hears.[9]
In relation to expository preaching and the book of Proverbs, some key terms are: Big Idea; Homiletical Idea; Context; Genre; Form; and Proverb.
Big Idea This is a term coined by Haddon Robinson used to define the main idea or exegetical idea of a Biblical text. Later in the sermon development process, this exegetical idea will be restated and become the homiletical idea. Robinson stated that “a sermon, like any good speech, embodies a single, all-encompassing concept.”[10] The concept, the main idea, is the “big idea”. It should be stated in a complete, coherent sentence containing a “subject” and “complement”. The “subject” is derived by the answer to the question, “What am I talking about?” The “complement” is added by answering another question, “What am I saying about what I am talking about?”[11]
Homiletical Idea “The statement of a biblical concept in such a way that it accurately reflects the Bible and meaningfully relates to the congregation.”[12]
Context “The wider framework in which a passage occurs. It can be as narrow as a paragraph or chapter, but it ultimately includes the argument of the book.[13]
Genre Genre is defined as “A group of written texts marked by distinctive recurring characteristics which constitute a recognizable and coherent type of writing.”[14] Categories of genres are: Narrative, Prophecy, Wisdom, Psalm, Gospel, Epistle, Apocalypse.[15]
Form “The concept of form has been applied since Gunkel to the small individual units representing the materials out of which the literary work is composed... Form...is a category for analyzing relatively small, individual units of literary material.”[16] Categories of forms are: Law, Dream, Lament, Parable, Miracle, Exhortation, Autobiography, Funeral dirge, Lawsuit, Pronouncement, Report, Royal accession, Passion.[17]
Proverb Here two definitions are offered.
“The term for ‘Proverb’ is masal, which comes from a root idea meaning ‘parallel’ or ‘similar,’ and hence signifies ‘a description by ways of comparison.’ The term is then applied to figurative speech of an epigrammatic or prophetic character, such as the oracles of Balaam (Num. 23:7).”[18]
A Biblical proverb “is a concise, memorable saying, usually in poetic form, expressing a generally accepted observation about life as filtered through Biblical revelation.”[19]
The Need of Effective Instruction in Homiletics
We live in a culture where information and images come to us through professional communicators backed by highly sophisticated electronic media. Men and women sitting in front of their television sets or listening to the radio expect to be entertained, excited, updated and informed - all at the same time. On Sunday Mornings as preachers stand in pulpits and proclaim God’s truth from the Scriptures to this media-saturated audience they face overwhelming obstacles. Stott observes, “Television makes if harder for people to listen attentively and responsively, and therefore for preachers to hold a congregations attention.”[20]
R. Kent Hughes comments on the problem at more length:
Preaching is far more difficult today than in past decades. There was a time across America when Sunday’s sermon was the most stimulating event of the week. Then came the wireless and ABC and NBC in megadecibles. With this came the advent of the notorious “short-ended attention span.”[21]
Today’s preachers have sturdy competition, but they have a superior product.
There is a great difference between anchoring the news and preaching God’s Word. A preacher called of God proclaims the Bible. The purpose of the proclamation is not simply to impart information. Instead, as Paul said to his young associate Timothy, it is said that the man or woman of God “may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work.”[22] A preacher not only wants the audience to hear the word, but to understand and to act on it.
Most professional Christian workers receive whatever training they have in public speaking during their Bible college or seminary years. Many do an effective job of preaching by building on the principles they learned there. Some are effective in their ministry because they have built on the principles they learned in school. Some are natural public speakers. Yet many seminary and Bible college graduates feel unprepared for their role as preachers.[23]
Pastors and preachers of this present generation do struggle to prepare and deliver sermons because of the difficulty in effectively communicating any message to an over-communicated society. Sermons need to be sharp, clear, concise, and relevant in order to connect with a modern audience
The Case for Preaching Proverbs
The question for many homileticians is, “Why preach Proverbs?” Tom Long has well stated their view of the book of Proverbs as “a deserted stretch of highway between Psalms and Ecclesiastes.”[24] He continues this outlook saying, “most preachers scramble for higher ground, saying in effect, ‘Leave the proverbs to Confucius; we’ll stick with the prophets and parables.’”[25] David Gowen’s own view also expresses the attitude of these preachers:
Of what use can the Old Testament proverbs be to the preacher? Their very nature suggests they ought not to be taken as texts to be expounded in a sermon. What needs to be said, they have already said in the most effective way. They are like the punch line of a joke; if they have to be explained, better not to bother with it in the first place...When one preaches on wisdom themes the best way to use the proverbs may be as the writers of those sermonettes did (i.e. Proverbs 1-9), to intersperse them along the way to drive home a point and to serve as memorable summaries of what has been developed.[26]
Dave Bland rehearses further this position stating, “The book is often treated by preachers as the resident alien of Scripture. Preachers, therefore, feel their hands are tied when it comes to developing sermons from Proverbs.”[27] In his essay on preaching from the Hebrew Scriptures, Al Fasol maintains that “Proverbs perhaps could be effectively shared on Wednesdays nights during Bible Study.”[28] Elizabeth Achtemeier confesses that “preaching from any portion of Proverbs 10-29...can seem to confront the homiletician with enormous problems.”[29] She continues to elaborate on the problem of preaching Proverbs:
What does a preacher do with a two or four line text that is unconnected with what precedes and follows it? That is one of the difficulties with Proverbs 10-29; those chapters seem to have the most random order, simply listing maxims one after another.[30]
It is evident that these observations are by no means uncommon. The sum of the problem is presented most effectively by Bland, “When it comes to preaching, the book of Proverbs has fallen on hard times.”[31]
Bob McCabe asks, “How often do we hear sermons from the book of Proverbs? We probably have to think long and hard to answer this question.”[32] Preaching from Proverbs just isn’t being done.
There are some few preachers, however, who venture into the pulpit with a sermon from Proverbs. But without homiletical instruction on the literary genre of Proverbs, an expositional sermon is dubious at best. Normally the preacher orates a topical message on wisdom, the fool, the sluggard, the friend, or the family. The words of Haddon Robinson are most certainly true, “In some ways, preaching from the Proverbs is a bit like playing the saxophone. It is easy to do poorly. Much harder to do well.”[33]
As mentioned above, seminary and Bible college graduates feel unprepared for their role as preachers. However, when it comes to preaching Proverbs, seminary and Bible college graduates are not alone. To explore the problem 153 surveys were sent to pastors of the largest churches in America.[34] Another 22 surveys were delivered to nationally recognized[35] preachers, and teachers of preaching.[36] Responses from forty preachers were received. These responses represented pastors from nine denominations with an average preaching ministry extending 26 1/2 years. When asked, “Have you ever used a verse or passage from Proverbs as your main text?”, an astonishing 30% answered “no.” A further survey question asked the remaining 70%, “How many of your messages on Proverbs were expository messages?”[37] The response was a total of 209, or an average of 5.2 messages per preacher. More succinctly, those 70% of pastors of the largest churches in America with preaching ministries spanning 26 1/2 years, preach expository sermons form Proverbs once every five years.
Why is there such a neglect of Proverbs by preachers? What reason can be given for the absence of proverbial wisdom from the pulpit? Dave Bland offers this:
The thicket of individual proverbs that are located in chapters 10-29 have been marginalized in homiletic circles for a number of reasons. For one, the individual proverbs are perceived as having no context. The sayings, according to customary scholarly consent, are all randomly collected. For another, the proverb itself has no narrative plot. There is no homiletical loop or reversal motif built into the saying. If one were to diagram a narrative, it would be a line rising diagonally toward a climax. In contrast the most fitting diagram of a proverb may simply be a period. Once a proverb has been spoken, can anything else be said?[38]
Proverbs Everywhere but the Pulpit
Many preachers invest several hours on their sermon to develop the “big idea.” They think hard on framing that concept into a short, concise, memorable phrase; a proverb if you will. Yet it seldom enters the minds of these homileticans to search the book of Proverbs. As most preachers continue to shun Biblical Proverbs from their studies and their pulpit, their congregations are living by proverbs out in the world. Long says that, “...people today often base their decisions, arrange their affairs, and form their values on proverb-like advice.”[39]
Imagine the congregation leaving Sunday’s service yet without a clear grasp of the preacher’s practical thought for living. One gets into his car, turns on the radio and hears, “If it feels good do it, do it if its what you feel.” Another departs with her child in tow wearing the smiling faced yellow T-shirt bearing the inscription, “Have a nice day.” At home, during the breaks between the basketball game, the family hears the TV blurt out, “The more you know” or “Just do it.” Another seven minutes of basketball go by before you hear the car commercial saying, “taking care of number one.” Proverbs are everywhere but in the pulpit.
McKenzie writes:
Preoccupied with pondering the sermon for the week, we most often pass by proverbs with unseeing eyes and upturned noses. We walk and drive by them on billboards, T-shirts, coffee mugs, cartoons, magazine adds, bumper stickers, and posters. Busy reflecting on how we can put Biblical wisdom in conversation with contemporary wisdom, we hear them with unlistening ears, as the refrains of songs, in media commercials, and in conversations. Proverbs! Constantly used by the people, consistently ignored by many preachers.[40]
Haddon Robinson sent a picture of a flower with the inscribed words “Bloom where you’re planted.” This thesis-project has come to fruition in part because of those “proverbial” words of encouragement. It is a fact that Americans govern their lives by the popular proverbial wisdom of our society. It is therefore essential that the theological, practical wisdom of Proverbs be proclaimed to the church. As Thomas Long put it, “The question is not will people live by proverbs, but what kind of proverbs will they cherish?”[41] Alyce McKenzie summarizes the matter saying, “The answer, in large part, depends on the contemporary preacher.”[42]
Pastors need to learn to preach effectively. A common way to refer to a minister is a “preacher.” A preacher who cannot preach or will not preach, fails at the core of his calling. As every pastor knows, the preparation and delivery of sermons takes a large portion of his time and thought. The pastor knows that his ministry in the pulpit will enhance the ministry of the congregation. As a church increases in size, the minister depends more and more on his ability to preach. In order to influence his congregation he must be prepared to preach with skill.
The church needs skilled preachers. Those who take the Bible seriously, both in the pulpit and the pew, believe that the Scriptures are God’s truth. It is a sin to bore people with the Bible or to give the impression to a congregation that the Scriptures are irrelevant to life. Pastors who care about their congregations must know how to prepare sermons and deliver them. The book of Proverbs is an untapped goldmine, a generous resource of biblical data that can effectively be shared with congregations through expository preaching.
[6] Andrew W. Blackwood, Expository Preaching for Today: Case Studies of Biblical Passages (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury, 1942), pp. 34-35.
[11] For further analysis and instruction in using the “subject” and “compliment” questions to obtain the “big idea”, refer to chapter two in Robinson’s Biblical Preaching, pp. 31-45.
[15] Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., reprint, 1989), p. 23.
[16] Arthur J. Baird, “Genre Analysis as a Method of Historical Criticism,” SBL Proceedings. Vol. 2 (1972), 386.
[20] John R. W. Stott, “Preaching: God’s Word to the Church Today,” in The Coming Evangelical Crisis, ed. By John H. Armstrong (Chicago: Moody, 1996), p. 70.
[21] R. Kent Hughes, p. 92. See also pp. 70-73 for a complete critique of the negative effects of television on other types of communication.
[22] 2 Timothy 3:17. All Scripture references will be taken from THE NEW SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE, KING JAMES VERSION, unless otherwise noted, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967).
[23] In a 1994 survey conducted by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary student Randy Pelton, 173 of 300 pastors responded and yielded the following information: 43.4% pastors struggle with illustrations; 33.5% struggle with outlining the sermon texts; 38.7% struggle with relevance in their sermons; and, 24.9% struggle with identifying the big idea of the passage which is essential to preparing and preaching the sermon.
[24] Thomas G. Long, Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989) p. 53.
[26] Donald Gowan, Reclaiming the Old Testament for the Christian Pulpit, (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, reprint, 1994), p. 104.
[28] Al Fasol, “Preaching in the Present Tense: Coming Alive to the Old Testament,” in Reclaiming the Prophetic Mantle: Preaching the Old Testament Faithfully, ed. George L. Klein, (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992) p.230.
[29] Elizabeth Achtemeier, Preaching from the Old Testament, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989), p. 171
[32] Robert V. McCabe, “Preaching from Proverbs” (paper presented at the Mid-America Conference on Preaching, Inter-City Baptist Church, Allen Park, Michigan, October 24-25, 1996).
[33] Letter from Dr. Haddon Robinson, Professor of Homiletics at Gordon-Conwell University, September 6, 1996.
[34] John N. Vaughn, Mega Churches and American Cities (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993) Vaughn lists the 100 largest churches in America and the 100 fastest growing churches in America. The two lists together produced the 153 churches whose pastors were surveyed.
[36] Robinson, Biblical Sermons, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), pp. 5-6. The book produced ten preachers for the survey.
[40] Alyce M. McKenzie, Preaching Proverbs: Wisdom form the Pulpit (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996), p. xiii.
No comments:
Post a Comment