Written by Jeremy Edgar | 05 January 2010

There has been a trend in recent years in churches (particularly in North America) that raises my concerns for the health of God's people. The movement essentially is downplaying the significance of preaching in church services. This manifests itself in different ways. Some churches have cut sermon times down into mini-sermonettes of 20 minutes maximum. Others have even abolished preaching altogether in favour of "discussions" or "conversations", where there is no primary communicator of God's Word, but rather each individual has equal input into declaring God's truth. This style has become the popular method in "house churches", where there is no appointed leader, no preacher, and no higher authority to appeal to. Championing this approach is popular Christian author George Barna, who in his book Pagan Christianity goes as far as to say the modern-day sermon has it's roots in pagan religion.

I strongly feel that this de-emphasizing of the preached Word is dangerous at best and damnable at worst. There are several huge issues that come to mind when I think upon this trend: (1) The Bible is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). If we truly believe this, then why do some feel that being in God's Word less will be more beneficial? Why do some put restrictions on sermon times if we actually believe that the Bible is powerful and life-changing? It seems to me that if we believe the Bible to be God's Word and that it is powerful, then we ought to highly value its proclamation. (2) Locking down sermon time into tiny, 20 minute chunks is a reflection of what I feel to be a rather disgusting attitude. I've been unfortunate enough to witness Christians walking out of some churches because the pastor went "over time".  While I do agree that having limits is not always bad, cutting the time down too much clearly shows that we don't value the preached Word. The truth is that most of the fastest growing churches in the world today have preachers going for 45 minutes or more. This is because they are preaching God's living and active Word and unleashing the power of the Holy Spirit into people's lives. We are allowing God to transform lives and convict people of sin through His Word. This is how it ought to be. (3) Cutting preaching out altogether in favour of group "discussions", while perhaps a noble idea, is walking on thin ice. The problem with this approach is that it allows input from any person who may not be qualified to do so. It may also create confusion as disagreements arise and opinions differ. Additionally, it allows for a chaotic approach if not properly controlled where among God's people should be order (1 Corinthians 14:40).

The Biblical pattern of preaching appears much different from this new style. The Bible opens with God speaking the world into creation, a sort of creative sermon. God's beautiful creation is then marred by the sin of Adam and Eve, who were tempted by the false preaching of Satan in the Garden. God follows up again by preaching and prophesying the destruction of Satan, the curse of the world, and the coming of a Savior to "crush the head of the serpent". God then, throughout the period of the Old Testament, selects numerous prophets to proclaim His truth with power, authority, and conviction. This pattern of preaching as the primary method of communication continues into the New Testament with John the Baptizer who "came preaching in the wilderness" and gathered large crowds to hear about the coming of Jesus (Matthew 3:1). Similarly, Jesus is baptized to begin his ministry, and then "from that time Jesus began to preach" (Matthew 4:17). The remainder of Jesus' ministry on earth was marked by frequent preaching, even to crowds of perhaps 20,000 people. The pattern of preaching continues with Jesus' disciples and especially Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), which started the Church age and saw 3,000 come to saving faith in Jesus. The book of Acts, which records early Church history, continues with story after story of men preaching God's Word. Lastly, the dying apostles, giving their final words of instruction to the next generation, charge that preaching should continue..."I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus...preach the Word" (2 Timothy 4:1-2). 

I am extremely grateful for Bible Fellowship Church and the attitude of its people toward preaching. We value the proclamation of God's Word and our pastors are given great freedom to preach the Bible. We give away all preaching content and make it accesible online to as many people as possible. We certainly value God's Word and believe that it truly is living and active, and that when its truth goes forth it will not come back void. Thank you Bible Fellowship Church for being a preaching church.
 
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