I have re-entered the fray of preaching. I am a part of a church plant. It has been "successful" thusfar. We opened just a few months ago and we are averaging 200 in worship. Easter brought over 400.
Here is the problem. The church is a marketing-driven church. The production is very slick. Every video and each marketing piece is top-notch.
Unfortunately, we are also using sermon series developed by other churches.
I am doing about 1/3 of the speaking. I was reviewing the outline tonight for next Sunday. What I discovered is that the sermon is merely "proof texting." That means that the scriptures are merely being used out of their context to say what the preacher wants to say--not what they actually say.
This is the problem. I hear consistently that our church lacks depth, and doesn't deliver scriptural meat. The reason is that the speaker reads a scripture and goes on to say whatever he wants. True biblical preaching only happens when a scripture is taken within its context and explained in modern terms.
Slick marketing may draw a crowd. But it does not "make disciples." Marketing and prefab sermons are offensive to Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment