The Gospel According to Brian
Paying God Forward
Musings from Mullin
Theology FAQs
Art Attack
Turning the Other Cheek
Small Group Spin
Evangelical Eggheads
Donald's Diet
More Bible Reading Plans
Breaking the ice
Permission to Speak
Bible Ready in 2010
Happy Christmas (Peanuts)
Captain Caveman's New Blog
realism & encouragement
On the side of caution...
9 Marks Conf - Edinburgh
Be a tent peg
All that glitters is not gold...
Atheism's Poster Child
What's under your bonnet?
The end of History
Just 'words'?
Noughties Nostalgia
The church I go to...
The Arts & The Church
A prayer for our children
No getting away from it...
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Response
The eXcellence Factor (again)
The Ups & Downs of Temptation
When Sinners Say I Do (D Harvey)
How Great is our God!
SNAG Programme 2009-10
Danger! Ministry is too good
Zambia Calling (6)
Zambia Calling (5)
Zambia Calling (4)
Zambia Calling (3)
Zambia Calling (2)
Zambia Calling (1)
Monday, September 21, 2009
When Sinners Say I Do (D Harvey)
A 'must-get' book on marriage - available on Amazon HERE. The sermon above: 'Falling Out of Love' - gives an extended taster of some of the life-changing Gospel principles that Harvey unpacks in it.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Saturday Nights at Greenview 09-10
New SNAG Programme - each evening commences at 7.30pm (cafe open from 7pm). Whatever happened to…?
The forgotten beliefs of the evangelical church.
Sat 10th October 09
Creation (‘All of Scripture is a footnote to Genesis’)
Bob Fyall
Sat 14th November 09
The Church (Bride or Bridesmaid? Getting our priorities right.)
Stephen McQuoid
Sat 12th December 09
Heaven & Hell (Metaphors or Realities?)
Jim McLatchie
Sat 16th January 10
Revival (Real renewal not ‘boom & bust’)
Ian Shaw
Sat 13th February 10
Original Sin (Real evil in a real world)
Alasdair Fyfe
Sat 20th March 10
The Second Coming (Stagnation or Expectation?)
Edward Lobb
The forgotten beliefs of the evangelical church.
Sat 10th October 09
Creation (‘All of Scripture is a footnote to Genesis’)
Bob Fyall
Sat 14th November 09
The Church (Bride or Bridesmaid? Getting our priorities right.)
Stephen McQuoid
Sat 12th December 09
Heaven & Hell (Metaphors or Realities?)
Jim McLatchie
Sat 16th January 10
Revival (Real renewal not ‘boom & bust’)
Ian Shaw
Sat 13th February 10
Original Sin (Real evil in a real world)
Alasdair Fyfe
Sat 20th March 10
The Second Coming (Stagnation or Expectation?)
Edward Lobb
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Danger! Ministry is too Good.
An expression I find myself using a lot in ministry is: ‘your strengths are also your weaknesses’. So, for example, someone whose great strength is getting things done and being very efficient can often have the downside of not being very sensitive to the opinions or feelings of others as they plough ahead with their projects – but if they were then they probably wouldn’t get so much done etc etc.
This is one of life’s paradoxes and dilemmas – being great in one area often comes with a cost in other areas. However, where this kind of trade-off becomes too much – is when we trade the most important thing for some secondary aspect of it. Let me try and explain….
I’m a great fan of the '5-Live Film Review' podcast with Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo. It's a popular programme due to the wit, dry banter, and eloquence of the presenters. However, despite its acclaim the presenters noted to one guest that their verdicts on films didn’t seem to affect whether listeners went to see them or not. The guest (Jeremy Isaacs) commented in response, ‘you’ve transcended your subject matter’. That is, people just listen to enjoy the chat and comment rather than to be informed by its content.
I think, as a preacher, I experienced an almost physical pang on hearing that observation. In other words the performance was so good that the content had become irrelevant. There is a big danger here for our churches – a pursuit of excellence in presentation that supercedes content. So what matters most is style, professionalism, slickness, feel and experience – and the subtlety of this danger is that whereas we think a preoccupation with ‘excellence’ faciltates the communication of truth – it actually in many cases obscures it.
I note, with some concern, a fixition in some places that preachers should preach without notes. The thinking being that the message will be communicated much more effectively by a person able to walk the platform, have uninterrupted eye contact and speak without apparent reference to memory aids. I have seen this done and then cringed when the listeners applauded at the end – clearly more impressed by his ‘no hands’ skill than challenged by the content of what was said. It was said of Jonathan Edwards that he preached holding his notes about an inch from his nose (he was short sighted) holding a candle in the other hand so as to read them in the evening gloom – but as he preached men clung to the pillars of the church such was the fear of God that came upon them.
What is a danger in preaching ministry is also true in 'praise ministry' – so that the sensation and experience of the medium becomes more important and valued than its content. A similar thing happened in some Charismatic circles where just having spiritual experiences, such as speaking in tongues, effectively became the most important factor in people’s faith. So Charismatic Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists etc could all get together irregardless of their views on justification or sanctification – because such beliefs effectively became secondary to the experience of spiritual gifts. We can see the same potential danger with music & praise in some quarters – serious doctrinal issues can be ignored because what ultimately matters is just enjoying the same worship and music ‘experience’.
But the doctrinal content of the gospel matters – as does it being understood. Great preaching or praise is not ultimately about delivery, eloquence, skill or sensation – it must be about the comprehension of truth or it is dust. So let’s be wary in all our ministries that we aren’t trying to be so good that we leave behind what matters.
This is one of life’s paradoxes and dilemmas – being great in one area often comes with a cost in other areas. However, where this kind of trade-off becomes too much – is when we trade the most important thing for some secondary aspect of it. Let me try and explain….
I’m a great fan of the '5-Live Film Review' podcast with Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo. It's a popular programme due to the wit, dry banter, and eloquence of the presenters. However, despite its acclaim the presenters noted to one guest that their verdicts on films didn’t seem to affect whether listeners went to see them or not. The guest (Jeremy Isaacs) commented in response, ‘you’ve transcended your subject matter’. That is, people just listen to enjoy the chat and comment rather than to be informed by its content.
I think, as a preacher, I experienced an almost physical pang on hearing that observation. In other words the performance was so good that the content had become irrelevant. There is a big danger here for our churches – a pursuit of excellence in presentation that supercedes content. So what matters most is style, professionalism, slickness, feel and experience – and the subtlety of this danger is that whereas we think a preoccupation with ‘excellence’ faciltates the communication of truth – it actually in many cases obscures it.
I note, with some concern, a fixition in some places that preachers should preach without notes. The thinking being that the message will be communicated much more effectively by a person able to walk the platform, have uninterrupted eye contact and speak without apparent reference to memory aids. I have seen this done and then cringed when the listeners applauded at the end – clearly more impressed by his ‘no hands’ skill than challenged by the content of what was said. It was said of Jonathan Edwards that he preached holding his notes about an inch from his nose (he was short sighted) holding a candle in the other hand so as to read them in the evening gloom – but as he preached men clung to the pillars of the church such was the fear of God that came upon them.
What is a danger in preaching ministry is also true in 'praise ministry' – so that the sensation and experience of the medium becomes more important and valued than its content. A similar thing happened in some Charismatic circles where just having spiritual experiences, such as speaking in tongues, effectively became the most important factor in people’s faith. So Charismatic Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists etc could all get together irregardless of their views on justification or sanctification – because such beliefs effectively became secondary to the experience of spiritual gifts. We can see the same potential danger with music & praise in some quarters – serious doctrinal issues can be ignored because what ultimately matters is just enjoying the same worship and music ‘experience’.
But the doctrinal content of the gospel matters – as does it being understood. Great preaching or praise is not ultimately about delivery, eloquence, skill or sensation – it must be about the comprehension of truth or it is dust. So let’s be wary in all our ministries that we aren’t trying to be so good that we leave behind what matters.
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