There is a trend today that is becoming more and more disturbing to me, but I watched a pastor online yesterday break that trend – and I immediately reached out to family in the area of his church and told them – GO! Sit there for a few weeks, and see if the Lord is not speaking to your heart… So… What’s this trend!?!?!? I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!!!
It is not dramatic plays with questionable music and performances… Scripture records MUCH wilder things that God did to get people’s attention. It’s not pouring syrup on a bible, or wearing flashy clothes and expensive shoes… Look some of that stuff, I get it – it can be off putting. But, if it’s not your thing… it’s not your thing. But these acts of extremity and immaturity may not be the detriment of the church that we think it is.
WHAT IS THE TREND, AARON!?!?!?!
Well, we live in an era where people spend 2+ hrs in a movie theater, 2 hours at a concert, binge watch streaming shows that are 45 minutes or more per episode. They are streaming podcasts and YouTubers for hours at a time – and let’s not even calculate how much time is given over to social media. So with all of that, I ask sincerely…
Why are we, who proclaim the truth in such
a rush to nail it in 35 minutes or less?
I have not heard a single argument yet that makes enough sense to justify the trend of rushed preaching!!! There is no Biblical precedent for it… we preach to our church not to bend to cultural demands, but isn’t that what we have done in our preaching. Now, I understand that there are some churches with multiple services , so the time is an issue of logistics. I GET IT, but I wonder if the better plan is to make that second and third service a little later… OR, is it time for you to start sending out pastors to plant more churches instead of stacking service after service – This is not a rebuke or judgement… this is a shepherd reasoning with shepherds.
I have considered the effects of this rushed preaching:
1. It means that we preach more and teach less.
When we reduce our sermon to a 35 minute message, we have to rely on some of those tools that we learn in our homiletics classes… hard hitting quotes… big ideas… cognitive breaks… and clear transitions. All of these are great. coupled with a clear application and call to action, and we have nailed the sermon – but have we TAUGHT the word? We preached it… Proclaimed it.. but was it didactic (a word that keeps them learning when they leave)? And a few Greek words and some historical background is not teaching.
2. It potentially robs us of the movement of the Spirit in the Church
Do not get me wrong – to be time conscious is not a bad thing – but when every week, we are mapping out the service and telling the Lord how much time he has to use us to impart truth, we have to AT LEAST consider how dangerous that can be. How many more opportunities will people have to sit under a message that has been bathed in prayer and pastoral passion?
3. It inadvertently diminishes the power of the preached word.
When you really look at the services today – some are 60-90 minutes long. The sermon comes at the end of worship, greeting, offering, announcements, and sometimes a host of other pageantry things that we have added into the worship experience… then it is the preaching. By volume, the preaching has been given the tail end, and the least time. What does this say to the hearers?
4. It robs the pastor of prophetic authority
You’ve heard it… I have heard it… “I’m sorry… give me just a few more minutes” or “I’m trying to close and get you outta here…” You fill in the blanks of the host of other apologetic phrases that pastors make because they want to continue in what the Lord has given them, but they are racing against the clock. But he or she is the one that God has given a word for that day.
I can list other reasons, but for now, suffice it to say that we have to do something about this! God forbid that we come to find out that our churches have been growing because it provided the most convenient opportunity to ‘feel good’ without really disturbing our time. The pastor that I watched recently is worth sharing here. In the midst of preaching his sermon, the Spirit led him somewhere in just the intro…. Granted, he asked the church if he should stop or keep going, but you can tell from the response of his congregation that this is a man who has created a community of men and women hungry for the Word, and to be taught in a way that they can live out the truth as faithful witnesses.
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