Tag: Expository Preaching

The Art of Punchy Preaching

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching1 Comment

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. (Ecclesiastes 9:17)

You might not think of Jordan Peterson as an entertainer. His events involve a lecture that lasts an hour and a half to two hours. He isn’t bombastic or edgy but deeply philosophical. If you watch one of these online, you’ll notice the rapt attention that his audience gives him – so quiet, if someone scratches their head, you can hear the dandruff fall. If you wish to attend one of his events, be prepared to shell out a minimum of $65. If you want to sit up close, the price will be closer to $150. This coming Friday, you can hear him in Nashville. There are less than 1,000 seats left in the 20,000-seat Bridgestone Arena. Or you could wait until next week and attend his show at the ~6,000-seat Radio City Music Hall. You’ll pay about $112 for a seat, but you’ll need to hurry – there are about 200 seats left.

Perhaps we could dismiss this as the product of fallen man seeking a saving answer to our depravity through moralistic philosophy. Preachers might struggle to fill an arena if they gave the seats away for free. Even the mega-churches tend to draw them in with music, then slip in a short, entertaining talk that some might identify as a “sermon.”

My point is not that preachers should try to be Jordan Peterson. The man is highly skilled at walking along the cliff’s edge of godless philosophy without slipping into Biblical Christianity. I mean to point out how manifestly false it is that you can’t hold an audience’s attention unless you include lots of bling and keep the sermon to a half hour. People will listen if you have something to say.

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Topical Opinionating

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository, Independent Baptists, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching

I’m not opposed to topical preaching per se. I think there is a case for it. The sermons recorded in the New Testament seem more topical than expository to me. For example, on the day of Pentecost, Peter argued as his thesis that the miracle the people were witnessing was not the product of drunkenness but a fulfillment of Joel’s prophesy in Joel 2:28-32. Peter brought in Psalm 16:8-11 as a supporting witness. The Sanhedrin charged Stephen with speaking “blasphemous words against ‘this holy place’ (the Temple) and the law: For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us” (Acts 6:13-14). Stephen answered by rehearsing the whole history of Moses and the Temple with this conclusion:

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things? (Acts 7:48-50)

His conclusion patches together parts of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple (I Kings 8:27), an allusion to Psalm 11:4, Michaiah’s warning to King Jehoshaphat (I Kings 19:22), and every Old Testament passage that declares God the creator of all things (Ex 20:11; Ps 33:6-9; 50:9-12; 146:5-6; Isa 40:28; 44:24; 45:7-8,12; Jer 10:11; 32:17).

In the Pisidian Antioch synagogue (Acts 13:14-41), Paul preached that “Of this man’s (David’s) seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (23). As proof, he rehearsed the ministry of John the Baptist (24-25), the history of their dealings with Jesus (26-31), and showed from the Old Testament the truth of the claim that “the promise which was made unto the fathers (that “to you is the word of this salvation sent” – v. 26), God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again” (32-33). His proofs are taken from the second Psalm, the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:14-16; Psalm 89:2-4), Psalm 16:10, and the historic contrast between David (who saw corruption) and Jesus of Nazareth (who didn’t). He then repeats the warning of Habakuk 1:5, calling the Jews to repent or perish.

We could continue. Paul’s most famous sermon, which he delivered to the gathered philosophers on Mars’ Hill, includes a handful of Old Testament allusions but does not expound any particular text of Scripture.

At a minimum, New Testament sermon samples allow for the occasional topical sermon. I would point out that the sermons recorded in Acts are given in defense of the gospel, primarily to the Jews but also to the Gentiles (on Mars’ Hill). Preaching to the gathered body of Christ in the New Testament church should mainly focus on expounding the whole of Scripture, “line upon line, precept upon precept.” There is a place for “comparing Scripture with Scripture,” of course, but that should be done to give a thorough presentation of the passage.

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The Danger of Allegorizing

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching4 Comments

If I were a betting man, I would give two-to-one odds on my annual salary that you’ve heard at least one sermon on David and Goliath where the preacher preached that you too can slay your giants.

David and Goliath might be the most frequently allegorized passage in the Bible. It has been used (and abused) until we almost can’t think of it any other way. I was with a group of fellow pastors a few years ago, and I commented that we tend to make Bible stories about ourselves instead of Christ or instead of seeing why God gave us that story. I gave the story of David and Goliath as a case in point. One of my fellow pastors immediately objected to the notion that the story of David and Goliath might be about Jesus. “That’s allegorizing,” he said. I asked him how it is allegorizing to make it about Jesus but not allegorizing to make it about me?

To allegorize is to interpret symbolically. When we allegorize a passage, we look for hidden spiritual meanings that transcend the text’s literal meaning. “Commentators who use allegory deserve high marks for creativity but low marks for approaching the biblical account as literature.” (Haddon Robinson, Biblical Preaching, 59)

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Expository Preaching 101

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository, Preaching and Teaching3 Comments

The great design and intention of the office of a Christian preacher (is) to restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men. (Cotton Mather)

So, what exactly is expository preaching? Among Independent Baptists, expository preaching is greatly derided and ridiculed. Most consider it to be about two degrees north of dead. I often hear it treated as if every sermon were another episode in deep-sea diving. People fear they’ll run out of oxygen before they resurface. In general, expository preaching is thought to have the same value as a wet blanket – good at extinguishing whatever fire and vigor a church has left in it.

Haddon Robinson described preaching as “a living interaction involving God, the preacher, and the congregation.” He offered this working definition of expository preaching.

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 the preacher, applies to the hearers. (Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, p. 5)

Expository preaching operates on the assumption that the Bible comes from one mind and delivers one message. Every passage of Scripture is part of God’s entire message to mankind. And every passage of Scripture contributes an essential part of that message. So, when examining any passage of the Bible, expository preaching seeks to uncover and proclaim the message a loving, heavenly Father has for His children.

Things like “zeal,” “fire,” and “passion” can be faked. Many preachers function by ranting and raving and consider yelling and screaming essential elements of the sermon. Their passion buckets are full, but their sermon mostly lacks substance. They are like a dry thunderstorm on a hot summer day – full of noise but no refreshing rain.

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That Ain’t Expository Preaching

On By Dave MallinakIn Expository, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching

Expository preaching gets a bad rap nowadays. The blame for it can’t fall entirely on those who lampoon it and draw cute caricatures. Some blame belongs to those who think they preach expository sermons but don’t. And some of the responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of expository preachers.

Orthocrusty is hard to defend, no matter what style it uses. God didn’t call preachers to be “bland leaders of the bland.” Regardless of your style, if your preaching is as dry as cracker juice, you aren’t preaching. Philips Brooks said preaching has “two essential elements: truth and personality.” Dr. A.E. Garvie added, “Preaching is not merely a communication of knowledge. As it exercises the whole personality of the preacher, so it is addressed to the whole personality of the hearer as a moral and religious subject.” [1]

Photo by Greg Gulik on Pexels.com

Preaching that lacks Scriptural content isn’t preaching, nor is preaching that lacks personality. If expository preaching has a bad reputation in some circles, blame it on the tendency to bake the sermon for an hour at 425o, run it through the microwave, leave it out in the sun, and set it under a heat lamp until it is thoroughly dehydrated. A sermon worth preaching won’t much resemble the Sahara in the dry season.

But the fault in dry preaching isn’t the Word preached or the style of preaching. The fault is in the preacher, who loved his study more than his people, who gets more joy in saying what he knows than in communicating truth. A change of style won’t likely fix that.

Many believe topical preaching is livelier, though more shallow, than expository preaching. Some see it as a necessary trade-off. And, all things being equal, it is easier to rant and rave when we have nothing to say, and it might be more essential. Shallow preaching becomes a performing art.

But I am for expository preaching. I decided to preach this way when God put me in the ministry, and I have tried to learn the craft over these many years. A good friend of mine made this remark, which I wholeheartedly endorse:

Expositional preaching should be thought of as an “entry point” to preaching. A preacher must know how to do that before he should move on to other styles. The process shapes the way you think…even when not preaching that exact style of sermon.

I’ve preached my share of forgettable messages. I’ve left the church gasping “Water!” more than once. But prefer overcooked steak to wonder bread – which retains that surprisingly moist texture long after it should have turned stale. Nothing stirs the heart quite like a preacher who has been set on fire by the text or passage he intends to preach.

That said, this particular missive aims to strip away some of the false notions of what constitutes “expository preaching.” Lord willing, we’ll come back and discuss what it is. For now, we’ll discuss what it ain’t (with apologies to Aunt Gertie, who hates that word).

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More of What I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching, The Holy Spirit5 Comments

Full disclosure: I struggle with much of what I see in Independent Baptist churches. I try not to be cranky or curmudgeonly, but some things in our tradition drive me crazy. I’m not leaving, and I’m not ungrateful for my heritage. I’ve been an Independent Baptist for over 40 years, since around 1980. I’m not leaving, recovering, reforming, or trashing the trailer park. But much of what I see in our movement is unbiblical. 

For the most part, I can control where I fellowship, one of the more appreciated parts of being an Independent Baptist. I am in Utah, so I get left alone (or ignored), and I’m good with that too. When I am on vacation, let’s say I am very selective about the kind of church I will take my family to visit. And even with my careful research into churches, we have rarely visited an Independent Baptist Church on vacation that we enjoyed. That might be too candid for some, but it is the honest truth. Independent Baptists smirk at expository preaching – it’s too “intellectual” for them. They don’t place a high value on the words of God – despite their nearly rabid commitment to the King James. I find it ironic, in fact, that so many make a big deal about the form of the words and place so little emphasis on the words themselves. 

I’m now in my fifties – not an old man, but no longer young. I’ve been committed to our movement and have publicly defended it. I’ve let myself be tagged as “one of them.”  So, I’m not here trying to make a name for myself by trashing the IFB, and I’m not trying to run a ghetto parade, looting all the stores on Mainstreet, IFB. At this stage in my ministry, candor is appropriate and necessary. I’m not asking anyone to like what I am saying. My ministry hasn’t been built on good-ole-boys style glad-handing. If I have a reputation for anything, it is bluntness, an appropriate gift for the present moment.

My first post covered two things I wish would change among Independent Baptist Churches. Here are two more of the ten on my list. 

Holy Ghost kook-ery

I’m no fan of the “Bapti-costal” tag. Mainly because I don’t see charismatic theology in the Bible anywhere. And I do mean “anywhere.”  Looking for Pentecostalism in the Bible is like looking for fire at the bottom of the ocean – if you find it there, you should swim away fast – like in shark-is-chasing-you fast. 

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