REPRINT
FROM AN ARTICLE BY Leslie Holmes
"Bob
Easley may not have gone beyond sixth grade, but he taught this quasi-educated
preacher that there's a lot more to be learned about preaching than I ever got
inside a book."
Walking
through a bookstore the other day, I was surprised by the selection of For
Dummies Series of books. Starting with DOS for Dummies, this extensive series
of instructional-reference books is intended to present a non-intimidating
series of guides for readers who want to better understand a large variety of
topics. Each of the more than 1,600 topics sports a distinctive yellow and
black cover and a blackboard style logo.
Whatever
one's interest or problem, it seems quite likely that someone figured that
there would be at least one dummy who would need a book on that subject. There
is a book called The Bible for Dummies and another called Prayer for Dummies.
There's also one called Biblical Hebrew for Dummies!
I
could not, however, find a For Dummies book on preaching. I thought such a book
might offer some insight about what the people we preach to each Sunday say
makes for a good sermon. More importantly, and to paraphrase Micah's great
question, what does the Lord require of those of us who are charged with
delivering His message to the people each time we enter the pulpit?
It
seems we not only need to exegete our preaching text, but also exegete our
congregation. Remember, the word exegete finds its roots in the 18th century
Greek word exegeisthai, meaning "to interpret." To properly
understand and relate to our congregation, we need to ask ourselves, "What
are the interests of my flock?"
What
is my congregation's probable level of knowledge about my sermon topic? What
are the people's fixed beliefs and values? How can I best connect with them
when I preach? What do I want my congregation to think as a result of what I
will tell them? What do I want to change about them? What do I want them to do
after hearing me that they are not doing now? These are just some of the
questions we need to ask ourselves if we really are to preach.
I
recall from my early days as a young preacher that I spent long hours gathering
information about my text, ferreting out fine details, salivating over subtle
differences or shades of meaning in my Greek text. All that work fascinated me,
and I looked forward with glee to impressing the good people of my rural
Mississippi congregation with how smart I was. Then one Sunday evening, Bob
Easley stunned me at the door with this simple statement, "I didn't know
we had a bunch of Greeks in our congregation. What you said went way over my
head!"
Bob
was a greatly beloved and hard-working farmer who, like many members of our
church family, had perhaps a sixth-grade education. He loved the Lord, and when
he offered grace before a meal you knew somehow that heaven really paid
attention to the sincere words of Bob's heart. Bob and his wife, Lois, were
founding members of our church. As long as she was alive, Lois had a reputation
for "keeping Bob straight." After Lois died, we got used to Bob's
unvarnished straight talk.
Truth
be told, Bob's plain words spoke for a lot of people in our little
congregation. What Bob was telling me in his own way that Sunday evening was
that now that I had a college education, my sermons were shooting over the
people's heads. His was "a word fitly spoken" (Prov. 25:11). If we do
not know the people to whom we preach, we likely will shoot wide of our
intended targets many times.
Here
are five home-grown truths I learned as I later reflected on Bob's words:
First,
the KISS rule still works, so Keep It
Simple Sir (or Senorita)!
Second,
keep it focused! Avoid the
temptation to stray off the track. That story you really want to tell always
must fit the moment of your message. If it doesn't, save it for another time.
Third,
make it live! Tell a good story
to help make the Bible come alive for the people.
Fourth,
make it portable! Be sure your
congregants have something they can carry out to where they live out their
lives.
Fifth,
make it gripping! Information
that does not include "Here's why this is important, and this is what you
must do with it" is soon forgotten and bears no lasting fruit.
Bob
Easley may not have gone beyond sixth grade, but he taught this quasi-educated
preacher that there's a lot more to be learned about preaching than I ever got
inside a book.
