The Alarming Effects of Poor Preaching

Recently I read a book by J. Ellsworth Kalas entitled, Preaching in an Age of Distraction (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2014). The following quote so grabbed my attention that I decided to reproduce it here in its entirety without further comment. Please read Kalas's words prayerfully and carefully, and if you're a preacher, please join me in searching our hearts and ridding our ministries of poor preaching.

"I have bet most of my life on preaching, and my mind hasn't changed. Yes, I do have some caveats. I tell my preaching students that they have no greater enemy than the poor preacher, because poor preaching makes poor listeners, and poor listeners in turn make for still more poor (or discouraged) preachers. Poor preaching lowers the expectations of the people who come, and it drives out those individuals who hunger for something better. Poor preaching discredits the product it represents. It's dreadful to think of anything that makes the Cross commonplace or that reduces the grace of God to a byword.

"By poor preaching I mean preaching that is insincere or that is carelessly prepared (which, in truth, is another expression of insincerity). By poor preaching I mean that which is without a gospel--that is, without the good news of Christ that brings salvation. By poor preaching I mean preaching that is short on love for God and for the human race. By poor preaching I mean preaching that is not doctrinally sound. By poor preaching I mean preaching that is not winsome and persuasive. By poor preaching I mean preaching that does not bring salvation to sinners and growth in Christ to believers" (pages 132-33).

O Father, deliver us from the snare of poor preaching and teach us to preach your Word with the integrity, dignity, and power due your Name!

Comments

God Displays His Beauty While Lifting Heavy Burdens by Pastor Kevin

I know I am a little bit overweight. My doctor tells me so. The mirror that I look into affirms it and the scale (that I mostly avoid) reminds me every time I step on it. All of that makes what I am about to say so much more impressive. I had the privilege of sitting on the beaches of Florida's Atlantic coast for 8 days on our most recent family trip. For me there is something magical about the beach, especially on the Atlantic side with the waves washing up against the shoreline. We have been lucky enough to find a sleepy beach town to vacation at. A nook, if you will, that typically features retired folks or families with kids. Out of the way of those who want to party, the beach is truly a relaxing place for me. Let me tell you something that I gleaned this time around that never quite landed on me. This last week it landed on me, almost literally. My son Ben and I are the more adventurous specimens in the Feder five. We actually get into the salty water where there are jelly f...

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord, by George Muller

To Have My Soul Happy in the Lord By George Muller “It has pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, the benefit of which I have not lost for more than fourteen years. The point is this: I saw more clearly than ever that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not how much I might serve the Lord, or how I might glorify the Lord, but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man might be nourished. “I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the Word of God—not prayer, but the Word of God. And here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God so that it only passes through my mind just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what I read, pondering over it, and applying it to my heart. To meditate on it, that thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, instructed. And that thus,...

Rejoicing in the Wrath of God: Part 1 by Pastor Charlie Handren

This Sunday we resume our study of the book of Revelation and within the first eight verses of chapter 6 we will encounter the wrath of God being poured out upon the world. In one sense, being confronted with the reality of God’s wrath is uncomfortable at best, but in another sense, it fills the believing heart with joy. One of the first essays I wrote in college was on the wrath and love of God, and probably the main effect it has had on my life is to cause joy to rise up in my heart whenever I contemplate God’s wrath. Sometime ago I shared this with a pastor friend of mine and though he said nothing in response, he looked at me as if to say, “If you knew anything about the wrath of God, you would not rejoice in it.” At the time, I wasn't sure how to respond, but I knew that the joy in my heart was not stemming from a belittling of the horror of the wrath of God. Then several years ago, as I was reading through Revelation, I came across a couple of passages in chapters 15 and 16 ...

Glory of Christ Fellowship

Search This Blog