Maybe pastors should stop talking about football


We visit a lot of churches so we have a fairly large sample size to draw from. I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that it is fairly common for the “call to worship” to include some kind of commentary on football! It is always done in a light touch and a smile and I understand the pastor’s desire to appear relevant to current events. Honestly, I’d rather hear that than some kind of political comment (and, yes, I’ve heard that too).

Listen, I like football and sports in general. I like talking about it with my friends. But when I go to church my focus is on something else — Someone else. Start the service off with something spiritual; maybe a reminder that we are gathering for a serious purpose. That’s not to say we don’t come with joy and expectation – or that we don’t enjoy fellowship with one another. Of course we do.

It seems to me many of us are already struggling to get our minds off of a thousand other things as we come to worship. Instead of legitimizing the trivial how about reading a powerful passage of scripture and reminding worshipers that we serve an awesome God and that we are, right now, coming into his presence?

I have to admit that I didn’t arrive at this opinion early in my ministry. In fact, as a young pastor I let the song leader (that’s what we called them back in the old days) get up and announce the first song. This without any input from me at all. As time passed I began to think about how we were beginning our worship services and decided that some of our high church friends were on to something with their liturgical calls to worship.

I started seeking out scriptures that called people into worship and began opening services with scripture and prayer. It may just be my imagination but I think the services took on a more Christ-centered atmosphere.

Now, all the above, I know, must be taken with a strong dose of common sense. When the home town team is playing the Super Bowl there’s room for some level of public commentary. Also, there’s a lot of good sermon illustrations in the world of sports. Still, that kind of stuff has a very limited shelf life and should be used sparingly.

This is, of course, all just my opinion. Still, pastor, it might be reasonable to consider how to best invite people to enter into a spirit of worship.

Pastor, this is real commitment

2014 – Oysterville Historic Church – Near Long Beach, WA (not the church in the story)

I heard a pastor deliver a heartfelt message calling for his congregation to really commit to the church.Ā  He told the church that he had had opportunities to go elsewhere, including a return to his home area to a previous pastorate.Ā  However, he had turned it down because he was committed to this current church.Ā  Then, at the conclusion of the message all those in attendance were invited to join the pastor in his commitment by coming forward as a testimony to their allegiance.

Frankly, there was nothing wrong with any of this.Ā  However, having known many of those laypersons for over 20 years I couldn’t help but smile to myself.Ā  If anyone was qualified to call anyone to real commitment to the local church it was several of those laypersons.Ā  They have already proven themselves faithful.Ā  Several, for a lifetime.Ā  They stayed true to that church through a series of pastors who after a while had declared that the Lord was calling them elsewhere.Ā  They hung in there through some hard times when others moved on to a church down the street.

These were the people who had financially supported the church through the years.Ā  They gave of their time by teaching Sunday School, working in VBS, leading Bible Quiz programs, and showing up for church work days.Ā  They showed up for choir rehearsals and took a turn mowing the church lawn.

Meanwhile, pastors had come and gone.Ā  Some retiring and others just packing up to continue their ministry elsewhere.Ā  Listen, I know that that happens. Ā I do believe that there comes a time when a person needs to move on in their ministry ā€“ often for reasons they, themselves, don’t understand. Ā Circumstances change and both church and pastor can benefit from a healthy change.Ā  Also, in my own ministry, especially in my younger years, I ran out of gas way too early in more than one assignment.Ā  Happily, and to my credit (I think) my stays got longer as I matured in my ministry.

I also understand that some church people need to make a decision and quit playing church.Ā  Some folks have been around the church for years and are still hanging out in the shallows rather than fully committing to the Lord and his Church.Ā  They need to be challenged to go deeper in their spiritual lives.

Still, as I watched those who are prime examples of commitment and faithfulness respond to that sermon I couldn’t help but think things were the reverse of what they should have been.Ā  It was those people who should have been challenging the pastor to commitment.Ā  They should have been on the platform inviting him to come forward and accept their example.

Or, maybe said better, the good pastor should have told his congregation that the example of many in the congregation had inspired him and, as a result, he was committing to them to join them in their faithfulness.Ā  I really doubt that some of them could be more committed to their church than they already are, and have proven over the decades.

Many churches are full of dedicated people who love their church and continue to sacrifice time, talent, and treasure.Ā  We can only hope for pastors who will join them in that commitment.

Preaching for decisions: know when to land the sermon

I heard a well-prepared, well-delivered sermon that was intended to conclude with an invitation. As the sermonĀ was finishedĀ a sweet spirit was evident in the service and I fully expected to see several people respond. The case had been made and the Spirit of the Lord was at work.

But the preacher wouldn’t land the sermon! Instead, we heard one more story followed by yet another application. By the time people were actually given opportunity to respond the moment had faded and the response was meager.

There are two points in the sermon that especially need to be well thought through by the preacher. The first is the first part of the sermon. The other is the closing of the sermon.

I’m not saying that sermons should never include “in flight” direction of the Holy Spirit, even at crucial points (like leading to a call for decisions). However, the preacher needs to be careful to leave the Spirit room to work in the hearts of the listeners and be leery of telling “one more story.”

The biggest single change for pastors

preaching

I was just thinking about the biggest single change I’ve seen in my 45 years of ministry.

One big one was the move away from the KJV to the NIVĀ (or some other modern version) being the most commonly used version of the Bible in our services by preachers. That changed sermons from being, to a large part, translating Shakespearean language to modern English for our listeners to being more focused on the meaning of the text itself.

Another big change was the addition of video to preaching. I know some pastors have yet to move toward it, but the vast majority of our churches have video up at least for scriptures, but often preaching is supplemented by professionally produced videos and clips from popular culture.

A more subtle change is that our listeners now consume a wide variety of teaching ranging from TV and radio preachers to reading books or listening to podcasts from a variety of theological perspectives. This is a major change from the day when the local pastor was the primary source of teaching to those in the congregation. I’ve heard fine lay people repeat stuff that it is clearly incompatible with our doctrines. They’d heard it somewhere, and just accepted it because the speaker is a well known, capable teacher.

I think, though, that the biggest change is the move away from Sunday night services.

As I’ve just been saying, the pastor’s voice is diminished in the lives of church attenders already. So, while people are consuming a variety of religious teaching through the week, most pastors only address their congregations on Sunday mornings during the sermon. That limits the pastor’s influence over the congregation.

I’m not saying, though, that this change is necessarily a bad thing. It was late in my active ministry that our church yielded to the reality that most people simply didn’t want to attend a Sunday night service. And it was only with that change in the church schedule that I had a taste of Sunday being a Christian Sabbath. For many years of my ministry I came to Sunday night exhausted. The concept that the pastor should take a different day as a day of rest never really worked for me. My weekly “day off” was filled with the kinds of things that most everyone does on their days off and not especially restful. I came to greatly appreciate Sunday afternoons as a time to unwind without needing to “reload” for the Sunday evening service.

Beyond that, being able to focus on Sunday morning only made me, I think, a better preacher. All my preparation time was toward one sermon. For non-preachers this may not sound like much but I think most preachers who read this will agree that focusing on one sermon a week makes a huge difference in preaching.

Of all the changes I’ve seen, I think the elimination of Sunday night church is the biggest.

What do you think?

Contemporary Worship: things that bug me

No, I’m not going to complain about the style of music or being asked to stand through the song -er- worship service. Here are three contemporary worship services practices that I am seeing that bug me.

  1. Volume of instruments in the praise band. This may surprise you, but I’m not talking about the music being too loud. We seldom come away from a service in a church of our flavor (Church of the Nazarene) thinking the music is too loud. What I do hear fairly often, though, is unbalanced volume from the various instruments in the band. Often, even when the stage has several instruments, the only two I can hear clearly are the strumming of the worship leader on the guitar and the drummer. If you closed your eyes you would think that was all there was: no keyboard, no bass, no second guitar. Of course there are variations to that. Sometimes the music guy plays keyboard and it’s the keyboard you hear. Really, if you are going to recruit instrumentalists to your praise band and have them come to rehearsal it’s reasonable that your music and sound people work together to balance the sound. Obviously, there are exemptions – maybe you have a not-so-talented musician that you want to encourage by having them sit in. Aside from that, though, an effort needs to be made to equalize the sound.
  2. Self-serve communion. It is becoming more common to put the communion elements out and announce to the congregation that during the next song they can come and receive communion if they want. I can’t tell you what poor symbolism I think this is. Communion isn’t a self-serve event. It isn’t an “if you want it” kind of ordinance. Just continuing with the music portion of the service as though communion is just a side line misses the mark. I love communion and I think it has enough spiritual “weight” to hold it’s own in a service. I don’t mind the ritual being updated in some reasonable ways, but I want the pastor to lend his/her authority to the serving of the sacrament.Ā  It bugs me to hear the pastor taking time to do announcements as though that is really important stuff but leaving the serving of the Lord’s Supper on automatic as though it’s just an optional part of that Sunday’s worship service.
  3. Preaching from floor level rather than the platform. I understand the desire of pastors to be informal and approachable during the sermon. I understand that in a contemporary worship service the speaker doesn’t want to appear preachy. Apparently, a lot of pastors have decided that, not only do they not want a pulpit, but they want to be down front rather than on the stage looking down on people. But let me tell you what happens out in the seats: some of us spend the whole sermon trying to look around the people in front of us. After awhile I gain a whole new appreciation forĀ Zacchaeus of New Testament fame who climbed a tree so he could get a glimpse of Jesus. If the speaker would just stand on the platform we could all see him or her. Some pastors think they are enhancing their communication effort by staying off the platform, but I think they are shooting themselves in the foot by creating an absolutely unnecessary distraction.

Any time I see young adults in the church who are really into worship it blesses my heart and I’m happily convinced that a lot of contemporary churches are doing a lot of things right.Ā  Still, I have to confess that these things bug me.

How about you?

Preaching Advice for Young Pastors: Preach an “Annual Message”

At the beginning of your ministry in your new assignment (even better, as a part of your considering becoming pastor of the church and the church considering you as a potential pastor) lay out your philosophy of ministry in a sermon. Talk about the kind of pastor you aspire to be and the kind of church you want to pastor. Make it a Biblical, scripture-based sermon, but at the same time, share your heart with the congregation.

A year after you arrive, on your anniversary Sunday, preach that same sermon again. Let it remind you and them of what your ministry is all about.

Then, as years pass, you probably won’t preach that sermon annually, but every two or three years get it out, update it, and preach it again. It will be good for you to restate your hopes as a pastor. It will also be good for your congregation to be reminded of what you told them you would do (or not do) as their pastor. It will help new people get on board as they better understand what you and the church are about. Also, over time, it will create a sense of celebration of your partnership in ministry.

Preaching Advice for young pastors: funerals ā€“ part 3

Random pastor/funeral thoughts:

  1. Spend an hour or so with the family early on ā€“ during that time, plan the service, but also let them tell you things ā€“ take notes ā€“ use some of what they said in the sermon.
  2. Always open the service yourself.Ā  Introduce yourself even in your own church ā€“ this isnā€™t your Sunday crowd.Ā  Welcome people and on behalf of the family and your congregation thank them for coming.
  3. Be in charge.Ā  Do an order of service and give a copy to everyone.Ā  The Funeral Director will appreciate it too.
  4. If you have guest clergy assisting, invite him or her to read the obituary and then offer personal remarks.
  5. Take a text and preach a real sermon as described in the previous post.
  6. In a traditional funeral, stand at the head of the casket as mourners pass by.
  7. At the cemetery, walk ahead of the casket to the graveside.Ā  In some places, the pastor is expected to ride in the hearse.Ā  Otherwise, drive behind it to the cemetery.Ā  You are, in a sense, the ā€œspiritual guardianā€ ā€“ no, I canā€™t explain it, but people are equating you with Jesus, walking with their loved one to the grave.
  8. Make the committal short, thank people for traveling this last mile ā€“ then, if you have a boutonniere, remove it and place it on the casket.Ā  Then, go to each primary family member and assure them of your prayers for them and their family.
  9. If you are offered an honorarium, donā€™t make a big deal out of it.Ā  Just say thank you and that it was an honor to serve.

Preaching Advice for young pastors: funerals ā€“ part 2

Hereā€™s my advice to young pastors concerning funeral sermons:

  1. You need to develop at least five different sermonsā€¦although some can be just variations of another
    • A sermon for a saint who lived long and well
    • A sermon for a younger person who lived for the Lord but died too young
    • A sermon for a person who had no testimony
    • A sermon for a person you never knew personally
    • A sermon for a person who died tragically
  2. Those sermons, though, basically use just two approaches
    • We celebrate the victory we have in Christ over even death and our hope of resurrection
    • We point people to the comfort that is ours in Christ
  3. Not all funeral sermons can operate at the celebration level but all should offer comfort
  4. Donā€™t make the personā€™s life your text. If you can preach about our victory in Christ ā€“ make the sermon about Jesus. If you emphasize comfort in grief ā€“ make the sermon about the Lordā€™s willingness to comfort even in times of loss.
  5. Do use the personā€™s life in illustrations ā€“ include some heartwarming memory or some conversation or something that connects them to your sermon. Caution: donā€™t make the sermon about your relationship with the person. That does more to impress people that youā€™re a wonderful person than it causes them to remember that we have a wonderful Lord.
  6. Remember that a funeral sermon is an opportunity to minister to people who are thinking about life and death ā€“ and often they are people who donā€™t hear many sermons. If you can point them to Jesus as our hope and comfort you might move them a step closer to coming to Christ.

Preaching Advice for young pastors: funerals ā€“ part 1

Over the years Iā€™ve preached my share of funeral sermons. Funerals are unique on the church calendar because they trump everything else. One time I left on vacation following the Sunday morning worship service and drove 300 miles to a commercial campground. I had just gotten settled in when someone from the office knocked on the door to inform me that I had an emergency phone call. The next day I ended my vacation and drove 300 miles home to officiate at the funeral of a dear lady who had called me ā€œpastor.ā€ I wouldnā€™t have had it any other way; still, itā€™s an example of how funerals trump everything else. They offer the pastor an unprecedented opportunity to minister at a level and to individuals who the pastor would have little opportunity to impact with the gospel.