The more I ponder it the more amazing it is to me that in most churches you cannot even ask a question during a sermon. You cannot add a comment. You cannot disagree. You cannot suggest an appropriate cross-reference. You cannot offer another interpretation. In fact, you cannot say anything out loud.
Is this how the gathering of the church should be? During the primary time of coming together during the week, should only one man be allowed to speak for a significant part of the time? Why is most of the body muffled while only one person preaches for thirty-or-so minutes?
Almost any pastor I know is happy to receive questions and comments after the service is over. In fact, most welcome them. This shows that people were listening and also gives everyone involved the chance to talk through the main topic.
The problem with this approach is that by the time someone asks a question or offers a comment after the service, the vast majority of the people have already departed. Most of the body has no chance to interact in the discussion.
It is fascinating that when we look at the New Testament church we never see anyone preaching sermons to the church where the vast majority of the people are silent. Please let me repeat that: the bible never shows us anyone preaching sermons to the church.
We know that Timothy was charged by Paul to "Preach the word." However, this in no way suggests that Timothy spoke while everyone else was silent and not encouraged or allowed to respond.
Most instances of preaching in the N.T. show someone preaching to lost people in the marketplace. Peter preaches to lost Jews in Acts 2 during Pentecost. Paul preaches to lost Greeks on Mars Hill in Athens (Acts 17).
In most of today's churches, a great deal of the gathering in taken up by one person preaching to the church - which is supposed to be saved people. Interestingly, most of the saved people are not encouraged to participate openly in this teaching/preaching of the word. What would happen in most churches if someone did stand up and ask a question? Better yet, what would happen if someone stood up and added a comment? Or, what if someone stood up and disagreed with what the pastor had said? Would this be welcomed? What do you think?
One thing is for sure: most of today's pastors aren't encouraging it. If they were, we would see and hear much more group participation.
So, what should pastors do? How can they change from monologue-style sermons to engaging in more participation with the body? How can they move toward being more biblical?
I have three ideas. I'll label them "good," "better," and "best."
"Good" - Any pastor could very easily begin to ask for questions after the sermon is completed. He could start doing this on Sunday. This would require little change other than his giving the body notice that he will be doing this at the conclusion of the service. He could ask specific questions or just open up the floor for anyone to ask anything.
"Better" - A pastor could invite anyone who wants to do so to ask questions, add comments, offer an interpretation, etc., during the sermon. In order for this to remain orderly, I would suggest that a few microphones be set up around the auditorium. People could walk to them, wait in line, and then speak in an orderly manner. The pastor could call on them one-by-one. Each service the pastor could remind everyone that all is to be done for the edification of the body.
"Best" - The pastor could stop preaching sermons altogether. Instead, following the biblical model of truly participatory gatherings, the pastor could meet with a small group and they could discuss an agreed upon passage. All of the church could do this in small groups. Those with a gift of teaching may speak, but so can anyone else. Maybe the body would be together for singing, but when it comes to the teaching and discussion, small groups would be much more biblical and effective for group participation.
Any of these changes would be far superior to what happens today. The idea of one person preaching a prepared sermon for thirty minutes while everyone else is expected to sit quietly is completely and utterly foreign to the New Testament church. In the bible, we see all parts of the body active during gatherings. Everyone is expected to bring something to contribute. Never do we see 99% of the church expected to sit quietly while the pastor preaches.
The bible encourages participation. Today's sermons do not.
My encouragement to you is to do what you can to bring about change in this area of your church life. If you regularly listen to sermons, maybe you could encourage your pastor to begin this coming Sunday by asking questions when the sermon in concluded. Maybe you are a pastor who preaches regularly. How could you encourage others in the church to participate in your sermons?
Let us all strive to participate in all aspects of the church gathering and encourage others to do the same.
19 comments:
What would you suggest then if the people show a lack of interest in participating? I remember a number of times at Chevis Oaks when we encouraged questions and discussion both before and after the sermon, both in direct connection with the sermon and also in an open discussion format. Sometimes there would be one, maybe two people come to the mic. Even then did a discussion occur? No. Either a comment was made and that was it or the question was answered and that was it. While I disagree with the premise of stopping preaching altogether, it seems to me that if we want to have more participatory gatherings, we have to look at more than just scrutinizing the sermon. We have to look at why people lack the desire to participate, why people are content to just sit there. Perhaps there needs to be some prolonged teaching in the church the encourages and extols the value of participation in church gatherings. So I think the problem goes beyond the format of the teaching or preaching. And speaking of format, you mentioned those who have the gift of teaching. Beyond simply agreeing on a passage to teach/discuss, in the type of gathering that you are envisioning, are these elders/individuals who have the gift teaching preparing for the lesson beforehand or are they just shooting from the hip? What kind of preparation is taking place so that the mutual edification of the body can best be facilitated? Are the other members of the body coming prepared as well? Are they preparing questions/talking points on the relevant passage beforehand? What I'm getting at is if "You can't even ask a question", perhaps it is because the church has failed to come prepared to ask a question and the elders have failed to encourage participation. This is not an indictment of either the "traditional" church or the "organic church". I am speaking of the Church.
Micah,
Thanks for your thoughts on this topic. I hope you are well. I stopped by Sandfly Barbecue last week to get some Brunswick Stew and told the folks there that you are busy but good.
I'm beginning in this post with the idea that the scriptural model shows participation and that we should strive for this in church gatherings. Ideally, everyone prepares by studying a biblical passage and then comes ready to participate. People gain the most when they are actively involved. The beauty is that the group can then move to other related passages as the discussion flows along (this happened in our house on Sunday).
As you mentioned, changes like this are difficult to bring about in a large setting. This may be due to two factors that I can think of: lack of teaching on the subject and/or people not feeling comfortable speaking in front of large groups. So what can happen to help this? I think it has to come from the pastor himself in changing the sermon format. After this, the church could make changes to small groups where much discussion/participation can take place.
This will not be a fast process. We all know that people don't like change regardless of what the issue is.
What I'm trying to do in this post is point out a practice that I believe needs changing. The change I'm envisioning is one that eventually comes more in line with the biblical model. It has to begin somewhere and folks will look to leadership to point the way.
I'm all in favor of changing the entire format of most traditional church services. I believe the scripted service in general is another practice that cannot be defended biblically. However, in this post the specific issue is the sermon. I know that traditional churches are not going to immediately jettison the sermon. Instead, they could begin by making minor changes. Slow change is probably a healthier way to go about it. I hope some churches will consider these things and dare to come more in line with scripture.
Eric isn't that what Sunday School and small groups are all about? The need for participation among the body is seen as a need in many organizations and their leaders try to combat this problem while leaving the worship service undisturbed. Do you think that SS and small groups give an adequate structure to the need for participation among the body?
Bobby,
The biblical and therefore ideal model is for a local body to be small enough to all be together. We did this on Sunday with three families - a total of about 15 people. We were all together and could all participate.
Regarding the traditional church, in most cases it is simply too big for everyone to participate effectively. This is why they must go to Sunday School or Small groups. In that way they can have some participation. It still leaves the glaring problem, however, of the one man doing all the primary teaching during the worship service.
Sunday School and small groups are an answer, but I believe a poor one. There is no substitute for simply following what is modeled for us in scripture.
Eric I love the background pic of the matza bread. The symbolism for Christ and the Church causes me to wonder at the sinless (unleavened) One who was striped, pierced and broken to bring us together as one body. Back to the post...as I look at the teachings of the men I have grown to love and respect I find inconsistencies in their example and their teaching when it comes to the worship service and the need for participation. SS and small groups are the go to formula for solving the participation question. At least they are trying but they are trying these programs in order not to disrupt the worship service. I just don't get it myself. I don't see why the sermon and the service is so needed and therefore clung to like a necessity. Thanks for humoring me as I played traditional advocate!
Thousands of people were being saved daily in the early church - where do you get the idea that they were meeting in "small groups" and never all together? You are arguing from silence. The believers going from house to house could have very well been very much like small groups in many larger churches today - likewise, the times they went to the temple very well could have been very much like the gatherings of local churches today (and several extra-biblical historical writings from the first and second centuries actually suggest that this was in fact the case).
You are making some big leaps into your positions from silence.
Bobby,
I really don't understand it either. I can think of many men who are wonderful speakers and teachers of the bible who also participate in weekly worship services as the primary preacher. I would love to see these men continue to teach at conferences and even speak during specific church meetings designed for teaching. However, their continued participation in the scripted worship services surprises me. I think it speaks to the power of tradition.
Willis,
Where do you get the idea that the church was all meeting together in the same place in those early days? You are arguing from silence.
Eric,
I think the sermon can be beneficial, but not as beneficial as any type of multi-directional communication/teaching. Even a sermon with q&a in which the pastor answers all the questions can cause problems. However, given the organization of modern churches and the goal of building bigger congregations, I don't know how well any other teaching method would work. Changing the sermon alone would not correct many of the problems with the traditional church. It would have to begin with a new way (which I think is a more biblical way) of thinking about the church and our reason for gathering together.
-Alan
running,
The primary point of this post was to argue that the preaching of sermons by one person with no participation is unbiblical. I made several suggestions for beginning to change this practice.
As for early church gatherings, we consistently see that the general practice was meeting in homes. The epistles make this clear. Could there have been exceptions? Maybe. However, can you show me preaching within the church gathering like we see today?
Alan,
I agree with you. I was trying to be fairly narrow in this particular post by focusing in on the sermon itself. However, you are right in that people need to begin asking questions about what the church is and how it should function. Those are big issues that need to be addressed. Today's sermons are a symptom of thinking of the church as more institution than organism.
By the way Eric, I coming down to Savannah on Saturday. I am staying until the following Thursday.
Micah,
Send me an email when you get here. I'd love to see you.
Eric,
Of course, the famous last words of a dying church will come into play here: "We never did it that way before".
Reminds me of the story about a lady who was blessed by something during a Baptist Church service and cried out, "Praise the Lord!".
An old deacon beside her admonished her, "We don't praise the Lord in this church!"
John,
I just wish people were encouraged to ask questions and make comments during the main gathering of the church. It is absolutely absurd that the majority are not welcomed to do so. The more I think about it the more astounded I am. It shows just how far the traditional church has strayed from biblical concepts of what the church is.
Eric,
It's the system that is the problem and the sermon is just a symptom of the system. Trying to get a pastor to give up his sermon time for Q&A is taking away from his main purpose in life.
I am with you on the sermon, but I am finding that challenging the sermon in the congregational setting is confronting a "Golden Calf." It falls on deaf ears. First a relationship must be established with the pastors before you will have a chance of any influence.
Why would we want to put a patch on a broken system. We need new wine skins.
Jack,
I understand what you are saying. The new wine skins idea is close to my heart.
As for sermons, I do think some pastors would be open to asking questions or receiving comments. The difficulty is that this is so far off the radar for most folks. It is a symptom of straying from the biblical idea of community.
It seems to me that one of the biggest problems for pastors, priests, and other traditional leaders throughout the various sects of Christianity have boils down to control. The leader or main speaker during the 'service' might find that others within the assembly are stronger in the oratory giftings then themselves and this could threaten their position. I'm a former pastor who attempted to institute a true 1 Corinthians 14 type of assembly and know that it can and does work, regardless of the size of the assembly. The roadblock was that I wasn't the 'head pastor' so I was over-ruled in what I attempted to establish and saw what I've ended up seeing in every other institutional styled assembly I've been to since. It seems to me that the only possible way for change is through open confrontation, through the Spirit of God. Otherwise, we just end up create the same movements and sects which need to be turned away from now. It is very encouraging to see someone have the courage to raise this very important issue.
his william,
I'm afraid that most pastors simply do what they always seen done. They have witnessed numerous sermons, have been taught how to preach sermons, and have obviously preached sermons. In my experience, most pastors are godly individuals who desire what is best for the church. Unfortunately, their practices often get in the way of true spiritual growth.
The bible models discussion for us. We need to encourage all churches to pursue discussion as a significant part of church life.
Thanks for your comment.
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