I just wanted to chime in here and say that in the past week, this article has been a breathe of fresh air in terms of what it says and what it encourages me to value. Skye, thank you for writing this piece...it really makes a lot of sense to where I find myself these days.

I am a speecher who desires to live as a preacher. There, I said it. Now to remember to be it...

We've been discussing this same thing in our circle lately. I have been frustrated by the fact that there are many sincere pastors who truly have missional hearts and visions for their churches, yet it seems that the buck invariably stops at the pulpit. What I mean is that people are being stirred and convicted about becoming missionally active, and they will gather around good mission-based preaching and will say, "My, this pastor has a great message." And they will even encourage others to come to church to hear that message.

But, I believe that part of the problem of the people getting that inspiring message implemented into their lives is that missional leadership must also get out from behind the pulpit and lead their flocks into the mission field.

Every time I see this happen, they respond in kind. What we must remember is that there clearly are leaders and followers. And the followers will follow a good message to the pulpit, but if that's as far as it goes, that will be as far as most will take it. It's the old adage to 'practice what you preach.'

I think Skye makes an important point about inspiration as opposed to instruction, because if we lay down too many ground rules, it stifles one's ability to be spontaneous in following the promptings to the Holy Spirit in ministry. People need to understand that every one of us is capable of changing the world and advancing God's Kingdom, because God will work through us despite all the weaknesses, frailties, and lack of spiritual understanding that all of us (leaders included) have.

But, what followers need is both inspiration and someone who is willing to lead the way by example, someone who can start the ball rolling and then let the congregation go out there and chase after it. When that happens,everything will not always go as planned, but it just doesn't get any better than to watch a church who is out there being the hands and feet of Jesus to those who need his mercy, grace and unconditional love.

Willard is a great writer, but he goes off by himself for long periods of time to write about spiritual discipline, the problem is that we live in a world of chaos. I want him to write about living godly in the busy world of my life.

www.matthewsblog.waynesborochurchofchrist.org

I always knew there was a reason I couldn't sit through those "three points" sermons and was always flipping to Greek translations of words, bringing my own books, and emailing my pastors with ideas and trying to light some type of fire or inspiration. There are pastors and there are prophets. Why oh why was I given the red pill....

Yes, there does need to be leadership from the top. But when the leadership only knows one way, is there willingness to try another path? Change is scary. Some may not follow. Many cry "Not enough Biblical insight!" if only a few verses are specifically quoted during a sermon. But others need to be fed, to be challenged, to be mentored.

It's a precarious position to be in if you're in it to be popular.

seems to have a lot to do with what the gospel is. and the message that we're preaching.

i just had some insight given to me which i posted here.

As one who has sat for years listening to preaching in a large church may I ask a question that has dogged me for years. Out of the 4 or 5 thousand people gathered together on Sunday, is it only one man to whom God has gifted with a message for the week? This article offers a glimmer of hope, but still the responsibility for learning the word seems to fall on the pastor's shoulders. It's time to recognize that the Spirit teaches those who show up and sit at the Master's feet, regardless of title or lack thereof.

I once told a pastor that 45 minutes of my Sundays each week would be better spent if he just handed me the text of his message every week and let me read it, rather than having me sit and listen passively to it. (Even by adding the very Greek "note-taking" to my passive listening to his speeching, I still retained very little of almost every message he gave.)
I'm a fast reader, so it seemed to me that I could finish his message in just a few minutes, and I would most likely remember more of it than I would by sitting in a classroom lecture. Even one that punctuated its main point with a pithy movie clip.

As a white associate minister in a primarily African American church I often ask the question why is the preaching moment so anticipated and dynamic in the black church and something to be endured in the white church ( I know...big generalizations here but stay with me). I think Pastor Jethani hit it on the head when he talked about preaching playing a role in producing vision and inspiration. The preacher in the "black church" understands that and engages the listener in looking to a great God and finding inspiration. This is not done at the expense of instruction but does become the inspiration for one to be obedient to Christ and to look to His Word for further help in becoming more like Christ. I think this is something to think about regardless of the type of congregation we are preaching to. Thanks for a GREAT post.

Well said Fred. The pulpit + pew tradition does more to ruin saint's ability to live out their identity each week - members of the body of Christ. Every member has a mouth, a head, and a heart to be used when they gather. The "word of Christ will dwell in us richly" as we "teach and admonish one another". This is not said to be true of lecture by only hired experts.

Well said Michelle. Truth retention and reproduction are at it's lowest in lecture format.

Pulpit and pew gatherings are not a glimpse of glory. They are a glimpse of man's tradition. In glory there will be no lecturing. It will all be two-way communication. The God we worship is a two-way communication God. He made us to be the same way. The Bible does not say "lecture the Word..."

Michelle, I agree overall with the main point of your post, but I just want to say that my first reaction to it was that that was a pretty mean thing to say to a pastor. I am a pastor of four small, rural churches. Skye's article has helped me to think through my philosophy of preaching, and I have been thinking of ways to involve the congregations as active participants in the preaching ministry of the church. Still, the fact is that most of us were raised up and trained in a different paradigm, and it takes a lot of time and energy to make the shift. We pray, study, meditate, visit and listen to those we preach to, and then try to preach with all the passion and heart and conviction that God gives us by His grace. To have someone come up to me after that process and tell me that they'd be better off if I just gave them a copy of my manuscript because they "read faster"--well I just think there has to be a more constructive way of making the point! Like I said, I agree with your overall point. Our current, "lecture-style" preaching paradigm is very much inadequate. And I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, so I assume that your conversation with this pastor was not purposefully mean-spirited or offensive, but rather in a context of love and trust and support. I'm simply saying that we need to be careful with the way we say things and not let our frustration with the status quo translate into an unChristlike conversation. I belive God works through the foolishness of preaching. Is it possible that God can also work through foolish preaching, as well?. Not that we shouldn't improve, but that while we are learning, God's grace still abounds.

Preaching and teaching are parts of ministry that I enjoy, but asking what it means to do preaching in a missional fashion is another area where I need to grow and be nurtured. I am not convinced that preaching and worship as we often do in the western context does what people need to grow and mature as followers of Jesus.

What is so marvelous of our living God is that He can take all of our effort to promote Life and still be serious with us.

After all, it is still His battle (won) and He is still the one (and always will be) who gives the increase.

Beauty out of ashes indeed.

Be not dismayed, our Father still knows what is going on and He will make sure that salvation will be, proclaimed, announced, taught and most of all... experienced.