One evening this past week, after a day of sermon and calendar planning for 2017, I was looking through a book about the sesquicentennial of Southern Seminary. In the early days of the Seminary there was great need: great need for the Seminary’s existence, great need for the Seminary’s continuance, and great need by the Seminary for both of these to become reality. As is always the case, God’s provision was both perfect in the amount and perfect in the timing. The result is that young men continued to be prepared for the rigors of the pastorate by a world class faculty.
One sidebar in the book caught my eye. In 1888, an anonymous student was quoted:
“We have known of some ministers whose sermons were largely made up of odds and ends, from the brilliant scarfs of some bright genius…The pew is not altogether free from the blame attached to the existence of this kind of preaching. It is the ‘mostest-amusement-for-the-leastest-money’ spirit showing itself on religious worship. People are not always anxious to hear the solid truth. For too many would rather be amused than instructed.
“A minister of the gospel has no right to yield to the gratification of so perverted a taste. How much better it is, for both preacher and people, to cultivate the love for the wholesome truths of the gospel – the gospel in all its strength and purity.”
I couldn’t help but to wonder what this young seminarian from long ago would think about so many of our churches today! On the one hand, it would be tempting for us to believe he would be aghast at the current landscape, where people play fast and loose with the text and churches worry more about keeping the coffee bar filled than with keeping the flock filled. Yet as I imagined this young minister from the late 1800s, I wasn’t so sure he’d be all that surprised. Yes, technology has allowed us to add more gadgets, lights, bells, and whistles, but at the heart level, not much has changes at all. Just as it was in 1888, “[f]or too many would rather be amused than instructed.”
Sadly, one of the most cited reasons people leave otherwise solid churches, where the Word is faithfully taught, is because their own perceived “needs” are not being met. Maybe they don’t think there are enough programs for their children, or maybe they feel as though the pastor’s sermons aren’t lively enough. Perhaps they are tempted by the big church down the road, where the music looks more like a concert than the body of Christ corporately worshiping and there are small groups for cat lovers, people who like to eat out, and sports fans. These churches are often the ones who are not only willing to accept you as you are, but who are also quite content to leave you there.
The spiritual leadership of the church certainly bears the greatest responsibility for ensuring that the teaching ministry of the church presents the whole counsel of God in a way that engages, challenges, and encourages the congregation. However, the congregation bears some responsibility for cultivating in itself “the love for the wholesome truths of the gospel – the gospel in all its strength and purity.” As we enter 2017, may we resolve – both leadership and laity – to cultivate such a love. Just something to think about…
0 Comments