Darryl's Blog
Preaching - too much of a good thing?
My friend LT suggests that sermons may be like nitrogen in fertilizer. It's necessary, yet too high a concentration is deadly:
The point I try to make about sermons is that they are like nitrogen in lawn fertilizer. I might broaden "sermon" to involve any kind of proclamation to a group of people but you probably get my point. Nitrogen is an essential element in fertilizer but if you use too much in the wrong proportions it will kill your lawn. I'm no more opposed to sermons in church than I am to nitrogen in fertilizer.
The church today is like a homeowner with a bunch of dead grass that keeps pouring nitrogen on it expecting it to grow. We keep filling peoples minds with knowledge assuming that growth will come but we see just the opposite.
Maybe, just maybe we need to back off on some central assumptions on things and rethink our strategy. You can't make a lawn grow just like you can't make people grow. But there are sure fire ways you can kill the process. I don't think it is wise to rest content with the lack of visible life transformation in the church because growth is God's job. If most of the church is dead it probably isn't because God isn't doing his part. We have to consider that we may just be aborting the growth process.
In general, I think we rely too much on one event that includes preaching. For many people this one event is church. We may need to move beyond church services, as I wrote a few months back.
Effective preaching should point to what else is needed in order for growth to happen.
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I believe that the church has put too much emphasis on worship and not enough on friendship and fellowship. My dream is for churches to be open 7 days a week. They would allow people to gather simply to talk with one another, share meals with one another and build relationships with one another. A church should be a gathering place for every community. Don't over program people. Allow them to gather and fellowship with one another. Have worship and bible studies for people who want it but otherwise leave people alone to simply interact and get to know one another.
If someone comes and visits you in your home do you have a program ? Do you have a worship service ? Perhaps you may have a bible study but do you have one every time they come and visit ?
People make friends by talking and socializing together. Talking about spiritual things is good but you need to allow people to be themselves and talk about all manner of things. The early church grew because it was highly social and interactive and open to people.
The Fellowship of the Believers
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Act 2:42-47
The most important things I see are the two statements "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts" and "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved"
I don't think it is necessary for us to sell all of our possession and goods but I do think we need to gather and fellowship more often.
A local church would be a wonderful resource to use in our communities for people to gather. Like the temples of old they should be gathering places for the people. Many Catholic churches open their doors daily for mass. Many Catholics are very devout and attend every day.
Why aren't Protestant churches open everyday.
Some people will say they are. But are they open only for certain programs open only for a few people ? Are they not mostly highly structured gatherings such as prayer meetings and bible studies ?
Let us gather and talk as much as possible. Have lots of interaction and have some fun together. Talk about your needs, dreams and desires. Be friendly and open. Encourage open, honest, loving communication. Have churches be the third place people are seeking. Get to know your neighbours, build trust and look out for each other.
I believe if the church will go back to the 1st century model of daily interaction the church will once again be the community gathering place it once was and it will grow.
Kevin