Proclamation or Storytelling
Proclamation or Storytelling
Impoverishment of the Preaching⤒🔗
The proclamation of the Word every Sunday is central in the congregation. We can see this in the fact that all church leaders do their best to attract a brother who has been blessed with special gifts, to become part of their church councils: the preacher.
It is also clear from the rules for church visitation, during which the preaching and the response to it get special attention. That the preaching is becoming more and more impoverished appears to be a general observation. This is enough reason to pay attention to a certain aspect of the preaching.
Storytelling in the Scriptures←⤒🔗
If I am not mistaken preachers more often than before, make use of stories in order to bring the message closer to the hearers. That is the case for myself at least and I remember that one of my colleagues illustrated this more or less with the words: “In the eighties, when I started my sermon I would just come straight to the point, whether I preached about Abraham or about one of Paul’s letters. I would never do that today anymore.” When I go back to my old sermons, I will have to say the same. Was that really an acceptable way back then? I have to say, at that time knowledge of the Bible and the understanding of the connections were much more prevalent than is the case today. The culture of using an image was much less popular than it is today. So the preacher receives the signal of: make sure that you are in tune with the hearers and that the wavelength of the “sender” is the same as that of the “receiver”. If you do not, there is a big chance that the preaching is not effective. Now a statement like that can be met with the comment that the effectiveness of the preaching is in the hands of the Holy Spirit. His work is to open the hearts to renew them and to work a response to the preaching in the hearts of the hearers. Do we not pray for this in every service? Nobody will deny that, yes even stronger: the preacher who is not aware of that or does not often enough take that into account will sooner or later become discouraged. Leaving it to the Lord to cause the preaching to bear fruit protects the preacher from becoming disillusioned.
But that is not the end of it all. When we confess that the blessing on the preaching does not depend on us but is worked through the Spirit, then as preachers we may be untroubled but never sloppy. For the Lord calls his servants to the proclamation of his Word.
So, the question is then: can we find something in Scripture about the manner in which the Spirit works through the preaching? And if we open the Bible with that in mind, we immediately notice that “stories” are often used to bring the Word to mankind and to God’s people.
Some Examples←⤒🔗
Who does not know the tale of Jotham in Judges 9:7-15 and its application? Who does not recall the spiritual lesson that the prophet Nathan taught King David after his sin with Bathsheba by using the story of the rich man and his sheep? (2 Sam. 12:1-4).
Is the much-loved Psalm 23 not one great shepherd story? Sometimes the story was even “played” or imagery was used to tell a story. In Isaiah 8:1-4 the prophet goes about with a sign with the text: “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens”. A little while later a little boy walks around with that name, which has such a clear spiritual message. The marriage of Hosea (Hos. 1:2) is a proclamation in itself. And the New Testament is not much different: the Saviour constantly uses examples in his preaching that have been taken out of real life. Think of the parables about the kingdom of God in Matthew 13. Or take the parable about the royal wedding banquet in Matthew 22.
I once read a cautioning remark regarding the preaching by “storytelling”: but we are not the Lord Jesus, are we? That is true but that begs the question: if the Savior does it like that, who are we to disregard it? Are we better preachers than he was..?
Finally we could think of the letter to the Hebrews, where the histories of the people of Israel are constantly quoted in order to glean spiritual lessons from them.
The Story Supports the Message←⤒🔗
In this way and looking at it from this angle, there is nothing wrong with a story embedded in the preaching. On the contrary, the story apparently enriches the sermon. As long as… it serves to better understand the Bible passage or the text which is being explained. The story has to remain just an example that serves to support the message. This is how the Spirit works and in that way the preacher follows in prayerful obedience. Thinking of it in this way and embedding an example in a sermon, or starting with it (because that is what we were talking about), is not that simple. One is not always successful and this is nothing to be ashamed of. In some congregations the preacher has the habit of talking for a moment especially to the children, during the service. This also is not as easy as it seems: it is important when he addresses the children that he has to ask himself beforehand “what is really the message which the Lord wants me to bring to the congregation on this day and in this sermon and which words and images do I choose that will resonate with the children?” Starting a dialogue with the children in that moment and asking questions are a good way to measure if they truly understand the message: for you will know the exact moment at which point they do not follow you anymore. Is the sermon really that different? Sure, we do not literally start a conversation with the congregation. On the other hand, as we are taught in Apeldoorn, we are actually doing just that: While preparing the sermon the preacher should have the congregation, which is entrusted to his care, in his mind and in his heart. He will try to imagine what the reaction will be to his message. Then the example, the story, can truly help to form the connection between preacher and listener. And the Spirit can bless that!
The Message is More Than the Story←⤒🔗
It seems to be so self-evident: the message in the sermon is more than the story.
And still I want to address it separately. The complaint that is often heard about the preaching is: We have heard nice stories (or a nice story) but it was not a sermon!
Now it is not so easy to weigh these kinds of questions fairly. Preachers are aware of the fact that some sermons resonate well in one congregation, while it does not do so in another. One is able to take a short remark and immediately apply it to practical life. Others need many more words in order to be spiritually nourished. It is the task of each local consistory to sit down with the preacher and discuss whether the preaching is effective or not, or insufficient and in case of the latter: how to address this.
However, I want to elaborate further on the notion that the preaching on Sunday should be more than a story. Preaching should in principle be Christ-centered-preaching. Paul says what “the wisdom of the Word” is all about: preaching Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). Through this kind of preaching people come to understand that mankind is lost in guilt and that man is inclined to all evil unless the Spirit of God causes him to be born anew (HC Lord’s Day 3). This way of preaching shows the way by which man comes to repentance: by kneeling at the foot of the cross of Golgotha. Then it becomes clear how faith can grow: by continually abiding in the vine, which is Christ (John 15:1-8, speaking of imagery…). I dare to say: preaching is preaching Christ or it is not preaching at all. I for one would not know how to preach without putting the Savior in the center. Those who have been called to preach have the holy duty to look at the open Bible on the pulpit on any given Sunday and at the text which has been chosen, to ask themselves: how is this connected to Jesus Christ? And that requires much studying. It is more than saying the name of the Saviour a few times in the course of the sermon. Scripture has to be opened in such a way that it is clear that the Holy Spirit puts Jesus in the center of that particular text.
This requires special skills when preaching from the Old Testament. In short, it requires a good balance between the redemptive-historic and the exemplary in the sermon (this would be a good topic for another article).
The Essence←⤒🔗
In summary, the main question is: Are preachers using the stories in their sermons to conceal the lack of true proclamation? Then indeed we can speak of impoverishment, regardless of how beautiful the congregation finds it…or are the stories meaningful examples, used to bring the Saviour of the Scriptures closer to our hearts? Then it will be blessed. The latter method will be instrumental in building the congregation up, answering the spiritual questions that live in the human heart (or that should be living in the hearts): questions about calling, conversion, rebirth, faith, sanctification; questions about baptism, the Lord’s Supper, questions about heaven and hell, questions that deal with the practice of Christian living, questions about the place of the congregation in the world… These are all questions that arise in all of Scripture at one time or another. It is the preacher’s spiritual ability (or often a spiritual wrestling), to make sure the stories do not bury those questions (which will not build the congregation up, but rather break it down). The preacher ought to use the narrative to expose the questions and to illuminate them with a biblical light.
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