Bill Easums Observations

Following up on my reading of Lloyd-Jones classic book, Preaching and Preachers, I want to address one of the most common objections to most of his conclusions.  Many people respond to Lloyd-Jones by saying it’s no longer 1950. And yes it isn’t. But here is his response in my own words.

His approach is still relevant today because even though it is no longer 1950 and much, if not most, has changed in our world, still two things remain constant.  One, Jesus Christ is still the same yesterday, today, and forever; and Two, humans are still sinners.  As long as these two things remain constant preaching is still the primary task of the pastor.

Now I know both of these constants are constantly under attack (no pun intended).  Many pastors are prone to remove Jesus from their preaching and from the center of their theology as well as have proclaimed that the faults of humans isn’t really sin but is something wrong with our chemistry.  Jesus is no longer considered by them to be the only way to solve the human dilemma. Psychology or drugs can do a better job, thank you.

No wonder our preaching is keeping people away from the church not to mention driving them away. If something else can do a better job solving the human dilemma, then way spend our wheels with the Church or Jesus.

Problem is- psychology and drugs can’t solve the human dilemma.

More to come on the Primacy of Preaching

I’m reading a fascinating book, Preaching and Preachers, by Lloyd- Jones.  I must confess I’ve never read anything by him before and that’s a shame.  The book is an excellent read.  His premise is that Preaching is the primary thing a minister does. He gives three reasons: One, because preaching is primary in the New Testament from Jesus to the Acts of the Apostles; Two, because every major revival in Christian history has been accompanied by great preachers; and Three, because man is a rebel against God and needs the salvation that only preaching can bring.

In making his case the author bangs away at the denigration of preaching by relegating it to a back seat to counseling, small homilies, lectures, conversation, and dialogue. The author would have a hard time with the philosophy of the Emergent movement that puts relationships and conversation before the act of preaching.

He goes on to show how the central pulpit has been moved to the side allowing the elements of ritual to move to center stage.  He calls this “an abomination.”

I may not always agree with the author but I have to admit that I agree with his major premise. I’ve seen preaching denigrated over the span of my life time.  Let me give you two reasons for saying this.

First, when I was in college and seminary I was required to take a CPE ( I think that stood for Clinical Pastoral Education)  course but I was never required to take a preaching course.

But there is a more telling reason for agreeing with the author. Over the past 20 years of consulting I’ve sat in hundreds of worship services listening to hundreds of sermons.  I doubt if I’ve heard more than a dozen great preachers. So I think Lloyd-Jones is one to something.

Of course we all know the common antidote that we all joke about -”it’s Saturday and I have to write my sermon.”

Maybe Lloyd-Jones is correct – maybe Christianity is in trouble because preaching is no longer central to the church. There is certainly ample evidence that preaching does not get the attention it should either by the preacher or the person in the pew. Pastors are more likely to get fired over not visiting in the home or being in the office when needed than because they preach bad sermons.

Maybe one of the answers to the decline in Christianity is not the Emergent movement, or organic movement, or any other movement.  Maybe one of the primary solutions is to regain the primary of preaching.

Pastors, it’s time to make your weekly message the most important thing you do during the week and not something you put off till you can find the time.  It’s time to make it the first thing you do each week.