Well-Meaning Pastors Who Endanger the Church
Jim Hamilton gives us some wise counsel on "how [to] avoid winding up with a pastor who will harm the church by turning Christianity into the American religion of self help therapy." (Thanks to Justin Taylor).
2 comments:
I love his point about expository preaching. I know that until recently, I had rarely heard the text carefully expounded ... except in sermons downloaded from John Piper's web site.
In Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching (the main text for a homiletics course I just finished), he describes 3 types of sermons:
(1) topical sermons take their theme from a single text, but range widely through the Scripture to explain the point,
(2) textual sermons take their theme and main points from a single text, but range through Scripture to flesh out the subpoints
(3) expository sermons take their theme, main points and subpoints (and degree of emphasis) directly from a single text
I love full-bore expository preaching! Although there are certainly occasions for (1) and (2), type (3) sermons are the best for the regular feeding of a congregation!
Thanks for the link to a great article!
Tom,
I agree that expository sermons (#3) are the best for the regular feeding of a congregation. Thanks for the helpful breakdown of different types of sermons. I have often thought in the past that topical and textual sermons were actually expository sermons. Expository sermons, as defined by Chapell, are indeed rare in the North American church today. Blessings,
Nick
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