The "So" Preacher
In a classroom at Mid-America Baptist Theological
Seminary back in 1976, Dr. Jimmy Millikin was facilitating a
theological discussion when one of my fellow seminarians asked him
to explain what was meant by “unction” in the matter of preaching.
While I cannot recall all the details of his answer, I do remember
quite well the part where he made this statement: “Gentlemen,
there’s preachin’…and then there’s PREACHIN’!”
I believe every student in that classroom understood
what he meant: a homily delivered with the help of heaven! No
emotion is as deflating to a preacher as walking from the pulpit
knowing that the Spirit of God had no part in the sermon.
Contrariwise, no emotional high can match the blessed assurance that
the God of heaven SHOWED UP, that he was IN the preaching, and that
he GRACED his messenger with other-worldly POWER!
It is abundantly clear that Paul and Barnabas, on the
first mission journey, were well-acquainted with the latter emotion
and virtual strangers to the first. The biblical text of Acts 14:1-7
describes a preaching event that took place in the synagogue at
Iconium, where “they…so spake, that a great multitude both of the
Jews and also of the Greeks believed” (14:1). Our focus is the
“so” preaching of Paul and Barnabas.
Exactly what is “so” preaching? It is preaching that
is impregnated with both power and passion. As they came to the
city, the scripture says they were “filled with joy, and with the
Holy Ghost” (13:52). There is no reason to believe either of
these ingredients was lacking in the oratory. So is the
adverb houtos, which signifies the extent or degree to which
an action is performed. It is the adverb Jesus used to describe the
God that “so loved” the world that he gave his Son (John 3:16). At a
minimum, “so” preaching means they held nothing back!
A third (and not so obvious) element in “so”
preaching is that of precision. The apostle Paul wielded truth much
like a surgeon would his scalpel. He would cite OT texts, build and
link together irrefutable evidence, and prove the Messianic case for
Christ (Acts 13:14-39). Apollos was a preacher cut out of the same
mold (Acts 18:28). If precision worked for Paul and Apollos, why
would any preacher want to enter the pulpit without it?
What is the formula for “so” preaching? Power +
Passion + Precision = Persuasion! Luke describes the outcome in a
way that would lead a reader to conclude that preaching with no “so”
in it would have reduced the greatness of the multitude that
believed it. What conclusion can we draw from the thousands of
churches that go year after year without baptizing a single convert?
I conclude that too many of America’s pulpits are filled by
professional and professorial types who possess neither power nor
passion in that which they preach! The late pitchman Billy Mays
demonstrated that even a secular brand of passion was sufficient to
persuade millions to spend millions on gadgets. How much more should
a spiritual passion mingled with power and precision enable the “so”
preacher to persuade lost men toward Christ?
Three brief observations are in order. First, “so”
preaching has its detractors. In this case (as was often the case),
the detractors were the unbelieving Jews (14:2). Their objective was
to evil-affect minds. Consider these related words: traction,
detraction and detractor. Traction (or its lack) might form the
mental image of a car spinning its tires in the mud…unable to make
forward progress. In TV coverage of the 2010 winter storms, we saw
vehicles abandoned at the bottom of inclines for lack of traction
due to layers of snow and ice. Such a loss of traction is
detraction. The detractors were essentially seeking to layer the
minds of lost men with the frozen precipitation of doubt and
disbelief so as to prevent the gospel from gaining traction in the
minds of those who heard it.
Secondly, “so” preaching has its defenders. The
foremost defender of “so” preaching is the Lord himself. In the face
of fierce opposition, Jesus was on the scene to provide signs and
wonders as authentication for the message (14:3). A sign points the
observer to the greater divine reality behind it. A wonder is meant
to create a sense of awe that will drive the observer to pursue the
God who granted it. The “so” preacher, as a God-anointed irritant
for his detractors, can hang around a “long time” as long as the
Lord is around to validate his ministry. We are also told that “part”
of the city “held with” (defended) the apostles in the
division caused by the “so” preaching (14:4). There’s nothing wrong
with partisanship if you’re in the right party!
Thirdly, “so” preaching has its dangers. In time, the
unbelieving Jews and Gentiles conspired to assault Paul and
Barnabas, use them despitefully, and stone them (14:5). I am
inclined to believe that the despiteful use they had in mind was on
the order of what Jesus endured on the eve of his crucifixion. At
this point, the apostles fled the city, and lived to preach another
day (14:6). Sometimes the best course of action for the “so”
preacher is moving on to another venue…but not until his
Defender-In-Chief gives the green light to do so.
The “so” preacher is
alive and well today. But he represents a minority of the pulpit
population. Frankly, a lot of churches do not want to deal with the
baggage he brings. In every location where he shows up, you can
count on detractors and dangers showing up as well. Blessed are
those churches that have one. If your pastor is a “so” preacher,
pray for him, and join the Lord Jesus as one of his defenders. And
may our Lord increase his tribe!
Top |
