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PREACHING SKILLS
Preaching by the Numbers
A look at how many of us feel about our preaching
Lee Eclov
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To tell you the truth, I don't know how many—if any—were saved by my preaching last year. I know it's risky to say that to a bunch of other preachers. I don't say it with any pride. but it's the honest truth. I preach to a congregation of people I mostly know, who are mostly believers. From time to time I give a clear call to accept Christ, and sometimes I ask for the raised hand. But I haven't seen a hand in a long time. On the other hand—no pun intended—that doesn't mean my preaching doesn't result in converts.
I think of a friend I have who is a very successful church planter, a skilled and "relevant" expositor, and an evangelist. He told me about an elderly man he was going to baptize. The man's journey to Christ came through a friend who talked to him and brought him to church, through many sermons that kept bumping him toward the reality that the gospel is free and not earned, a booklet on that subject my friend had written, and a personal conversation. If my friend were taking this survey, should he count that man as a convert resulting from his preaching?
Another thing that mystifies me is that some preachers indicated that they see people converted all the time. Of those who took part in the survey, 10 percent said they saw 50–200 converts a year, and 5 percent said they saw more than 200. I'd like to talk to those guys! I confess I'm a little suspicious, but if even half of those people end up as regenerated believers, I'm in awe of that gift. Years ago, Billy Graham came to our city for a crusade. There was a youth emphasis one night, and thousands of teens were in attendance. I don't know how to say this, but I thought Billy's sermon was, well, awful. He used a Bible story that the kids didn't know, didn't connect the dots to the gospel very well, and just wasn't all that interesting. Nonetheless, boatloads of kids came forward to receive Christ. Go figure!
Recently, while reading Lectures to My Students, I came across a lecture by C. H. Spurgeon entitled, "On Conversion as Our Aim." In it he says to preachers, "Our great object … is, however, to be mainly achieved by the winning of souls. If we do not, our cry should be that of Rachel, 'Give me children, or I die.'" That made me think of the story about Spurgeon's conversation with the first student at his college—a Mr. Medhurst. Medhurst was complaining that he had been preaching for three months without knowing of a single soul having been converted. "Why," said Spurgeon, "you don't expect conversions every time you open your mouth, do you?"
"Of course not," Medhurst answered.
"Then that is just the reason you haven't had them!" Spurgeon said.
I don't buy that entirely, but I can't forget it either. All the talk of conversions in this survey leaves me reflective. Maybe it does for you, too. We are, after all, preachers of the gospel. Like Paul, we must implore people to be reconciled to Christ. I didn't so much think that I need to see more converts, as that I need to be more effective and purposeful about calling people to Christ.
Preaching style
Let me back up and cover something else of great importance: preaching style. A strong majority—83 percent—said our sermons were biblical. Honestly, my first reaction was, What are the other 17 percent doing? Are they among the 20 percent who would not describe the Bible as either inerrant or infallible? Or did they just want to use their four choices for more specific answers? But back to the rest of us—defining a biblical sermon is kind of like observing spiritual growth. The surveyors gave us a lot of ways to define what we do, and we made a gallant effort. But limiting us to four choices cramped our style, I think. It isn't easy to describe how we come at the Bible. I presume most of us believe we're using approaches that best give the Bible its say. I respect my preaching colleagues who join me in struggling with the best ways to set forth the Bible in a way that produces spiritual growth.
I admit that I was troubled by the 34 percent who did not check "Christ-centered." How can that be? Paul said, "We preach Christ, and him crucified." I've just preached three months on the stories of Jacob, so I know well the challenge of preaching some texts where a straight line to Jesus isn't obvious. But we are Christian preachers. A friend of mine often reminds pastors, "A Christian sermon is one that would get you thrown out of a synagogue or a mosque." For that to happen, we have to preach about Christ. I know that it was difficult to choose from that list describing how we preach, but if "Christ-centered" doesn't even make the top four, we need a reality check!
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