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This interview is part two of a two-part series. In part one, Frazee discussed the importance of preaching on the Trinity and shared how he has incorporated the doctrine into his own preaching.

PreachingToday.com: When we're preaching on the Trinity, what sort of preaching is edifying and what sort is not?

Randy Frazee: One phrase that has guided my preaching is, "in the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity." When we preach, sometimes we need to put differences aside. Preaching becomes non-edifying when we get into particulars related to things like the Trinity and we create dividing lines in non-essentials.

It's also not edifying to preach as a student as opposed to preaching as a teacher. What I mean by that is, those of us who have a fascination with theology can, as students, sometimes bring in knowledge of counsels and debates, which is not useless or dangerous to the congregation so much as it is boring. If we're not careful, theology like the Trinity gets a bad rap, and people see it as dull. We need to be careful to think of our congregations and what they need when we teach.

As to what is edifying, we must give people the idea that the Trinity is extremely important, tell them who our God is, and try to put that into language they can understand.

We not only need to teach and re-teach the big idea of the Trinity, but we also need to teach the so whats. If our God is the only true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—then I must understand that I'm created in the image of this Trinity and what that means in my life.

You mention that our preaching could become unedifying if we start getting into issues that are not essentials. Could you give an example of an issue that is essential and an issue that is not?

For example, the fact that God the Trinity is a social being—that there are three distinct persons who share a soul—is not necessarily a new idea, but it's not a widely accepted idea, either. I would teach it from this standpoint: This is not a new idea, but it's probably going to be the first time you've heard it, because I've been in this thing for a long time. I'm not saying you have to believe this; I just want you to enter into the intrigue of this with me. Notice that the word Trinity is not even used in the Bible, so when we teach these things we should be careful with the dividing line.

We also need to show the big idea; we need to show the hill worth dying over. One such essential would be that of Trinitarianism versus pluralism—the belief that God is the one true God versus the belief that God is one of my many gods.

So, where the postmodern extremists would say not to present anything as absolute truth, I would say, no, there is one God. And our community is willing to be dunked in a lake until we die on that one. I'm willing to say there is absolute truth.

What should preachers who are especially concerned about non-Christians and visitors say when they're preaching on the Trinity?

The good news for those preachers is there's a new spiritual seeker. The non-believer or seeker has changed, and is actually fairly interested in this stuff.

The thing we have to be careful of is language. Rick Warren said we're all ignorant; we're just ignorant in different subjects. An engineer can talk to you in engineering gobbledygook, and you'll have no idea what he is talking about. I can do the same thing in theology. When we're teaching, I think that it's okay to use theological language, like "imminence"—you just have to say, now, what is imminence?

So we have to be careful with language. You don't have to shy away from it, but if you're going to use it, you're going to have to take the time to tell people what it is—and even re-tell them.

Is it a mistake to try to "put the cookies on the bottom shelf?" If not, how do we do so?

I think it's the job of the teacher or preacher to take deep truths like the Trinity and make them accessible to everyday people. We have the responsibility of making theological truths palatable. At the end of the sermon, people should not say, Oh, our pastor is very, very smart; they should say, I am deeply moved about the implications of the Trinity on my personal life. We must be careful not to become disconnected.

We've also got to be careful, however, that "putting the cookies on the bottom shelf" does not come to mean dumbing down. We should constantly be reevaluating our idea of the congregation's level of understanding.

Real life stories tap into people's hearts and can help people understand the so what of the Trinity. For example, if a husband and wife can't get along—they've gone to counseling for three years, and they still just can't get along—share their story. Say, anybody like that? And even though there are thousands of different angles you could take on this topic from the Bible or from theology, just talk solely about the Trinity. How would our understanding of the Trinity, if embraced, change this marriage? When you teach like this, you're dealing with where people are at in their life; you're not just teaching them the Bible.

Randy Frazee is senior minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and author of The Connecting Church.