Learning the Language of Zion

By Luke Stamps

One of the subtle temptations of Christian ministry is the tendency to assume that all of our teaching must be immediately and specifically applicable to our hearers. This statement needs qualification. To be sure, all of our teaching and preaching should be ultimately applicable to our hearers. The Christian faith is not ultimately a pure science but an applied science: a body of truth that demands a response of faith and obedience. Christian sermons cannot be reduced to textual commentary. Christian college and seminary lectures cannot terminate on merely theoretical knowledge. Christian parenting cannot consist in mere information transfer. No. Christian ministry, whether ecclesial or scholastic or parental, must be applicable if it is to live up to its name: “ministry,” that is, service in and for the body of Christ.

But having said that, we make a mistake if we think that all of our teaching must be immediately and specifically applicable to our hearers. If we set up these criteria as a litmus test for our teaching, we may end up truncating our message. If we demand that our teaching be immediately and specifically applicable, we will only teach and preach those things which we subjectively sense are immediately and specifically applicable. This temptation is manifest in many pulpits that focus almost exclusively on needs that are already felt by the congregants. Turn on a typical Christian radio program and you are more likely to hear a sermon on how to be a better husband, father, and financial steward (all worthy topics) than you are to hear a sermon on how to understand Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith alone (the more fundamental basis for these other worthy topics). Obscure Scripture passages are avoided. Difficult doctrines—or perhaps all doctrines—are ignored.

Perhaps this is a uniquely American phenomenon. We live in a pragmatic culture. We want to know what the message means for us. Give us something practical—give us something to do—or else the message seems irrelevant. But I suspect this temptation cuts across cultural lines. It is rooted in our creatureliness (as those who were made to obey God) and our fallenness (as those who mistakenly think that we can establish our own righteousness).

And this temptation isn’t just relegated to the seeker-oriented mega-church pastors that we might have in mind. Many preachers and teachers who are sound in doctrine might nevertheless be tempted to focus exclusively on matters of application: how to engage this or that cultural artifact from a Christian worldview, how to respond to the latest political developments from a Christian perspective, how to prevent our preaching from being “boring,” and so forth. All of these things are worthy endeavors. We should seek to view our culture and our politics through a Christian lens. We should want our preaching to be relevant and engaging and heart-felt. But at the same time, I think there is a danger in assuming that all of our hearers share the doctrinal base from which we wish to accomplish these things. We assume that our hearers know the language of Zion—the grammar of the Christian faith. But in an increasingly biblically-illiterate culture, we cannot afford to make that assumption. Grammar isn’t always fun and exciting, but it is essential if we want to read well and function well in society. Similarly, wading through the sometimes difficult issues of Christian doctrine may not always be thrilling, but it is crucial if we want to live well as citizens of Christ’s kingdom.

So what do we do to avoid this application-centric approach to Christian ministry? Here are several suggestions (Yes, I see the irony. Let him without sin…).

1. We shouldn’t be ashamed to preach sermons and teach lessons that are explicitly doctrinal. If biblical doctrine comes across as boring or irrelevant, then the problem lies with the preacher not the message. Also, to repeat the distinction made above, some doctrinal issues might not be immediately applicable but will be ultimately applicable. For example, a sermon or lesson on the difficult doctrine of God’s providence might seem theoretical and impractical at the time. But when unemployment or cancer or death comes, we will be glad to have the theological concepts necessary to make biblical sense of our suffering.

2. We should preach the whole counsel of God, including difficult and obscure passages. This may seem like an obvious exhortation for many readers of this blog. But even in theologically-minded circles, it seems to me that we still have a long way to go in really listening to the uncomfortable portions of God’s Word.

3. In an academic context, some theological disciplines will be more theoretical than others, but this shouldn’t deter us from pursuing them. We need Christian scholars who will engage academic issues that people in the pews will likely never pursue. Not everyone is called to study the culture and language of the Ancient Near East or the technical details of linguistics or the tools of analytic philosophy or the specifics of seventh century Christological controversies. But some Christians are. All of these things are ultimately applicable to the life and ministry of the church, but they may not be immediately applicable. That’s okay.

4. We should not only catechize our children but our adults. This may take place in formal catechesis, but it may also take place in a “What We Believe” Sunday School class or in small groups that focus on specific doctrinal truths. We can no longer assume that the people in our churches know basic Bible doctrine. Leaving to one side the important theological concepts developed throughout church history (like the hypostatic union), many Christians have trouble articulating a proper understanding of basic New Testament terms like justification, sanctification, and regeneration. We need application, but we also need to know what we are applying.

So what do you think? Are there other ways we can better communicate the basics of the Christian faith?

Luke Stamps is a Ph.D. candidate at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in systematic theology. Luke is a weekly contributor to the Credo blog and also blogs at Before All Things. Luke is married to Josie, and they have two children, Jack and Claire. Luke is a member of Clifton Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.