What Is Preaching For? Preaching That Fulfills Its God-Given Purpose (Dennis Johnson)

In the new issue of Credo Magazine, “Churchy Gimmicks: Has the Church Sold Its Soul to Consumerism?”, Dennis Johnson has contributed an article titled, “What Is Preaching For? Preaching That Fulfills Its God-Given Purpose.” Dennis E. Johnson is Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Seminary California. He is the author of Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ From All the Scriptures.

Here is the introduction to Johnson’s article:

On a weekly basis across the globe, people gather by dozens, by hundreds, and by thousands. Together they speak in unison and sing in harmony. They share bits of bread and sips of wine. They hear readings from a book and listen to leaders who explain, often at length, the relevance of what has been read to their daily experience.

Described like this, in terms of outwardly observable actions, Christian churches’ worship services may seem bland and pointless. If fictional aliens from a distant galaxy (or earthbound anthropologists unfamiliar with Jesus’ followers) were to examine such assemblies, would they be mystified by the purpose that draws Christian believers together so frequently? Would they wonder why we gather to sing, speak, listen, and taste?

What Is a Sermon For?

Take, for example, the sermon, which is often the most prominent feature of Christian worship. A typical order of worship includes songs and prayers, Scripture readings and sacraments, but the sermon often consumes more time than all the other elements of worship combined. Worshipers often assess the service as a whole in terms of what they hear in the sermon. So why do multitudes give rapt attention to these extended monologues, week in and week out? What does preaching, specifically, do? What purposes does it, or should it, achieve?

In 1877, the American Episcopal Bishop Phillips Brooks delivered a series of lectures at Yale College. His audience was composed of students preparing for pastoral ministry, and his subject was preaching.  Those lectures became an oft-quoted classic on the mysterious and daunting task of proclaiming God’s Word. In his first lecture Rev. Brooks observed, “The purpose of preaching must always be the first condition that decrees its character.  The final cause is that which really shapes everything’s life.  And what is preaching for?  The answer comes without hesitation.  It is for men’s salvation.”   But then, said the bishop, things get complicated, since neither people nor preachers always agree on what salvation means. From what do we need saving?  If we need deliverance from sinful desires, preaching will focus on issues of spiritual maturity and combating temptation. If we need rescue from God’s just wrath, preaching will concentrate on justification and Christ’s once-for-all obedience and sacrifice that are its ground. “If salvation was the elevation of society, preaching became a lecture upon social science.”

We could add to his list: If we need salvation from anxiety, preaching must calm our fears. If we need rescue from sorrow, it should bring us comfort. If we long for deliverance from interpersonal conflict in dysfunctional marriages, preaching needs to provide counsel on peacemaking in the home. If hearers need to be saved from their own lack of self-discipline, preaching may be viewed as life coaching. If, unbeknownst to the listeners, they need to be delivered from lethargic indifference to others’ suffering or to the cause of righteousness, preaching must trouble the conscience, enlist the troops, and marshal our energies for action. Is preaching’s purpose to “comfort the afflicted” and to “afflict the comfortable,” as is often said?

But are any of these possible purposes for preaching really big enough, really comprehensive enough? More to the point, how do these various aims align with God’s purposes for preaching? After all, preaching is his chosen means for disseminating the life-giving, heart-transforming message of Jesus. What does he say about its purpose?

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The Evangelical church in the twenty-first century has in many ways absorbed the consumeristic mentality that is so prevalent in the culture. Churches approach worship as if they were selling a product and the attendee were the consumer. Since the product is up for sale, churches must show that their product is more entertaining than anything else the world has to offer. Therefore, churchy gimmicks are the name of the game. Whatever keeps people coming back for more takes first priority and becomes the controlling principle for all things church-related. The preaching must be relevant, the music must entertain, and church events must keep people on the edge of their seat. If the church doesn’t sell itself, then it will be out of business.

In this issue of Credo Magazine we hope to pour an ice-cold bucket of water in the face of the church. No longer can we turn to the culture to decide what the church should be and do. God, his gospel, and his bride are not products to be sold. And those who walk through the church doors on Sunday morning are not customers to entertain. Such an approach makes man the center and treats the church like a business. In contrast, our aim in this issue is to draw church-goers and church leaders back to Scripture, which we believe should be our final authority and guide for worship. In doing so, we must recover the ordinary means of grace that God uses to equip the saints and transform us into the image of Christ.

Contributors include: Brian Cosby, Dennis Johnson, Harry Reeder, Mark DeVine, T. David Gordon, Heath Lambert, and many others.