What's the deal with tongues? In this article, Jesse Medina recounts his experience in an Assemblies of God church with a high value on speaking in tongues. But what about the weirdness? Can we throw tongues out altogether? Read and Interact
Do Sermons Matter?
Posted By Jesse Medina on/at 7:00 AM
Written by Jesse Medina
I don't know why, but it has become a trend to hate sermons. Actually I do know why. It is because we're too cool for sermons. We're too smart. We don't like the fact that just one guy gets to get up on stage every Sunday and share his thoughts.
What makes him special? The New Testament talks about the priesthood of all believers. Who does this guy think he is?
Part of the problem is blogs, message boards, and instant feedback in general. Why should Mr. Pastor Guy get up and give a monologue every week and expect the rest of us to listen. We're postmodern, darn it. We deserve a say, too. We have something to add! Communication these days is about dialogue (by the way, don't forget to comment!).
Everyone is an expert in God. At least, we act like it. I know I do (mostly because I am).
But I confess that we have the wrong view of what a sermon is supposed to be. Sure, some pastors treat it like a platform for them to get up and talk about their thoughts and share stories about how awesome they are (I once heard a pastor "confess" to the congregation all the ways he was awesome at showing God's love to others). But I don't think that's what it was supposed to be.
Sermons, by definition, are the proclamation of the Word of God. A preacher who does his job well discerns the meaning of the text through careful study and helps the congregation to understand its meaning and application to their own lives. In that sense, he is a servant to the congregation.
And the sermon isn't just about passing on information, but of the continual hearing of God speaking to his people. Like most rituals (quick comment here: that it is a ritual does not render it lifeless) it continually reminds us of our need for, and love of, God.
So maybe we don't like sermons because...
- ...we don't like being proclaimed to.
- ...we are full of ourselves.
- ...we think we are more mature than we actually are.
- ...we don't like being reminded of our sinfulness.
- ...we think we know it all already.
- ...we would rather be entertained than preached to.
- ...we're not the ones preaching.
