Message Preparation (Part 1)
Developing and communicating God's message is one of the greatest and hardest things I get to do with my life so I thought I'd devote a few blog entries about it.
Let me first start with a few MYTHBUSTERS:
#1--Preachers/Pastors only work one day a week.
WRONG!! There is so much to do in a growing church that most people would be shocked. However, the MAIN thing I do that brings the MOST to our team is the weekend message. They've done studies to show that growing churches have pastors that spend 20+ hours in message preparation.
I find that the best ideas, illustrations, and insights come HOURS into preparation. I call it the 'marination' time when I am soaking up God's Word, thinking how it relates to my life, etc. Communicators must guard, protect, and schedule this time to hear from God!
#2--Just teach the Bible
A lot of churchy people say this and think churches like Rock Bridge water down the Bible or don't go deep enough. What a joke!
First, the goal is not Bible knowledge alone. The Pharisees knew more of the 'Bible' than anyone in Jesus' day and they are the ones who killed Jesus ... the very One the 'Bible' they supposedly knew was written about!!
How many of you know people who know tons of Scripture and Bible stories, but don't apply half of what they know?!
Second, the goal that we have at Rock Bridge is changed lives. That means we have to go beyond outlining Scripture for people to actually teaching people how to APPLY and LIVE out the truths and principles in the Bible in today's world.
Preparation would be so much easier if all I worried about was taking some Scripture verses and simply explaining what they mean based on some Matthew Henry commentary. What people really need is a TIMELY, RELEVANT, and APPLICABLE word from God. That is why as a communicator I have to be in touch with God's Voice and people's lives. God's Word speaks to people TODAY about things they face TODAY. As a communicator my challenge and goal is to bridge the ancient truths of Scripture into today's culture so people can live them out.
If the people who attend RBCC, leave church knowing when Ephesians was written and who wrote it, but they cannot apply the AWESOME truths of Ephesians on Monday morning or around the dinner table ... then I have failed miserably. This is why THOUSANDS of people no longer attend church ... because they believe it does not relate to real life!
WE ARE CHANGING THAT BELIEF AND PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE BEING CHANGED FOR GOD'S GLORY!!
#3--The King James Version of the Bible is the only true version.
(I know this is a tricky subject in the Bible belt ... )
Some people actually think this is the version Jesus read from when He taught in the Temple! Some people believe that all the other translations are just translations of and thus distortions of the original King James! Actualy, other translations (like NIV and NASB) are translations of the manuscript copies that we have of the original Greek & Hebrew texts. Also, there have been lots of advances in scholarship and archaelogy since KJV was written that have INCREASED the accuracy of our more modern translations. Would you go to a doctor who just practiced medicine as it practiced was in the 1600s?Do you know in some churches they are more concerned if a person or another church uses a different translation than if people are being saved and if lives are being changed?
For me, I use a variety of translations (including KJV/NKJV) when preparing but I almost always teach from the NIV (New International Version) because it is an accurate translation and it is easier to read/understand. Greek has a lot more words than English and sometimes it is difficult for one translation to completely convey the meaning of the original Greek text.
#4--Preaching is easy.
Fun, rewarding, exciting ... Yes! But easy ... no!
#1-There is a weekly deadline that never gets pushed back. Sunday comes with amazing regularity.
#2-There is the sacred responsibility of hearing from God and speaking His truth.
#3-There is the tempation of pride and getting the 'big head' when the sermon is good ... trust me, if it is good it is 100% a 'God' thing!
#4-We do get 'sermon' block ... which makes Saturday's anything but a 'day off'.
#5-We do have people unload on us 2 minutes before the service kicks-off ... I would love to revert back to some of my old "Navy" language at times like these ... but I just quote some King James instead.
