What To Preach To A Dead Church

Student Question.

"What passages of scripture would you preach to a dead church, and what passages would you not preach to a dead church?"

Dr Steven Lawson Reply.

"I think you can preach anything to a dead church. All scripture is inspired by God and profitable.

I've preached to a dead church. You know, I came to realize a few years ago, not my present church, I was Pastoring an unconverted church. That is literally what a dead church is, an unconverted church. They didn't need John 3: 16. They had had that every Sunday. I preached first John and the necessary marks of the new birth, the distinguishing marks of one who is born by God, and a dead church has got to come alive in Christ to begin with. I saw over a hundred adult conversions in one year just among church members coming to faith in Christ. So preaching First John had power. It works in the South, you know, where everyone thinks they are saved; that there are necessary evidences of the new birth, and without these evidences you can be assured you are not saved.

If the church was just languishing, I don't know, I might go to the seven letters to seven churches. And Revelation two and three. There are some some kick in those verses and those letters; from "I have this against you, you left your first love", to, "but I spew you out of my mouth." I mean, that is just kind of a wake-up call right there. And then everything in between, "I have this against you, you tolerate the woman Jezebel", "you have a name, but you are dead" to the church at Sardis. So those Immediately come to mind.

Plus the demands of discipleship from Christ, "Except a man hate his own father and mother, brother, and sister, and yes, even his own life."

I would want to jolt them a bit, off the fence, help them see their lost condition, or just their languishing or backsliding.

A right diagnosis is half the cure.

Help them see where they are."

- Dr. Steven Lawson

Great Preachers Are Disciplined

Great Preachers Are Disciplined
I think the key is discipline. You've got to be disciplined, and that's one thing I think I learned from Athletics and sports that you just have to be disciplined.

• Great preachers are disciplined.
• Great students of scripture, great theologians are disciplined.
• Great theologians are disciplined.
• Great commentary writers are disciplined.

An athlete tells his body what to do. You don't allow your appetites or your tiredness or whatever to dictate to you, you dictate to your body. You push yourself.

And I realised that we run by grace, and not just self-will, but I think that 1 Timothy 4:7 & 8, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. That is a key factor."

- Dr. Steven Lawson 

Oh My God!

"Preaching the Bible is neither a Lecture, nor a motivational Speech.

The goal of a lecture is that you leave with a page full of notes.

The goal of a motivational speech is that you leave with a page of action steps.

The goal of a truly preached Bible passage is that you leave worshiping. There is a time we put the pen down, and the eyes look up and you stop saying, "Oh my God, look at all I've got to do for you!", and we start saying [in worship], "Oh my God, what you have done for me!"

J.D. Great summarizing a writing by Dr.Loyd Jones

We Didn't Add Doctrines We Erased Them

"Most attempts to convince the world that Jesus was a "really great guy, not mean and dogmatic like You-Know-Who" (usually meaning Republicans in the religious right) carry their task all the way to the point of hiding or eliminating the exclusivity of Jesus.

"Well, yes, but he didn't mean all that. These are doctrines added later by the church."

Practically the opposite is true - Jesus said it very clearly. It is the church who has often tried to explain it away."

- John Eldredge. Beautiful Outlaw

Greek Hebrew Latin Belong At Foot Of The Cross

"Scriptures are given to lead us to holiness and to Christ, it doesn't mean that we are to set aside our intellect and understand them neither does it mean that those who are interested in learning more about scripture are to forsake study of the text and its original language. These things can be helpful but they must be done while leading us toward holiness, not toward intellectual snobbery, and certainly not in a way that reinforces and elitist hermeneutic. David Alan black puts it best:

'Greek, Hebrew, and Latin all have their proper place. But it is not at the head of the Cross, where Pilate put them, but at the foot of the cross, in humble service to Christ.'"

- Dr. Les Hardin. The spirituality of Paul. Pg 34

Quoting David Alan black. "Using New Testament Greek in Ministry: A practical guide for students and pastors. (Grand Rapids.v Baker, 1993), page 21.

Trivial Drival Preaching &Teaching Inspires Nothing!

Such a trivial level that we think we have heard it all. I've had leadership say as much. What about Teaching that reminds us every week we have a lifetime of study and learning and we still won't learn it all? Reminds me i have much to more to know and grow into? I remember  leading a group in Charlottetown  about ten-year  ago and a life long church leader at first was very very frustrated and a bit angry. Becuse he was struggling with the material and reading assignments. I did not know why. Then about five nights in he said that he had never heard much of this stuff (i was teaching Kingdom themes) before. He said i read a paragraph and it is so profound that i have to read it over three or four times. It turns out the anger was he was angry he had never been taught this stuff before, and wondered how come at 65 he has not encountered so much of this teaching,and he could have been digging more in these themes. He was convinced at 65, that doing more than the average church member, he had a good handle on most things.  Then he learned themes he did not know existed.  I said i dont know... but we have a lifetime to study and still don't know it all. I said let it wash over you.... just be exposed. 

I love it when secularists talk to me like  they have the church and theology all figured out. Yes.... it happens weekly to me.  They dont ask my opinion, they talk to me to correct me based on their assumptions... they trully do feel they have a good handle on what faith people  think. I dont have conversations there.  Every week  a church should be taken deep enough in some aspect of teaching they can't say "i heard it all before." A good shock as to what they don't know is required very regularly.... or we forget we have something to aspire to.... for a lifetime. 

My 2 cents.

"Even kids at a pretty early age get bored if they are not exposed to maybe things they can't completely apprehend, or things that are in some way held out for them something else to attain. 

But when it is the drivil, and trivia, and game playing that becomes the focus of your activity….  What i see happening among adults with boredom and passing through the back door. Oh they're prepared for that as children.  Because that sort of thin engagement i think ultimately  is not going to, first of all, disciple anyone, and probably won't hold their attention into highschool and beyond.

- Paul Axton

The Gospel of Intellectuals and Farmers

"The fourteenth chapter of the book of Acts puts Paul in Lystra. Now Lystra was an uneducated Agrarian community. And Paul's message was identical there as it was in Athens, but not as labored. He expected uneducated farmers to understand the same message that he expected the Greek intellectuals to understand. Now he didn't say it the same way, but he did say the same message."

- Dr James D. Strauss. 1990. LCS Chapel Service.

Transcultural Truths

"Trust combines exegesis with ethnology as one tracks the transcultural truths of the faith. The AncientFuture Christian lives out of the past, not in it."

- Leonard Sweet. AquaChurch 2.0

Wish We Would Seek Jesus

"Would that more churches had etched on their pulpits the words that admonish everyone who steps into the crow’s nest of one West Virginia church: “Sir, we would see Jesus.”

- Leonard Sweet. AquaChurch 2.0

A Church Shout is Mission

Negro Spiritual 

"I real’y do b’lieve widout a doubt,
Dat de church hab a mighty right to shout."

Sermons Without Ambiguity

"Sermons give the mistaken idea that there is a well-crafted answer to every question, but that’s only because we set up the question to fit our answers. The sermons can unwittingly intimidate people from engaging others with real questions because real conversations don’t happen in outline form."

- Wayne Jacobsen. Beyond Sundays 

Sermons Limited?

"So, I’m not saying that sermons have no value, only that the value is limited. They can provide valuable information and inspiration, but their impact on spiritual transformation is fairly weak, and all the more so as people get used to hearing the same voice each week. They may find it informative, inspirational, even entertaining, but at the end of the day it cannot show them how to live. For that they need a more mature friend with whom they can share their experiences, questions, and even doubts as they explore their own connection to God. Listening to sermons, even taking notes and trying to live out the application, is probably the worst way to discover how to live inside the love of the Father and to follow him. I’m convinced that ninety percent of teaching and preaching occurs in a conversation where questions are being asked, doubts considered, and difficult realities contemplated."
- Wayne Jacobsen. Beyond Sundays 

Minister Signs

Anyone who understands Prince Edward Island culture knows that the teapot is the lubrication of life and relationships; especially so for the older generation.

A church minister on Prince Edward Island once told me,

"I knew my visit wasn't going to go well as soon as I was invited in. After seating me in a chair at the kitchen table, the woman went straight to the stove, turned off the burner already heating a teapot for tea when i arrived, removing the teapot from the burner, setting it to one side, and then sat down at the table.
I've visit many thousands of people in my time, and most often folks put a teapot on. This was the first time someone actually took the teapot "OFF". It wasn't a good sign. And, let me tell you, I interpretated "the signs of the time" just right."

How To Reach Millennials

"To attract more millennials to church, our board suggested serving coffee before and after the service. I suggested we proclaim Christ crucified and risen. 

We will now have coffee served before and after the service."

@BoringPastor

Preaching Too Soon

"Would-be theologians. ... must be on their guard lest by beginning too soon to preach they rather chatter themselves into Christianity then live themselves into it and find themselves at home there."

- Soren Kierkegaard. (Recorded in his Journal, July 11th, 1838) 

He Preached For Free And The Price......

"He preached for free, and the price was worth it."

 - Huckleberry Finn 

- Mark Twain. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Speak to the Uproar

"Much more then ought those who aim at virtue and what is noble to lose no opportunity of public speaking, paying very little attention to either uproar or applause at their speeches."

-Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals. First Century Greek Philosopher. 

Releasing Laity To Be Ministers

"(Andreas) Karlstadt reflected the anti-clerical attitude of the time. He insisted that the pastor communicate with the laity, and he disregard clerical vestments and titles. Lady were endowed with clerical rights such as reading and Proclamation from scripture and celebration of the Lord's Supper in private homes. For the sake of order, in public assembly the chosen Pastor simply exercised such functions for all."

-J. Denny Weaver. Becoming Anabaptist. 2nd Edition. 

Preaching Sitting Down

Who was it?

First reformer to host communion in Vernacular- German.

First reformer to publish "Theses".

First Catholic Priest to renounce his monastic vows in reformation.

"These future Swiss Anabaptists were immersed in the ideas and outlook of Andreas Karlstadt, absorbing much more of his outlook than did Zwingli....
Karlstadt had published 151 Theses in April 1517, but it was Luther's 95 Theses of October 31st, 1517, that caught the attention of Europe and sparked the Reformation. Karlstadt defended Luther's theses and participated with Luther in the public debate...
Following his appearance and condemnation before the imperial diet of worms in April 1521, Luther for his own safety was removed to the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. In his absence, Karlstadt pushed reform in Wittenberg. He performed the first reformed communion service on Christmas 1521 - in German, wearing lay clothing. He became the first reformer to repudiate his monastic vows, including celibacy, and married 16 year old Anna von Mochau in January 1522. The Town Council enacted a new welfare system advocated by Luther and Karlstadt, and Karlstadt pushed for removal of images from churches. Unwilling to wait for official permission, and unruly mob acted on its own to destroy number of images. 
The rapid pace of Reform upset both the Elector Frederick as well as Luther.... Luther sided with the conservatives and attack Karlstadt. A writing of Karlstadt was censored and his preaching was curtailed....
Karlstadt  felt betrayed by his colleagues.  Gradually he withdrew from Orlamünde, the source of the churchly stipend that paid his salary. There  Karlstadt became increasingly disillusioned with Academia (He was university professor). He rejected academic titles as contrary to Christ's words to call no man "master" and adopted 
A life quite close to the peasant style.  Called "Brother Andreas" in Orlamünde, he encouraged interpretations and discussion during sermons, which he delivered while sitting in the midst of the congregation. He translated Psalms into German and collaborated with the Town Council in removing the organ and the images from the church building. He abolish the baptism of infants."


- J. Denny Weaver. Becoming Anabaptist. 2nd Edition 

Too Mouthy For Silence?

I appreciate his words very much. We are too mouthy at times. Not enough stillness or silence. Yet, proclamation, stelling the story, sharing His wonders and deeds is core to our faith as well. 

I know what most will  say about the need to use our mind. Loo at his cautions below about exalting the mind. The transformed mind is not always the mind that is actually at work. 

It is not either or. Rather, it is both. 

"Presence is experienced in a participative way, outside the mind. The mind by nature is intent on judging, controlling, and analyzing instead of seeing, tasting, and loving. This is exactly why it cannot be present or live in the naked now. The Mind wants a job and loves to process things. The key to stopping this game is, quite simply, peace, silence, or stillness. I would even say that on the practical level, silence and God will be experienced simultaneously- and even as the same thing. And afterward, you will want to remain even more silent. The overly verbal religion of the last 500 years does not seem to understand this at all and tends to be afraid of any silence whatsoever. It cannot follow Jesus and go into the desert for forty days, where there is nothing to say, to prove, to think, or to defend. 
Although we all use the phrase peace of mind, there is really no such thing. When you are in your mind, you are never truly at peace, and when you are truly at peace, you are never in your mind........

Yes, the mind is necessary, but it can't do everything. 

Yes, the mind is receptive, but reason is not out only antenna. We also need our bodies, Our emotions, our hearts, our nose, our ears, our eyes, our taste, and our souls. 

Yes, the mind can achieve great things, but through Over Control, it can also limit what we can know. 

Yes, the mind can think great thoughts, and also bad and limiting ones. The mind can be a gift and a curse. 

Yes, the mind can tell left from right, but it cannot perceive invisible things such as love, eternity, fear, wholeness, mystery, or the Divine. 

Yes, the mind can discern consistency, logic, and fairness, but it seldom puts these into practice. 

Yes the mind and reason are necessary, but they must learn to distinguish between what lies Beyond its reach; the prerational and the transrational.

Yes, the mind is brilliant, but the more we observe it, the more we see it is also obsessive and repetitive. 

Yes, the Mind seeks the truth, but it can also create lies. 

Yes, the mind can connect us with others, but it can also keep us apart. 

Yes, the mind is very useful, but when it does not recognize its own finite Viewpoint, it is also useless. 

Yes, the mind can serve the world, but in fact it largely serves itself. 

Yes, the mind can make necessary distinctions, but it also divides in thought what is on divided in nature and in the concrete. 

Yes, the mind is needed, but we also need other ways of knowing or we will not know well, fully, or freely. 

Yes, the mind is good at thinking. But so much so that most humans, like the card, thing they are they're thinking. 

Yes, the Mind likes to think, but until it learns to listen to others, to the body, the heart, and all the senses, it also uses itself to block everything it does not like to do or to acknowledge. 

Yes, the mind is our friend, but when we are obsessive or compulsive, it can also be our most dangerous foe. 

Yes, the mine welcomes education, but it also needs to be on educated, to learn how much of what it "knows" is actually near conditioning and Prejudice.

As a result, the great religions of the world found methods to compartmentalize, but not eliminate, the over control of the thinking, rational mind, through practices such as prayer, meditation, or contemplation this was the "new mind," which allowed 

• 1. other parts of us to see 
• 2. other things to be seen, 
• 3. the rational mind to then be reintegrated, but now as a servant instead of the master.
  

- Richard Rohr. The Naked Now