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Talking God
Preaching to Contemporary Congregations
By Albert R. Cutié Church Publishing Incorporated
Copyright © 2016 Albert R. Cutié
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8192-3270-0
CHAPTER 1
The Historical Evolution of the Sermon
For just as you are hungry to listen to me, so too I am hungry to preach to you.
— St. John Chrysostom
Not unlike any other method or system of communication, the sermon has changed and evolved throughout the centuries. In the early church, many sermons were "apologias" (a Greek term referring to the defense of a particular Christian teaching or doctrine), usually intense theological explanations of a topic being debated or defined by the early Christians. The witness of Justin Martyr (c. 150 AD) in his famous letter to the Roman Emperor, Antoninus Pius, describes those early Christian sermons by saying that the "presider of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings." This is an early and rare description of a sermon in the second century of Christianity within the context of Sunday worship. Yet, we get a lot from that brief statement. We are told that there was a preacher who spoke to the assembly, and that there was an exhortation inviting specific changes to be made in the lives of those gathered as a result of the proclamation. It is fair to say that the craft of preaching has always involved a preacher and an assembly trying to comprehend how best to understand and apply the meaning of the Word of God for the living out of our Christian lives. The fact that there is a preacher and there are listeners is perhaps one of the only aspects of preaching and proclamation that will not be radically subjected to the communications revolution taking place around us.
However, when we take a look back in time we discover that the most renowned testimonies of the first centuries of Christianity were primarily focused on the martyrdoms of significant figures who had a great impact on the life of that primitive church. Certainly the stories of Perpetua, Felicity, and other martyrs were considered a powerful witness that led those around them in the Christian community to embrace the Gospel and live the message of the Word of God. The witness of these stories was a powerful tool within the early Christian church, which found itself at odds with a hostile cultural milieu.
In this sense, one could say that the Christian sermon has gone full-circle, with popular preachers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries focusing a great deal of attention (in their sermons) on their own personal stories of pain, abuse, addiction, and other human dramas, which may make their message more appealing — or even more credible — to contemporary listeners. In the early church, for some it was the witness of martyrdom that made the Gospel attractive. While it is certainly a stretch (i.e. martyrdom vs. stories of personal strife) one cannot ignore the strong connection between personal testimony, witness, and experience in both the primitive church and in some contemporary Christian traditions. One could say that many pastors today are actually recognized for those personal journeys and often use those narratives in their preaching much more so than their level of education or knowledge of theology.
In order to go deeper into our understanding of the changes within the craft of preaching as a result of our media culture, this chapter will focus on the evolution of sermons in the post-Reformation era (after 1685). We'll do that by looking briefly at a theologically and denominationally diverse group of preachers who can be categorized as "iconic" figures in the most recent centuries of Christian history. The first two lived in a time when, apart from print media, technology did not provide for much more than the traditional pulpit and the spoken word. Yet, with the dawn of radio and television in the twentieth century, others became among the most influential people of our time. By looking at these sermons and the well-known and transformational individuals who preached them, I believe we will be able to discern the evolution that has already occurred and the developments that will continue to take place in preaching. Rather than pretending to use these six preachers as some sort of case study, we will look directly at each specific style used to preach the Christian Gospel and the effect their surroundings and particular cultural milieu had on the message they proclaimed and continue to share today.
John Wesley (1703–1791)
John Wesley understood the apostolic mission of the church in the most radical way and put it into practice in the most literal way. The very origin of the word "apostle" (in Greek apostollein) refers to one who is "sent" or to actually "send away." Wesley, his brother Charles (the renowned author of over five thousand hymns), and the great Anglican preacher and mentor to Wesley, George Whitefield, took the Gospel to the streets. As some of the first in England to promote preaching outdoors in the eighteenth century, they were harshly criticized and persecuted for initiating this unpopular practice.
Wesley and his colleagues had begun the practice of public preaching and what would evolve to become what we now call "revivals" as a result of their association with the Holy Club in Oxford. The Holy Club was dedicated to the pursuit of holiness, originating what would become known as the "Holiness Movement" with their specific mix of religious study, piety, and service that would eventually lead to the establishment of Methodist societies (although Wesley would declare himself an Anglican until his death). There is little doubt that in Wesley's unique style and in the movement he helped to lead, something new was taking place. Wesley and those who became adherents of his method were taking Christianity back out into the streets, beyond the walls of the church. The step of taking the sermon from the context of the traditional indoor pulpit and making it accessible to any who might want to listen on the street was not a new method, but an application of an old, forgotten method — the one used by prophets and apostles of biblical times, who spent their time beyond the confines of physical structures and/or religious buildings. One could say that those outdoor revivals of the eighteenth century were the "mass media" of their times. It was certainly the only way to reach thousands of people, gathered in a single space to hear God's message.
I believe this open air or "field preaching," as it was called, led Wesley to become a truly effective communicator among the people of his time. He possessed a simplicity and directness not common among his colleagues who preached in more formal indoor settings. This is evident from the preface of Wesley's first publication of sermons in 1746 in which he states:
I design plain truth for plain people; therefore, to set purpose, I abstain from all nice and philosophical speculations; from all perplexed and intricate reasonings; and, as far as possible, from even the show of learning, unless in sometimes citing the original Scripture. I labour to avoid all words which are not easy to be understood, all which are not used in common life; and, in particular, those kinds of technical terms that so frequently occur in Bodies of Divinity; those modes of speaking which men of reading are intimately acquainted with, but to common people are an unknown tongue.
Here, Wesley the street preacher is articulating his case for what guides his preaching style: a desire to communicate the Gospel effectively to all people, both those familiar with theological concepts and (mostly) those who were not. In the eyes of too many of the churchmen of his day, this enthusiastic and popular approach posed a real threat, a danger to the dignified style of preaching most ascribed to. In spite of the opposition he faced from colleagues in the church, Wesley continued to motivate the listeners of his outdoor sermons to be faithful in their attendance at worship and to the reception of the sacraments. While he was indeed an innovative preacher, he by no means discouraged the traditional practices of Christianity and regular church attendance. However, as several critics have noted, none of his published sermons put much emphasis on church attendance.
What we do find explicitly present in almost all of Wesley's sermons is his passion, personal style, and approach. Obviously, they do not contain the language, speech patterns, or approach we are accustomed to hearing, but they very much represent his eighteenth century context and the use of the sermon to express doctrinal and theological perspectives. At the same time, one can see that there is a very personal and direct message being transmitted. This typical Wesleyan approach is evident in his 1746 sermon on "Justification by Faith":
Thou ungodly one, who hearest or readest these words! Thou vile, helpless, miserable sinner! I charge thee before God, the Judge of all, go straight unto him, with all thy ungodliness. Take heed thou destroy not thy own soul by pleading thy righteousness, more or less. Go as altogether ungodly, guilty, lost, destroyed, deserving and dropping into hell; and thou shalt then find favour in his sight, and know that he justifieth the ungodly. As such thou shalt be brought unto the "blood of sprinkling," as an undone, helpless, damned sinner. Thus "look unto Jesus!" There is "the Lamb of God," who "taketh away thy sins!" Plead thou no works, no righteousness of thine own! No humility, contrition, sincerity! In nowise. That were, in very deed, to deny the Lord that bought thee. No: Plead thou, singly, the blood of the covenant, the ransom paid for thy proud, stubborn, sinful soul. Who art thou, that now seest and feelest both thine inward and outward ungodliness? Thou art the man! I want thee for my Lord! I challenge "thee" for a child of God by faith! The Lord hath need of thee. Thou who feelest thou art just fit for hell, art just fit to advance his glory; the glory of his free grace, justifying the ungodly and him that worketh not. O come quickly! Believe in the Lord Jesus; and thou, even thou, art reconciled to God.
The passion and style in Wesley's "Justification" sermon is evident. While some of the language seems rather harsh to contemporary ears, a zealous and energetic preaching style is clear even in the written text. Yet, as we read these sermons, one wonders how it was possible for thousands of people to have heard and understood these outdoor preachers and their elaborate phrases without benefit of microphones or public address systems. The answer provided by several scholars is that preaching was carefully delivered with a kind of voice that was "close to singing," allowing their voices to carry and be heard at much greater distances. This style should not be compared to the almost gimmicky shouting we hear from so many of today's television preachers, but a true instrument which captivated large audiences and allowed the message to be heard and understood. The projection and clarity of Wesley's voice accompanied the passion with which the message was proclaimed. To illustrate this point, we look to Wesley's mentor and another great outdoor preacher, George Whitefield, who was once asked for permission to publish his sermons. Whitefield responded, "Well, I have no inherent objection, if you like, but you will never be able to put on the printed page the lightning and the thunder."
To Wesley's contemporaries, the content, power, and delivery of the spoken word had great value and were integral to the craft of preaching. Once those sermons were written, which unfortunately is the only way we can experience them today, they lose a great deal of their personality. Perhaps today, as the traditional context of worship through the emerging church and other movements, we can look to Wesley, Whitefield, and others who brought crowds together in outdoor settings and brought the Gospel to the people.
Contemporary preachers can surely benefit from Wesley's perseverance in listening to the voice of God within, seeking new ways to proclaim the message of the kingdom. Although it was not considered decent for a man of the cloth to go out and do "street preaching," that is precisely what Wesley did. He did all this without microphones, video cameras, or any type of equipment. His only instruments were the Gospel, his voice, and his God-given courage to break the mold and take the saving message of God beyond buildings and the pulpits found within them. John Wesley's ministry as preacher and pastor offers us examples of innovation and courage — and the results that can come from using those gifts.
Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892)
Charles Spurgeon was known as the "Prince of Preachers." A Baptist preacher who served as the pastor of London's largest congregation, he never attended a Bible College or any kind of seminary. He received harsh criticism for this throughout his life, but especially at the beginning of his ministry when, at the age of nineteen, he took over the renowned New Park Street Baptist Church where he was often referred to as the "boy preacher." Regardless, Spurgeon was privileged to preach at some of the largest venues in London and was known to have preached to over ten million people in his lifetime. Furthermore, it is important to note that there is no other Christian author — living or dead — who has more material in print, even more than a century after his death. His impact was, and continues to be, enormous in many Christian circles.
Spurgeon considered himself a hard-core Calvinist, yet his theology never seemed to get in the way of his popular appeal. His emphasis was connecting with people, and his powerful voice, theatrical style, and humor helped him to accomplish that. On the occasion of Spurgeon's first Sunday at New Park Street Church, he had eighty persons in his congregation. On his last Sunday there, after thirty-seven years, he had the largest evangelical congregation in the world: at that time over 5,300 members. What was evident from his preaching and life was that he possessed a contagious spirituality, and his ability to preach in a way that was accessible to all made him a very powerful communicator, always in command of his message. He did not write out his sermons, and those who observed him claim that most often he took to the pulpit with him only a very brief outline written on the back of an envelope or piece of paper.
In one of his sermons, expressing his personal style and approach, he spoke of how humbled he was by the incredible sacredness of the task he considered preaching to be:
Often, when I come in at the door and my eyes fall on this vast congregation, I feel a tremor go through me to think that I should have to speak to you all and be, in some measure, accountable for your future state. Unless I preach the Gospel faithfully and with all my heart, your blood will be required at my hands. Do not wonder, therefore, that when I am weak and sick, I feel my head swim when I stand up to speak to you, and my heart is often faint within me. But I do have this joy at the back of it all — God does set many sinners free in this place! Some people reported that I was mourning that there were no conversions. Brothers and Sisters, if you were all to be converted tonight, I should mourn for the myriads outside! That is true, but I praise the Lord for the many who are converted here. When I came last Tuesday to see converts, I had 21 whom I was able to propose to the Church — and it will be the same next Tuesday, I do not doubt. God is saving souls! I am not preaching in vain. I am not despondent about that matter — liberty is given to the captives and there will be liberty for some of them, tonight! I wonder who it will be? Some of you young women over yonder, I trust. Some who have dropped in here, tonight, for the first time. Oh, may this first opportunity of your hearing the Word in this place be the time of beginning a new life which shall never end — a life of holiness, a life of peace with God!
In spite of the fact that Spurgeon spoke before multitudes, he never lost a sense of the personal pastoral connection with his flock. There is a powerfully evident humility in this preacher, his great preaching ability accompanied by strong pastoral care, something often missing in contemporary popular preachers who often make themselves inaccessible. Living a century later than John Wesley, it is apparent that Spurgeon's sermons are much less formal in their tone and language than Wesley's. Spurgeon was certainly among the first media preachers, even before the existence of television and radio, because of his effective and considerable use of print media. Spurgeon sold twenty thousand copies of his sermons each week. They were translated into twenty languages, and he collected his sermons into sixty-three volumes. Today, Spurgeon's sermons are considered the largest collection of books by any Christian author in history. His impact in the nineteenth century was truly remarkable. One lesson Spurgeon offers to today's preachers is that sermons may have a life of their own, and if we value what we preach, we may wish to make it available beyond the preaching moment through some form of media. How many times have you heard, "That was a great sermon"? Yet, often after we have been inspired and touched by such a message, the mind moves on to other things and the content of the sermon may not stay with us as we would wish it to. Spurgeon understood this and, thanks to the availability of his sermons, we are still talking about them today. Important messages should not be easily forgotten.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Talking God by Albert R. Cutié. Copyright © 2016 Albert R. Cutié. Excerpted by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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