my life and my doctrine

This isn’t so much learning from Calvin’s preaching as learning from what someone else has learnt from Calvin’s  preaching. I’ve just finished reading the first essay in Engaging with Calvin: Aspects of the Reformer’s legacy for today. This essay is by Peter Adam called ‘”Preaching of a lively kind’ – Calvin’s Engaged Expository Preaching’. He notes the distinction between theological writings, like Calvin’s Institutes, commentaries and sermons. The article is clearly reliant on Calvin’s sermons which were recorded by shorthand and published, rather than the first two. So Adam learns from what Calvin preached and how he preached it.

Adam notes five main areas to his preaching; engaging with the congregation, with God, with the Bible, with theology and in training. It is no surprise that these five overlap on the edges and it is no surprise that these five are key areas to think about in any preaching. There are a few things that were particularly noteworthy for me, which I’d like to share.

Firstly, the reminder that in preaching God is present. It is an incredible privilege and joy that as God’s word is taught, so God will be there teaching and convicting the hearers. It should not be unreasonable, in fact it should be expected, that as the Scriptures are taught, that God is at work through them by his Spirit. More specifically, ‘[t]he present secret work of the Spirit is to change us, not to make the Scriptures more powerful.’ (p24) That is, God is present as his Spirit works within us, using the words of the preacher as he expounds the Bible.

Secondly, it was a great challenge to see how Calvin was deliberately keen to be expositional so that his congregation would know their Bibles better.

Thirdly, the last key area, training had lots to ponder. I’ve thought that the way preachers preach demonstrates a model of how to read the Bible and ought to include tips and advice on how to do this well. The insights that Adam draws from Calvin’s sermons are fuller and all the more challenging.

1. ‘Calvin wanted to train his people to hear God’s words in sermons’ (p35). This reminds me of a comment I recently heard that preaching ought to generate in congregations a love for hearing God’s word taught.
2. ‘Calvin’s aim was to ensure that lay people read and understood the Bible’ (p36).
3. ‘Christians are to serve others in ordinary matters of daily life, and also in bringing them the words of eternal life’ (p36). Through regular Bible teaching, congregations should be equipped and inspired to share the insights they’ve learnt with friends. This could be through teaching and encouraging other Christians or through evangelising their non-Christian friends.
4. Calvin was keen for world mission. ‘”For the knowledge of God must be known through the whole world, and every one must share in it”‘ (p37, quoting Calvin in his sermons on the pastorals). Thus a congregation should consider and plan to prepare and equip people to leave as they serve God elsewhere.

So, how do I cram all this into the next sermon I write? I don’t think I’ll be radically different in one hit. However, I hope that over time, the reminder to consider five broad aspects of preaching will sharpen my preaching. Even Adam, after reading copious sermons Calvin preached acknowledges that ‘Calvin did not always meet the high standards that he set for himself’ (p40). Please pray for me and other preachers, that we may continue to work hard at preaching to our congregations, confronting them with God himself as the text is expounded, theology taught and people are trained and equipped for godly living.

I’m still thinking through what is often referred to as celebrity preachers. I am keen to encourage those I have pastoral care over to spend more time reading and studying the Bible than listening to someone else explaining it to them. Last night I started reading Kent and Barbara Hughes’ book Liberating Ministry from the Success Sydnrome. I was reminded of the importance of being a committed and regular Bible reader. As someone who isn’t a regular listener to mp3 sermons, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t challenge myself. As I reflected on yesterday morning’s reading time before the kids got up, I realised I spent about as much, if not more time reading an essay (a very interesting and engaging one on preaching and church) as I had reading Isaiah (I’ve finished Proverbs and started on Isaiah). So, this morning I decided, again, to spend my time reading the Bible, praying about issues that it brought to mind and leave the computer off and other books/papers to one side.

I’m still not sure how much time I’ll give to thinking through celebrity preachers. Maybe I should first of all be committed to my own Bible reading and prayer, then diligent in my own sermon preparation. As it is, many older, wiser and smarter people have put a few of their thoughts together, so check them out instead.

I’ve never been mistaken for Brad Pitt (h/t Con Campbell) (http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/ive-never-been-mistaken-for-brad-pitt.php)

The Nameless One (http://www.reformation21.org/articles/the-nameless-one.php )

What to do when the sermon is bad (http://yingyee.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/when-the-sermon-is-bad/)

Commentaries are a wonderful resource provided by those who have the time, the skills and the brains to help us understand the Bible better.  However, how can we choose one or two from the many that are written on each book of the Bible? Often we can rely on the commentary series and four worth checking out are suggested below.

The reason that I’m writing this post is to point you to a great website where someone has done a lot of hard work in checking out many commentaries. From the few books that I did look at, I’m sure I’d trust their recommendation on the rest of the books.

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/2009/07/top-commentaries-on-every-book-of-the-bible.html

(Societas, the Moore College yearbook, also has a recommended commentary list. The most recent issue with one was 2007.)

Bible Speaks Today: A tried and true series which claims a three fold goal, ‘to expound the biblical text with accuracy, to relate it to contemporary life, and to be readable.’

Tyndale/Inter-Varsity Press: Another tried and true series which was originally based on the KJV. The General Preface for the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series states they ‘will be primarily exegetical and only secondarily homiletic, though it is hoped thatboth student and preacher will find them informative and suggestive.’

Teach the Bible: A recent series backed by the Proclamation Trust in which ‘the preacher or teacher, the sermon or talk, and the listener are the key “drivers”‘.

Read/Mark/Learn:  Another more recent series, built on the Read, Mark, Learn Bible study series at St Helen’s Bishopsgate, these are prewritten Bible studies/devotions that would be of great benefit to any Christian.

I was at a large Christian bookshop the other day and realised how much I missed Moore Books. There was an incredible amount of ridiculous and trite trinkets and stuff, without even getting to the content of the books. They’ve got a great mission statement:

To effectively supply and promote an extensive range of Christian products that will be of spiritual benefit to the body of Christ.

The concern to me is who determines whether a glass inspiration tealight holder is or is not going to be of spiritual benefit for the body of Christ? Sure, they have a broader range than Moore Books, and occasionally they are significantly cheaper.¹ However, I think it is worth the few extra dollars showing support for those bookshops whose range is assessed based on content, not saleability.

Check out Moore Books in Newtown and Reformers’ Bookshop in Stanmore.

1. I must confess that I did buy one book for $59.95 that I didn’t expect Moore Books to stock. I’ve since discovered they do, but at $124.95, so I guess my principles can be bought at a price.

One of the books not on my reading list is Total Church, which I started this morning. (Note to self: blog about procrastination and distraction in reading.) The first two chapters are a great reminder about the importance of the gospel and of church as community. The reminder of centrality of the word in the Christian life was another shot in the arm after the recent minister’s conference I was at.

It’s been quite challenging being reminded often and in many ways recently, of the prominence of God’s word ought to have in the Christian life and ministry. I’ve been encouraged to place the word as front and centre in my life and ministry.  As Jesus teaches us in John 5.24,

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Thus the work of God to bring life to the death is achieved through the proclamation of the word, through hearing and believing God’s word. This reminds me of the key verses in Romans 10 we’ve been continually turning to in our Winter Workshop on world mission.

13 For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’

Regardless of location, for people to be saved, they need other people to send a preacher, and that preacher is to proclaim the Lord.