Volume 46   Number 10                                                            June 2004

Did you know that the sermon, a thematic discourse delivered to the church, is a relatively modern development, emerging around A.D. 1200 with scholasticism? It is true that we have New Testament examples of preaching by John the Immerser, Jesus, the apostles, evangelists, and deacons. However, have you ever stopped to consider that these examples are evangelistic in thrust, aimed at unconverted audiences? Further, in most of these instances, the lessons were taught-and the people obeyed-in private settings, not in public worship.

For all its complicated ceremony, return to the Old Law, and elevation of oral law above the sacred Scripture, the homily as practiced in the Catholic church may be surprisingly closer to the New Testament practice of weekly exhortation than we imagine! The homily is a simple application of a passage, usually brief in nature. Influenced by Protestant preaching, which tends to be longer and evangelistic in tone, changes are yet being made in Catholic services. Nonetheless, it may be worth re-examining if lengthy sermons might not better be replaced with multiple, perhaps shorter, lessons as exemplified in 1 Corinthians 14. It makes sense that additional time would be given to visiting evangelists as when the Apostle Paul spoke to midnight (Acts 20).

These implications are profound for anyone interested in restoration of the New Testament church. First, it bears reminding that the early church is patterned after the synagogue where the congregation assembled to learn the Scriptures. Second, any man deemed competent in the synagogue could read and expound the Scriptures. Third, the focus of the assemblies was/is to celebrate shared values and meanings of a people already called out! In other words, while evangelism is important and while non-Christians may be present, the focus of assemblies should be on the risen Lord. An exaggerated way of saying this is that preaching is designed for the lost, not the church, and that exhortation is designed for the church.

Now, let me hasten to add that personal evangelism is the obligation of every Christian, and preaching/teaching the special obligation of evangelists. Somewhere along the line, faulty conclusions have emerged that since evangelists should teach the lost, they alone should exclusively do it from a pulpit. Show me a congregation with this mindset, and I will show you a congregation that has not seen a baptism in years. Evangelists, help these congregations by preparing a news release, flyer, and sample advertisement for them. Second, insist on time for personal work in the community, for one-on-one Bible studies. Third, preach the gospel. There is nothing sadder than an evangelistic meeting in which the gospel-the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus-is not proclaimed, nor the gospel response explained. Evangelistic or missionary meetings can be successful with proper planning. Elders, help your members learn outreach methods, model them, and plan systematic outreach.

Consider, again, the regular weekly assemblies. Why should we pattern ourselves after an artificial model that paid professionals can conceivably do better?

1. Let us capitalize on the strength of mutual edification! Multiple perspectives and presentation styles make services vibrant. To expect every brother to develop a 30 minute lesson is to set a high standard. Such a standard will discourage many from volunteering and is not developmentally encouraging for novice speakers. The 30 minute time, for example, can be divided among speakers.
   
2. Multiple speakers at an assembly involve more members. I know of one congregation that tries to schedule a younger and an older member to speak on Sunday morning.
   
3. It is far better to consider first century practice. Brevity need not be shallow. It does make sense that a speaker that is more mature or a visiting evangelist might be allotted greater time or even all the exhortation time.
   
4. Every man can exhort, can share how the Scriptures and Christ have changed outlook and actions. These lessons need not be long. No one should feel trapped or obligated to exhort. We want men who have something to say and not those who feel they have to say something.

Realistically, prestige has always been a temptation. Michael Casey (Saddlebags, City Streets, & Cyberspace: A History of Preaching in the Churches of Christ, pp. 40-45) relates that in the 1840s a cultural shift took place with many urban congregations hiring ministers to preach every Sunday. He cites Joseph Franklin and J.A. Headington:

In the days of log-cabins and clapboard-roofs and puncheon-floors, any earnest and fervid preacher, who was a godly man, was listened to with patient interest, regardless of ungrammatical language and uncouth gestures. But the refinements of social life, and the culture coming from schools, lectures, concerts, and general reading, made awkward pulpit manners intolerable. The people began to demand a cultivated ministry, and to despise the unstudied efforts of their "elders." (The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, St. Louis, 1879, pp. 257-58.)