The institution, the tradition of the Sunday sermon is incapable of and is not qualified to communicate the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. I know that’s a strong statement and could be offensive to those who earn their livings by their sermons and actually I love sermons. But they just are not a tool that Jesus gave us to accomplish ministry, he gave us much more effective tools to do what he calls us to than the Sunday sermon.
The man or woman of God who feels called to serve Christ. Should not attempt to delegate the sharing of the gospel of the kingdom, to the Sunday sermon. And whosoever is called to preach the gospel of the kingdom, they discard their obligation to preach the gospel IF they try to fulfill that calling using the Sunday sermon or homily.
Neither Jesus Christ, nor John the Baptist, nor the apostles preached sermons. And when I say sermons I mean the sermon as defined by most seminaries and or public speaking courses. An intro, 3-5 main points, a conclusion, a funny story, a call to action and make it no longer than 30-45 minutes.
If we really feel pressured to preach sermons may they be for discipleship and when the time is up for the sermon, let them end and move on to something else. Don’t make it go on in perpetuity for every single meeting just because that is what is always done or that is what the people think they need.
The “sermon” on the mount was not a sermon
Even the “sermon on the mount” would not be considered to be a modern sermon. It was about 12 – 13 minutes of teaching. It did not have a intro, nor three points, nor conclusion and neither a call to action. Nor did it last 30 minutes to an hour. The sermon on the mount was not even called a sermon until the 1800s by bible translators who were categorizing the ministry of Jesus Christ. No doubt their intentions were good but the fact remains, the sermon on the mount is not what any seminary would define as a sermon nor how it would teach its students to prepare and preach a sermon. Therefore calling it a sermon is misleading, especially for people who base and center an entire church on the modern concept of a sermon.
I see pastors trying to make the sermon the centerpiece of their Sunday gathering, and therefore the centerpiece of their ministry and their church. But in so doing they disqualify that part of their ministry, from the very thing most want to be the purpose of their church…evangelism. The sermon forces the pastor to make the gospel the conclusion of every Sunday sermon. the only place it fits is at the weekly conclusion or call to action. And only a small portion of the gospel fits into that conclusion. The part about becoming a Christian, converting, getting into heaven. The real gospel of the kingdom and all its implications and the Christian communities that it establishes when fully preached takes at least 80 hours to communicate. Bare minimum, and ideally it should be taught in about 6 months of daily teaching meetings that establish a community of Christians who are left mesmerized and in intense pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ together and who are sharing his life in a face to face community. It is such a radical community of world changers they probably get persecuted or killed off in most societies, but they advanced into the kingdom of Christ anyhow, loving, healing and giving and defeating Satan at every step.
The gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ sets a community of Christians up to gather without a need for a king-like clergyman. To control their every move when they gather. It sets them up with the ability to be led by the Holy Spirit together in a loving community.
Only teams of men or women of God can adequately communicate the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Teams, not lone superstar clergymen. Please don’t get angry at me for writing that, I don’t say it out of a criticism of pastors, I love pastors, they are wonderful gifts to the body of Christ. But their job descriptions still need much reform back to what we see in scripture.
Paul seemed to be the most like an independent preacher, but if you read closely you can see he was approved by the apostles in Jerusalem. He was also sent out and chosen by other members of the body of Christ. Paul had companions and helpers and partners in his ministry. He was not a lone wolf, off alone preaching. He specifically and intentionally sought out the approval of his gospel by the Jerusalem church before he started preaching. He was able to submit and live with other men and women of God in community.
Don’t Bother With The Sermon
My point, if you are called to ministry don’t major on sermons, instead major on loving the other members of the body of Christ. Major on the ministry of Jesus Christ. Major on being led of the Holy Spirit and not ministry-logic taught in seminary (the supremacy of the sermon). There is a massive place for preaching and teaching in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I don’t see how the modern sermon has much of any place in it.
It takes a good deal of leadership to lead a congregation away from the entrenched tradition of sermons. And toward the Holy Spirit, but someone, somewhere, at sometime will read this and know what the Lord is calling you to do.
