I almost always agree with you, Ted—why is that? Having preached about 200 times over the last three years, I’ve found power in blending approaches: a portion expository, a portion missionally applicable through illustration—often personal stories from that week or from my years in cross-cultural missions. There’s something compelling when a pastor shares what they’ve witnessed of God at work, whether among the nations or in the marketplace down the street.
Perhaps the real issue isn’t the model itself, but that most pastors have no personal missions narrative to draw from—either overseas or in their own community. They’re not regularly engaging the lost at the coffee shop or among their neighbors, and their congregations sense it. The missional preaching model you propose is excellent, and even more powerful when pastors cultivate firsthand experience of God’s purposes, both globally and locally. “The forest for the trees” sentence stands out to me…
We definitely need a return to Biblical Theology - not at the expense of Systematic Theology - to bolster the urgent work of helping people get reacquainted with the grand story. Sadly, a steady diet of sermons primarily focused on right doctrine and moral application has ended up fragmenting people's grasp of the Scriptures in their totality, diluting the clarity of God's plan and purpose throughout history, in the present, and beyond, and our missional role in it as followers of Jesus.
Excellent article on the topic of expository preaching. Expository preaching won the day in churches which congratulate themselves for teaching "what is really there" in the Bible. But verse by verse has one down side, the one you have mentioned. Here is an example of what might be missed in expository preaching: in Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul uses the same mission statement at the beginning and at the end of his letter. They are like bookends. What does a write want his audience to understand when he repeats his first main point at the end? I recently wrote a brief "Romans catechism." Here is the first question:
Q: What mission phrase appears at the beginning and end of Romans, like bookends? Answer: “Through Christ we have received grace and apostleship so that all the nations might come to the obedience of faith” (1:5); And . . . “by the command of the eternal God, so that all the nations might come to the obedience of faith” (16:26).
The pastor who would explain the book of Romans this way would be forced BY THE TEXT to see the mission theme that runs like a golden thread through the letter.
Outstanding observations and insights here. This would be a good topic for a pastor’s publication or podcast. Also gets me thinking how I can best contribute to a church as a guest speaker.
I almost always agree with you, Ted—why is that? Having preached about 200 times over the last three years, I’ve found power in blending approaches: a portion expository, a portion missionally applicable through illustration—often personal stories from that week or from my years in cross-cultural missions. There’s something compelling when a pastor shares what they’ve witnessed of God at work, whether among the nations or in the marketplace down the street.
Perhaps the real issue isn’t the model itself, but that most pastors have no personal missions narrative to draw from—either overseas or in their own community. They’re not regularly engaging the lost at the coffee shop or among their neighbors, and their congregations sense it. The missional preaching model you propose is excellent, and even more powerful when pastors cultivate firsthand experience of God’s purposes, both globally and locally. “The forest for the trees” sentence stands out to me…
We definitely need a return to Biblical Theology - not at the expense of Systematic Theology - to bolster the urgent work of helping people get reacquainted with the grand story. Sadly, a steady diet of sermons primarily focused on right doctrine and moral application has ended up fragmenting people's grasp of the Scriptures in their totality, diluting the clarity of God's plan and purpose throughout history, in the present, and beyond, and our missional role in it as followers of Jesus.
Excellent article on the topic of expository preaching. Expository preaching won the day in churches which congratulate themselves for teaching "what is really there" in the Bible. But verse by verse has one down side, the one you have mentioned. Here is an example of what might be missed in expository preaching: in Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul uses the same mission statement at the beginning and at the end of his letter. They are like bookends. What does a write want his audience to understand when he repeats his first main point at the end? I recently wrote a brief "Romans catechism." Here is the first question:
Q: What mission phrase appears at the beginning and end of Romans, like bookends? Answer: “Through Christ we have received grace and apostleship so that all the nations might come to the obedience of faith” (1:5); And . . . “by the command of the eternal God, so that all the nations might come to the obedience of faith” (16:26).
The pastor who would explain the book of Romans this way would be forced BY THE TEXT to see the mission theme that runs like a golden thread through the letter.
Outstanding observations and insights here. This would be a good topic for a pastor’s publication or podcast. Also gets me thinking how I can best contribute to a church as a guest speaker.
This is good stuff. So many believers are inwardly focused and drifting when what they need is purpose. The grand narrative gives them that purpose
Fire! Great post.