I sat in a ministry class at Kentucky Christian University, sometime around my junior or senior year, and listened to a guest speaker detail his method of preaching and sermon writing. His name was Dan Smith and he talked about storytelling and inductive preaching.
(Dan is actually a pastor in the area, serving at Momentum Christian Church in Macedonia, which he and his team planted in the mid-2000s. Check out some of his messages here.)
I won’t bore you with the details of what inductive preaching is and how to do it and how storytelling ties in with it. What I will tell you is that it opened up a world for me that I never knew existed.
Up until this point, I mainly preached multiple-point sermons in a deductive style. This means that I put the thesis towards the beginning and then gave the points after. This is a more traditional style of preaching in the United States of America within modern history. Although I did it, I struggled with it. This was all there was, though - or at least that’s what I thought.
When Dan talked about inductive preaching and storytelling, though, it just clicked. It made sense to me. More than that, it awakened something in my mind and my heart. This was a way to talk about Jesus and the story of God on a level that people would (hopefully) connect with. It allowed me the opportunity to be “real”. Not to say I wasn’t “real” before with deductive sermons - it was just this inductive style seemed to let me do it a little more or perhaps a little more freely.
Shortly after this, I got to travel with a worship team from the college and preach to middle schoolers and high schoolers for a handful of weekends. As I used this inductive style with some storytelling mixed in, I noticed the difference. I actually could be “real”, which means I could talk right into their situation with Scripture. I wasn’t worried about trying to fit points in or using the right amount of Illustrations to keep them engaged for 25-30 minutes. Instead of trying to teach something, I was trying to reach someone.
(Don’t get me wrong: teaching happens in sermons, but the goal of a sermon isn’t information transfer. The goal is life application and life change.)
So what’s the point here? Why share this with you, when you might not have any interest in ever preaching?
One reason: my need to be “real” in preaching is transferable to our need to be “real” in everyday life and faith.
Paul puts it this way in a letter to the Corinthian church:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19, NIV)
A few verses before this, Paul told them that “Christ’s love compels us”. Later, he says, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” (2 Corinthians 5:14 and 16, respectively.)
Paul and the Corinthian church reached people where they were so that they can be reconciled to God. No one was too far out or too far gone. This wasn’t done out of duty, either. This was done because of Christ’s love.
It wasn’t just the Corinthian church and Paul who carried this message of reconciliation.
You and I carry the message of reconciliation, as we reach people where they are so they can be restored to a friendly relationship with God.
You and I are pretty good at making it weird, though, if we’re honest with ourselves. We can easily remove the “real” and use platitudes and surface level interactions. We’re also pretty good at just kind of ignoring this altogether.
So my challenge is this: get real and don’t make it weird. Sit down with someone over a cup of coffee. Reach over the back fence. Listen to someone’s story at work. Connect with people where they are and maybe show them what’s possible. Perhaps it’s time to restore purpose by following Jesus together with everyday life.
- Sean
What’s Ahead
ACME CASH BACK RECEIPTS
We are collecting Acme receipts for their Cash Back fundraiser. You can drop all receipts off at the Welcome Center. For the sake of administration, please be sure to drop them off as you get them instead of submitting all of them at once at the end of the fundraiser.
FANTASY FOOTBALL
Are you ready for some football!? Sign ups are open for our church-wide fantasy football league. No experience is necessary and it’s a no-pressure league. If interested, you can sign up here. If you don’t already have an ESPN.com account, you’ll be prompted to make one for free.
COFFEE WITH SEAN
Want to sit down over a cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) with our minister? Pick a time convenient for you on this calendar. All meetings will take place at Nervous Dog Coffee Bar in Wallhaven unless another place is agreed upon.
HOSPITALITY TEAM MEETING - August 17
The Hospitality Team will be meeting after service on Sunday, August 17, upstairs by the kitchen.
BOARD AND ELDERS MEETING - August 19
The board will meet on Tuesday, August 19, at 7:30 pm. The elders will meet immediately afterwards. Both meetings will be on Zoom. Ministry leaders: please make plans to either attend or send in a monthly report to sean@summitchristian.church. All elders, deacons, and board officers are expected to attend.
FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT - August 24
We will be doing a live draft for our church-wide fantasy football league on Sunday, August 24, at 5:30 pm at the church building. Feel free to bring a “game day” food item of your choice!
JERSEY SUNDAY - September 7
To celebrate the kick-off of the new NFL season (and to celebrate the Browns being undefeated as of that day), we are encouraging everyone to wear a jersey or apparel from their favorite football team.
Ready to be baptized? Talk to Sean or one of our elders. We’re ready whenever you are!
See you Sunday!