The vice-principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London has delivered a challenge to local preachers at the start of the annual Moore College lecture series.
The Rev Chris Green, who also has responsibility for preaching training at Oak Hill took to the lectern at the Knox Lecture Theatre on Tuesday night, 14th August for the first in the series titled “The Point of the Sword: Applying the Bible to applying the Bible.”
He began by confessing his sins as a preacher and one particularly ‘boring’ sermon which he said proved a turning point for his understanding of preaching.
Green commended the book of Ecclesiastes as a model of good communication. “The book weaves its subtle course with prose and poetry, proverb and pun. This is careful. aware, intelligent, captivating communication and the result is he (the teacher) defies us not to pay attention.”
As well as the methods of communication, he urged preachers and listeners to think of the point of public teaching.
"The purpose of preaching is that the church becomes more like Christ, that is how it brings him glory. Sometimes preaching, even wonderfully rich biblically sourced preaching fails at this hurdle. People come, perhaps in large numbers and go away much better informed but little changed. And even if they are changed it is only at an individual level."
Green challenged the audience to think of the communal nature of the activity.
"Preaching sells itself short if it thinks its task is to communicate information, or even transformation, into single lives. The proper step is to work at the relationships within the body and that has to be done together. At that point, the taught Christians snap their notebooks shut at the end of the sermon, turn to each other and say so what are we going to do about this together?"
The comments point to the added dimension of the local church listening together, which is missing in internet sermons. Even so, the lecture was live streamed and is available for replay.
The remaining lectures are from 10 am on Monday 20 August and Tuesday to Friday 24 August at 9am at Moore College.
