A Timely Reminder

On Sunday morning, I'm due to preach at Memorial Community Church, Plaistow. I'll be co-leading a UCCF Summer Team in July which will be working alongside the church, and on Sunday Abi and I will be introducing ourselves and the project (expect more blogging about that when I come back). It's a while since I've preached to a church, and I'm really looking forward to it (although my sermon is quite a long way from prepared).

So this was a really timely reminder. John Piper has probably done most to shape my thinking over the short time I've been preaching. His book The Supremacy of God in Preaching literally changed the way I think about the task forever. If you've never heard John describe what he means by preaching, then you should listen to this. And this sentence stuck out in particular, a really timely reminder as I stand before MCC on Sunday and dare to preach God's Word for them:

I standing vigilantly on the precipice of eternity speaking to people who this week could go over the edge whether they are ready to or not. I will be called to account for what I said there.

That's what I mean by preaching.

More on Reading...

Huge thanks to Dave K for this. Yesterday I posted about the place of reading in preaching. And as I've thought more about it since then, there are lots of other ways we make access to the Bible dependent on being able to read. Then Dave pointed this out:

Reaching Nonbook People

Once again, it seems the folks at The Crowded House have got there first. And I'm pleased they have, because there stuff is great. If you're at all interested in this, you should give it a read. I think this sentence basically sums up what I was trying to say yesterday, but was probably a bit scared to:

"being word-centred need not equal being book-centred."

The material at The Crowded House is focussed on 'non-book' people, which means people who choose not to read, even though they can. Obviously this is different to being illiterate, but I think a lot of the issues will probably be the same. And although TCH don't try to suggest how many 'non-book' people there are, I'm guessing it's quite common and this will affect a lot of people.

How Important is Reading?

Last Monday I watched a documentary on Channel 4 called Can't Read Can't Write. Basically, the series follows a group of adults who can't read or write. For one reason or another they had never picked up the skill, and had gone through life trying to cope without being able to read or write. I can barely even imagine what that must be like - I wouldn't be typing this for a start. But even simple things like shopping or driving become incredibly difficult. It was pretty emotional stuff. Linda is 46 and can't read, but she's desperate to be able to read Shakespeare. Her frustration was hard to watch. But Teresa nearly moved me to tears when, at 58, she managed to read a book for the first time.

But, in a similar vein to some other recent channel 4 documentaries (involving TV chefs, and Phil and Kirsty talking about some tax or other), there's a politcal campaign behind the programme too. How is it that these people have never been taught to read? How must our education system change to help them?

But it got me thinking about preaching and teaching the Bible. The show revealed a statistic I found quite shocking. Over 5 million people have a lower reading ability than a 12 year old - many of them can't read at all. And I guess that number probably excludes a lot more people who struggle with reading but can pass the tests. Anyway, it's a huge number of people.

So over the past week I've been pondering whether the way I preach and teach would exclude people who don't find reading easy? I always try to point people to the text of the Bible, to rub their faces in it as I preach. But if I was speaking to someone who couldn't read it, how would they do? Would the fact I'm even expecting them to read be a barrier?

Linked to that, but slightly more subtle, do I expect people to follow the text to see where I'm going? On Sunday, I was talking my way through Colossians 1v15-23, and looking at the different statements Paul makes about Christ. But how obvious is it when I jump to the next one if the people listening can't follow it themselves? And is it obvious when I'm quoting and when I'm not if people can't see the words I'm using?

This is tricky if you believe that the Bible is the Word of God. When I preach, it isn't from my own authority, but God's. I want people to see that. It's the word of God written down which is infallible, not the words of the preacher. But it's through words that the gospel is passed along. I like this from Luther:

Because heresies threatened the living apostolic message, it had to be recorded in a book to protect it from falsification. Preaching reverses this process of conservation again, allowing the Scriptures of the past to become the tidings of the present... The Gospel has been committed to lifeless paper; fresh words can transform it into glad tidings again.

The written word is crucial. But how important is reading?

I'm pretty sure most of the students I'll be teaching in the next few years will be able to read - it's sort of a requirement. But I still think this is a serious question, otherwise millions of people might be hindered in hearing the gospel.

Can't Read Can't Write is on again tonight, Channel 4, 9pm.

Famous Last Words...

Yesterday I spoke for the final time (at least for a while) at Ferndale Baptist Church. In the end I spoke on Colossians 1v15-23. I realised that there wasn't really anything else to speak on but the Lord Jesus, so that's what I did. If you want to read my notes, you can look at them here:

Colossians 1v15-23

I'm going to miss having the opportunities to preach at Ferndale. Although I guess I'll be doing a fair bit of speaking anyway (I've had a few invitations already), it's a different kettle of fish altogether speaking to a group of people you know, and even feel some responsibility for. As I spoke yesterday, I was speaking to friends. I knew some of the details of their lives. I knew what they've been taught over recent weeks and months. And I knew there were definitely some people there who weren't Christians, and I knew some of the issues they're dealing with. Now I've preached for the last time here, I've realised again what a great privilige it is to be a herald of the gospel. I think this quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones sums it up:

“Preaching is the most amazing, and the most thrilling activity that one can ever be engaged in, because of all that it holds out for all of us in the present, and because of the glorious endless possibilities in an eternal future”

The End is Nigh!

It's about 4 weeks until I leave Southend for Reading, where I'll be working for UCCF. And things are starting to get weird. I've been desperately trying to put the idea of finishing out of my mind for ages so my brain doesn't go on holiday. But no I can't really ignore it. So I'm starting to give some thought wrapping things up (both metaphorically and literally - I've got a lot of junk to pack!). In particular, I'm thinking a lot about my final sermon, which I'll be giving on 27th July.

I read this today: "never preach except as a dying man to dying men." It's a bit of a daisy-chain - Adrian Reynold blogging about R. Kent Hughes quoting Richard Baxter. But it jumped out at me when I read it.

As I think about what I'm going to say in my final talk at Ferndale, this is the mindset I've got. In a lot of ways, this is my last sermon. Not ever, but it'll be the last one at Ferndale for a while, and if I come back I'll be a guest, things will be different. And I'm thinking about how to cram everything I want to say to them into half an hour. Without wanting to give too much away to Ferndalers who might be reading, I'll be preaching the gospel. What else is there?

But the Baxter quote has set me thinking... is it right for me to be thinking about this sermon differently? Do I normally worry less about making mistakes or forgetting things because I'll have another chance to put things right? And what if I don't?

I'm sure it will be emotional, and I'm sure it won't be perfect. But I need to preach every other sermon after it as if it's my last chance too!