Wrapping up

Today we finished class. These two weeks have gone very quickly! It has been a pleasure to get to know these men, and it has been a privilege to play a role, I hope in some part, in their growth as ministers.

I continue to be amazed at God's Word and the power it has when proclaimed! It speaks to their congregations that are in worlds so different from my own, and so different from the world of Crete where Titus was serving when Paul wrote his letter to him. It carries the message of the Grace of God that brings salvation and that transforms lives today. In fact, that is a key theme of Titus -- that same grace that saves us without any work of our own transforms us so that we are zealous to do good works! We work hard not to be saved, but because we have been saved, and both are the work of God's grace.

Teaching has a way of clarifying the teacher's thinking, and teaching this course again has certainly done that for me. It clarifies my convictions about the role and strategies of preaching. And it clarifies for me my convictions about what makes preaching more effective.

An adage that I was taught some time ago rings more and more true: when you go to your study to prepare to preach, you must be absolutely convinced that *you* have nothing to say! The message must be manifestly from the text. When it is, make it clear, make it relevant, and be sure it has captured your own heart and mind as well. And through it all, trust that God is at work.

So I wrap up this episode in the journey. Now the trip home. The taxi is to come to the guest house here at 3am so I can get to the airport 3 hours ahead of the 6:45am departure. It is a big travel weekend here in the Philippines so delays are likely.

Thank you for praying and for your interest in this adventure. I will be glad to share more of my reflections as things continue to percolate in my heart and mind.

Preaching from the heart, and being productive

Today we had our first batch of people's second sermons. As we got ready for the sermons, I was nervous. Would the work we have done in class make a difference? I so much want them to do well, and, selfishly, I want to believe that we aren't just going through motions.

Long story short, I was very encouraged. And more importantly, they were very encouraged. As I require them to preach completely without notes in the second sermon, it feels very risky for everyone. Note that they are not to say whatever comes to mind. In particular, they give me their outline, and part of their grade is whether or not they follow their outline.

What is exciting is that their own expression afterward is that they spoke from their hearts, and they sensed God at work as they did. Rather than saying what the paper said, they said what they had studied and made a part of themselves over the previous days. And they spoke to us, not to imaginary people. The eye contact and passion was so much stronger than before.

But even more, I am encouraged by the power of the Bible. Paul wrote a letter to Titus close to 2,000 years ago, and the words still speak today. They challenge us with real life today just as they addressed reality back then. And they taught me. I was challenged about how I should be leading my family, and I was challenged about how leadership in churches should run.

My colleague here expressed pity with my having to listen to so many sermons! I will have heard 16 this week ... at one a week, I wouldn't have to be in church again until February 19! But actually, I have been encouraged and refreshed. It is a privilege to sit before these men as they express from their hearts the truth of God's word because they believe it deeply and long to help us put it into practice.

And that actually is the big idea Paul had with this letter to Titus: the same grace that saves us also teaches to become like God. It isn't two things ... salvation and growing in godliness. It is the same grace that does both, and when people are inclined to separate being saved from growing to be more like God, they are separating something that Paul said was inseparable. God himself does good works and brings good to other people, and so God's people are to do the same. Living like God truly is the most productive way to live. The alternatives are actually, as Paul says, worthless and unproductive.

I am thankful for the privilege to learn from these men, and hopefully, in some way, also provide a useful service to them as they serve God's people here.

Grading sermons

For most teachers, grading assignments is one of the least favorite activities. That is certainly true for me. And grading sermons is one of the hardest assignments for me to grade. It is hard in large part because for many if not most pastors, their preaching is pretty closely tied up with their identity as a pastor. To give a low grade on a sermon can cut pretty deep.

It is also hard because, by the nature of ministry, God's work is done when the Holy Spirit works, whether or not we have done 'well.'

And yet, God calls us to serve with skill, and to serve to the best of our ability. As such, my job is to help these men understand ways in which their preaching might improve. So I tell them their strengths, but I also tell them what I see that could be done better.

Our top criteria in this class are: biblical, clear, relevant, and interesting. There are other criteria after that, but these are most critical. By biblical, I mean, the sermon accurately and 'manifestly' expresses the main idea of the main text. Accurate is simply that what the preacher claims is the idea of the text really matches the text. 'Manifestly' means that he makes it clear how this text makes that point. Preaching the idea of a text but without showing people it comes from that text reduces the authority of the message. And preaching something other than the main idea of the main text of the sermon might actually be preaching something good, but it speaks without the authority of the Word. Sometimes people preach "the right sermon from the wrong text." That is, they have preached something that is true to Scripture, but it isn't found in this passage. The better job a preacher does of convincing his audience that his main idea is directly taken from the main idea of the main text, the stronger the sermon.

I pray that my feedback is accurate, clear, and helpful. And I pray for hearts eager to learn.

And of course, I pray that they will grow in their effectiveness in communicating the very thoughts of God as expressed in the Bible! What an incredible task! I am thankful for grace.

!Feliz Navidad!

Christmas marketing is in full swing here. On my trip to class the other day in the taxi, we listened to Feliz Navidad! In a Philippine restaurant (Jollibee) I ate to Jingle Bells. There are plenty of Santa Clauses around too. I'm just getting geared up for the marketing blitz at home! (I took this picture from my taxi. The sign must be 70 feet tall or something like that. They have lots of gargantuan signs to get your attention!)

Yesterday in class, the first group of people preached through the book of Jonah. It is great to experience the giftedness of these men. It is also wonderful to be taken again through the wonder of the writing of the Bible. It is just amazing!

I love the surprise of the book of Jonah that the people who truly respond well to God are all pagan enemies of Israel. And the prophet of Israel is the one who responds so poorly. And this story is told by the people of Israel. So much for the post-modern theory that people make themselves the heroes of the stories they tell. Of course that is often the case, but it certainly isn't here.

What is amazing in this book is the patience and mercy of God with a rebellious child. I am thankful for this heart of God. And as one of my students preached, it is not enough to know God. He longs to have his mercy reflected in his people. Am I willing to be so patient and merciful? Unfortunately, no. I mean I agree that it would be best, but I often don't have it in me. And that's why I can relate with Jonah! And that's why this book is such good news.

God doesn't come to bless the good. Rather, he comes to rescue the lost, the unmerciful, people like me.

And hearing these men preach this powerful book, I long to preach this book among people who need to hear this great news! If only people knew the God they so quickly brush aside or even disdain! May we be messengers who bring such good news!

Worshiping in Manila

Today I was privileged to visit Fellowship Center Baptist Church in Manila. What an encouraging morning! I am so impressed by the pastoral staff as well as by their ministry. Here I am with 3 of the pastors as well as several deacons:

They were very kind and hosted me to lunch as well.

One of the encouraging things they did was to have everyone go into discussion groups right after the sermon. People just break up into groups around the sanctuary and take 30-40 minutes to talk about the sermon and how they will respond to it. People tend to be in the same groups week to week, and then end their time in prayer together. Then they call the people back together to sing a final song. It is a great way to build relationships, to build on the sermon, and to explore ways to put it into practice.

They are also working to find ways to reach out beyond themselves. One part of their strategy is something very similar to the building-based fellowships we have tried to do at MSU. That is, they are challenging people to start a Bible study and prayer group at their place of work. They have started one at a medical facility and they are in the process of setting one up for a fire station. May God bless their efforts and their ministry!

Learning from my students

Today in class I encountered the first significant issue (that I’m aware of) where the culture of the Philippine church is in conflict with some of what I am teaching. In particular, I have been teaching that the best preaching begins in the world of the hearers. That is, rather than starting with the text and just assuming that people are ready to learn from the text, preachers should start in the world of the hearers and then take them into the text.

Thankfully, my students very graciously said that the expectation in the Philippine church is very different from that. In particular, until the preacher reads the text, people feel free to ignore what he is saying. Reading the text signals that things are beginning.

But even more significantly, if a preacher really intends to begin in the world of the hearers rather than in the Bible, people will assume that his ideas are just his own and not those of the Bible. Chronologically starting the sermon in today’s world suggests that the thoughts of the sermon also begin in today’s world rather than in the Bible.

It is very kind of my students to help me see this since I will be preaching this Sunday, and I was going to preach with my normal pattern of starting in the world of the hearers. Had I done that, they would have concluded that I was heretical! Thank you to my students!

So what will I do? I plan begin with the reading of the text to alert people to the source of my sermon and my commitment to the Bible as the source of the message. I am then thinking of discussing the setting of the text and making a connection to today’s world. Then I’ll do what I might normally have done as an introduction and continue with the sermon.

I’m not sure if that is the best approach, but certainly it is better than what I would have done!

The fun for the class is that Monday morning the students have to preach for me and the rest of the class. It will be very interesting! In a preaching course, traditionally there is a significant shift that takes place somewhere about half way through the course from delivery of content to student production and feedback. They have to preach as we put into practice things we’ve talked about.

For me personally, it sounds like we will have a chance to get out and see some sights this weekend. I am looking forward to that! Then I preach on Sunday and we jump into our second week of class. It has been going very quickly! I pray that our experiences have been valuable to my students.

Shopping and learning

After class today, I went across the street from the mall I showed you a picture of before. And this is what I found:

 

Amazingly just across the road there is another giant mall. And these aren't the biggest malls in Manila. Clearly shopping is a significant pass time for a significant portion of the population! And Christmas is certainly a part of the shopping experience right now, with Christmas trees and Christmas carols part of the experience.


On my way to and from class in the taxi, however, I encounter another side of Manila as we pass by many squatters who have set up their homes with scrap metal and the like. It is quite a contrast. (No pictures as I am a bit bashful about capturing those sights...)

In class we spent a bit of time today talking about the book of Jonah. One of the challenges I've given to these students is the need to focus on the big idea of a whole book in order to preach any part of that book. It can be a daunting standard, and yet one that is very important.

My metaphor is this: when you travel between two points, say your typical trip from home to work, or home to school, or home to the store, your route goes through various twists and turns. In fact, at some point during your journey I would guess that you might actually being getting further away from your destination (as the crow flies). You are on the right path, maybe even the best path, but if you look at that part of your path in isolation from the overall plan, it might not make sense given your destination. In fact, someone who only saw that portion of your path might think you had a different destination.

The same thing can be true of a part of any book, and it can also be true of the Bible. As with the segment of your journey, it might only make sense when taken in the light of the whole journey.

In terms of the Bible, the most obvious example is the book of Job. That book records the speeches of several people whom we know in the end are at least significantly wrong. Job also says some things that turn out to be wrong, yet it seems that they aren't as wrong as the others.

A key challenge in understanding the book is to understand these pieces in the light of the whole. Some of what is said is actually meant to be an example of how we shouldn't think, but we only understand that by understanding what the whole book is about.

So we spent a bit of time talking about both the whole and the parts of the book of Jonah. It is always satisfying as a teacher to have some sense that "the light went on" for some students as we went through this discussion. I do hope and pray that these challenging ideas are helping them become more effective in understanding the Bible and in communicating it accurately and effectively to others.

And it is encouraging to learn of a God who is immensely gracious and compassionate, even with his prophet (Jonah) who is not. This book is great news for those who realize that they aren't as 'good' as God, and actually aren't even as good as those we would normally think of as the enemies of God. And for those who figure that they are more pleasing to God than their enemies, God graciously acts to bring a change of heart, promoting the kind of humility that truly becomes the people of God.