Tag Archives: Preaching

Haiti Mission 2014 – Day 5 – Try a little Kindness

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Ahh… peace and quiet at last. It’s day 5 in Haiti, and for the first time since we’ve arrived, we can hear the waves crashing in to shore. There’s no music blaring outside until three in the morning. Just the gentle hum of a generator, the light buzz of the swarm of mosquitos, and the wooshing of bats above our heads. Ah, Haiti.
It is lovely here, really, and we had an adventurous day. We started off dividing our work force. Matt was welding, Bruce was repairing the plow, and the ladies were gofers – going for this and that as needed. I went with Les to the Haiti version of Home Depot – it even had the right smell. We picked up a load of square tubing and angle iron, loaded the Land Rover with gas, as well as bought plenty of gas for the generators, and brought all the supplies back to the Consolation Center.
When we got back, so much had been done, but a break was sorely needed. It’s impossible to adequately convey just what the climate is like here. It’s hot. It’s sticky. The wind rarely moves. And the Sun burns down directly overhead. It’s easy to overdo it, and when you are welding, using a cutting torch, and working in the sun – you can overheat quickly.
We had one team member succumb to a little heat exhaustion today. The Haitians who were with us responded quickly, bringing us a bunch of coconuts – the electrolytes in the coconut have an exceptional ability to rehydrate and restore you. Still, we sent our sick one back the the beach house to rest for the remainder of the day – he went with our prayers, and we got back to work – more welding, some painting, and even some plowing. The good news is, if this ministry thing doesn’t pan out, I now have marketable skills in welding (wire and stick welding).
We finished the day with a refreshing swim in the ocean, followed by wonderful meal prepared by a lovely woman from the community. The main meal was goat, and it was fantastic. She made way more than we could eat, and the leftovers went to good use – we should all sleep well tonight.
Our devotional study for the day was on Kindness as an aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit. Kindness is a benevolence of disposition – desiring the welfare of others, even those who are continually taxing our patience. Kindness is wanting the best, thinking the best, and working for the best for all people, often at great personal expense.
We have been supported (financially and prayerfully) through the tremendous kindness of our congregation at Memorial Presbyterian Church. We have been shown great kindness and hospitality by our mission partners, Les ad Catherine DeRoos. But most importantly, we have receive the greatest of kindness, when God showed the “immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Jesus Christ” (Eph 2:7), when, through Christ, God raised us from the dead and to give us life.
God has proven to be kind and generous. When the punishment of sin was death, God showed kindness to Adam and Eve, clothing them to hide their shame, and sending them out of the Garden and away from His wrath. God continued to show kindness by demonstrating patience, and continually working restoration and reconciliation with His people. God’s ultimate kindness is seen in Christ coming to us for our salvation.
And so it is in that kindness that we have come to Haiti; and it is our hope that we may share God’s kindness with those around us. We want the people of Haiti to know God, and to trust in the grace of God through Jesus Christ for their salvation. We share this Good News freely. Yet we are also here to share this Good News through purposeful acts of kindness. We are making beds, painting gates, fixing plows, playing with children, rocking babies to sleep – so that through our kindness, others may see the kindness of God in us and be drawn to Him.
How much better would our message of the Gospel be if our preaching, our teaching, our evangelism, were always accompanied by purposeful acts of kindness? As you preach the Gospel, as you live the Gospel, try a little kindness – so that the world may see your good works, and give glory to our heavenly Father.
SDG

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How Long Was That Sermon?

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“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season;
reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching..”
(2 Timothy 4:2)

This week I posted a question on two different Facebook discussion groups to which I belong, asking about the average length of their (or their pastor’s) sermons.  The resulting conversations were interesting, and I thought I would share with you some of my observations.

  • Never ask a Pastor’s Discussion Group a question unless you are prepared for a lot of answers. There is an old adage, “never give a pastor a microphone unless you’ve got 20 minutes to spare.”  That lesson came home this week.  I posted my question about the length of sermons on a Monday morning, and by early that afternoon, I had over 200 responses.  My phone, my tablet, and my computer all kept chirping away to let me know I had received a new message.  It sounded like a flock of birds had moved into my office.
  • Some People really need to Relax. The question I asked was innocent enough, “How long are your sermons?”  Most pastors, and many laypeople, responded just saying approximately how long the sermons lasted.  Others, however, took the opportunity to hijack the discussion forum into a diatribe about how long (or short) a sermon should be.  “If you can’t preach for more than 30 minutes, then perhaps preaching isn’t your gift.”  Yes, that was actually said.  “If you can’t say it in less than 15 minutes, then it doesn’t need to be said.”  That was said, too.  Heated arguments erupted over “catering” to the congregation’s attention span or caving to worldly pressures; snarky comments were posted comparing people’s willingness to sit through a 2 hour movie or game and their rejection of worship lasting more than 1 hour.  It was disturbing to note the lack of humility and graciousness demonstrated in the conversations.  IT’S A FACEBOOK DISCUSSION FOLKS – RELAX!

Now on to the actual question:

  • The responses on sermon lengths were vastly different based on the group responding. The first group I asked is a discussion group of rather conservative PCUSA pastors.  Sermon times reported there ranged from 15 to 30 minutes, with the average being about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on how much is scheduled for the worship service that day (baptism, communion, etc.).
    The other group I asked is not specifically Presbyterian, but is a group of Reformed (Baptist, Presbyterian, etc.) believers from all over the US, pastors and layman alike.  The overwhelming response from this group reported 40 to 50 minute sermons.  Their worship services lasted over an hour, with the sermon being the central part of the service.
    Just to share where I come in – my sermons, on the average, are about 18 to 22 minutes long, including the Scripture reading and prayers.  I don’t intentionally time them, but each week I have to take the recording of the sermon, and edit it down for our 15 minute radio broadcast.
  • One of my favorite comments was this one:
    “When I was a kid, our pastor’s response to people who were chronic complainers, including opinions about sermon length, was this: “Sermonettes make Christianettes.” I guess those folks needed to hear hour long sermons. Anyways, he never caved.  I actually listened to him from about 5th grade on. His sermons were shorter than any class I had in school and about the same length as Gilligan’s Island. I was convicted at an early age that if I complained about sermon length, I would sound stupid.”

The overall lesson is this: Preaching should explain and apply the meaning of the Bible.  The sermon ought to deliver the truth of God, not give the preacher’s opinion on current events, or pass along the latest self-help ideas.  Every sermon should explain the Bible and then apply it to people’s lives.

My preaching may not conclude with an overtly practical application.  You will not often hear “because of this, we need to do this.”  Rather, my hope is that through the sermon I may show and celebrate in the glory of God revealed to us through His Word, that we might grow in the likeness of Christ together.  This may not be immediately practical, but I pray that it is eternally helpful.  Whether my preaching takes 15 minutes, or whether it lasts an hour, the Word of God must be read, taught, and applied to our hearts for our salvation and for God’s glory.

SDG