posted by Scott Newton Smith
You’ll rarely hear me preach a sermon aimed at the entire congregation.
I know that may be confusing so here’s what I mean…
I mean sermons that might be titled “3 Signs of A Healthy Church” or “The Main Job of The Local Church.”
I’ve learned over time that when sermons that have a broader aim are preached, folks are usually thinking, “Glad he’s saying that. They really need to hear it!”
My sermons are typically aimed at the individual. Even though I may say “we” and “us” often through the message, there is still retained a very distinctive “you” quality. That is, I want to aim the message very tightly, not very broadly, helping each listener feel a sense of personal responsibility to the text-driven, Bible-derived principle being preached.
No one gets off the hook by virtue of “this is a group effort.”
I’m not saying that there is never a place for a congregation-wide message where the pastor or preacher is giving a broader appeal. If the text goes there, I have to go there.
I’m just saying that when a message is aimed at a larger body and worded as such, its impact is diffused in proportion to the number of people sitting there listening.
This is precisely why there was so much more accountability in the messages that Jesus preached to the twelve versus the messages He preached to the crowds.
(The implementation of His agenda rested on the actions of the smaller group — the disciples. And when He had the Special Three — Peter, James and John — around the campfire and looked them each in the eye and said “you must…” there were fewer others to shirk responsibility off onto.)
While we can’t physically segment down our Sunday crowd into smaller groups and clip through the sermon three-by-three, or even twelve-by-twelve, we can certainly maintain a sense of individuality among the collective in terms of presenting the mandate of individual choice to believe and obey… and enjoy the fruits of that both individually and collectively as a result.
So my sermon title would more likely be, “3 Signs of a Healthy Christian” or, “The Main Job of Every Believer,” knowing that if each individual feels the impact of that message, then the collective will benefit as well by default.
Your thoughts? Please leave a comment >>>
11 November 2009 at 3:11 pm
Scott,
Very good stuff. Basically it’s like when I’m writing I have to write as if I’m writing to one person even though it’s going out to hundreds of thousands.
You would zone out if you thought the message was for everybody…
And I think we all actually crave that individual accountability…we want desperately to be confronted or challenged.
Sean
12 November 2009 at 4:51 am
Great concept. I’m always looking for ways for folks to have ownership.
It works; a few months ago my message was titled YOU. Then they would fill in the blanks, for example YOU are the Church, I still hear many of them using that phrase.
16 November 2009 at 12:06 pm
Good stuff, brother. When it’s addressed to a group, everybody can “amen” because you’re talking about “that guy over there”. When it’s personal, we’re forced to examine our own hearts and not pass the buck. You could even look at Paul’s letters where he made many of them very personal to the point of calling out names.
I can’t wait for the Youth Retreat next year.
16 December 2009 at 11:59 am
I remember my sem profs giving us the great advice, “Preach the text to yourself first.” Not only does this help me to keep the law very specific (rifle versus shotgun), but it keeps me from giving the law a shallow treatment. I have to apply it to myself. So my sermon on murder isn’t about those people who murder innocent babies or even about those people who abuse their bodies, but about me, who has unkind thoughts about others (whoever hates his brother is a murderer). Then when the law has done its work, we’re all (myself included) ready and appreciative to hear the gospel that alone has power to change our hearts, then our attitudes and thoughts, then our actions. Thanks for the interesting podcasts! Just found it and have been enjoying it on my drive to/from church! Thanks, Scott and Joel!