As I continue to do the rounds of podcasts and interviews for my new book, Surviving Religion 101, the same question keeps getting asked:
What can parents (and churches) do to help better prepare their kids for the intellectual challenges of college?
In a prior post, I mentioned this issue and offered one solution to that problem: “Parents and churches need to consider ways to introduce their children, at age-appropriate levels, to non-Christian philosophies, arguments, and criticisms, along with a proper Christian response.”
In other words, we need to break out of the theological bubble in which we typically operate, and be willing to critically and substantively engage views different than our own.
But that is not all that can be done. In this post, let me mention another way we can address this problem, and that is by fixing the one thing that is missing in most sermons today.
In my role as a seminary professor, I have heard a lot of sermons over the years. Some of these are from students preparing for ministry, but many are from seasoned pastors who’ve been in the pulpit for years.
And these sermons seem designed to do many positive things: inform, proclaim, teach, explain, illuminate, clarify, comfort, encourage, and motivate. And, sometimes, they do some less positive things: entertain, titillate, speculate, charm, beguile, and even amuse.
But there is one thing that very few sermons do, and that is persuade.
Now, a persuasive sermon may not be what you think. For most people, the word brings to mind formal “apologetics” where we make the case for Christianity over and against other worldviews.
And while some formal apologetics may be involved, I am using “persuade” here to refer to how a pastor might seek to show that any particular Christian doctrine, truth or behavior is genuinely wonderful, excellent, and worthy of our lives, and thereby better than any other alternative that is out there.
When pastors think this way, they are concerned with more than just telling people what is true (although that matters very much), but convincing someone that it is true, and helping them see why it is worthy of their affirmation.
To preach this way is to want the congregation to say to themselves, “Yes, that’s true after all!” or “Wow, that really makes sense!” We are not asking our congregations to do something, but to embrace something. We are asking them to love God not just with their actions, but also with their minds.
Now, if a preacher preaches with persuasion as a goal, then that will impact how he prepares for sermons. It means he must understand the alternative doctrines, truths or behaviors that his congregation might be encountering (and this will vary from church to church). In other words, it will require the pastor to study not only the Bible (which is, of course, essential), but also study the world in which he lives, and the various belief systems in it.
Of course, all of this just raises an obvious question: Why don’t pastors preach more with persuasion? What keeps them from doing this?
One possibility is that some pastors may simply not be equipped to do so. They may be experts in the Westminster Confession, or the fine points of church history, but they know next to nothing about the intellectual climate their congregations are in.
Part of the reason for this lack of preparation may just be a misunderstanding of their role. They may have forgotten that a preacher’s job is not merely exegeting a text but also exegeting an audience. They try to preach like they live in the 17th century rather than the 21st.
But I think there’s an even bigger reason why pastors don’t preach with a goal to persuade, and that is they assume their congregation is pretty much with them on the major points of Christian doctrine.
In short, they assume their congregation doesn’t need to be persuaded. After all, they are members of the church already!
While such a naive view of one’s congregation would never have worked in any generation, it certainly will not work in this one. Pastors can no longer assume their people are “with them” when they tackle tough biblical truths.
It’s not just college students that need to be reassured about what they believe. Even the most committed believer struggles with doubts and needs to be shown again why their beliefs make sense. And pastors need to be the ones to do this.
The perfect example of this approach is the book of Hebrews. Written to an audience struggling with doubt, and which may have been delivered originally as a sermon, the author doesn’t just say Jesus is better, but proves he is better.
So, my advice for preachers this Sunday: Don’t just inform or tell your people something; rather, make the case for that something. Make the case for Jesus.
Here’s a video of me summarizing the case for persuasion in preaching:
Treg Spicer says
Great stuff! As I sermon prep in Colossians 2 today, I will now take a different look at this passage! Thank You!
Larry Steuck says
About a year ago, we began what we call Wisdom Wednesday with our youth. Once a quarter we teach and discuss topics they will encounter.
To keep it interesting (and not be redundant), what would you say are the most pressing topics they’ll be hit with in college today?
Phil Sanders says
Michael,
I have admired your writings dealing with the veracity of the New Testament documents. You indeed are persuasive, and I join you in saying that much of our preaching lacks persuasion. Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men (2 Corinthians 5:11). We certainly do need to be people who understand the times and know what we should do (1 Chronicles 12:32). Evangelism is at heart persuasion, and those who fail to point the surpassing riches of Christianity have failed to preach the whole counsel of God.
Phil Sanders
Jorge Aleman says
Thanks, I already translated and share with pastors, church planters and leaders in Spanish
Lois Westerlund says
Amen! The affections of the heart (Jonathan Edwards) are reached through the mind, but the preacher must not stop there. He must use stirring imagery, vivid language, sometimes stories, to cause us to see the excellencies of our Savior, and so move the heart. He must show the power of his Word and so move us to faith. And all this in the context of not only our sinful selves, but the steady assaults of our culture, which the Enemy of God uses to attack His saints.
Fred Moritz says
First – a biblical response: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11.
Second – an old definition: “Preaching is an oral address to the popular mind, upon religious truth as contained in the Christian Scriptures, and elaborately treated, with a view to persuasion.” T. Austin Phelps, The Theory of Preaching – written circa 1890 if memory serves.
dean says
Its a big call to get young people to mentally compute the various worldviews in a sermon (but that is not to say it cant be done). I like what you did with Macklemore’s song a few years back. The Holy Bible tends to summarise false teaching and false ideas within a false gods context where as today secular/naturalism and life is all about me or saving the planet as it switches back and forwards between secular dogma, science and post modern thought.
And then there is also understanding different denominations and why they vary.
As a counter observation, sometimes its like, why does the minister sound like he is trying to persuade me, I already know this and the connecting doctrine. Or if Gods Word is so powerful why is this man so animated (when he usually isn’t) And at times its like the simplest story about a person or event can have me ‘spellbound’
But if you are going into college/university its good to get an overview of how academics works and what worldviews (at times aggressive/challenging and also seeking to persuade) are preached.
How about a book, a children’s young persons book. One with visuals and diagrams. I would be happy to look into that. Philosophy seems to have gone off the radar here in Australia some years back regarding basic subjects…
Brian says
You actually need to teach the scriptures line by line in an exegetical ,sound categorical , in scholastically very clear fashion focusing on common phraeseology. Forget about teaching what the world Teaches. The error is clear to the Youthful mind. In fact It’s wise to teach proverbs so they don’t become too zealous when they are tempted to shove the truth down is the truth down the moronic throats of babbling idiots.
Andrew Simpson says
If I could make. a suggestion, a great follow up to this article would be to provide a persuasive sermon that you’ve preached and provide analysis of how you crafted it. Are their sermon structures that are more conducive to persuasive preaching? You’ve told us it’s important to be persuasive, continue to show us how. 🙂
Appreciate your work. Keep it up!
Lucille Gaither says
One thing missing in churches today is life messages. Much of the preaching in the pulpit is academic, that is why pastors go through a book of the bible. The preaching is a sermon and not a message from the LORD. Often the age of the preacher is a factor. Back in the day, an elder was a man of middle or old age, not a young man. For the young man often does not have the experience or maturity to deliver a message, let alone the training to be an elder.
Kevin says
This is a terrific article. It reminded me of a series I heard through RTS that dr Tim Keller did on preaching. This is one of them here https://subspla.sh/0f7af8f. I really loved the way dr Keller encouraged preachers how to be effective at preaching to really stir the believer and convince them that Jesus is so good and equip them to be able to say why Jesus is so good to friends. I’m not a preacher but I’d recommend this series on RTS to any preacher who reads your article and is looking for somewhere else to go to get practical tips on how to what you suggest
Chrissy says
Thank you so much this article was very interesting and very insightful. And I agree with everything have a great day sir!
Andy Banman says
Thank you for this, it is appreciated. A few years ago I taught a junior high boys Sunday school class, and wanted to address this exact issue. I wanted to make the case for creation vs evolution and how to defend the faith once they left the walls of the church, the pastor didn’t allow it. He thought the youth would ask to many questions and lead them astray. We ended up leaving that church.
Shaun Hurrie says
Great post and I whole heartedly agree that sermons must seek to persuade the listener in the areas of what they think, feel, and do. That said, this doesn’t mean that a pastor has to be an expert on every other belief or philosophy which counters Biblical truth. Sure, they must be a student of the world and the culture in broad strokes, but, I truly believe that God’s Word contains in Itself the main ways in which man tries to dismiss God and to seek alternatives to worship. In other words, study the Scriptures deeply and you are already most of the way to providing the reasons for why Jesus (the Christian Worldview) is the BEST alternative to every other false religion or philosophy. Again…great post!
Lois Westerlund says
Persuasive preaching when it comes to Truth, what the Scriptures teach, yes. Absolutely. Not when it comes to application. Persuade people of the Truth, see the Holy Spirit open their hearts to believe, and that same Spirit will work in the believing heart to transform its loves, expressed in actions. Haranguing your listeners, thinking you are persuading them to do what they should do is counterproductive. At least I have always found it so. It may produce guilt; it does not produce obedience from a surrendered heart. I believe you were careful in your wording, Dr. Kruger, to say this. But I thought it worth saying again. 🙂