"All the delights in the sensual life are but as the putrid waters of a corrupt pond where toads lie croaking and spawning, compared to the crystal streams of the most pure and pleasant fountain." --John Flavel, The Method of Grace
Suppose that a man has heard of a great physician who understands his complaint? He has traveled a great many miles to see this celebrated doctor. But when he gets to the door they tell him that he is out. “Well,” he says,“then I must wait till he is in.” “You need not wait,” they reply,“his assistant is at home.” The suffering man, who has been often disappointed, answers, “I do not care about his assistant. I want to see the man,himself—mine is a desperate case, but I have heard that this physician has curedthe like. I must, therefore, see him. No assistants for me.” “Well,” they say, “he is out, but there are his books. You can see his books.” “Thank you,” he says, “I cannot be content with his books. I need the living man and nothing less. It is to him that I must speak and from him I will receive instructions.”
“Do you see that cabinet?” “Yes.” “It is full of his medicines.” The sick man answers, “I dare say they are very good, but they are of no use to me without the doctor. I want their owner to prescribe for me, or I shall die of my disease.” “But see,” cries one, “here is a person who has been cured by him, a man of great experience, who has been present at many remarkable operations. Go into the inquiry room with him and he will tell you all about the mode of cure.” The afflicted man answers, “I am much obliged to you, but all your talk only makes me long the more to see the doctor. I came to see him, and I am not going to be put off with anything else. I must see the man, himself, for myself. He has made my disease a specialty. He knows how to handle my case and I will stay till I see him.”
Now, dear Friends, if you are seeking Christ, imitate this sick man or else you will miss the mark altogether! Never be put off with books, or conversations. Be not
content with Christian people talking to you, or preachers preaching to you, or the Bible being read to you, or prayers being offered for you. Anything short of Jesus will leave you short of salvation! You have to reach Christ and touch Christ, and nothing short of this will serve your turn. -C.H. Spurgeon, Christ in You, Preached May 13, 1883.
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church..."
There are quite a few different ways of looking at this text. What is it that is "lacking in Christ's afflictions"? And, how exactly is Paul "filling up" that which is lacking?
Sam Storms does a great job of narrowing the discussion, you can read the full thing here.
The six options are thus:
- Redemptive: Paul is somehow filling up what is lacking in Christ's redemption
- Glorifying: Paul is giving more glory to Christ through his suffering
- Typological: Paul's suffering is corresponding to the suffering of Christ
- Eschatological: There is a set amount of suffering that Christians will endure, Paul is filling up that bucket of suffering with his suffering.
- Extending: Ministers, like Paul, extend the message of the suffering servant to others through their suffering in ministry. Christ is not lacking in propitiation but in presentation. Therefore, Paul is extending the presentation of Christ, through suffering, to the nations.
- Union Suffering: Paul is suffering where Jesus would have as an example and encouragement to benefit the Colossians.
Maybe you have a seventh or a combination of a few of these. I would be interested to hear your suggestions. Read Storms' article first.
Genre: Preaching/Christian Ministry
Quick Summary:
In the 1600’s John Flavel proclaimed, “it is far easier to study and press a thousand truths upon others, than to feel the power of one truth upon our own hearts...” Some 400 years later Alex Montoya has detected the same problem; preachers are often trained for exegetical study but not preaching with passion. This short book offers principles to combat lifeless preaching. As Montoya says, “The fact is many of us simply preach sermons, not the Word of God. We preach the exegesis, not the divine oracle. We preach crafted, alliterated manuscripts instead of the living Word. We are biblical, but the Word has been deadened by a lifeless delivery or a hampering style.
Montoya proffers his suggestions on restoring passion to preaching. He hopes to teach us how to preach with spiritual power, conviction, compassion, authority, urgency, brokenness, the whole being, and the imagination.
What I Liked:
I have noticed, and even fell victim to, the type of passionless preaching that Montoya is combating. If nothing else this book will serve as a wake up call to pastors that merely being exegetically sound is not true expository preaching. Montoya helps us wake up to the reality that how we say something has a bearing on what it is we say. It will serve pastors well to heed the advice given in this book.
Montoya does a good job of reminding us where passion comes from and that it is not simply something that can be conjured up once you get in the pulpit. Passionate preaching is not yelling as you preach. It is, as Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “theology coming through a man who is on fire”. I appreciate that Montoya follows the mold of such men as Lloyd-Jones. It is rare to find a chapter on brokenness in a preaching book, hopefully Montoya’s words will be heeded and will as John MacArthur says in his recommendation, “start an epidemic”.
What I Disliked:
In an effort to stimulate the preacher and spur him on to action our author at times seems a little too anthropocentric for my taste. In Montoya’s defense I do not think he intends to be. There are a few other dangerous statements in the book as well: such as, “preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself to the changing face of culture”. I get what Montoya is saying but it could be potentially misunderstood. However, the overall tenor of the book is solidly biblical (and for my Reformed readers—it is of the Reformed persuasion) and not a major dislike with the book.
Should You Buy It:
Most certainly. The truth of the matter though is that a book cannot create a passionate preacher. This book will not fix all. It will define the problem and give a few suggestions for laboring to become a more passionate preacher. However, it takes a lifetime of boldly broken fellowship with the Almighty to create a passionate preacher.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Quick Summary:
In the 1600’s John Flavel proclaimed, “it is far easier to study and press a thousand truths upon others, than to feel the power of one truth upon our own hearts...” Some 400 years later Alex Montoya has detected the same problem; preachers are often trained for exegetical study but not preaching with passion. This short book offers principles to combat lifeless preaching. As Montoya says, “The fact is many of us simply preach sermons, not the Word of God. We preach the exegesis, not the divine oracle. We preach crafted, alliterated manuscripts instead of the living Word. We are biblical, but the Word has been deadened by a lifeless delivery or a hampering style.
Montoya proffers his suggestions on restoring passion to preaching. He hopes to teach us how to preach with spiritual power, conviction, compassion, authority, urgency, brokenness, the whole being, and the imagination.
What I Liked:
I have noticed, and even fell victim to, the type of passionless preaching that Montoya is combating. If nothing else this book will serve as a wake up call to pastors that merely being exegetically sound is not true expository preaching. Montoya helps us wake up to the reality that how we say something has a bearing on what it is we say. It will serve pastors well to heed the advice given in this book.
Montoya does a good job of reminding us where passion comes from and that it is not simply something that can be conjured up once you get in the pulpit. Passionate preaching is not yelling as you preach. It is, as Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “theology coming through a man who is on fire”. I appreciate that Montoya follows the mold of such men as Lloyd-Jones. It is rare to find a chapter on brokenness in a preaching book, hopefully Montoya’s words will be heeded and will as John MacArthur says in his recommendation, “start an epidemic”.
What I Disliked:
In an effort to stimulate the preacher and spur him on to action our author at times seems a little too anthropocentric for my taste. In Montoya’s defense I do not think he intends to be. There are a few other dangerous statements in the book as well: such as, “preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself to the changing face of culture”. I get what Montoya is saying but it could be potentially misunderstood. However, the overall tenor of the book is solidly biblical (and for my Reformed readers—it is of the Reformed persuasion) and not a major dislike with the book.
Should You Buy It:
Most certainly. The truth of the matter though is that a book cannot create a passionate preacher. This book will not fix all. It will define the problem and give a few suggestions for laboring to become a more passionate preacher. However, it takes a lifetime of boldly broken fellowship with the Almighty to create a passionate preacher.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"Preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself to the changing face of culture."
Let me give a little more context:
"The message will never change, but the way we deliver it will change--yes, must change--or we will cease to be a bridge between two worlds."
Of course an preacher that hopes to be biblical has to say, "the message will never change". My question, however, is twofold: Do you agree that preaching needs to be constantly adapting itself? And will doing so inadvertently affect the unchanging message?
By the way the quote is from Alex Montoya--Preaching with Passion, p.138
I realize that I have not posted for about two weeks and my last post was only a short statement expressing my thankfulness for Jesus. That still stands true today. The last couple of weeks have been very busy, and since I am not Tim Challies , when things get excessively busy I find it difficult to blog.
One of the things that has caused me to be busy is substitute teaching. This is my way of trying to get the gospel into Mark Twain High School and build rapport with students. That has taken a couple of days out of each week. That puts me behind schedule in my other duties. Since blogging is lower on my list it gets neglected.
Another reason that I have not blogged in awhile is because I am a little discouraged with it. My discouragement is on a few fronts...and honestly they all have a root in not practicing the gospel. 1) I am not as good of a writer as many others. My punctuation skills are horrible. And my ability to convey significant thought pales in comparison to others. Therefore, until I learn to be a better writer I feel like shutting down. 2) Abraham Piper's suggestions on blogging discouraged me. I question whether I have anything unique to say. 3) Why continue throwing so much time into something that only a handful of people will read? 4) Some of the really fun things that I want to do requires more readers--so I feel stuck.
So, I am looking for direction and praying for a heart that treasures Christ and the proclamation of his glorious truth more than my stupid pride and drive for notoriety. I frequently pray perish my honor...I guess I should believe that God answers that prayer. From now on I want to blog for the glory of God and to display His worth and honor and not my own. With that being said, I hope to blog more, even though a busy summer may make that difficult.
I am really thankful for Jesus. Period.
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