Why Johnny Can’t Preach: Most Americans Can’t Get a Good Sermon
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Mon, March 16, 2009
- Viewed 246
- (16) comments so far
Kevin DeYoung has a great book review here.
Has anyone read this? Any thoughts on Gordon’s perspective?
Todd
T. David Gordon has a new book out entitled "Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers". Sounds like an interesting book. Here's a brief excerpt...
"Ministers [in our culture] are not at home with what is significant; ministers whose attention span is less than that of a four-year-old in the 1940s, who race around like the rest of us, constantly distracted by sounds and images of inconsequential trivialities, and out of touch with what is weighty. It is not surprising that their sermons, and the alleged worship that surrounds them, are often trifling, thoughtless, uninspiring, and mundane...The great seriousness of the reality of being human, the dreadful seriousness of the coming judgment of God, the sheer insignificance of the present in light of eternity–realities that once were the subtext of virtually every sermon–have now disappeared, and have been replaced by one triviality after another."
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CS on Mon, March 16, 2009
From the review:
“Preachers are simply coming to have their banal assumptions and cliche-level understanding confirmed for yet another week.”
Ba-zing. That is a truly excellent and hard-hitting thought right there.
I’d like to pick up this book sometime to see what the author has to say. Based on the review and information about the book, I’d say he’s spot on.
—
CS
E.Bert Todd on Mon, March 16, 2009
Just last week I had a rather heated discussion with a United Methodist pastor over this very issue. The departure from scripture, the lack of sound exegesis, and the refusal to preach anything about repentance for fear of ‘beating people up’
So very sad…
deaubury on Mon, March 16, 2009
i think most pastors has trashed the pulpit, and do they remind you of hirlings, if they cared they would preach jesus’ gospel, not a lot of STUFF that does not have anything to do with jesus, the good news.
Russell Mckinney on Mon, March 16, 2009
Several years ago William Hurt played in a movie called “The Doctor.” His character is an arrogant surgeon who has no bedside manner whatsoever. When he is diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his throat, he is forced to become the typical patient (forms to be filled out, long waiting lines, the indignity of hospital gowns, insensitive nurses, doctors in a hurry, etc.). The experience changes him, and the movie concludes with him admitting his medical students into the hospital for a stay so that they can experience what their patients experience.
There was a time in my ministry when I was between pastorates for about four months. During those months, my wife and I visited a different church each Sunday morning. I was forced to listen to far too many boring, poorly organized, poorly presented sermons. It would have been really hard for me to be a member of those churches and have to sit through such preaching week in and week out. I’ve often thought that my experience was sort of like Hurt’s in that movie. I know that it made me strive to be a better preacher, a preacher who has something to say and says it well. I haven’t read Gordon’s book, but I don’t have a doubt that its conclusion is accurate. Perhaps the problem could be solved if we pastors got back to the Acts 6:2 mindset: “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” Cancel some meetings, let somebody else handle most of the visiting, turn off the cell phone for a while, give the golf clubs a rest, log off the internet, don’t touch the t.v. remote, get in your study, open the Bible, stick your nose in some trusted commentaries, buy a book of illustrations, and get back to your caling.
Ed Rowell on Mon, March 16, 2009
I’m amazed at how many people can make sweeping generalizations with ease. Words like “all” or “most” get tossed around with no frame of reference whatsoever. To recover from this malady, let’s start by asking ourselves the following:
How many preachers do you know personally?
How many of these preachers do you listen to regularly?
How many of these preachers have you had conversations with regarding their objective for preaching, study habits, and methods of obtaining accurate feedback?
Its crazy that people can jump on the bandwagon of a book they’ve not even read yet.
PT on Mon, March 16, 2009
Amen! As an encouragement, since the new year we have been preaching through 1 Corinthians - exegetically. Yeah, every week a controversial topic that the modern church ‘gurus’ say we should stay away from or lose people. Guess what? We’ve been growing in health, attendance, visitors and offerings every week!
Just preach the Word and Christ crucified, brothers!
David Curtis on Mon, March 16, 2009
I think that Ed makes a excellent point. While the book may sound intriguing and I could throw my two cents into what I think the current state of evangelical preaching is, the reality is that I don’t have the time to listen to a lot of other preachers and I haven’t read the book.
Leonard on Mon, March 16, 2009
I have not read the book. I might just pick it up. I think something that must be considered is that preaching has changed because how people learn has changed and culture is continually shifting.
What we have added to our vocabulary is amazing in the past few years. We have an entire generation of people who are almost completely illiterate concerning the bible, Christ and the church and what they do know came from a media report or a soundbite in the local news.
To make such wide ranging statements about preachers is a bit over the top for me. I just removed a guy from a teaching role in our church because his work was sloppy and he cam in unprepared week after week. He was invited to be discipled and trained but did not want to apprentice under other gifted teachers.
I would love to see an apprenticeship program for preachers. Not just seminary where homiletics is taught and not a few classes in hermeneutics. But a real apprenticeship that teaches how to study, to wrestle with a text, discern ones own conviction verses that of the Holy Spirit,
Jim on Mon, March 16, 2009
That this is going on is tragic. like some of you, I have not read the book ethier, but I know that my friends in ministry and i preach the Word, the whole counsel of God, I am finishing up the book of Acts, I started it back in September, We are seeing growth and changed lives, I am not always a Rick Warren fan but I like what he said about preaching ...“It aught to be considred a sin to take the most exciting book in the world and bore people with it” [Purpose driven church] People are hungry, Feed them God’s truth, you can only do that if you are in the Word yourself.
Jim on Tue, March 17, 2009
ugg and baggs. WHAT?
RevJeff on Tue, March 17, 2009
Sunday I preached…
Matt on Tue, March 17, 2009
Last time I checked, Jesus took complicated truths and made them simple.
Why on earth then would we who are preachers take simple truths and making them complicated?
I study the Bible as methodically as anyone I know, even using diagrammatical analysis as I do it, but I only do it so I don’t miss the point of the passage, not so I can point out stuff that doesn’t really matter.
I’m sure if nothing else, it will be an interesting read and cause us to continue to think about preaching.
Matt on Tue, March 17, 2009
That would be “make” them complicated, not “making”...I hate grammatical errors! Sorry!!
Rick Williams on Tue, March 17, 2009
My first reaction was like most of what I’ve read “How does he KNOW what preachers across the country are preaching?” or “Who does he think HE is?” I’d like to know more about how he arrived at this conclusion, but I don’t know if I want to know bad enough to read his book.
Vitality in the pulpit is a pressing concern for me, but I can only directly affect the vitality in MY pulpit. As my Daddy used to say “You won’t have time to mind other peoples business if you are busy minding your own.”
dkopka on Mon, March 30, 2009
I am a Pastor in between ministries. I agree, the preaching is horrible. Skipping sections because they are difficult, taking texts out of context, striving to make everyone feel good. It seems those who do preach, can’t find a place to preach.
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