Christian Preaching and Personal Convictions

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Rationale for Preaching
Present and Anticipated Methods of Preaching
Areas of Development and Change
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in the world. This philosophy finds its followers in every country and every layer of society. Through its teachings, millions of people worldwide get a chance to see their purpose, identity, freedom, and morality. Moreover, it helps human beings in the most terrible life circumstances, fills their hearts with love and respect towards the surrounding world, and encourages them to live hopefully. Individuals say that adoption and an international spread of Christian thought are among the most successful spiritual achievements in human history. On the other hand, Christianity can also be described as a complex subject that consists of many elements and practices with preaching being the central one. While the concept of proclamation is mentioned several times throughout the Bible, its function and meaning remain unclear. Some researchers even claim that “the standard of preaching in the modern world is deplorable”. Therefore, the following paper will discuss personal convictions about Christian preaching by identifying its meaning, present, and future methods, and mentioning areas of development.

Rationale for Preaching

Preaching is a crucial concept that should be practiced regularly because it is a vital means of communicating with God and delivering His knowledge to the population. Words have always been an essential way the Lord spoke to the people, revealed his teachings, and showed His endless love for the world. In the beginning, God corresponded with the help of prophets; next, He spoke in the Son and through the Spirit. It is God’s speech that makes people’s words meaningful and necessary. Consequently, preachers need to distribute the same information as God did, and the process of proclamation is a sufficient way to do so. Throughout the procedure, the preacher allows the Holy Spirit to enter his body, work through it, and leave a powerful message which, eventually, is delivered to human beings. Thus, God gives him a unique possibility to lead individuals towards the right path through spoken communication.

Even though nowadays, the concept of preaching is often confused with self-proclamation, it is necessary to break this belief. The idea behind proclamation is not the delivery of a personal idea or an individually styled wisdom of the minister. The first and foremost task of the process is to praise God and bring His opinions to reality. The Lord honored people with the possibility to speak on behalf of Him; hence, they need to cherish that and be faithful. Furthermore, the preaching goal lies not only in developing respect and appreciation towards God and understanding faith but also in sharing it within Christian communities and the world as a whole. As a result, the words of the preacher are heard and supported by both the groups he has direct contact with and those associations which need additional sources of knowledge and encouragement. Ideally, preaching is not done for personal establishment and success; it happens for people and their spiritual enrichment.

Present and Anticipated Methods of Preaching

One of the most visible and effective ways of preaching that is continually used in the modern world and is in my present convictions is storytelling. Fairytales are the easiest way to deliver the necessary information to people’s minds and make them understand the meaning behind it. Jesus told many parables and applied the teachings of God to everyday life situations. Not only did storytelling help Jesus to make the events more memorable, but also it related to the individuals profoundly and encouraged them to trust the actions of Christ. For instance, Jesus never told that God would forgive people for their sins no matter how terrible they were. Instead, he delivered spiritual truth through real-life examples that stayed in the minds of people for longer and influenced their life decisions. It is also largely believed that “the failure to relate the Christian message to the everyday world” is the main trouble connected to the topic of preaching. Therefore, storytelling should be central in encouraging people to develop their spiritual faith and trust God.

Another method of preaching that fits with my convictions and is practical is the use of hyperbole while proclaiming God. There exist many situations in the Bible where Jesus taught people the word of God by using exaggerated examples and shocking statements. The primary purpose behind hyperbole was to attract the maximum attention of people and encourage them to think about their decisions and actions. Nevertheless, these shocking instances were not designed to be understood literally but instead meant to carry the most crucial point and influence the perceptions of Christians. Therefore, one of the central ways towards successful practices is the attribution of methods used by Jesus to contemporary events. If a preacher wants to gain attention and, eventually, impact people’s thoughts, the use of shock is essential. In this way, people become interested in whatever is said by the preacher that makes it easier to deliver the main point of the proclamation.

Talking about the preaching model which should be applied in the future more, it is the so-called formative preaching. Patrick Johnson suggested this idea to achieve the most favorable results from the process of God’s proclamation. However, to understand the superiority of formative preaching over the traditional one, it is first essential to highlight the meaning of both of them. In performative preaching, which is a widely used model in the modern world, the preacher interprets the message of God and invites others into this particular understanding of society. At the same time, in formative preaching, the criteria for a faithful proclamation is a development of the congregation’s competence. The main goal in this kind of preaching is no longer an individual ability of the person to deliver the message clearly but the improvement of confidence to follow the example of God. For this reason, the formative model is more effective in spreading the word of the Lord.

The success of formative preaching comes from people’s ability to understand the meaning of faith completely and spread its use as relevant and vital for individuals’ everyday life. This goal can be achieved in case a preacher accomplishes three objectives throughout the process of communication with a specific population. The first thing that should be done is the development of proposals aiming at helping to understand the significance of preaching as a kind of testimony of God. Secondly, it is vital to deliver an idea that preaching is not only a means of benefiting from the word of God but also participating in His contemporary reign in society. Finally, the preacher has to improve the view of proclamation in the eyes of people by attributing it to various practices and characteristics of the surrounding world. Formative preaching can help to spread the message of God and encourage people to respect and follow it; therefore, it should be used in modern practice.

Areas of Development and Change

One way in which I hope to develop my practices in the future is by finding a personal voice. It is not a secret that God speaks differently through each unique individual and uses specific statements to influence listeners in various ways. Subsequently, having my voice is a perfect opportunity to deliver exclusive information from God. To achieve this, first of all, it is necessary to try ways of communication that were not used ever before. Not all of them may work right away; however, the preacher can learn to understand what sounds right from their mouth and communicate better to the followers. In addition, it is vital to fully trust and obey God on the way towards finding a unique voice. Preachers need to embody the message of God, carry it with pride, and deliver with precision so that He presents them with the possibility to speak uniquely. Trusting God and trying various ways of communication is a path towards finding a personal voice in preaching.

The second area in which my practices are developing is the spread of God’s message. One of the main goals of an individual interested in the teachings of Christianity is to be a distributor of truth and faith. It is crucial to be constant in my beliefs and encourage others to share the same values and opinions about God. I shall always be faithful to my thoughts and never betray God so that He feels my trust in Him. Furthermore, the inspiration of humans can be achieved by spending more time with people who are still not fully established in the Christian belief or who need additional motivation to follow the teachings of Jesus. Moreover, continually receiving knowledge from preachers and books can add desire to implement new practices and ideas. Contemporary methods may contribute to the increased interest of individuals and make them more prone to deepen their knowledge about Christianity. Consequently, spreading the word of God should be one of the primary purposes of any Christian.

Conclusion

Overall, Christianity is the most popular religion in the world which includes many details and tactics. Millions of people all over the globe turn to this philosophy to find meaning in life and receive support in the hardest situations of life. Various practices need to be taken into account when delivering Christian teachings to the population because they influence the way people think about God and make decisions in daily life. One of the ways through which people continuously receive necessary knowledge about God is preaching. With the help of this practice, individuals hear the word of the Lord and establish a strong connection with Him. The proclamation can come in various ways and forms, consequently, it is essential to understand and learn to implement them. Thus, the presented personal position paper explored the topic of preaching by talking about its purpose, models, and fields for individual improvement.

Bibliography

Johnson, Patrick W.T. The Mission of Preaching: Equipping the Community for Faithful Witness. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2015.
Stott, John. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today. Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2017.

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Christian Preaching and Personal Convictions

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