You can keep it
Last week, I had the privelege of sitting under preaching lectures by Dr. Robert Smith, a Professor at Beeson Divinity School.
I enjoyed his passion and content, but one thing stuck with me more than others, and that is his emphasis that we should retain classical theological terms. (justification, sanctification, etc)
But he qualified it. He said that too often, we speak the language of Zion from the pulpit without considering that so many in the pew are Biblically illiterate, so we must constantly define and illustrate classic terms so they mean something to the people in the pew.
As a seminarian, I do enjoy big words, Greek and Latin terms and phrases, but the practical instinct in me says that it's silly to spew out aorists, genetives, and original languages just because you can. It doesn't help the average person in the pew, and frankly, I get bored with it becuase it seems like you're puffing your chest of knowledge because you say what every English word is in the Greek. (99% of the time, I think the person spouting just had fun with their concorance when they wrote the sermon and want to sound smarter than what they really are)
They don't care that you use a big words, they want to know how the message of the Bible can get them through their life.
That is why pastors need to learn to exegete their audience and learn to communicate to them in ways they can understand. This can be done without compromising truth. When we read the Gospels, we see Jesus, very God of very God, speaking to people in ways they can understand, using terms that his audience could understand. When we read Acts 17, we see Paul, brilliantly gifted and educated, speak to the people of Greece in terms that they can relate to.
Both Jesus and Paul could have "wowed" the people with their knowledge, but they used their words in a way that could be understood by their audience.
Something to think about.
I enjoyed his passion and content, but one thing stuck with me more than others, and that is his emphasis that we should retain classical theological terms. (justification, sanctification, etc)
But he qualified it. He said that too often, we speak the language of Zion from the pulpit without considering that so many in the pew are Biblically illiterate, so we must constantly define and illustrate classic terms so they mean something to the people in the pew.
As a seminarian, I do enjoy big words, Greek and Latin terms and phrases, but the practical instinct in me says that it's silly to spew out aorists, genetives, and original languages just because you can. It doesn't help the average person in the pew, and frankly, I get bored with it becuase it seems like you're puffing your chest of knowledge because you say what every English word is in the Greek. (99% of the time, I think the person spouting just had fun with their concorance when they wrote the sermon and want to sound smarter than what they really are)
They don't care that you use a big words, they want to know how the message of the Bible can get them through their life.
That is why pastors need to learn to exegete their audience and learn to communicate to them in ways they can understand. This can be done without compromising truth. When we read the Gospels, we see Jesus, very God of very God, speaking to people in ways they can understand, using terms that his audience could understand. When we read Acts 17, we see Paul, brilliantly gifted and educated, speak to the people of Greece in terms that they can relate to.
Both Jesus and Paul could have "wowed" the people with their knowledge, but they used their words in a way that could be understood by their audience.
Something to think about.
posted by Bobby's blog at 1:21 PM
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