Avoiding the Sermon Sucking Black Hole
Avoiding The Sermon Sucking Black Hole
In the last post I shared a memorable sermon–the 0nly memorable sermon–of one of my pastors during my childhood and youth. In this post we will consider one of the how-to’s of avoiding the sermon sucking black hole. If you’re new to this pots, the beginning of this series of posts is here.
Stuart Briscoe
Another sermon that I remember to this day was preached by Stuart Briscoe at a gathering of pastors in 1991. You may not know who Stuart Briscoe is–especially you younger readers. Here’s a link where you can explore this leader from a previous generation. Below is a brief snippet from the Wikipedia article about him:
D. Stuart Briscoe (9 November 1930 – 3 August 2022)[1] was an evangelical Christian author, international speaker and senior pastor of Elmbrook Church, in Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States. Elmbrook is the largest church in Wisconsin, averaging 7,000 in attendance per week. Briscoe is credited with transforming Elmbrook from a church of 300 members to one of the largest churches in America.[2]
Briscoe Avoids the Sermon Sucking Black Hole
In 1991 I was just completing a 6 month sabbatical, during which time I was a Resident Scholar at Harvard University. I was using that time to explore the history of Revivals in the United States, and write a book about them. A friend who lived in the area invited me to go to this conference that was nearby. So, I went. I will never forget his message that day. He reflected on 1 Corinthians 4:1-4. I quote them here just to give you an idea of what hit me at that time.
4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
Major Points
- The word “servant in verse 1 is unique. It is only used one other time in the Bible. That place is Acts 13:5, where it describes the first missionary journey. There we read that “John was with them as their helper.”
The word there is the word that is translated as “servant” in 1 Corinthians 4. The literal translation is “under rower”. Picture the ships back then, with a row of oars that were operated by slaves. Briscoe made the point that under rowers (like us) don’t decide where the boat (church) is going or even how fast it should go. That is the purview of the captain. In the same way, we are under rowers. Christ is the captain of the boat. We need to be listening to him and following his commands. What this means is that John Mark (future author of the gospel) did the little things that made ministry go forward. He probably got tickets, arranged housing, etc. - We have been entrusted with the “mysteries of God.” When I think of a mystery, I think of the novels of Agatha Christie, where there is a murder, and then we get clues as to the person who did it. That’s not what is intended here. The mystery religions of that day had many secrets, but when you became a member, all of those were revealed to you. That’s what we have. We know the truth, and have become a steward of them, giving the truth to people as we have received it.
This Message Avoided the Sermon Sucking Black Hole
Why did it avoid the black hole for me? It spoke to my life and attitudes that I had developed of my responsibility as leader. That’s what made it work for me–and I still come back to this passage every once in a while to keep my attitudes in line with my servanthood.
I remember Briscoe saying, “When we get to heaven, we will talk about our oar, the slivers we received, we won’t be looking at anybody else’s oar.” I had a tendency back then to envy other ministries.
So, this message avoided by black hole because it spoke to me–to my ministry, my plans, my hopes, and some of my misconceptions. Hitting peoples’ hearts avoids the sermon sucking black hole. The point it this: what are the needs of the people you preach to? What is going to hit their hearts? What hurts or challenges are they facing. Preach to those and your sermons will avoid the sermon sucking black hole.
