Ever wonder about the effectiveness of your weekly sermon? Of course! Would you like some help? Try unleashing the creative energies of your congregation.
Here's an idea: use a sermon resource group.
I first learned of this strategy from John R.W. Stott, in his book Between Two Worlds. 1 Stott describes the pre-sermon dialogue as follows: "The discussion was invariably lively, and on a number of occasions I found myself sitting back and listening to the debate as it developed between different opinions.
Eavesdropping in this way proved extremely stimulating and enlightening." 2 "I would tend to ask them questions because I knew, roughly speaking, how I was going to handle the topic. And I would then sit back and listen to them as they debated the answer. "3
The diverse composition of these sermon resource groups added richness to Stott's preaching, as he prepared his series, Issues Facing Britain. When thrashing out the topic of work and unemployment, Stott notes that the members of the sermon resource group "helped me to feel what they felt—the shock, the rejection, the hurt, the humiliation, and the sense of helplessness, which are all caused by unemployment."'1 He notes that "the whole experience was creative, as we struggled to relate biblical principles and contemporary contexts to one another."5
I recently experimented with this strategy for preparing relevant biblical sermons on Christianity in the Marketplace.6 The series consisted of four sermons: "Being Christian in the Classroom," "Being Christian in the Care- Giving Professions," "Being Christian in Business," and "Being Christian at Home." In preparation for each of these sermons, I met with a sermon resource group on the Tuesday evening prior to the preaching of the sermon.
Being Christian in the classroom
There were five individuals in the first resource group, discussing being Christian in the classroom: a university ethics professor, a public high school English teacher, an elementary school teacher, a university sophomore, and an academy sophomore.
We met for 75 minutes and the results were amazing. I had learned from Stott that my primary purpose in that session was to listen. It was immediately apparent that many members of the resource group had experienced times when teachers were not Christian in the classroom.
Nadine, the elementary school teacher, shared a troubling story about a traumatic event that she experienced in eighth grade. Her teacher would slam a wooden yardstick on his desk, just to watch the students jump. On one occasion, he marched into the class room with a roll of tape with which he wrapped an unsuspecting student's hands and book to the student's desk. Next, he proceeded to wrap tape around the student's head. Then the teacher stood back and laughed.
As Nadine related this experience to the resource group, I noticed the expressions of shock on their faces. This was a dramatic example of not being Christian in the classroom.
I used this story in the sermon that week, asking Nadine to share it personally. The congregation was obviously engrossed as I walked over to Nadine with a roving microphone, and gave her the opportunity to share her experience.
Another powerful illustration came from the high school English teacher. Monte told the group of a letter from a student whose life was impacted by his teaching. This story was a powerful, positive example of being Christian in the classroom. Other resource group members asked him to bring the letter to church.Monte told his experience at the close of the sermon. The congregation was palpably moved as Monte read the letter from a public high school student whose life had been transformed by a teacher who was Christian in the classroom.
Sixty-one teachers came forward at the end of the sermon for a prayer of blessing. They responded to the challenge to be Christian in the classroom, to teach with passion and to treat their students with compassion. Before the church service was over, people were volunteering to serve on remaining sermon resource groups for the series.
A teacher, whose life had been profoundly impacted by the sermon, sent me an email, suggesting her husband's name for the sermon on "Being Christian in Business." I realized that this strategy was unleashing the creative energies of the congregation.
Being Christian in care giving
The second sermon resource group met the following Tuesday evening. They discussed on "Being Christian in the Care-Giving Professions." I could sense the energy in the group. The group consisted of a physician, three nurses, a school counselor, and the coordinator of spiritual care for nurses at a Christian hospital.
Again, my primary self-assignment was to listen. Time passed quickly as I heard stories of care-givers driving home in tears, overwhelmed by the tidal wave of human need that seemed to engulf them.
Someone in the group referred to Mark 6 where Jesus and His disciples were moved by the needs of people. In that story we found both a vivid description of the problem and a divinely inspired solution: Christian care-givers must allow Jesus to care for them if they are to have anything to offer to a needy world.
Next, they must open themselves to Christ, allowing Him to direct them regarding the when and how of caring for others. Then they can follow the way of Jesus and care unconditionally. The Christian care-givers in the congregation were challenged to care for others as Jesus cares for them.
Being Christian in business
By the third week, teachers and care-givers who had been out of town were asking for copies of "their" sermon. Something wonderful was taking place.
The third sermon resource group addressed the challenge of "Being Christian in Business." This group consisted of a businessman who operated a small family owned auto transmission shop, an entrepreneur with graduate training in business who operated four businesses, a computer consultant who had experience in several business settings, a dentist's wife who assisted in the management of her husband's practice, and finally, the owner/manager of a travel agency.
The group spent a lot of time dis cussing the challenges of being Christian in business. At the end of the 75-minute session, I felt rather bewildered. This experience reminded me that the sermon resource group members don't write the sermon for you. The group serves only as a catalyst, raising the challenges and opportunities of the marketplace in which they are.
After a time of prayerful reflection on my session with this sermon resource group, I was led to the narrative in Luke 19, which records the encounter of Jesus with a self-serving secular capitalist named Zacchaeus. I discovered two significant changes that occurred in his life as a result of the encounter with Jesus.
Zacchaeus experienced a change of attitude and a change of ethics. His attitude changed toward his business. No longer was he obsessed with money, but rather with the opportunity to serve. Instead of taking advantage of his clients, he sought to treat them as he would like to be treated.
At the end of the service, it was a beautiful sight to watch a variety of business people respond to the invitation to honor Jesus Christ in their business.
Being Christian at home
The final sermon in the series on Christianity in the Marketplace dealt with "Being Christian at Home."
Seven individuals joined me on Tuesday evening to make up this sermon resource group. Their ages ranged from a young mother in her early thirties to a grandmother in her late sixties. As I listened to the group interact, it became apparent that being Christian at home was the greatest challenge of all.
Several group members shared painful stories of hypocrisy at home, where private behavior contradicted public profession. There were tears in one group member's eyes as she shared the story of being abused by her father, a professed Christian and church member. As I looked around, I noticed tears in the eyes of other members of the group. We realized that this was a story that needed to be told as part of the sermon.
As you may know, the word "hypocrite" comes from a word describing the ancient Greek plays. The actor who concealed his true identity behind a mask was called a hupocrite. One of the members of the sermon resource group purchased a masquerade mask and at various times during the sermon, when I spoke about hypocrisy, I covered my face with the mask.
I shared three steps for avoiding hypocrisy and manifesting a Christian spirit at home: Admit that you are a sinner in constant need of God's grace; extend forgiveness to others just as God has forgiven you; and recognize together the need to grow in grace.
The sermon concluded with a testimony by another member of the sermon resource group. Nancy shared her experience of becoming friends with a couple who were a wonderful example of being Christian at home.
When this couple had children, Nancy worked as their baby sitter. At one point, Nancy said to a family member, "If Len had a younger brother, I'd marry him!" Well, Nancy is now married to Len's younger brother Larry! The congregation laughed as Nancy shared the end of her story. The lesson was clear. While hypocrisy does serious damage at home, being Christian at home results in great blessings.
Using the sermon resource group
I found this experiment with a sermon resource group an exhilarating experience. The group could be utilized in a variety of ways.
Both my series, Christianity in the Marketplace and Stott's Issues Facing Britain, were topical in nature. A sermon resource group would also be helpful when preaching an expository series. In this setting, the composition of the group might not change each week, but rather group members might serve for the duration of a series.
Resource group members could be given the preaching passage to study for the upcoming sermon. In the group meeting, they could then dis cuss questions that arise from a study of the text. What does the text mean? How does it apply to my life today? Personal experiences and stories might emerge that shed light on the biblical concept under discussion.
The use of a sermon resource group as a strategy for the preparation of rel evant biblical sermons is not limited to large congregations. Stott says: "I am very reluctant to concede that even the small inner-city church and its hard-pressed pastor can manage nothing. If a carefully considered sermon on a current issue is impossible quarterly, is it really impossible annually? And if a congregation cannot produce from its own membership mature Christians who are specialists in their field, there must surely be some within reach who belong to other churches, but who would be willing to contribute their expertise to an occasional discussion group, and would even be surprised and gratified to be asked to do so."
A sermon resource group is by no means a crutch for lazy or careless preachers. The group will not write the sermon for the pastor. This process does not do away with the need for careful exegesis. However, I am convinced that the use of a sermon resource group will unleash the creative energies of your congregation, and it will help significantly in bringing a pastor's sermons to life.
According to Stott, "It is not just that the laity ask the questions and we answer them, since we too have to ask our questions for them to answer. It is rather that, by asking each other questions, we from the biblical perspective and they from the contemporary, we may together discern what answers should be given if the Word is to be contextualized in the world."7
1 John R.W. Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids, Mien.: William B. Eerdmans, 1982).
2 Stott, 199.
3 Interview with John R.W. Stott, August 12, 1996, by Derek J. Morris. Cited in Listening to the Listener: Audience Feedback as a Resource for Relevant Biblical Preaching. D.Min. thesis, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 1998, 111.
4 Stott, 199.
5 Ibid.
6 Sermon manuscripts and audio files are available on the Calimesa SDA Church Web site at <www.calimesasda.com>.
7 Stott, 200, 201.
