Tonight is one of the those nights that I knew what I was going to write all day, since this morning when I read the daily devotional by A W Tozer. I'll post it, and share my thoughts afterward. As a backdrop, every month has a theme, and this month is preaching.
Since I can't find a way to copy and paste into this Blog, I'll sum up his devotional in this statement he makes. "The freshest thought to visit the mind, should be the thought of God". He makes the point that probably one of the absolutes of the event of preaching is the ability to capture the attention of the audience, for their long-term benefit. If a preacher comes up, does not speak well, is mundane, says things which are not very relatable, the intended long-term effect of the authorial intent the preacher had, will not be there.
If you can listen to John Piper's shpeal on preaching, when he talked about George Whitefield. Absolutely amazing! The gist of George Whitfield was, if actors so act to convince you of something fake, how much should we use tools of communication to convince others of what is real. Think about it! What is more deserving of passion, of intellectual input, of rhetoric, of presentation and speaking skills, but the word of God.
It's so interesting! I've told my wife this so many times. "If consumerism were a monster, advertising and marketing would be its arms and legs." Billions and billions of dollars are spent each year......on trying convince you need something you really don't. Buy this new contraption, it will REVOLUTIONIZE your life....buy this doo-hicky for your couch, it will improve your digestive system.....it's all craziness! Advertising is a multi-billion dollar business!
What if we presented the gospel, like these companies try to convince consumers on buying things they don't really need! Just putting it out there....what if? What if God's people got it together, and made campaigns! Now, I know churches like Mars Hill, and Willow Creek, and Harvest Bible Chapel, and Bethlehem Baptist Church do make an effort in this arena. But just what if we pushed the envelope even more. I am not even sure what that would look like to be honest. It's been on my heart, and I'm not sure where it will go from here. Perhaps other peoples hearts will be stirred too. What do you think? Am I crazy? Are city-wide, or nation-wide campaigns feasible? Is the gospel worthy? Is God's glory that worthy to be magnified in people's hearts turning to Him as an outcome of these campaigns?
I'm trying to think of recent history of things of this magnitude. Billy Graham crusades....I know Charles Spurgeon and Dwight L Moody spoke to THOUSANDS in their day.
I'm going to leave it at that for right now....what do you think? What are you thinking?
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