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| FPC, Lowville, NY |
We are still working on the third criterion used by the Mars Hill Church to define its branch congregations as "churches," which is, "The church regularly gathers to hear God’s Word rightly preached and to respond in worshipful ways." There's one more thing I'd like to deal with in terms of preaching: the phrase "God's Word rightly preached."
The first has to do with God's "Word," capital "W." We have to be clear that God's Word is Jesus Christ (John 1:1) and not the Bible, which is "the word of God written," small "w," to quote the Confession of 1967 of the Presbyterian Church (USA), section 9.27. (I dealt with this in a previous posting, "here"). While we preach from the Bible, what we always preach is Christ. It is important to remember that Christ constrains and binds scripture, and where the Bible contains things that do not reflect the love of Christ (e.g. the mass murder of non-Hebrews) we must reject the words of the Bible in the name of God's Word, Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that the PC(USA) ordains women in spite of clear teachings in the Bible forbidding us from doing so (see I Corinthians 14:34-35). We are constrained to do so by the Word of God, whatever the words of the Bible might say.
Second, we must also be clear about the idea of "right preaching." It sounds as though there is one kind of preaching that exhibits God's Word "rightly preached" and other kinds that don't. Actually, that might be the case, but if so not in the way probably intended by the authors of the Mars Hill criteria. "Right preaching" is best understood to be contextual preaching—that is, where the preacher reads the Bible in light of the congregation that will hear the message and seeks to deliver that message in ways that will be readily understood by the congregation. Good preaching translates the Bible into the local idiom using local images that reflect local concerns and needs. In a sense, then, "right preaching" is not biblically based but rather church based, applying the teachings of scripture to the situation of the church in light of the person of Christ. "Right preaching" does not impose an outside and infallible word on a church but, rather, shares the person of Christ in the local language. So then, "God's Word rightly preached" is churched-based and Christ-focused. Or, it is church-focused and Christ-centered. Or, good preaching arises out of the real needs of the real people of Lowville, NY, bringing God's Word, Jesus Christ, to bear on those needs. Amen.
The first has to do with God's "Word," capital "W." We have to be clear that God's Word is Jesus Christ (John 1:1) and not the Bible, which is "the word of God written," small "w," to quote the Confession of 1967 of the Presbyterian Church (USA), section 9.27. (I dealt with this in a previous posting, "here"). While we preach from the Bible, what we always preach is Christ. It is important to remember that Christ constrains and binds scripture, and where the Bible contains things that do not reflect the love of Christ (e.g. the mass murder of non-Hebrews) we must reject the words of the Bible in the name of God's Word, Jesus Christ. It is for this reason that the PC(USA) ordains women in spite of clear teachings in the Bible forbidding us from doing so (see I Corinthians 14:34-35). We are constrained to do so by the Word of God, whatever the words of the Bible might say.
Second, we must also be clear about the idea of "right preaching." It sounds as though there is one kind of preaching that exhibits God's Word "rightly preached" and other kinds that don't. Actually, that might be the case, but if so not in the way probably intended by the authors of the Mars Hill criteria. "Right preaching" is best understood to be contextual preaching—that is, where the preacher reads the Bible in light of the congregation that will hear the message and seeks to deliver that message in ways that will be readily understood by the congregation. Good preaching translates the Bible into the local idiom using local images that reflect local concerns and needs. In a sense, then, "right preaching" is not biblically based but rather church based, applying the teachings of scripture to the situation of the church in light of the person of Christ. "Right preaching" does not impose an outside and infallible word on a church but, rather, shares the person of Christ in the local language. So then, "God's Word rightly preached" is churched-based and Christ-focused. Or, it is church-focused and Christ-centered. Or, good preaching arises out of the real needs of the real people of Lowville, NY, bringing God's Word, Jesus Christ, to bear on those needs. Amen.
