Cleaning the Pulpit

It is clear from too many sources that there are still pastors today who are unclear on the rules of the road, so to speak. They aren't "with it", up to date, savvy. They don't understand what is expected of them and, well, not expected. So let's see if I can help clean out some of the clutter and trash you might still find in a few pulpits today.

The old time religion was all about sin. You know, "Repent, heathen!" and that sort of thing. Modern churches are moving away from that kind of thing. Preaching about sin is just, well, irritating. It alienates the audience and pushes people out the door. What you want to do is preach a friendly (and necessarily short) sermon. Maybe a homily or something. Not all that stuff about sin, you know. I mean, sure, Jesus talked a lot about sin. He said something about "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:1-5) and rambled on about how "lust is adultery" (Matt 5:26-28) and "hate is murder" (Matt 5:21-22), but that was then and this now. Go easy on the sin thing.

Another vestige from those "fire and brimstone" days is ... fire and brimstone -- Hell. Many preachers today have figured out that this is not a topic worthy of the pulpit. It makes people uncomfortable. It might push people away. No one likes the subject at all. This is something that you may have ideas about, but they should not come out of a preacher's mouth on a Sunday morning. Just because Jesus spoke more graphically of Hell than anyone else and ranted about torment and judgment and all that is no reason why a Christian preacher needs to do the same. Trust me, if you want numbers in the pews, you'll skip this topic.

While we're talking about things that push people away, consider the subject of exclusivity. Seriously, is there anything more arrogant than "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Act 4:12)? And where would you get the idea that no one comes to the Father but by Jesus? It's all too ... narrow-minded. No loving God would reject a well-behaved, non-Christian fellow simply because he picked the wrong savior. All roads lead to Rome, you know, and preaching exclusivity is just a way to eliminate congregants.

Oh, and, listen, before we leave that whole "sin" and "Hell" thing that you should avoid, there's another in the same boat. Whatever you do, avoid the subject of wrath. Any wrath. Wrath of God. Don't let the sun set on your anger. The Bible says, "God has not destined us for wrath" (1 Thess 5:9), so let's not even go there. Jesus didn't mention "wrath". Why should you? I mean, sure, Paul did (Rom 1:18; 2:5,8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; 12:19; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6) and maybe you'll find it in Revelation (something like 12 times) and in Hebrews a few times, and, of course, sprinkled liberally in the Old Testament, but surely that's no reason to bring it up in your pulpit.

Look there's an easy way to clean these kinds of things out of your sermon. There is one nasty word that appears too often in too many conservative, narrow-minded, poorly-thought-out Christian preaching that, if eliminated, would make everyone feel much better. The word is "obedience". Look, it sounds like dog training or something. We all know that Christianity isn't about obedience. It's about love and about grace and about mercy and about liberty. Sounds like Pharisees to me. Not all that legalism or telling people what to do. Well, maybe Jesus mentioned it once or twice. Okay, He said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). He said, "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love" (John 15:10). He said, "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 5:19). And I suppose it might be similar when He commanded, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matt 28:19-20). But, look, is that any reason to make obedience an issue?

So, let's recap. Sin, Hell, wrath, obedience -- avoid these things. And by no means should you bring up anything about exclusivity. Or anything else that sounds judgmental. "Judge not", you know. Now, it may be argued that you're cutting out a major portion of what Jesus taught and it would, in fact, be true, but at least you're not alienating people and that's what Christianity is all about, isn't it? I mean, surely you're not going to suggest that it's about following Christ, are you? Here, let's make this easy. Since all that stuff is in the Bible and so much of it ought to be avoided, maybe you should just avoid the Bible. Many are already there. Get with the program!

Just don't call it "Christian".