It’s True, But Is It Passionate?
Buying the argument that a Pastor must in some sense be a “generalist,” I’ve been intentionally trying to vary the books I read between disciplines. I try to read from a variety of genres/disciplines, fiction, theology proper, practical theology, pastoral, biographies, etc. Some books prove to be more challenging than others and some books tend to “hit home” a bit more than others. One such book has been Preaching With Passion by Alex Montoya.
Alex Montoya serves as Senior Pastor of First Fundamental Bible Church in Monterey Park, CA and as Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministries at the Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, CA. I have had the privilege of hearing Montoya preach once in person and to this day, I can say that it was one of the most memorable sermons I have heard. What has always stuck with me was the delivery; not only was the content great, but the delivery nailed it.
That’s why I immediately picked up this book when I saw it. I knew that if anyone had the right to write a book entilted Preaching With Passion, Alex Montoya was that man, and here is that book.
Montoya builds on an idea unpopular particularly among Reformed circles: “How we deliver the sermon is as important as what we deliver.” I say that this is particularly unpopular among Reformed circles (in which I travel) because there is a tendency (not just there) to aim at merely the head, to give doctrine. We try to separate the indicative of the text from the imperative and we just want theology.
Theology is immensely important and cannot for one second be under-emphasized. Oh that more churches in our day understood the importance of teaching sound doctrine because they are teaching doctrine regardless! How many sheep have been led astray with notions of “Don’t give me doctrine, just give me Jesus!” We must know about Jesus, we must know doctrine!
And that’s just the key isn’t it? Ultimately, doctrine is nothing less than truth about God. Montoya, quoting W.A. Criswell argues:
“There is something wrong if a man charged with the greatest news in the world can be listless and rigid and dull. Who is going to believe that the glad tidings brought by the preacher means literally more than anything else on earth if they are presented with no verve or fire or attack, and if the man himself is apathetic, uninspired, afflicted with spiritual coma in unsaying by his attitude what he says in words?”
Montoya argues that “Without passion, the sermon becomes a lecture, an address, or a moral speech. If there is no passion, there is no preaching.” These are convicting words indeed because I often struggle with the delivery of my sermons, not because I don’t believe these things, not because my soul has not been ignited, but because I often feel self-conscious in the pulpit, which I have had to remind myself is sin; it is nothing less than the fear of man and it has no place in the pulpit.
Many of our Reformed-minded churches are not lacking in Truth, but they are lacking in passion and in the end, they might just be undermining their pursuit of doctrine if it does not overflow in doxology. It is very rare that a congregation will rise above the level of its leadership and if our leaders are not visibly moved by these truths, how can we expect our people to be?
The antidote in many Reformed churches has been to preach longer sermons, arguing that we simply need “more time to fully develop the arguments.” But Montoya argues that “Preaching longer sermons only prolongs the agony” and that “A short sermon is not a sign of shallowness (consider the Sermon On The Mount), nor is a long sermon a sign of depth!”
What’s missing is passion! Montoya says “The people whom we serve are in need of a word from the Lord. The Living Word must show through a living preacher to a soul in need of life.”
Examine your heart’s response to your studies. Do doctrines lodge in your head or do they find their way to your heart, igniting its fire of praise to the Almighty Creator, Sustainer and Fortress? If you preach, are you willing to show your people that these truths move you to your core, because if they don’t, you might be losing your audience to apathy. Please pray that God, beginning with me, would raise up men fueled by passionate praise of our God, that our preaching would be marked by passion.
- Read Preaching With Passion by Alex D. Montoya.
- Visit Montya’s profile page at the Master’s Seminary website.
- Visit the First Fundamental Bible Church of Monterey Park website.
I recently read Augustine’s On Christian Teaching, wherein he says that preaching should do three things: teach, delight, and move. It should teach good doctrine, it should delight by being enjoyable to listen to, and it should move us to action. Some sermons will have more or less of each of these elements, but all must be included. By Augustine’s rubric, it seems that Reformed people are missing out on the element of delight. A fair amount of Reformed preaching seems to be styled in reaction to either out of control “charismatics” or american evangelical anti-intellectualism. As such it becomes either overly reserved, overly cognitive, or both. I think Augustine offers a helpful model which will help preachers to engage their congregations, which will in turn enable believers to effectively be salt and light.
Thanks for this post.
This past weekend I heard Voddie Baucham speak at a conference. The content was very convicting but the nail was driven deeper by the sight of a man of his stature ans conviction preaching with streams of tears pouring down his face. He was not asking us to reform our lives around the biblical teachings, he was truly PLEADING with us to do so.
I agree that we must allow the message we bring to move us, whether that be tears, laughter, and at times even anger!
Brent,
I’ve heard Piper give similar words of counsel, which is why he argues that preaching is “expository exultation.” I fully agree with Montoya’s burden. Piper points out that passion must be discernable if truth is to be commended. I read a quote that was particularly helpful from John Owen that stated that we must “commune with God in the doctrine we contend for.”
Thanks for this helpful post. You continue to contribute thoughtful commentary on a variety of issues.
Brent,
Thanks for this post — so true. I feel that my profession as an entertainer essentially boils down to that of a communicator. Communicating something — an idea, a song, a joke — to an audience. Therefore, I, like you, have qualms with preachers who are not more diligent in being visually and verbally passionate about the way they deliver life-changing truths. Good post — very well said.
Carey D
Great thoughts! It seems it’s another issue where balance is the key. Content is obviously crucial, but if we have the best content in the world & people sleep thru it, we haven’t really done the job. But we can’t spend so much time on the delivery & making it “interesting” that the content suffers.
I know that too often in my preaching I felt like I was boring. And I suppose there’s some difference in preaching with passion & engaging your audience. In retrospect, I think I found it much easier to be passionate about things that angered me than things that thrilled & excited me.
These are things we all need to keep in the front of our minds.
Great post!
My wife and I were involved in the charismatic faith for many, many years and left six years ago after being led to the doctrines of grace by a good friend. We have experienced worship from both sides of the aisle so to speak.
First of all let me say that God has blessed our family in so many ways by leading us to the reformed faith. My wife and I know God, scripture and doctrine in ways that we could never have imagined in the beginning. Our children know more scripture and doctrine than many adults. However, I struggle with balancing grace and truth. I don’t want to end up with little Pharisees who possess much head knowledge but no heart affection.
I have told my fellow reformed friends when they ridicule the “charismaniacs” that both groups have much to learn from one another. You don’t have to wonder if they have a passion for Jesus. It is very evident. That is the one thing I do miss about the charismatic movement. Sure there were abuses of the spiritual gifts and emotional excess at times, but I see abuses in the reformed camp of the intellectual type.
Why is it that Christians can go to a sporting event or concert and scream, shout and jump up and down with reckless abandon for their favorite team or narcissist athlete or musician, but when it comes to worshiping Jesus, they become very stoic and self-conscience? I wonder if we Calvinists are sometimes more in love with our doctrine than our Lord.
Sb
This is a good post. I have read “Preaching with Passion” and found it very insightful.