The other day, I wrote about the challenges of reviewing a book of sermons. There are more general challenges with hearing/reading sermons from other contexts. I don’t generally encourage people to get their spiritual food from searching the web to find sermons from famous preachers and that’s not to do with theological soundness. I’d be reluctant to get my teaching from John Piper or Tim Keller sermons as well as from Creflo Dollar or Joseph Prince.
Why? Well preaching is about proclaiming God’s Word into a particular context. Preachers do best when they are engaging with the congregation in front of them. So, the preacher is either intentionally focusing in on their congregation and the needs where they are, in which case, they are likely to be dealing with issues not so pertinent to you. Alternatively, they may know that the sermon is going to be heard in a wider context. The risk then is that they generalise the application so that it becomes less concrete and specific. I struggle with conference sermons for the same reason.
Now, I struggle to listen to podcasts/YouTube talks so I have personal reasons why I don’t engage much with the online sermon. However, I know that others do find it helpful to listen to something whilst in the car or walking. In fact, I’ve found that people, generally speaking seem to prefer listening to a Faithroots podcast than reading an article. So, if and when you are listening, how can you best benefit?
First, it is also important to say to potential preachers that we don’t benefit from attempting to mimic other preachers in style or content. This means that I definitely would not encourage you to use another person’s talk. They have preached that sermon in their way because they are who they are and that was their context. It was right for them and their congregation at the time. I saw a recent article by a friend explaining that we don’t have to preach like Spurgeon. You can add “or Lucas, Stott, Billy Graham or John Piper.” And that’s leaving aside the danger of plagiarism.
However, do listen first to be edified. Remember that they are speaking to specific people in a different situation. So, to apply things in your context, you’ll need to ado a little bit of work. When you get time, sit down and jot down first why their application was specifically relevant to their church and then by way of analogy, what the application might be for you.
And yes, if you are a preacher, having listened to be edified, listen back again to see what you can learn from this other preacher. Think about how they order their material, their tone, how the congregation respond and how the preacher is affected by this. Consider the types of illustrations they use. Every time, ask why and think about the difference between their context and yours.
If you are listening to learn for your own preaching, then please don’t just listen to a few of your favourite famous preachers. Take time to listen to/watch the sermons of preachers in ordinary church contexts. Observe how someone pastors a smaller congregation well through their preaching. By the way, you might want to listen to/watch secular speakers too, comedians, politicians, lecturers, to see how they communicate.
So make wise use of the experience and gifts of others. First seek to be fed, then see how they can help you to grow in your gifting.
Faithroots 