The answer to this question is really rooted in the previous two posts. But to restate what I said on Monday, most of what people consider to be good preaching really isn’t good preaching at all. A preacher simply entertaining a congregation isn’t preaching. A speaker that is able to move an audience emotionally doesn’t mean that he is a good preacher.
The problem is that we have associated good preaching with being entertained. We think the faster the time goes by during the message, the better the preacher; the more interesting the stories and illustrations, the better the preacher; the more I am stirred emotionally then the better job that the preacher did. We have even taken it as far as comparing one preacher to another and judging who is better based on entertainment more than accurate biblical content.
An even more dangerous way of determining good preaching is basing it on the response at an invitation. Just because a lot of people respond during the invitation doesn’t mean that a biblical message has been preached. I have been in services where no Scripture has been used but many people went forward during the invitation as a result of a sad and emotional story being told at the end of the message. Emotion never initiates a true spiritual decision, it is the result of a knowledge-based decision.
So what is ‘good’ preaching? The answer is found in the definition of expository preaching that we used yesterday. Let me highlight the main points plus add a few of my own. Good preaching is:
- A comprehensive explanation of the Scripture
- Making the passage clear and understandable
- Exposing the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse
- Using the Bible passage as the topic, not as support material for the topic
- Preaching the true message of Scripture, not using the Bible to preach your own message
Some of these points are very closely related but together they provide the basis of what is ‘good’ preaching. If a pastor never comprehensively explains a passage of Scripture, if he does not make the passage clear and understandable, if he does not expose the meaning of the Bible verse by verse, if he uses the Bible as support material, and if he uses the Bible to preach his own message; then I would have to say that he is not a good preacher. This is not based on entertainment value, how fast the time goes by, or how many people respond. It is based on content, and the 5 points listed above is what leads to good, accurate, and biblical content.