Nice Chat!

So this morning on my way to a one-day leadership conference at a local post-graduate institution I was met by someone who I recently ran into because I was teaching at a chapel event in another college setting. After the usual pleasantries (Good morning… How are you?) This very nice man said to me something that has been haunting me for some time now… he said…

“Thanks for the talk the other day!”

Hmmmmmm… as a preacher and teacher of the gospel I think the last thing that most people in my shoes wants to hear is… “Nice talk today!” OR “That was a nice chat you gave us today!”

REALLY?

To think that I spent the past 20 ⁺ hours of my life preparing for a “Nice talk” or a “Nice discussion” is rather disconcerting… disturbing… and just a little unsettling.

You see… as a pastor and teacher of the WORD of God the last thing that I want is give a nice little talk! To give a nice talk… or chat… or speech when handling the most powerful material in the world is almost akin to striking out on three straight pitches with the game on the line! It is equivalent to dropping the ball on the one yard line in overtime! It is the same as coughing up the puck with the Stanley Cup on the line and giving the other team’s best scorer a clear cut breakaway!

SERIOUSLY!

The Bible contains God’s message to a world that truly needs to hear another way of doing life in these challenging and sometimes confusing times! And a sermon is designed to be the vessel that God uses to communicate His desires through those He chooses to speak on His behalf! God’s WORD changes lives… transforms broken people and families… brings LIFE to desperate situations and circumstances!

SO… to hear that all my efforts produce nothing more than a “Nice chat”… or a “Good speech”… or some “Nice thoughts”… is almost like hearing fingernails on a blackboard to me… and to most people in the preaching world.

The author of the New Testament letter of Hebrews reminds us of the TRUTH of the WORD when he writes this in chapter 4… verse 12…

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” ~Hebrews 4:12 NLT

The WORD is alive and powerful… and it has NEVER been meant to be simply words solely for discussion and entertainment… the substance of a nice chat on Sunday morning… or whenever God’s people gather together!

Personally… I appreciate the sentiment behind the words that so many people seem to use in the context of the hearing of God’s WORDS to His people gathered wherever that may be! BUT I gotta say… if all we get out of the preaching of the WORD is simply another piece of information in a world of informational overload then we may want to re-think some things in our lives.

Every time the WORD is shared it is an opportunity to learn of the LOVE of God… His plans and purposes and then to build the TRUTH revealed into our lives!

Eugene Peterson puts it best in his book… “Eat This Book” when he writes…

“Christians feed on Scripture. Holy Scripture nurtures the holy community as food nurtures the human body. Christians don’t simply learn or study or use Scripture; we assimilate it, take it into our lives in such a way that it gets metabolized into acts of love, cups of cold water, missions into all the world, healing and evangelism and justice in Jesus’ name.”

SO… the next time you are tempted to politely say to that pastor who has prayed… lived… and breathed the WORD in order to deliver a message… “Nice chat” may I suggest… just walk on by… just walk on by!

In His Service…

Rev Trev