Choosing to Preach Discussion
#19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by Kent Anderson on August 26, 2006 19:19
Pragmatic sermons are often characterized by the words "How to" in the title: "How to Succeed as a Christian in Business" or "How to Find True Joy in Life," for example.
Do such how-to sermons create "consumer Christians?" Does catering to the listener’s needs create selfish believers?
(from page 167)
Replies
re: #19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by Sally Peng on Oct. 16, 2007 at 01:55
I think the “how-to” sermons do not necessarily create “consumer Christians.” The goal of pragmatic sermons is to change the lives of the listeners. It serves the ultimate goal of preaching the word of God. God’s people need to hear practical principles and advice for their daily lives based on the truth in the Bible. The role of a pragmatic preacher is to connect the needs of the listeners and the revelation from God found in the biblical truths. In this sense, pragmatic sermons themselves do not create selfish believers. However, if the sermon is designed to catering to the listeners’ needs, it is a dangerous thing. Preachers are the spokespersons of God; hence they should be faithful to God’s will. It is selfish of the preacher to just speak what the listeners want to hear instead of what God intends to tell them.
re: #19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by dave ellis on Feb. 13, 2007 at 23:21
I have heard a few to many sermons like this. And maybe that is the problem, we as preachers need to mix it up a bit or preach integratively. How to sermons seem to cater to the quick fix type, but it never seems to really stick. I find that when we really challenge people to think, when we dig into a passage, as a listener you are drawn into thinking more about what this means to your life, when you get it, its far more easy to then put that into practise in your life. Some times people just try to put into practice the how to’s with out really understanding the why. Another thing about how to sermons, it causes the listener to look to the preacher more for the answers while those that dig deeper into a passage model the importance of seeking out anwers in the scriptures. When was the last time you went back to your sermon notes for a how to sermon to help you with a issue you are facing. When our focus is more on a passage, often people will remember that passage, because you focused more on it, and they can go back to that passage and rediscover what God desires to say to them.
re: #19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by HeeJin Kim on Feb. 07, 2007 at 17:52
There is no reason to doubt that the church cannot be a ‘life-design’ clinic or a place where a ‘quick solution’ is prescribed. However, it is impossible for the church to supply any powerful medicine to listeners just by one or two sermons in reality. In this sense, "How-to" sermons might rather be considered as an effort to share the sufferings and agonies that people are undergoing in their real lives. As we may realize when we find that there are 46 "How-to" titles – including subtitles – even in the book of Robinson and Larson, the problem is caused by the content that follows the "How-to" phrase, rather than by "How-to" sermons themselves. Seeing that the majority of today’s world reject the idea of absolute truth, and this “truth-decay” is the root of all that’s wrong in our society (Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Title: Evaluate Yours with Four Questions), "How-to" sermons give us the opportunity to interest them in truth. I totally agree with Rick Warren in that we have the most important message in the world, which changes lives, and also that showing how a biblical principle meets a need can create a hunger for more truth.
re: #19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by Michelle Young on Feb. 05, 2007 at 12:11
I agree with Melissa in her response. Further, is it really possible to always have a set formula for Christian living? Read your Bible daily, Keep the commandments, Attend Worship on Sunday, then you will be good. Doesn’t this sound legalistic? I think the "How-to" sermons are catchy in that people in general want a quick fix when in deep trouble. These kind of title sermons will attract attention, so in a way it’s okay to use it. But in reality, how many things can be easily fixed by doing step one to step three? There are so many variables in between every step. Listeners cannot be led to believe in quick-fix answers esp. in the arena of Christian living.
re: #19 - How-To Sermons
Posted by Melissa Lane on Jan. 30, 2007 at 23:19
I am not sure that the problem with the how-to sermon is that they create consumer Christians. How-to sermons have their place, and can be incredibly helpful, but I have concerns when they are the primary form of preaching. The trouble is that when the how-too sermon becomes normative, the church becomes a "how-to" clinic, a spiritual self-help location that dishes out primarily easy answers and relatively easy steps for sometimes incredibly difficult problems. People may come to church, get the "fix" and go home, only to try the steps and become disillusioned when they don’t seem to make the difference they hoped for. It also runs the risk of being baby food rather than food for growing mature adults.