This is a part of my thesis proposal. I left out some of the technical stuff. Please let me know what you think if you have any thoughts.
INTRODUCTION
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” These words from the book of Amos have been ringing throughout the ages. One can easily peruse the historical literature of any generation and find a longing for the word of the Lord to be proclaimed. Our day is no different.
In an age when all truth may be questioned and any form of authority is under attack, the role of the preacher is in limbo. Some are questioning whether or not preaching is valid. Others, less extreme, are trying to find “new” forms to preach the word of the Lord. Maybe we need more dialogue, more narrative, more transparency, more technology, more, more, more. A short visit to the local Seminary library or Amazon's website will let the preacher know that the material on preaching has certainly become over inflated.
But the question remains, even after the overload of books on the subject, “where can I go to hear the word of the Lord?” Maybe the problem in our day is the same as in the day of Amos. The lack of hearing the word of the Lord has to do with the lack of Godly prophets to proclaim it. Preachers are prepared to write sermons, to be creative, and to be aware of the changing tides of culture. But these are not the primary objectives of the preacher. Until the preacher has heard the word of the Lord, he has nothing to say. Until there is silence, the preacher can not hear the whisper of God's word to proclaim. Our preachers must first be transformed by the Lord God Almighty and then they may begin the task of preaching. God's work on the preacher is primary to the task of preaching.
Thesis Statement
When God is transforming the receptive preacher and establishing His authority in the preacher, then the potential for spiritual transformation in the hearers is increased.
Notice that the most important element in the condition is God. It is God who transforms the preacher into a receptor for His word. It is God who establishes authority in the preacher. It is God who brings about transformation in the hearers. God is the catalyst for preaching, the subject of preaching, and the force in preaching. This can never be forgotten.
As it concerns our studies here, the work that God does on and in the preacher is our major point of emphasis. For this reason, most of the material discussed herein will be about how God transforms the preacher and establishes authority in the preacher. The two key words in these sections will be “receptive” and “His”, meaning God. The preacher must be receptive to be transformed and the only authority that is of any good to the hearers is God's authority.
Finally, in thorough study of the Scriptures and the related reading on the subject, one can not deny the role that the spiritual receptivity of the audience plays in the preaching event. For this reason, the word “potential” is chosen. Most of the prophets did not receive a good hearing. Paul and the disciples were all persecuted in numerous and various ways for right preaching of the word of the Lord. Jesus was crucified for speaking the very words of life. It is critical to remember that effective preaching is not measured by how well the hearers receive the words of the preacher. Rather our only measurement for faithfully preaching the word of the Lord is the spiritual transformational work done in the life of the hearer. Outside the scope of this paper is the discussion of what the hearer needs to bring to the preaching to make it a holistic life transforming event. What will be discussed is how if the preacher decreases and the Lord increases, the hearers are more able to see Jesus and not the preacher. In this way, potential to be transformed by the Lord is increased.
Research Significance
As stated above, there is always a need within every generation to fight for the right preaching of the word of the Lord. It is constantly being called into question, both in terms of the why and the how. But what ultimately brought about the concern for this subject was a noticed lack of emphasis on the work of God in the preacher in the literature and classes for preaching. Among the many books on preaching, most are really books on sermons, sermon writing, sermonizing, or how to do preaching in a new way. If there is anything about the work of God on the preacher, it is usually left to a small chapter at the beginning or end and then forgotten throughout the rest of the work. As far as classes go, I could not remember discussing this subject much at Florida Christian College in my foundational preaching classes, so I went back to the syllabi. Much to my dismay, I found an introductory lesson on the subject of the preacher and his inner life. From that point forward it seemed quite lacking.
In short, the significance of this work is to raise awareness that the most important work in preaching is God's work. God's work on the preacher. God's work on the hearers. God's work before the sermon. God's work during the sermon. God's work after the sermon. There are enough sermonizers, creative story tellers, moralistic teachers, and social justice promoters. There is a great need for a renewed generation of preachers who are shaped by God to proclaim His word with His authority so that lives will be transformed. I am quite concerned that the most important part of preaching, God, has been taken for granted in the current state of preaching. If the statements made throughout appear obvious to the reader, then praise be to God.
Research Scope
Most of the scope has been discussed within the defining of the thesis statement, but there are several other important things to consider. God will be used throughout the paper in various ways. In researching this topic, it becomes quite apparent that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all play a role in the preaching of the word. Therefore, as is appropriate each one will be discussed in how they work in the preacher and the preaching event. If a distinction is not made, it is to be understood that the whole Godhead is in view.
Also, the preacher will be spoken of in the masculine third person throughout. This paper is not meant to discuss the roles of women and men in preaching. The assumption of the author is that men are to proclaim the word of God in the preaching event. Although this is an important issue of debate, in order to be efficient in both time and space, those discussions need to be had elsewhere.
The preaching event refers to any setting where the word of the Lord is proclaimed by the preacher to an audience of hearers. The number of hearers is not significant, but in view is certainly not a discussion between two friends over coffee. It needs to be understood that there is certainly a Biblical distinction of “crying out” or “proclaiming” the word of the Lord versus discussions or dialogues in scripture. This issue will be dealt with marginally in the last section of the paper. Both believers and unbelievers could be present at the preaching event.
Transforming and spiritual transformation will be discussed in greater detail in the paper, but it needs to be said up front what is not meant by these words. Emotional responses, moral changes, and intellectual understanding may very well happen as a result of the transformation being referred to here, but they are not the goal. The idea behind transformation is the transformation into the new life in Christ. The goal is to become what God wants us to become, His children, His people, His bride.
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