There are preachers of every ilk and style to satisfy a multitude of tastes — passionate screamers, academicians, motivational speakers types, fire and brimstone doom proclaimers, everything-is-beautiful tree huggers, tattooed and pierced prophets, just to name a few. That tells me that God must have an amazing sense of humor in some cases, but more importantly, His character is one of justice, mercy, and love with massive doses of tolerance for diversity. God offers His family messengers to proclaim His Kingdom suitable for every cultural context and people group. What medium may appeal to one group doesn’t for another. Nevertheless, the core message must be what God is saying. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 9:22 says, “To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.”
Style is a personal thing, and there is plenty of discussion on which is better, more appropriate, more exciting, more effective, more whatever. You can take courses on how to be a better speaker, how to construct a three point sermon, how to captivate your audience, how to “be yourself” and still proclaim a common gospel targeted to a specific audience. What appeals to me personally is more the content of what is said than the delivery mode. I often take note about whether there is a string of personal story telling centered around some moral or ethical principle, which can be very entertaining, or a clear discernment and presentation of Scripture in its context. Is there any mention of Scripture at all? Is there a point where the message of the gospel is lost in the frenzy or dazzle of the human or even electronic medium?
I admit that I am more apt to listen to passionate preaching over endless droning, but I don’t require gymnastics to hold my attention. For me, it is the scaffolding of the content, where Scripture and experiential examples are well connected, and more importantly, where handling Scripture convinces me that the time put into listening was well worth it and even life changing. I’m certainly not against using the tools of media. On the contrary, I am convinced that the technological innovations are God-inspired to reach this generation. Nevertheless, if the purpose of the message is to proclaim God’s Word, the message must shine brighter than the medium. The medium supports the message, not the reverse. I believe we really can have both passion and substance wrapped in a medium that holds and motivates attention when medium and message strike a good balance.
Copyright 2015 by Eva Benevento. All rights reserved.