AS
1 Samuel 3:19 Thus Samuel grew
and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail.
One of
our professors used to make a funny but true statement at school. Whenever as a
class we would struggle to come up with a natural interpretation of what a text
meant and try to be deep or manufacture the meaning of a given passage. He
would stand in front of the class, hold up His bible and as if talking to
little children say to us “Guys, this is simple. God wrote a book. And He chose
to use human language. He did not use bird language or fish language.”
As
simple as that may sound, that statement has huge implications for how we
approach ministry. As I
think about Township Reformation I’m reminded of a recent meeting I had with a
pastor from a village in Swaziland. His approach to the bible is typical of
what has become normal in our Townships. The Bible is a tool that people use to
say what they want to say. The general feeling is that “God reveals something
to me in private and the bible must line up with what God has showed me.” We laboured with Him for 4 hours on the issue
of spiritual warfare. We tried to get Him to read the actual words of the text.
He would read the words but then give a different interpretation to what the
words are saying. At some point in the conversation it became clear that there
is another authority that governs Him besides the Bible. Although many Churches
in the Township boast that they are Bible Preaching Churches. Upon close
scrutiny to what is preached on a weekly basis, one concludes that it is not
the Bible that is being preached but people’s opinions, psychology, self-help
theology and private revelations. Biblical Preaching has become so light in our
Townships that words don’t mean anything anymore. The situation is so typical.
After a couple of minutes in the sermon, the pastor will build His case, the
congregation will respond with loud “Amen’s”, and after heightened emotional ecstasy
the pastor will tell how he feels that someone’s blessing is coming or some
other prediction regarding what he feels God is revealing to Him. A man can
stand on the pulpit and throw words around whilst people say “Amen” to that but
nothing actually changes in people’s lives. The congregation goes home, and
come back the following week and hears the same rhetoric. You would think someone
would call a time-out and be shocked that a man who stands on behalf of God on
the pulpit has made a statement that claims divine authority but nobody saw its
fulfillment. But unfortunately people come again the following week and the
show continues.
History shows us that
preceding every great revival was the true preaching of God’s word. If we are
serious about Township Reformation then it is inevitable that we have to be
serious about the true preaching of God’s word .As my Professor said that “God
wrote a book.” He used subjects. He used verbs. He used objects and clauses to
communicate truth to us. Any preaching of God’s word that does not take
seriously first and foremost the basic building block of language (words)
presumes on God. It makes God seem as if He was confused or did not really
intend to say what He said in the book. I am aware that it will take some time
for our people to get used to logical, systematic study and preaching of God’s
word because of our cultural backgrounds. But anything that we use to shortcut
that process will also shortcut what God meant to say to us. If there is one
doctrine that we must hammer on in our Townships, it is the doctrine of the
sufficiency of scripture. Let’s bring back the Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Written by Sibusiso
Mlotshwa
Great article Sbu! I think one of the contributing factors to this is that a lot of preachers do not have a basic understanding of the doctrine of Inspiration which is that the bible is the word of God through the words of men. Many ascribe to the scriptures magical powers and mysteries that can only be decoded by the initiated few.
ReplyDeleteIt would be helpful to explain the historico-grammatical method of exposition and from there build on to more advanced methods of biblical interpretation such as synchronic snap-shots and diachronic trace.
Great article indeed. Lets bring back the Book!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest problems we face is that many preachers are not trained (formal or informal). Subsequently we have ill prepared people in the pulpit who will do and say almost anything to get an amen or hallelujah from the crowd. Quite a number look up to TV preachers as a source of study.
ReplyDeleteThose of us who have had the privilege of sound doctrinal training should plant churches in these communities. Furthermore we should begin to engage some of the more reasonable pastors in some short informal training programmes.