John Bohannon » Mission Worship Preaching

Missing Any Homiletical Gears?

In my search for a used Jeep at a great price I came across just the right one—well, sort of. It had the right mileage, the right color, the right look, and the right price. Only one problem: it was missing a gear. In my research on the emerging church, I found that some pastors, similar to this Jeep, were either reluctant to engage the homiletical gear of heralding confrontationally, or they were missing it altogether.

Confrontational Preaching Can Be Offensive

For example, in an interview with Preaching, Dan Kimball asserts that a messenger of Jesus cannot just say, "We'll, you've got Jesus wrong. He ain't like Gandhi. That's offensive. He's the Son of God!" His reasoning, he argues, is this philosophy or method of confrontational preaching has the potential to "shut people out." His conclusion implies that it is unfortunate that "a lot of preaching forms have been like that."

Confrontational Preaching Can Be Effective

Ironically, Kimball's relevant counterpart (Mark Driscoll) often heralds in this exact manner—seeing it used by God to bring people into the church by the hundreds, if not thousands. Better yet, Kimball's missionary model, Jesus, likewise used direct and provoking language to expand his kingdom (John 4). His voice through Scripture continues this trend by commanding preaching that by definition will require confrontation, contending, and, yes, what Al Mohler refers to as the "cringe factor" (2 Tim 4:1–5). As D.A. Carson contends, there are multiple examples of confrontation in Scripture, "not only from the ministry of Jesus, but from the ministries of Peter, Paul, John, and others.... Think, for instance of Jude!" In an attempt to contextualize the message to a postmodern culture, in hopes that non-Christians might come to love Jesus and like the church, Kimball's non-confrontational homiletic might just inadvertently be itching the ears of those he is trying to reach.

Confrontational Preaching Should Be Biblical and Balanced

Therefore in light of Scripture and the role of the Holy Spirit, discarding or diluting this form of preaching might actually be an offense to God instead of an offense to man. As Greg Heisler notes, "The Holy Spirit of God is confrontational, and his conviction is powerful. He will not empower nonconfrontational preaching that waters down the gospel, compromises the Word, and takes sin lightly." Heralding with compassion, love, grace, and kindness is a biblical mandate, but no dichotomy need exist between these homiletical aims and the necessity of timely confrontation and/or purposeful contention. A balance then is called for in preaching that guards against what Brian Chapell refers to as getting "stuck in one gear," or just as detrimental, refusing to engage some homiletical gears all together. From Preaching and the Emerging Church, Chapter 10. Emerging Church Relevants: Kimball and Driscoll (pgs. 308-312). Get it here.