When Charles Spurgeon was accused of preaching sermons that were “Redolent of bad taste, vulgar, and theatrical” (the Ipswich Express) he commented in a letter to Editor of The Chelmsford Chronicle “I am perhaps vulgar, but it is not intentional, save that I must and will make the people listen.” (The Complete Works of C.H. Spurgeon, volume 67). Training and method is necessary, just as Spurgeon noted, to do what is needed to make the people listen.
Do we relegate the exercise of preaching to state of reliance on the Holy Spirit without pastoral education, training, discipline, technique and method? I believe (and I know that many disagree) that the pastor/preacher should be educated in Scripture and should employ techniques to facilitate comprehension to his audience. Preachers and pastors need to understand how to write and deliver a sermon. And this is done in reliance on the Holy Spirit both in the delivering and receiving of the message.
Likewise, “worship leaders” (if they are used in a local church) should be trained and disciplined. They should examine the songs presented for biblical correctness. And the music should be such as would facilitate genuine worship and communicate or be identifiable with the congregation.
Reliance on the Holy Spirit is not an excuse for neglect. That said, I’ve seen both preacher and “worship leader” turn a service into a show. I’ve also seen services overly criticized. We need to be just as careful in our criticism of other churches for shedding our stylistic expectations as we are in our own churches in guarding doctrine and genuine worship.
Personally, there are very few elements in contemporary worship that appeal to me. But I am not everyone.
