Lots of preachers and speakers know what “homiletics” is all about; the art of sermon construction. But it seems few understand the subject of biblical “hermeneutics;”which is the study of the principles of biblical interpretation.

 

Bible interpretation has a number of distinct laws; laws of interpretation such as:

 

• The law of first mention – when a word or concept is first used in scripture God indicates in the first mention of a subject the truth with which that subject stands connected in His mind. For instance the first time “house of God” is mentioned in Genesis the connection is with “... how awesome is this place!” 
• The Agreement Principle: The truthfulness and faithfulness of God become the guarantee that he will not set forth any passage in his word that contradicts any other passage. In our evangelical statements of faith we declare the Bible is inspired and infallible and without contradiction; it would be good if our preaching followed this principle too.

 

There has been a recent trend the last decade of new preachers not necessarily having to attend traditional bible colleges but learn on the go in the local church. This trend both excites me and concerns me. It excites me because many new preachers are finding their voices and not being dislocated from local churches. However, the trend concerns me because it seems to me that many have missed out of on learning the foundations of theology; of which hermeneutics is an important and vital subject. 

 

There seems to be a missing step in the process for some; that missing step is subjects like hermeneutics. Without good principles for biblical interpretation there is the chance of and the likelihood of faulty interpretation and unscriptural applications. It may make for exciting communications even a humorous delivery but if we believe that the word of God changes our lives then there is a great burden upon us to accurately deliver God’s word.

 

2 Corinthians 4:2-3, “... we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.” 

 

It is vital we understand the principles of interpretation to accurately “set forth the truth plainly.” Personal development is vital and to meet this need I want to suggest that those speakers who have missed the tradition of bible school to make sure they study this subject and make themselves aware of the principles of interpretation to accurately handle the word of God.

 

Book recommendation:

Principles of Biblical Interpretation by Louis Berkhof

 

 

 

Tom

No matter what size our churches we are so often tempted to spend the bulk of our time working IN the church. Instead of developing leaders and creating teams we find ourselves doing the busy work of the church. This is not the biblical principle we should work to.

Paul when writing to the church in Ephesus made it clear what the roles should be for those who have been called to lead should be; Ephesians 4:11-13, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” 

If you are a “gift ministry” of Christ, then your work is to “prepare” God’s people for works of service. To prepare, to place them in the right place, to see their gifts and talents and arrange them so as to see them fulfilling the potential within each of them.

To prepare them is to give appropriate training, add skill sets, and develop them into great servants of God; to build these people into teams and motivate them to work for the glory of God. To prepare these people to carry the responsibility of leadership so they can in turn do the work of ministry.

To accomplish this we need perspective enough to see people’s potential and release them. This is work ON the church. I know this sounds simple but I stand amazed at how busy pastors and leaders are these days. Success in ministry is not measured by how many hours you work, how much sweat you give off nor is it how tired you feel at the end of a day.

Our success is in building teams, developing people and creating leaders who can lead. Our success is creating a culture of leadership that produces momentum.

 

 

Tom.

Mark 2: 1 – 5

People make extra ordinary moves to connect with God; most of the time they don't know its God they need. What motivates them is this internal and eternal drive for purpose, satisfaction and fulfilment.

Some find this sense of fulfilment for a moment when they peak on their drug of choice or at the moment of an intense sexual event; other find it at the peak of a party or during a drinking session with friends. The problem is this feeling is transient, fleeting, passing and short-lived. It meets the moment but doesn’t satisfy for long.

With a generation going to extraordinary lengths to connect with God surely there is a church willing to go extraordinary lengths to connect with these people.

To be a people motivated by the cause of Christ requires us to be as radical as Christ – touch the untouchable, love the unlovable and go further than any organisation to connect desperate people with a God desperate to meet them.

My goal is to get these desperate people into the same room as a desperate God who loves them. I will go to extraordinary lengths to achieve this. 

 

 

Tom 

 

What makes a great church?

 

I’ve just been to Gilead Church in Gothenburg Sweden and this question hit my mind. What makes a great church? 

It’s not the size of the church – small churches can be great churches. But a great church won't stay small either – the very nature of a great church is expansion, growth and increase. 

To name a few ingredients of a great church:

• Externally focused; more concerned with how outsiders see the church than how the “faithful” see things.
• A great culture; passionate, professional, pursuing excellence, contemporary music, welcoming for visitors. You know 1^st impressions are lasting impressions. 
• The whole experience of church is accessible to 21^st century people. You walk in and “feel at home;” there are elements of church which you recognise and relate too.
• Developing leaders with a sense of mission. I love seeing leaders who know where they are going and what they are doing – they are the answer to the church not just problem indicators they come with solutions.
• A senior leader with a sense of destiny! Anders and Camilla impress me as leaders with destiny running through their blood veins! They have a vision and the drive to see it fulfilled.

I loved being at Gilead! One of Sweden’s great churches! They have started a second service and seeing over 350 people every weekend! People are connecting with Christ each and every week! This is developing to become one of Europe’s outstanding churches.

 

Tom Rawls

Senior Leader, Proclaimers

www.proclaimers.com 

 

My blog is the ideas below, I think they should tweek your interest!

Leadership Quotes

• The greatest despair is not to become the person you were meant to be. (Søren Kierkegaard)
• We do more talking progress than we do progressing. (Will Rogers)
• People will be just about as happy as they will allow themselves to be. (Abraham Lincoln)
• The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished. (George Bernard Shaw)
• The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.  (Somerset Maugham)

 

Leadership Info

• People are retiring but working longer
• Teens are turning to knitting and old values
• Geeks are becoming the most sociable people around
• Women are now the driving force behind technology
• Dads are older than ever and spending more time with their kids than in the past.
• More people turn to the Internet for medical advice than they do doctors
• Pet parents are on the rise

(Source: "Microtrends" Penn & Zalesne, Hachette Book Group, USA. 2007)