by James G. Smith
In two of the five times the Lord gave us the Great Commission, He used the word preach.
Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. — Mark 16:15
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. — Luke 24:47
The first preachers were very effective in their ministry in Jerusalem. When the persecution came upon the church they became effective in other places as well.
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. — Acts 8:4
Looking at the history of the church over the ages, we see seasons of great effectiveness in preaching. Within the BBFI there have been specific people and places and circumstances when the preaching was highly effective.
We believe God has a perfect plan for our individual lives. His perfect will for preachers is to preach. As proclaimers of the everlasting truth, we are entrusted with a treasure in an earthen vessel.
In Biblical Preaching, Haddon Robinson states “Preaching is a living process involving God, the preacher and the congregation, and no definition can pretend to capture that dynamic.” There are always three basic elements in the activity of preaching. We have the Word of God. We have the listeners. In between these two elements is the preacher. It is his duty to understand the Word and understand the listeners. If he has not conquered those two assignments, he will likely not be very effective in communicating the Word to the people.
While this seems rather straightforward within our own culture and language, the job becomes far more complicated and difficult for our global partners. The sermon preparation is usually much more complex.
Even after he has finished the formal learning of the language, a missionary must constantly be learning the nuances of the language, influenced by the everchanging culture and the religious background of his listeners. It is the responsibility of the preacher to know if the listener is actually hearing and understanding exactly what he is saying.
The essence of most BBFI missionary work is communicating the gospel across cultural and linguistic barriers. Church planting comes as a result of evangelism and discipleship. Neither evangelism nor discipleship is possible without effective communication.
How important is this specific activity in the lives and ministries of the global partners of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International? What are the similarities and differences in the development and delivery of Bible sermons in the various cultures and languages where our missionaries serve? These questions and others like them motivated us to do a quick study of the importance of homiletics within our group.
To read the entire Global Partners September 2011 click here.