Posted by Zhe Hao
One of the key aspects of the pastoral ministry (especially in evangelical churches) lies in the area of preaching and teaching. While the overarching role of the pastoral ministry is the oversight and care for the church of God (Acts 20:28), it often expresses itself through the model of Paul and others in the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4, 20:20). Therefore, this shall be the first area of consideration.
Challenges
Since the influx and the rapid changes in information technology, people today have been changed the way they think and receive information. Neil Postman writes,
“We have reached, I believe, a critical mass in that electronic media have decisively and irreversibly changed the character of our symbolic environment. We are now a culture whose information, ideas and epistemology are given form by television, not by the printed word.”[1]
Here, Postman is saying is that as each culture processes truth as being expressed in certain symbolic forms, the framework in which we understand and process information has changed from a textual one to a televisual one, thus neglecting the textual (printed) one as trivial or irrelevant[2] T. David Gordon affirms this in his book “Why Johnny can't preach”, stating that the people today “are no longer careful and close readers of texts, sacred or secular” and “have become a culture of telephone babblers, unskilled at the most basic questions of composition.”[3] What David Gordon is emphasising here is that the advancements in information technology has incapacitate our ability to read and write.
Our inability to appreciate texts stems from how the electronic media has shaped the pace of our lives, resulting in a highly distracted, multi-tasking lifestyle.[4] As for writing, the emergences of the telephone, Short Message Services (SMS), Web messengers, Twitter and other forms of instant communication have divested the necessity of important composition skill. In contrast to writing a letter, there is seldom a requirement for the person to compose his or her thoughts in an orderly fashion because the availability of immediate clarification. Therefore, just like how the content in these mediums rarely contain “unity, order and movement, it becomes reflected in the preacher's flow and organisation of the sermon.[5] This in itself has also affected the audience's patience to listen to sermons as monologue is no longer a common form of 'communication'. Therefore, if one would to do a verse-by-verse bible study on the pulpit for forty minutes, there will be a greater difficulty in sustaining the audience's attention compared to one done decades ago. Furthermore, the media today has created a generation that has been highly stimulated visually and kinaesthetically. This makes the task of preaching and teaching, which is traditionally founded on an audio mode, an uphill one. It is a reality that the preachers, teachers and hearers of God's word in Singapore are engulfed and inevitably affected in such a culture.
Needs
With regards to the first challenge, the problem pointed out is not in media itself but our inadequacy in reading and composition skills. Thus, there are two needs that one could take to address this issue. The first could be to become counter-cultural in lifestyle and reduce the amount of influence that the media and new forms of communication have on self. Needless to say, the preacher's ability to read and write must be continually honed by practices and exposure. The second is that the steward of God's word must attempt to be 'intentionally bi-cultural', that is to be engaged with the culture of the world and the culture of the Word. Christians today must not just be passive and soak in the culture of media. Engagement must be purposeful and active.
This means that though some may suggest that commercials or television programs today are trashy, trivial and unedifying, one cannot deny certain aspects we can learn from. These forms of media are not only succinct in their messages; their ability to evoke imagination and emotions is impressive. Furthermore, the people behind the scenes do take into account the “unity, order and movement” of their message. Hence, just like how the people of the past were familiar with the literary unity and features then, perhaps a sermon format that resembles a “Crime Scene Investigation” episode would be acceptable and relevant for they are our 'literature' of today. Some sermons that people have prepared today have moved from a monologue nature to a looser dialogue format because of the dialogical communication we find ourselves in today.
Interestingly, it is my personal observation that the main preaching pastors in Singapore's largest churches are master storytellers and illustrators who performs a certain form of 'close reading' and sheds insights into the biblical texts, be it accurate or inaccurate. Whether there is a need for the form of preaching and teaching to be contextualised in such a manner remains to be a discussion for another day. Nevertheless, the challenge and the need for this generation is to filter through the vast load of information and “utter what is precious, and not what is worthless” in order to be a mouth piece of God (Jer 15:19).
Potential and Pitfalls
An amazing contribution that has resulted from the ripples of globalisation lies in the wealth of resources that the internet has brought. Preachers and teachers now are able to employ different tools, be it to better exposit the text or present their message. More than that, the scope of imagery and illustrations has now increased with the wider exposure of different cultures and disciplines across the globe. In a place where there is no snowfall like Singapore, the metaphor of being “whiter than snow” becomes conceivable to majority of Singaporean Christians (Psa 51:7). More could be said not only of biblical metaphors but sermon illustrations as well. The downside of such availability is that the stewards of God's word might sometimes short-circuit the process through a “copy and paste approach” to sermons and teaching, resulting in plagiarism, be it intentional or unintentional. Singapore has already witness such an account which is being highlighted in our newspapers.[6]
The effect of globalisation could also be the contribution of Christian perspectives and removal of blind spots. Philip Jenkins writes,
“Looking at Southern Christianity gives a surprising new perspective on some other things that might seem to be very familiar. Perhaps the most striking example is how the newer churches can read the Bible in a way that makes that Christianity look like a wholly different religion from the faith of prosperous advanced societies of Europe or North America... In the present day, it may be that it is only in the newer churches that the Bible can be read with any authenticity and immediacy, and that Old Christendom must give priority to Southern voices.”[7]
Neither the West nor the church in Singapore has a monopoly on theology. It is with these wider perspectives contributed by the universal church, preachers and teachers are able to better exegete the text. Nevertheless, Jenkins's statement here hints of the double edged sword present today. After all, not all perspectives are equally true and helpful. While some might supplement and better elucidate God's word, some others might further confuse and draw many into error.
References:
[1] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Viking, 1985), 28.
[2] Ibid., 23.
[3] T. David Gordon, Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub, 2009), 49; 67.
[4] Ibid., 50.
[5] Ibid., 66.
[6] The Straits Time, 12 June 2010.
[7] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 217.
One of the key aspects of the pastoral ministry (especially in evangelical churches) lies in the area of preaching and teaching. While the overarching role of the pastoral ministry is the oversight and care for the church of God (Acts 20:28), it often expresses itself through the model of Paul and others in the ministry of the Word and prayer (Acts 6:4, 20:20). Therefore, this shall be the first area of consideration.
Challenges
Since the influx and the rapid changes in information technology, people today have been changed the way they think and receive information. Neil Postman writes,
“We have reached, I believe, a critical mass in that electronic media have decisively and irreversibly changed the character of our symbolic environment. We are now a culture whose information, ideas and epistemology are given form by television, not by the printed word.”[1]
Here, Postman is saying is that as each culture processes truth as being expressed in certain symbolic forms, the framework in which we understand and process information has changed from a textual one to a televisual one, thus neglecting the textual (printed) one as trivial or irrelevant[2] T. David Gordon affirms this in his book “Why Johnny can't preach”, stating that the people today “are no longer careful and close readers of texts, sacred or secular” and “have become a culture of telephone babblers, unskilled at the most basic questions of composition.”[3] What David Gordon is emphasising here is that the advancements in information technology has incapacitate our ability to read and write.
Our inability to appreciate texts stems from how the electronic media has shaped the pace of our lives, resulting in a highly distracted, multi-tasking lifestyle.[4] As for writing, the emergences of the telephone, Short Message Services (SMS), Web messengers, Twitter and other forms of instant communication have divested the necessity of important composition skill. In contrast to writing a letter, there is seldom a requirement for the person to compose his or her thoughts in an orderly fashion because the availability of immediate clarification. Therefore, just like how the content in these mediums rarely contain “unity, order and movement, it becomes reflected in the preacher's flow and organisation of the sermon.[5] This in itself has also affected the audience's patience to listen to sermons as monologue is no longer a common form of 'communication'. Therefore, if one would to do a verse-by-verse bible study on the pulpit for forty minutes, there will be a greater difficulty in sustaining the audience's attention compared to one done decades ago. Furthermore, the media today has created a generation that has been highly stimulated visually and kinaesthetically. This makes the task of preaching and teaching, which is traditionally founded on an audio mode, an uphill one. It is a reality that the preachers, teachers and hearers of God's word in Singapore are engulfed and inevitably affected in such a culture.
Needs
With regards to the first challenge, the problem pointed out is not in media itself but our inadequacy in reading and composition skills. Thus, there are two needs that one could take to address this issue. The first could be to become counter-cultural in lifestyle and reduce the amount of influence that the media and new forms of communication have on self. Needless to say, the preacher's ability to read and write must be continually honed by practices and exposure. The second is that the steward of God's word must attempt to be 'intentionally bi-cultural', that is to be engaged with the culture of the world and the culture of the Word. Christians today must not just be passive and soak in the culture of media. Engagement must be purposeful and active.
This means that though some may suggest that commercials or television programs today are trashy, trivial and unedifying, one cannot deny certain aspects we can learn from. These forms of media are not only succinct in their messages; their ability to evoke imagination and emotions is impressive. Furthermore, the people behind the scenes do take into account the “unity, order and movement” of their message. Hence, just like how the people of the past were familiar with the literary unity and features then, perhaps a sermon format that resembles a “Crime Scene Investigation” episode would be acceptable and relevant for they are our 'literature' of today. Some sermons that people have prepared today have moved from a monologue nature to a looser dialogue format because of the dialogical communication we find ourselves in today.
Interestingly, it is my personal observation that the main preaching pastors in Singapore's largest churches are master storytellers and illustrators who performs a certain form of 'close reading' and sheds insights into the biblical texts, be it accurate or inaccurate. Whether there is a need for the form of preaching and teaching to be contextualised in such a manner remains to be a discussion for another day. Nevertheless, the challenge and the need for this generation is to filter through the vast load of information and “utter what is precious, and not what is worthless” in order to be a mouth piece of God (Jer 15:19).
Potential and Pitfalls
An amazing contribution that has resulted from the ripples of globalisation lies in the wealth of resources that the internet has brought. Preachers and teachers now are able to employ different tools, be it to better exposit the text or present their message. More than that, the scope of imagery and illustrations has now increased with the wider exposure of different cultures and disciplines across the globe. In a place where there is no snowfall like Singapore, the metaphor of being “whiter than snow” becomes conceivable to majority of Singaporean Christians (Psa 51:7). More could be said not only of biblical metaphors but sermon illustrations as well. The downside of such availability is that the stewards of God's word might sometimes short-circuit the process through a “copy and paste approach” to sermons and teaching, resulting in plagiarism, be it intentional or unintentional. Singapore has already witness such an account which is being highlighted in our newspapers.[6]
The effect of globalisation could also be the contribution of Christian perspectives and removal of blind spots. Philip Jenkins writes,
“Looking at Southern Christianity gives a surprising new perspective on some other things that might seem to be very familiar. Perhaps the most striking example is how the newer churches can read the Bible in a way that makes that Christianity look like a wholly different religion from the faith of prosperous advanced societies of Europe or North America... In the present day, it may be that it is only in the newer churches that the Bible can be read with any authenticity and immediacy, and that Old Christendom must give priority to Southern voices.”[7]
Neither the West nor the church in Singapore has a monopoly on theology. It is with these wider perspectives contributed by the universal church, preachers and teachers are able to better exegete the text. Nevertheless, Jenkins's statement here hints of the double edged sword present today. After all, not all perspectives are equally true and helpful. While some might supplement and better elucidate God's word, some others might further confuse and draw many into error.
References:
[1] Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (New York: Viking, 1985), 28.
[2] Ibid., 23.
[3] T. David Gordon, Why Johnny Can't Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers (Phillipsburg, N.J.: P & R Pub, 2009), 49; 67.
[4] Ibid., 50.
[5] Ibid., 66.
[6] The Straits Time, 12 June 2010.
[7] Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 217.
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