Keep It Simple

One of the members of our church family loaned me a copy of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1852. For those who may not be familiar with this book…it is the foundation of all Methodist churches from the time of John Wesley in the late 18th century until now. It contains the Articles of Religion, General Rules of our church and all matters related to the organization and operation of our denomination.

In Section X – “Of the Duty of Preachers to God, themselves and one another” we find the following guidelines:

Q: What is the duty of a preacher?
A: (1) To preach; (2) To meet the societies, classes and general bands – in other words: small groups, Sunday School classes, home groups; (3) To preach in the morning where he can get hearers. We recommend morning preaching at five o’clock in the summer, and six in the winter.

Maybe we’ve got it all backwards when we’re thinking of adding a Saturday evening worship service. Maybe we should just add a fourth service to the Sunday schedule at 5:00 am!!

In Section IX – “Of the Rules for a Preacher’s Conduct” we find this advice:

(1) Be diligent. Never be unemployed: never be triflingly employed.
(2) Be serious. Let your motto be, “Holiness to the Lord.” Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.
(3) Converse sparingly…
(4) Take no step toward marriage without first consulting with your brethren.

One of the final pieces of advice to pastors in this section is:

(11) You have nothing to do but to save souls: therefore spend and be spent in this work; and go always not only to those that want you, but to those that want you most. It is not your business only to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that; but bring as many sinners as you can to repentance, and with all your power to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord.
Over the years I’ve observed so many pastors trifling away their time and getting distracted by many other things - lacking the laser focus necessary to “keep the main thing the main thing.” In a recent article, Rick Warren, of Saddleback Church, offers this: "Jesus taught profound truths in simple ways. Today, we do the opposite. We teach simple truths in profound ways.
Sometimes when pastors think they are being 'deep,' they are really just being 'muddy.' They like to show off their knowledge by using Greek words and academic terms. No one cares as much about the Greek as pastors do.
It's easy to complicate the gospel, and of course, Satan would love for us to do just that. The apostle Paul worried that 'our minds would be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ' (2 Cor. 11:3).
Remember, simple doesn't mean shallow. Simple doesn't mean simplistic. Simple means being clear and understandable.”
This truth has been growing on me in recent years – people don’t need to be impressed by big words and theological jargon in a message…mostly they want a clear and understandable way to deal with life and the issues they’re facing in the days ahead.
The message of Jesus and of the early apostles was simple: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Rod