A Preaching Seminary．The Preaching Spirituality

Imitating the Wisdom of the World

Today, there has been a growing tendency for churches to imitate the practices of the world. In their effort to develop an attractive image, churches seek to convert the “contradiction” between the Christian faith and the values of the world into “one of the same mode.” Whatever the people demand, churches adopt the wisdom of the world to meet their demands.

It is easy for ministerial workers to be swept along with the tide toward compliance with the current social values. These ministers give in to the pressure to adopt current social values to be seen as “professional” by the brothers and sisters. The “professionalized” minister makes every effort to be popular and to be “nice” in an effort to make “a good impression” to church members. To gain their goodwill, the minister tries to meet members’ needs and to allow them all to enjoy individual freedom. The ministerial worker becomes Mr. Nice Guy, knowing full well how to court people’s favor. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that the desires of the congregation are endless. This is especially true for those believers with power and wealth. The result is that the church is no longer the sanctuary where God is worshipped but a rehabilitation center dedicated to meeting human needs which can neither be restrained nor scrutinized.

The outcome can only be disappointing. The “wisdom” displayed by church ministers dramatically reveals a lack of character depth and a shallow spirituality. The church ministers have no clear sense of direction since the cross is no longer central to their lives.

Not Accepting the Foolishness of the Cross

When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he knew that many Christians were well educated and had power and wealth. Yet he did not hesitate to talk about the cross. He proclaimed boldly, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, … For since in the wisdom of God the world through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. The Jews demanded miraculous signs and Greeks looked for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (I Cor 1:18-25)

To the people of the world, the cross is foolish as it stands for death and there is no death more horrible than dying on the cross.

In Jesus’ time, the cross was regarded as the symbol of shame and foolishness. In fact, the penalty of dying on a cross did not apply to Roman citizens. It was especially designed for the downtrodden, for example, slaves, bandits and political prisoners for its deterrent effects. The Roman soldiers would always beat a prisoner severely before nailing his hands and feet to a wooden cross. During the crucifixion, the prisoner would suffer not only physical pain but he would also suffer shame and disgrace as he was stripped down to the skin to be mercilessly watched and ridiculed by a crowd of onlookers. One reason many Jews and Gentiles did not accept the salvation of Jesus Christ was simply because they could not accept that God would allow Himself to suffer such a disgraceful death on a cross. They could only conclude that Christ’s death on the cross for salvation was utterly foolish.

In the same way, the good news of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on the cross seems distasteful and foolish to people today. People in today’s world cannot believe that Jesus has brought salvation to the world through dying on a cross. Neither can they believe that God would allow an innocent person to die in order to fulfill his redemptive demands. Neither can many people today accept the fact that those who are redeemed will have to carry the cross to follow Jesus or even die on a cross themselves. They maintain that if God is love, He could not be so cruel. They can only conclude that the story of God’s salvation seems foolish and distasteful.

The good news of Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross is for all practical purposes treated as foolishness by some of today’s churches and ministers. When certain Christians bring up the subject of the cross, it is just like a beautiful adornment while the cost of bearing Christ’s cross in daily life is not mentioned. Just imagine in the recruitment of seminary students, it is bluntly stated that a minister must experience the death and cruelty of the cross. Would many brothers and sisters be so scared that they withhold consecrating their lives to Christ or taking the road to Christian ministry? When a minister preaches, he presents a clear call to take up the cross, will such preaching make sense or will it become a skandalon (stumbling block) since there seems to be no connection with the present culture.

A Preacher Is One Willing to Be a Foolish Cross-Bearer

It is important to remember the centrality of the cross in Paul’s message: it is only through the cross that we can discover what life is, and only those who believe and preach the good news of the cross can experience and offer to others the source of new life and know the depth of God’s mysteries. It is through Christ’s death on the cross that God empowers us to turn misery into triumph, make the lowly glorious, change despair into hope and change the ugliness and cruelty of the cross into the symbol of beauty and peace. God has chosen the cross for His power so that for us to take up the cross is to claim God’s power. As we take up the cross, God uses the power of Christ’s death and resurrection to help us leave behind our old selves and to transform our lives into the likeness of Christ.

This should also be the way that a minister is chosen by God. They must take up the cross of Jesus Christ, accepting the oddness of the cross and be ready to be ridiculed ─ to be a fool for Christ. When a minister is willing to be a fool, taking up the cross for Christ, he is no longer preoccupied by the monthly salary and things that can be accumulated. Neither will this minister be distracted by the crowd’s applause or complaints. No longer will such ministers consider the ministry as a “profession” requiring they give attention to the winds of change and demanding they court people’s good opinion by always making “a good impression” and encouraging individual freedom. Instead, the minister insists on shining the light of the cross on their lives so that they will better know themselves and examine their inner selves to determine whether their lives are in step with the good news of the cross. When a minister willingly takes up the cross of Christ, the minister no longer focuses upon insults, cruelty or pain but becomes fearless in the face of death. At the same time, the minister sees the love and sacrifice behind the cross and discovers in the foolishness of the cross God’s wisdom and the promise of abundant life. The minister’s identity will then center upon holding the cross high as a reminder of Christ’s sacrificial love. The minister must develop a character that enables him to set clear boundaries in order to make sacrifices for God and limit his own demands. This is exactly where true wisdom and freedom of life can be found. When ministers no longer cling to personal rights and ownership of property, they are no longer like people of the world. Instead, they feel content before God, experience peace of mind, enjoy true freedom and wisdom. These gifts from God can be seen with eyes of faith when a soul continually makes confession before God.

God’s minister must have a kind of spirituality and wisdom that sets the person apart from the wisdom and foolishness of the world. When the minister has this special wisdom and peculiar foolishness, it can be discerned when he proclaims the gospel. Furthermore, this kind of homiletic leads to an understanding of Christ’s incarnation which brings awe, thanksgiving and worship (Phil 2:7-11). Furthermore, we, as ministers of the gospel, are called to preach the paradox of the cross to unbelievers. We must not touch lightly our mission to proclaim that Christ became human to reduce the offensiveness and foolishness and to prevent the cross from becoming a stumbling block to seekers of faith. It is important not to forget that the true challenge in preaching this foolish gospel is to count on the power of the Holy Spirit. After all, it is God’s Spirit that opens the human heart to accept the love of God in Christ even though the cross is shameful to human eyes. Only when we ministers preach the true meaning of the cross, including its shame and foolishness, can we communicate the full gospel of God.

Preaching Only Christ and His Cross

Therefore, we ministers must take hold of the essence of the calling of ministry neither following the tide of the world nor its false idols. Instead, we have to ask God to cleanse us with fire and call us to return to the most fundamental ministry: preaching the gospel of the cross. Our preaching must always be faithful to the Bible, allowing God’s word to penetrate our lives. We must become the outlet of God’s word, preaching faithfully and humbly each week the biblical truth that the Bible says directly or strongly implies. We must preach only Christ and His cross without adorning it with tactful rhetoric but always correcting and encouraging brothers and sisters with a loving heart to put their faith in the word of God. We must dare trust God’s Spirit to cause them to listen and obey His word. When we faithfully preach in this way, we will not be bound by the shackles of shallow human relationships, allowing others to feel comfortable, but rather, we invite them to experience a transformation of their lives.

This is the spirituality of preaching. This kind of preaching not only feeds the flock but also shapes the minister into a true shepherd. Because of this spirituality, we no longer experience our ministry as a heavy burden but one which is filled with the joy of peace. The mission of the cross ceases to be heavy but becomes a source of renewal of life and strength. When we take up the cross, we are lifted up by Christ. Remember the words of Jesus: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) This is the foundation of an abundant ministry, the spirituality of “preaching out of one’s own life.”

May the teachers and students at HKBTS be filled with such spirituality so that they are empowered to “preach out of their own lives.” It is to this end that the Seminary has been moving over the past road and the goal to which the school will continue to advance in the future. HKBTS is a seminary of “preaching.”

Aug 2010