I recently read about a survey that asked Christians if what they heard on Sunday sermons bears any relevance to their lives on Monday. 83% said NO.
What conclusions do you draw from this statistics? The article I read puts the blame on preachers for not being relevant in their sermons but I tend to think that is only a partial explanation. There is also another way to look at this statistics. Let’s say that the preacher preached on end times and some people find it irrelevant to their lives. So, those people will be part of the 83% statistics. If that is the case, I put the blame on the listener not the preacher.
I agree that preachers have the responsibility of being relevant. But, part of the problem also is as Christians a lot of us walk around with our own agendas and we expect preachers to address those agendas. If they don’t, we label them as irrelevant. I am not surprised at all that prosperity gospel is so popular today. Money is everybody’s agenda. No body finds talk about money irrelevant.
The solution? Both the preacher and the congregation should be seeking God’s agenda and not theirs. That brings both the speaker and the listener to the same agenda. As Christians we have the responsibility to be interested in everything that is in the bible. If God cares enough to put it in the Bible, we should care enough to pay attention.
Seek first the kingdom…
The Cyber Evangelist |