Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Le'Go My Ego


Remember the old Toby Keith Song?
I wanna talk about me
Wanna talk about I
Wanna talk about number one
Oh my me my
What I think, what I like, what I know, what I want, what I see
I like talking about you you you you, usually, but occasionally
I wanna talk about meeeeee


This past week I read two articles that had contrasting premises. The topic was preaching and the amount of time preachers spend talking about themselves. One writer suggested that preachers do not talk about themselves enough. Therefore, the congregation rarely gets to hear what is close to its minister’s heart. The other author opined that many preachers talk about themselves far too often. This happens through illustrations, personal anecdotes, and humorous stories. Mark Galli wrote, "The sermon has inadvertently become the showcase of the pastor’s life and faith. Less about the centrality and greatness of Jesus. “

I think Galli is right. I listen to a lot of preaching (via podcasts, CDs, conferences, etc.), and many times I have heard too much about the preacher and too little about Jesus. My wife tells me that I don’t share enough personal stories and illustrations. She might be right, but I would rather leave people wanting to know more, rather than rolling their eyes, saying, “Sigh, here he goes again. What an egomaniac!”

I think it would be better to follow the lead of John the Baptist. He had the proper attitude about Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease.”

How about you? What’s your opinion of this issue?

3 comments:

john dobbs said...

I agree with you Mike. Maybe the self expression on our blogs is plenty for anyone interested. I doubt anyone comes to church to hear about me. If so, they must be totally bored! It's about JESUS ... that's who we need to be talking about!

William Mckinley Dyer said...

I couldnt agree more. Use ur story to illustrate not to be ur sermon. I wanna hear the word, not politics, stories, jokes etc

Unknown said...

Preach the Word like they did in the first/early church and you'll get results like they did in the first/early church. Keep illustrations and stories of any kind concise and only use them when they make your Gospel point stronger and not when they distract from it.