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Insights from Charles Spurgeon's Preaching for a Changing Culture

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Insights from Charles Spurgeon's Preaching for a Changing Culture LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY INSIGHTS FROM CHARLES SPURGEON’S CHRIST-CENTERED PREACHING FOR A CHANGING CUTURE A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY By John W. Lewis Lynchburg, Virginia April 27, 2012 Copyright © 2012 by John W. Lewis All Rights Reserved LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET A GRADE Dr. Kevin King MENTOR Dr. Charlie Davidson READER ABSTRACT APPLYING CHARLES SPURGEON’S METHOD OF CHRIST-CENTERED PREACHING FOR A CHANGING CULTURE. John W. Lewis Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2011 Mentor: Dr. Kevin King This project has been done in order to increase the amount of literature available that demonstrates how to preach to a 21st century culture and to enlighten preachers to the timeless truths that transcend from the great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon. A close evaluation of Charles Spurgeon’s biblical preaching reveals a model for pastors to emulate in a post-modern context in the local church. Spurgeon was a master communicator and a survey of his mid to late 1800’s preaching reveals those areas of his ministry that are still useful in the New Millennium. By reviewing Spurgeon’s sermons and writings, pastors can learn from and effectively apply today many of the methods and techniques that were utilized by this great preacher over a century ago. Abstract length: 125 words. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: The Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………….…….8 The Statement of Limitations………………………………………………………………...9 The Theoretical Basis for the Project…………………………………………..…………….9 The Statement of Methodology…………………………………………………………..…12 The Literature Review…………………………………………………………………...….15 CHAPTER 1: The Need for a Preaching and Cultural Assessment…………………….…………………..22 Preaching defined………………………………………………………………………….…40 Charles Haddon Spurgeon as a Study…………………………………………………..…...56 CHAPTER 2: Spurgeon’s Formative Years……………...…………………………………………………65 New Park Street Chapel…………………………………………………………………...…70 The Metropolitan Tabernacle............................................................................................…...73 CHAPTER 3: Insight’s on Spurgeon’s Preaching…………………………………………………………..85 Spurgeon’s Thoughts on Sermons……………………………………………………………93 Spurgeon’s Influence on Preaching……………………………………………………....…108 CHAPTER 4: A Preaching Methodology that Surpasses Culture…………………………………………116 Elements of a Sermon……………………………………………………………………….117 Spurgeon on Preaching and Culture…………………………………………………….…..123 v Application of Spurgeon’s Christ-centered Preaching………………………………...……135 CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………………………...……137 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………139 VITA……………………………………………………………………………………………144 vi INTRODUCTION There is a tension that is growing between church and culture. That tension has opened the door for movements that question the practices and preaching of the ecclesiology of the established church. One such movement has introduced in the past few years and has gained much attention from conservative evangelicals such as John MacArthur. MacArthur shares his main concern with the movement and its leader by stating the heart of the movement’s theology: The most recent battle being waged in the evangelical church is one related to the perspicuity of Scripture. Within the larger context of the Emerging Church Movement is the Emergent Church, Church, whose leading spokesman is Brian D. McLaren. Because of his prominence as a leader of both the Emergent Church and the Emerging Church Movement, what he says about the clarity or perspicuity of Scripture needs to be scrutinized. McLaren undermines the clarity of Scripture by questioning whether biblical doctrine can be held with certainty. He questions the clarity of Scripture by needlessly introducing complexity into biblical interpretation. He further dismisses scriptural clarity by questioning the possibility of deriving propositional truth from the Bible. Also, his refusal to abide by the Bible's emphasis on the exclusive nature of the Christian gospel raises questions about the Bible's clarity. McLaren's pointed criticism of conservative evangelicals who insist on the clarity of Scripture is another indication of his disdain for the perspicuity of Scripture. McLaren’s position on the perspicuity of Scripture is clearly at odds with what the Bible itself says about its own clarity.1 There is an increasing line being drawn from culture to the context of the Bible. This line may also be considered a chasm or great divide. This divide has created awareness in the preaching community about the need for sermon evaluation and establishing basic principles in homiletics in order to address the changing needs of culture. Many refer to this culture as postmodern. In the days to come, preachers/teachers will have to answer the question of whether or not they are bridging the gap between an ancient text and a modern methodology. Combining this need for evaluation with a comparison of one of the preaching greats (Charles Haddon Spurgeon) and the battle with modernism in the 19th Century will give cognizance to the “Bridge 1 MacArthur, John. 2006. "Perspicuity of Scripture: the emergent approach." Master's Seminary Journal 17, no. 2: 141-158. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed April 13, 2012). 7 Builder” of the 21st Century. The benefit of probing the life, ministry, writings, and preaching of Spurgeon are unique in that he was an innovator of his time in preaching. His accomplishments make him an esteemed resource for this project The Statement of the Problem So that a restored sense of methodology can be retained in preaching, an expression of culture must first be considered. The current cultural environment is changing according to many of the studies under consideration for this project. A closer look at these trends will reveal a need to expose a methodology in preaching that speaks to the expanding gap between the ancient text of the Bible and current society. This gap must be narrowed to adjoin the message of the Bible to the society. One of the terms that will be used throughout the project is “building bridges.” This refers to the process of relating the ancient text of scripture to contemporary society and its language. This phrase comes from John Stott and his book Between Two Worlds. Another phrase that will be used is social networking or social media. This refers to the media used for social interaction between peer groups. Popular social networks are Facebook, Twitter, Smart Phones, and Skype. The projects hub is Charles Haddon Spurgeon and his approach to preaching. From this point forward any reference to Spurgeon or Charles Spurgeon is a mention of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Spurgeon refused the title of Reverend and had no formal title due to academic achievements. Further the terms current culture and postmodern will be used interchangeably. These terms are synonymous in this project. Two other terms that are used interchangeably in this project are biblical and expository preaching. While these terms can have different nuances, for purposes of this project they refer to the event of preaching. In this project there are scriptures that will be inserted. Unless footnoted, these passages will come from the New American Standard Bible which may be referenced as the NASB. If 8 another version is used it will be noted; for example the Amplified version will be noted as AMP. Where no note is provided the NASB will be used. Along with these abbreviations will be the use of EMC to replace Emergent Church Movement, EC to replace The Emerging Church, and EV to replace The Emergent Village. The Statement of Limitations As a consequence to the proposed methodology, it will be difficult to measure the effectiveness of the methodology developed in every local church. This project is specifically designed for the local church pastor. While this will mostly benefit First Baptist Church Maysville, it cannot be said that the method of presentation will be utilized in every context such as crusade or mass evangelism strategies. The success or failure of this approach to preaching will only be determined over a period of time. The influence that Spurgeon had during modernism can be evaluated due to the overwhelming amount of influence he had. Another consequence is that the language barrier with Victorian England and Twenty First Century America is difficult to translate. This method is a consequence of personal growth and maturity as a young preacher in a changing culture. The Theoretical Basis for the Project The basis for the project comes from the understanding of scripture and the exhortation for proclamation in the Bible. Many of the biblical concepts or phrases associated with preaching are: “to tell the good news” (Luke 1:19), “to be a herald or announcer” (Matthew 3:1), and “proclaim the message” (2 Timothy 4:2). The most common of these is “to be a herald or announcer.” The preacher is considered a herald of the good news. There is proclamation with the good news as its object or content of heralding. The Bible offers many orientations into preaching and its purpose. One of the most 9 noteworthy is 2 Timothy 4:2,” preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” Paul’s instruction is assumed that the word is to be preached, whether it is convenient or not. Another of these describes a substantial command that Christ gave the disciples prior to His ascension,” 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Luke also records these final instructions,” 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Here in the New Testament Christ left the final directive to” make disciples” by “teaching” His commands and the disciples are to be “witnesses” to what they have seen and heard.
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