5 Mistakes to Avoid

When Preaching on Hot Topics

James C. Denison, Ph.D.
President, Denison Forum on Truth and Culture
www.denisonforum.org

 2014 James C. Denison

Hot Topics
You've chosen to preach on a hot topicgay marriage,
global climate change, immigration, abortion, or another
headline-generating issue. Well and goodyou'll win major
points for relevance. Some people will come to see what
you think; others will come to see if you're right (meaning, if
they agree with you).
But you can win the battle and lose the war. Relevance
without effectiveness isn't really relevant. Perception is
reality for those perceiving it.
As a cultural apologist, I spend my time trying to speak
biblical truth to the issues of our day. I've learned the hard
way that the following strategies don't work and, in fact, can
do more harm than good.

Would citations of
the Qur'an convince
you to become a
Muslim?

Mistake #1: Assume that people agree with the Bible

You're preaching a sermon, so you're obviously in a church
setting. You might therefore assume that those who are
listening to you believe that Scripture is right on your topic.
But you're likely to be wrong.
To illustrate, 82 percent of American Catholics say birth
control is morally acceptable, though their church interprets
Scripture to forbid contraception. Nearly 40 percent of white
evangelical Protestants say abortion should be available in
their community, though most evangelical pastors teach that
God's word views conception as the beginning of life.
The postmodern shift from objective truth to subjective
opinion has rendered biblical authority negotiable today.
More people than ever before separate the Bible's "spiritual"
teachings from its cultural, historic, or scientific statements.
They have been taught that the Bible is outdated on creation,
sexuality, and most other cultural subjects.
When you say, "The Bible says..." many will say to
themselves, "So?" Imagine yourself in a Muslim mosque
listening to the local imam. Would his citations of the
Qur'an convince you to become a Muslim?

One of the challenges

of our day is
communicating to
audiences filled with
people who disagree
with each other on the
nature of truth.

Mistake #2: Assume that people don't agree with the

Bible
You're speaking on gay marriage to a group of Millennials.
According to the surveys, they are the most relativistic,
postmodern generation in history. They're supposed to reject
all authority claims, whether coming from their parents, their
pastor, or their president.
But there's a difference between chronological age and
spiritual age. A 25-year-old who grew up in a church where
she was taught a biblical worldview from childhood may
have a very different view of Scripture from her husband
who is new to the faith. If you avoid citing biblical truth in
your talk, she'll wonder why. If you depreciate the relevance
of Scripture to the issue, you'll alienate her, and deservedly
so.
Here's the balance: Begin your conversation with authorities
you know your audience will accept. At Mars Hill, Paul
cited Greek poets to persuade Greek philosophers. When
speaking in synagogues, he cited the Hebrew Bible to
persuade Jewish listeners.
A way I've found to cite biblical statements without
alienating those who don't accept biblical authority is to say
something like, "For me, the Bible speaks truth on this issue
when it says..." One of the challenges of our day is
communicating to audiences filled with people who disagree
with each other on the nature of truth. You'll need to connect
with them by using "truth" they accept, then lead them to the
One who is the Truth.

Sound-bites and
bullet points can't do
justice to the depth
and complexity of
genuine faith issues.

Mistake #3: Make your answers too simple

Our Twitterized culture likes truth as simple and brief as
possible. But sound-bites and bullet points can't do justice to
the depth and complexity of genuine faith issues. Same-sex
marriage, immigration, abortion, and other hot topics are
intensely debated precisely because they are so complex.
People of genuine conviction stand on both sides of the
debates. The perennial issues can't be reduced to simple
solutions.
The good news is that younger audiences are more
comfortable with mystery than many of their parents were.
Young adults have grown up on Einsteinian relativity rather
than Newtonian physics. They live in a world dominated by
technology many of us don't understand and are comfortable
with some ambiguity.
If you reduce complex faith issues to very simple principles,
many will assume you're either uninformed or manipulative.
Albert Einstein was right: Things should be made as simple
as possible, but not simpler.

Earn the right to

point people to
Jesus.

Mistake #4: Rush to Jesus

Charles Spurgeon may have been the most gifted preacher in
Baptist history. When asked the secret to his preaching, he
explained simply, "I take a text and make a beeline to Jesus."
Having read many of his sermons, I agree that he did just
that. In a 19th-century Victorian Age that accepted the deity
and authority of Jesus, his technique won thousands to
Christ.
If Spurgeon were preaching today, I think he would do
things differently. Only 64 percent of American adults
believe Jesus rose from the dead; 39 percent of America's
Christians believe that he sinned when he lived on earth.
You and I know that Jesus is the answer to our greatest
questions, the hope for our greatest needs. But many
Americans disagree.
When Jesus met a Samaritan woman by a well, he did not
begin their conversation with apologetics for his divinity.
Rather, he began by asking for water. She was shocked that
a Jewish man would talk with a Samaritan woman. But by
the end of their conversation, she told her entire village about
the Messiah she had found.
Earn the right to point people to Jesus. Build relational
bridges by dealing honestly with the issues of our day.
Connect with people where they are before you try to lead
them where they need to go. People will believe Christ is
relevant only when Christians are relevant. Ken Medema
said, Don't tell me I have a friend in Jesus until you show
me I have a friend in you.

A personal
relationship with
Jesus is the key to
wisdom on the
issues we face.

Mistake #5: Don't rush to Jesus

It is the paradox of humanity that we want what we don't
need and need what we don't want. Capitalism works best
when consumers consume. Marketers make millions
convincing us that we need their products, whether we do or
not. Meanwhile, what we need most is Jesus. Only he can
forgive our past, redeem our present, and secure our future.
Only he can solve the great problems of our day. A personal
relationship with Jesus is the key to wisdom on the issues we
face.
So while we begin our preaching on divisive topics by
connecting with people where they are, we don't want to
leave them there. It's not enough to convince people of a
particular position on a moral issue. If we don't lead them
from a position to a Person, we have not brought them to the
help and hope they need most.
The good news is that God is already at work to lead people
to his Son, and he invites us to join him. At Pentecost, Peter
announced that the Spirit had been poured out on "all flesh"
(Acts 2:17, quoting Joel 2:28), not just Christians. The Holy
Spirit is working in ways and among people we cannot know
or measure. For instance, more Muslims have come to
Christ in the last 15 years than in the previous 15 centuries,
many after seeing visions and dreams of Jesus.

In John 12, Jesus assured his followers that "I, when I am

lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (v.
32). We usually take his statement to mean that we must
"lift Jesus up" so he can draw people to himself. Actually,
that's not so. Verse 33 explains verse 32: "He said this to
show by what kind of death he was going to die." Being
"lifted up" referred to his crucifixion. From that moment to
this, our Lord has been working to "draw all people to
himself." He will use us in his work of global Kingdom
advance when we join him in leading people to their Savior.
So speak biblical truth to the divisive issues of our day, but
as a means to an even larger end. When people step from the
word of God to the Word of God (John 1:1), they find the
answer to every problem they face.

Conclusion
My father taught Sunday school before he fought in World
War II, and he witnessed atrocities he could never reconcile
with his faith. As a result, I grew up in a family that never
went to church.
My relationship with Jesus began when I was a teenager. A
local church started a bus ministry; they bought an old
school bus, painted the name of the church on the side, and
knocked on doors to find kids who would ride their bus to
church. One day they knocked on our door. Dad
encouraged my brother and me to go so we could gain some
religious exposure. My brother is now the pastor of First
Baptist Church in Conroe, Texas, and I'm writing this article.
Hot topics can be like that bus ministry, enabling us to knock
on doors that would otherwise be closed to our message. So
speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) with relevance and
respect (1 Peter 3:15). And know that the One you proclaim
is the ultimate truth for every issue of our day. Remember
what C. S. Lewis said: "I believe in Christianity as I believe
that the sun has risennot only because I see it, but because
by it I see everything else."