The following article is adapted from a research paper I wrote as part of a doctorate program in Spiritual Formation at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Preaching and Spiritual Formation
In both the Old and New Testaments, preaching occupies a central place as a means for spiritual formation. In the Old Testament, Moses, the judges, priests like Ezra, and the prophets were all preachers who proclaimed God’s word to Israel. We also see this central role of preaching continued through the word of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.
Preaching is a spiritual discipline both for the hearers who are transformed with God’s word and for the preacher who must first be transformed with the word before that word can be preached with transforming power. The spiritual discipline of preaching calls upon the practice of other disciplines such as scripture study, prayer, fasting, and service. Harry Shields, an adjunct professor at Moody Theological Seminary, cites Dr. Haddon Robinson’s definition of expository preaching, to argue that effective preaching must first transform the preacher before it transforms the listeners. Robbinson writes, “Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher, then through him to his hearers.”[1] Explaining Robinson’s definition, Shields writes,
The key phrase is “first applies to the personality and experience of the preacher.” Robinson assumes that through studying the biblical text, the Holy Spirit will transform the preacher. And then, in turn, the preacher’s message and personal change will be used by God to bring change to others. This has been the assumption of preachers throughout the centuries.[2]
Worship and Spiritual Formation
In addition to being a tool for spiritual formation in the hands of the Holy Spirit, effective preaching inspires worship, which is yet another spiritual discipline. Worship is our response to preaching that unveils the beauties of God’s grace and mercy to us and opens our eyes to see his glory. Speaking on this subject, Dr. Stephen Lowe, a professor of Spiritual formation at the Liberty University School of Divinity in Lynchburg Virginia, says:
Worship as praise follows upon God’s redemptive deeds. After the Exodus from Egyptian bondage recounted in Exodus 1 through 14, we have the song of Moses in Israel in Exodus 15. The song of Debra and Barack in Judges 5 follows upon God’s deliverance of Israel from her enemies in Judges 4. In Nehemiah 8:1-5, we find Ezra the scribe reading and instructing the people in the Word of God. And when he finished, the response of God’s people in verse six was they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. In Revelation 5:1-8, we have the work of the lamb described in sacrificial imagery followed by Revelation 5:9-14 with the worship of the lamb. Preaching about the work of the lamb and the redemptive deeds of God, among other things, sets the stage for the praise of God by God’s people. It seems odd then that our contemporary practice of worship reverses this Biblical order. We typically begin our worship with songs and hymns of praise and worship, followed by the preaching of God’s word. Worship as our rightful response to God’s salvation is the core discipline of spiritual formation and requires the gathering together of God’s people in one form or another for it to be of spiritual benefit to God’s people.[3]
Preaching awakens our slumbering spirits, reminds them of the goodness of God, and catalyzes their eruption into songs of praise and worship to our great God.
How important is worship to spiritual formation? Worship is both the means and the end of spiritual formation. As the Westminster shorter catechism famously asks and answers, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We fulfill this purpose through worship as a lifestyle and as individual and corporate activities. Richard Averbeck writes, “Worship is spirituality…worship is at the core of spiritual life. As individuals and communities of faith, we are temples, and by definition, a temple is first of all and above all, a place of worship.”[4] Averbeck continues and proclaims in no uncertain terms that, “Worship of the triune God is the most spiritually formative practice available to us as Christians. It is the spiritual practice par excellence.”[5]
How would my preaching and worship change moving forward to accommodate my emerging understanding of spiritual formation?
When I listened to Dr. Lowe’s discussion, it got me wondering why most churches start with praise and worship and end with preaching the word. I remembered times of prayer and worship that I have had in the past that began with a study and meditation on the word of God. The study of the word led to such heartfelt and intense prayer and worship that at the end of the prayer and worship session, I felt heard and felt satisfied as a result. Prayers boiled out of my heart with ease and rose like beautiful incense to the throne of God. There were moments of rapturous fireworks in the presence of God. There was no doubt I was being heard and was communing with God during those times of prayer and worship. My first book, Christian Meditation: Returning to Biblical Meditation, the key to fruitfulness in the Christian Life, taught my students how to do that. I contrasted those times of meditation on the word followed by prayer and worship with times when I have gone to a church service and been thrust into a worship session without any preaching or meditation to open my eyes to the beauties and glory of God. I had a hard time worshiping during those kinds of sessions. In such situations, I know I’m being heard quite alright, but my heart is not fully engaged, and I know it. I don’t sense that I’m in the presence of God.
I wondered if churches begin with prayer and worship so that by the time they get to the sermon, all who were late have arrived? If that is true, that thinking is problematic given that the house of God is a house of prayer and worship. It is, of course, also a house of preaching. However, I think in today’s high-tech society, the means and timing of preaching lend itself more to adaptation than worship and prayer.
What do I mean by that? Well, Flipped Classrooms are something of a movement now on university campuses. In the past, students went to schools and universities and listened to the teachers who gave lectures while they took notes. Later, they went home and did homework. With the flipped classroom model, students watch pre-recorded lectures before going to class. While in class, they interact with each other and do assignments as well as ask teachers for help with difficult parts of the assignments. This has been quite successful in academia. While a sermon is a spiritual message, I don’t see why “flipped services” couldn’t be considered. However, I think communal worship and prayer is harder to flip.
Because of Dr. Lowe’s idea, I will be looking for opportunities to start with preaching or meditation on the word followed by worship and prayer as opposed to the order we commonly use today.
Endnotes
[1] Harry Shields, “Preaching and Spiritual Formation,” in Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ, ed. Paul Pettit (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2008), 249.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Steve Lowe, “Presentation: Worship, Preaching, and Spiritual Formation,” Liberty University Blackboard, March 1, 2020, https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_560762_1&content_id=_36034144_1
[4] Richard Averbeck, “Worship and Spiritual Formation,” in Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming Like Christ, ed. Paul Pettit (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2008), 51.
[5] Ibid.
