Pastors face challenge of preaching sermons that pierce rather than just entertain
By Marvin Olasky (World Magazine)
After listening to sermons for the 35 years I've been a Christian, I agree with those who say the call to preach is the highest honor there is.
It can also be the most frustrating. Think of the Parable of the Sower:
Three-fourths of the seed lands by the road, or on stony ground, or amid thorns. Three-fourths of the sower's work is wasted. That parable, like so many Jesus presented, is not an icebreaker anecdote, a happy story to put listeners in a cozy, receptive mood. Jesus told iceberg parables, not icebreakers.
An iceberg parable is a story that can sink a ship as big as the Titanic. The Titanic had its first and last voyage across the Atlantic nearly a century ago. It advertised itself as unsinkable. Many non-Christians think of themselves as unsinkable. Many of us who have been Christians for a long time also start thinking of ourselves as unsinkable. I can get prideful and feel like a know-it-all. I need an iceberg parable to penetrate my hull. Read more...
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