Archers call it a bull’s-eye. Batters know it as “the sweet spot.” It’s when both timing and accuracy are just right. Sermons, too, can hit that sweet spot where the right words are delivered at just the right time. Their impact is magnified because they’re both true and timely. Both apt and opportune. It’s bull’s-eye preaching.
Since I was raised in Denver as a long-suffering Broncos fan, when I think of the right word at the right time, I immediately think of something said in the January 1987 AFC championship game. The Broncos, led by quarterback John Elway, were in Cleveland, trailing the Browns 20-13 with 5:32 left to play.
Surrounded by 80,000 screaming, bone-throwing fans in Cleveland’s “Dawg Pound,” the Broncos were pinned down on their own 2 yard line, 98 muddy yards away from a chance to tie the game.
They had not been able to generate much offense all day, and now, after fumbling the kickoff return, the Broncos huddled in their own endzone. Things looked grim.
Then one of the offensive linemen, Keith Bishop, said, “Well, we’ve got ’em right where we want ’em.”
Bishop’s timing couldn’t have been better. The grimness broke up in laughter.
Elway went on to engineer what football fans now know as The Drive, capped by a tying touchdown pass to Mark Jackson with 37 seconds left. Then Elway led the Broncos to a winning field goal in overtime.
It’s been said that “a leader is someone who keeps his cool when people all around him are losing theirs.”
That’s true of preachers as well as football-playing Bishops. We’re called not only to keep our cool in the heat of the moment, we have the additional charge to speak God’s Word, the right word, into our situation.
For preachers, this is challenging because of the complex role of the sermon. Like a Swiss Army knife, preaching must handle a variety of jobs. Consider the multiple purposes of preaching seen in the Bible.
John the Baptist demanded repentance and baptism. Jesus, in Luke 4, read a passage of Scripture and explained it. In his sermon on the mount, he gave instructions about lifestyle. Peter, at Pentecost, interpreted current events in the light of prophecy. Paul’s preaching, at times, argued for the existence of God in the face of secular philosophers, and other times he corrected bad doctrine in struggling churches. In one church Paul was resolved to “know nothing but Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), and with another his satisfaction was in preaching “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). The Bible offers us different kinds of preaching for various times and places.
Likewise, today’s sermons play multiple roles. Engage the unbeliever or enrich the faithful? Break hard hearts or heal broken ones? Milk or meat? Honey or vinegar? Parables or prophecy? Comfort or challenge?
Clearly, these are not either/or questions, but both/and. Each sermon will combine these ingredients in differing amounts.
This issue of Leadership focuses on fitting our preaching to the times. When God’s Word meets the need of the hour, that’s bull’s-eye preaching.
Finally, if you’re like me, the past year has been one of the most intense times of your life. Perhaps you’re sensing that you need a chance to step away from the daily flurry of ministry responsibilities in order to renew and refresh your soul. I’d encourage you to join me and several hundred other ministers in February at the National Pastors Convention in San Diego.
You’ll know a number of speakers as friends you’ve met in the pages of Leadership, including Ben Patterson, Kevin Miller, Will Willimon, James Forbes, John Ortberg, Lee Strobel, Ken Fong, Bev Hislop, Linda Riley, Larry Osborne, Michael Foss, and Randy Frazee.
There will be plenty of stimulating input but also time to chat. … or to walk the beach and reflect on what God is saying. Check out the ad on page 96 or visit www.nationalpastorsconvention.com.
I hope to see you there.
Marshall Shelley is editor of Leadership.
Copyright © 2002 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
