Controversy makes preaching a more difficult proposition. But a congregation needs the spicier issues if for no other reason than that God fills his Word with just such fare.
—Stuart Briscoe
To keep my finger on the pulse of the congregation, I have twice passed out cards with the following words: “I would like to hear a sermon no longer than ___ minutes on the subject: What the Bible has to say about________.”Self-appointed comics take advantage of this. One fellow said he’d like to hear a sermon no longer than five minutes on what the Bible says about God.
But many times people request the tough issues. People want to know if the Bible’s message can stand up to modern pressures, and I want to assure them it can. The path toward relevance, however, is strewn with controversial topics.
It would be easier if we could preach a lifetime without ever touching on sin, morality, sexuality, lifestyle, or any number of other adrenalin inducers. Controversy makes preaching a more difficult proposition. But, as any pastor knows, a bland homiletical diet starves a congregation and erodes their spiritual substance. A congregation needs the spicier issues if for no other reason than that God fills his Word with just such fare.
So if we are compelled at times to preach on controversial subjects, surely there are ways to present controversy without serving discontent.
Turn the Heat Off and the Light On
Any time we address an emotional topic, there’s the possibility of upsetting someone. To the many pressures of pastoral ministry, we don’t need to add a self-imposed crisis. However, a crisis is not inevitable. We can preach controversial topics noncontroversially.
We need to credit our people with enough maturity to handle the balanced presentation of an issue. I’ve found this true in our church. Over the years I’ve addressed the role of women, eternal security. Spirit baptism, various issues of sexuality, and even the situation in South Africa. And I’ve received little negative feedback. I’ve concluded that what’s crucial is not so much the topic as the method.
When diving into an area of controversy, I don’t expect total agreement. That’s why there’s a dispute in the first place. People’s belief systems are complex. Much more is at stake than the particular issue at hand. So I recognize from the start that I’m probably not going to change anyone’s mind.
So, that’s not my goal. In preaching hot topics, I’m trying to broaden thinking rather than change it. Although people probably won’t budge from their position, they may at least acknowledge the other side. That’s progress. Maybe, over the years, they will change. Maybe not. In any event, I agree with Oliver Wendell Holmes, who said, “Once a mind has been stretched by a new idea, it never returns to its original shape.”
When I try to change people, I only add heat and dim the light. For instance, I have strong feelings about the way the talents of women have been wasted in the church. So I must be careful when I talk on the subject. People often say I feel this way because of the wife I have. I usually answer, “Has it ever occurred to you that I may have the wife I do because I feel this way?” That doesn’t always go over too well!
Preaching out of anger may feel good at the time, especially when we’ve built up a good head of steam. But in the long run it doesn’t accomplish what we’re after.
Do Your Homework
A preacher who handles controversial subjects must do adequate research. Never was this more important than when I decided to enter the fray surrounding the movie The Last Temptation of Christ. Not only did I find it necessary to read the book and see the movie, but I also took the opportunity to talk to some friends who are knowledgeable in church history. They helped me to see this disturbance as a reappearance of the early Nestorian controversy about the deity and humanity of Christ. That put the subject in historical perspective, which made it much less threatening. It’s something the church has faced through the centuries.
Few controversies in the church are new. Whenever I touch on eternal security, I remind folks that if Whitfield and Wesley struggled with this for a lifetime, I’m not likely to end the debate in a thirty-five-minute sermon. However, if I prepare well, I at least can give them an overview of the issues involved.
Touch the Funny Bone
I’ll never forget the time I stepped into the pulpit to preach on The Last Temptation. A tremendous crowd had gathered, and the air was a little tense. I thought it wise to start by saying that my resumes were printed just in case things went poorly.
Humor defuses tense situations, and we can take advantage of that. But it also has to be used skillfully.
I make sure to use humor that is natural and appropriate. When Carter and Ford were running for president, I remember quipping that America is the only country where anyone can run for president, and there were two candidates on the streets proving it. I thought it was funny. But some people resented it.
I have to remember that as a Britisher, I shouldn’t criticize the country that hosts me. I try to make sure that if I do make light of others from the pulpit, I also poke fun at myself and my background. During my sermon on The Last Temptation, I pointed out that Pilate and the Devil were the only two in the whole movie with British accents. Not only do people enjoy such give and take, but it bonds preacher and congregation, as well.
Give a Balanced Treatment
Whenever I preach on a disputed topic, I think it’s only fair to present all sides. I don’t mean setting up a straw man only to knock him down, but trying to present both sides with honesty and empathy.
When I preached on The Last Temptation of Christ, I felt bound to inform our people, from the director’s own statements, why he made the movie and what he was hoping to say about Jesus. A lot of the people who attacked the project had never researched it. Martin Scorsese, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, disclosed that what fascinated him was “the way the human part of Jesus would presumably have difficulty accepting the divine.” I felt a balanced sermon on this movie would have to applaud Scorsese’s intent even while it attacked many of his conclusions. Besides, when people realized that both the author of the book and the director of the movie seemed to recognize the deity and humanity of Christ, it tended to temper their critique.
Often, after outlining both sides of the issue, I can present what I feel is a biblical point of view. Other times I can’t. In that case I simply challenge the people to think through it for themselves and come to their own conclusion. I have to remind myself that these people believe the Bible If I present what it says, then Scripture remains the authority over us all, and we all have to wrestle with the implications. On the other hand, if I set up myself as the authority, then they wrestle with me.
A Well-timed Word
I don’t want to give the impression I announce controversial topics every month. If I did, I’d be guilty of sensationalism. I don’t want my sermons to be the ecclesiastical equivalent of supermarket tabloids. Most of the time I deal with controversial issues while preaching on some other subject.
When I did a series on the Israelites’ settling of Canaan, we came to the passage in Deuteronomy that speaks of the sins of the fathers being passed down to the children. I saw this as a beautiful opportunity to address the trend in some church circles where parents are blamed for their children’s faults, and where people fail to take responsibility for our own sin. When I preached on that topic, no one came expecting a controversial sermon, but they got one nonetheless.
I also have to point out that I’ve been at the same church for eighteen years. That gives me a level of credibility that a fresh seminary graduate doesn’t have. I would think carefully before I preached controversial themes in my first few years at a church. It’s a matter of sensing the needs and maturity of the congregation. I never provoke controversy just for the sake of controversy.
Pastoral Considerations
Whenever I preach a controversial topic, I try to keep in mind that more than theory is at stake. Real people in my congregation are struggling with the implications. Some have had abortions. Some are confused about homosexual desires. Some are living in immorality. Some are alcoholics. I can’t just leave the issue “out there.” I have to think through the situation well enough that I can suggest a sensible course of action.
When I spoke on God’s plan for marriage, I took into consideration the couples in the congregation who were living together out of wedlock. I could have told them it’s simply not God’s will. But I realized some of these couples have overextended themselves financially. They can save several hundred dollars each month by doubling up. In that case, they need to hear that the church will help them locate inexpensive housing. Sure they should separate anyway. But if I can communicate to them that I understand their situation, they’re much more likely to change.
I also try to remember that in dealing with topics such as abortion, divorce, or child abuse, there’s an enormous amount of pain involved. I have to be sensitive to people’s experiences without blasting them with the truth. It took a while to learn this.
I remember a time when I first started addressing touchy subjects. The issue of abortion was causing a great deal of turmoil. It seemed everyone in the church was discussing it. I also knew that although our members were in basic agreement, some were confused about the details and the proper biblical response. I decided it was time to confront the issue, however controversial it might be.
So I studied the appropriate passages, read the current literature, and delivered what I thought was an inspiring message on the sanctity of life. I felt fine about it until I heard the honest reservations of a good friend. “You know,” he said, “by the law of averages, you probably spoke to three or four unmarried women who were contemplating abortion.” Then he said, “I feel that what you said this morning would only add to their dilemma.”
He went on to demonstrate that although I had powerfully challenged them to make the right choice, I had failed to show any sensitivity to their painful situation and the shame they probably felt. I’d offered no help in dealing with the heavy responsibilities of carrying a baby full term. It was a vivid reminder of how easy it is to wound people with the truth. The truth can be cutting, but we don’t have to be.
Controversy as Opportunity
Every so often something comes along that thrusts Christianity or Christ into the spotlight. This occurred in the sixties when Jesus Christ held the interest of so many young people. Unfortunately, many Christians were so turned off by their long hair that largely we missed the opportunity for contact.
In the seventies Jimmy Carter announced that he was born again. Everyone was talking about the experience. Ironically, many Christians were more intent on voicing their objections to Carter’s presidency than on taking advantage of the cultural opportunity.
Another such opportunity came along last year. When the The Last Temptation of Christ was released, it instantly made national news. You couldn’t pick up a paper without reading somebody’s reaction. It was a hot topic for the man on the street, yet the movie was only part of a bigger story.
The real news came on August 15, 1988, when Jesus Christ made the front cover of Time for the sixteenth time. That’s got to be a record—especially for individuals who died nineteen hundred years ago! Unfortunately, to a large measure, we were so busy criticizing the movie that we missed a chance to challenge the secular mind.
Since I didn’t want that chance to slip away, I announced to the congregation that I would preach on the movie. We had an incredible response. Not only did people come in droves, but they invited all kinds of unchurched friends.
One of our members is a young attorney who spends a great deal of time defending her faith to her skeptical peers. Since she knew they had seen the movie, she persuaded them to come to hear my sermon on it. Why? I took the risk of facing a very current issue. I was scratching exactly where people itched.
And a risk it was. One friend, in particular, really let me have it. She felt I was too generous in my critique. “You compromised our faith!” she told me. At one point, I thought she might actually leave the church over the issue.
But then, one day as she was getting her hair fixed, her hairdresser mentioned, “I saw the most wonderful movie this week.”
“Oh, really? What did you see?” my friend replied.
“The Last Temptation of Christ.“
This caught my friend up short. “What was so wonderful about that?” she asked incredulously.
“Well,” the hairdresser replied, “it just seemed to make me think about Jesus. I mean, he really went through a lot!”
“I’ll tell you what,” my friend offered, “I know of a tape that helps explain that movie. Would you be interested?” The upshot of it was that she gave the hairdresser a copy of my sermon. It turned into an opportunity to witness to the woman.
My friend came to me later and said, “I have to eat crow on this one. I see what you were doing now.”
Certainly preaching on controversial topics carries a risk. However, I’ve learned that if I ignore controversial issues, I’m also ignoring a timely opportunity to argue for the relevance of Christianity. And that’s an opportunity I don’t want to miss.
Copyright © 1989 by Christianity Today
