That's not what I call preaching

That’s not what I call preaching 4

Walking With Giants Posted on by

I wanted to check a few details about Philip Pullman’s book, ‘The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ’.  In that book, Pullman imagines ‘Jesus’ and ‘Christ’ were brothers: ‘Jesus’ was godly and moral, but ‘Christ’ was something of a Judas-character, whose physical likeness to ‘Jesus’ led, after the death of his brother, to a belief in the resurrection and the founding of the Christian Church.

I was intrigued to read this transcript of a sermon by the Reverend Robert Reiss, who at the time was Canon in Residence at Westminster Abbey.  …

That’s not what I call preaching 3

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Joel Osteen is senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas.  He preaches to thousands who attend services at the church, as well as to millions more across 100 different countries via television.

Osteen is a mild-mannered man who is never seen in public without a smile.  As far as I can tell, he is unlike most other television preachers in that he does not go out of his way to ask for money.  When challenged, as he often is, about why his preaching is devoid of biblical content, he disarmingly replies that others are better than he at explaining the Bible.  …

That’s not what I call preaching 2

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Willow Creek Community Church is one of the largest and most influential churches in the world.  Its senior pastor, Bill Hybels, travels globally, teaching church leaders how to manage their congregations more effectively.

The following Issues Etc. podcast drew my attention to a recent sermon of Hybel’s:-

Review of ‘Jeremiah’s Tough Assignment’

The sermon itself can be accessed here, but you have to pay up to $10.50 for it.

Hybel’s message can easily be summarised: when Jeremiah was given tough assignments by God, he never gave up. …

That’s not what I call preaching 1

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Solomon’s Porch, Minneapolis, is a well-known ’emergent’ church, and Tony Jones one of the best-known leaders of the emergent movement/conversation.

So, we might assume that a recent sermon by Jones at Solomon’s Porch might provide a fair sample of how emergent people set about ‘improving’ the evangelical preaching they so despise.

The example in question is on John 4, a passage which features the account of Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well.  You can read Jones’ own comments on this experience here.…