The Frankenstein Sermon

The little bubble of Christianity that I inhabit is evangelical, reformed, baptistic, and 9Marksy. We love doctrine and theology, are ruthlessly committed to the five solas of the Reformation, are passionate about the primacy of the local church, and so much more. I love my tribe.

And yet, no tribe is perfect. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and mine is no different. The point of this article is to lovingly but firmly address an issue I’m seeing in some of our circles. I call this weakness, “The Frankenstein sermon.”

A Frankenstein sermon is one where all of the constituent homiletic pieces of an expositional sermon may be present, but it’s lacking the vivifying force that should bring the sermon to life. In the same way that miracles and knowledge are dead when they lack love (1 Cor. 13:3), expositional preaching, no matter how homiletically astute, is dead when it lacks holy passion.

The mere fact that I’m calling for more passion in preaching might make some of my reformed brothers a little nervous. “More passion,” the thought goes, “might lead to less precision.” But this is not an either/or situation. We don’t have to choose between passion and precision. We can do both. We must do both. We must recapture a vision for the kind of preaching that was once called “logic on fire.”

I’ve heard several sermons over the last few years from guys in my tribe where I recognized all the constituent parts of a good sermon:

• Thoughtful introduction and conclusion
• Helpful illustrations
• Well-organized outline
• Accurate exegesis
• A gospel presentation that flows directly from the meaning of the text.
• Etc.

And yet, these sermons often feel . . . dead. And that’s a problem. The thing that makes a sermon a sermon, and not just a talk or a lecture, is the vivifying force of holy passion. I’m talking about the passion of John the Baptist as he cries out in the wilderness of Judea, the passion of Stephen as he declares the good news of the gospel to his murderous accusers, the passion of Peter as he stands up and lifts his voice to the confused crowd at Pentecost. There is a kind of biblical fire/unction/passion (whatever you want to call it) that is somewhat lacking in my tribe, and I’m here to drop the gauntlet and call my fellow brother pastors to get more fire into the pulpit.

For some, the remedy is as simple as getting away from a manuscript. Yes, a full manuscript helps with clarity during sermon prep. And yes, a full manuscript helps protect the preacher from saying something wrong or stupid during a sermon. The benefits of a sermon manuscript are many. And, full disclosure, I preach from a full manuscript every Sunday. But the sad fact is that many preachers just don’t preach well while looking down at a word document. It sucks the oxygen out of the fire in their preaching and turns what should be a powerful proclamation into a Sunday School lecture.

Of course, we must recognize that not everyone has the same vocal or emotional register in the pulpit. Not every preacher has the same physical presence. (And certainly we should be quick to acknowledge that all pastors go through low points in their preaching ministry for many and varied reasons.) But passion can be expressed just as powerfully through a diminutive introvert’s preaching as it can be through a thundering juggernaut. I’ve seen it. A small man with a soft voice can utterly eviscerate a congregation with the holy unction of his blood earnest gospel preaching, even if he never raises his voice, stomps his feet, or slaps the pulpit. The problem isn’t volume, its power, passion, and sincerity.

Here’s the deal: We are dead in sin. Billions of souls are dying and going to hell. But God, in his great love, has made a way, through Jesus, for the lost sons of Adam to come home again. He has put death to death on the cross, defeated Satan, and has risen to the Father’s right hand in glory, where we will dwell with him forever if we repent and believe the gospel.

If my brother pastors believe this gospel, it should affect our preaching in an obvious way. We are ambassadors of Christ, as if he were making his appeal through us, “Be reconciled to God!” So implore those who hear you preach in the same spirit of Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets of old. Preach like you mean it. And if you don’t mean it, stop preaching.