Why Pentecostals Don?t Preach Expository Sermons...Continued from page 1

Jeff C. Magruder

5. We Believe that Making Room for Expository Preaching Means not Leaving Any Place for other Approaches to Communicating the Gospel.

Preaching involves the proclaiming of the gospel and sees the preacher as a messenger, or herald of that gospel. Technically, it is not a sermon unless the Bible is being explained and applied. This does not mean there should not be a prominent place for speeches, reflections,testimonies, etc. givenfrom behind the pulpit nor does it follow from this that there is no place for other mediums of communication or an expansive use of the arts. But it is helpful to understand the difference so that there is a clear understanding of the function and importance of each.

Expository preaching will not be the only thing we do behind the pulpit, but we should seriously consider making it the main thing.

6. We Are Afraid too Much Preparation Will Replace the Leading of the Holy Spirit.

One could argue that Pentecostals have been so committed to being led by the Spirit that they have neglected the other essential practices needed for good preaching, such as preparation, organization of the message, planning a preaching calendar, staying with the sermon notes while delivering the sermon, and allowing the main idea of the text to be the main idea of the sermon.

Do not underestimate the Holy Spirit’s ability to lead you in planning. If the Spirit can guide you at the altar, during your prayer time, or in day-to-day living, He can certainly give you wisdom to plan. Remember that the preaching plan, like all plans, are projections that are based on the best information you have at the time, if it needs to be revised then do so. The Holy Spirit will guide you.

Let this be clear: there is nothing inherently contradictory about being led by the Spirit and preaching expository sermons. Both commitments require effort, patience, and a willingness to let God have His way.

7. We Have Not Thought Through the Implications of Preaching from an Inspired and Authoritative Bible.

Expository preaching is a logical commitment for Pentecostals who have such a high view of Scripture. It is a matter of record that our doctrine is “…by and l

arge a statement of conservative evangelical theology.” If you were to review any doctrinal statement of the major Pentecostal denominations (Church of God in Christ, Four-Square, Assemblies of God, Church of God Cleveland, Tennessee) you would find that phraseology such as “infallible,” “immutable,” “verbally inspired” and “authoritative” are prominent in describing the nature of the Bible. Thus, one leading Pentecostal scholar, Gordon Fee, observed, “…the mainstream of traditional American Pentecostalism has treated Scripture in very much the same way as have other forms of American fundamentalism or evangelicalism.”