Boldness

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine was down from Lawrenceville on business and I had the chance to spend an hour with him over a cup of coffee. Joel is one of those people that I think every pastor needs around. In the middle of a busy, stressful week, he's a guy that genuinely encourages me whether he knows it or not. In the same encouraging conversation, he can push me to be a little bit better.

Since we met that day, one question of his has echoed in my mind over and over and over. He asked me, "Is your preaching as bold as your blogging?" My reply, "I try to preach boldly most of the time."

And I do. I firmly believe that sermons aren't meant to be feel good moments and have to have realistic opportunities to respond. If you're listening to a preacher, it means that either you don't know Christ and need to take those first steps or you have a relationship with Christ and should be striving toward perfection, working out your faith with "fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12).

Am I bold or perfect every time I stand up on a Sunday morning? Unfortunately no. Am I bold every day I get up and live publicly? I wish.

Two weeks ago I preached on Peter walking on water. Last Sunday I preached on the Canaanite woman who pleaded with Jesus for her daughter's healing along with Jacob's wrestling with God at Jabbok. Both sermons dealt with our boldness as Christians, whether it was making the decision to follow through with what God has called you to or simply struggling with God and your faith. Boldness is one of those essential ingredients to living an effective (or fruitful) faith.

I hope that when people hear me preach, they feel urged to grow in faith and become barbarians in their own sense. I hope that my sermons are bold enough to make the grade. Most importantly, I hope that I am at my boldest when I am out of the pulpit.