Preaching in the IC
Communicating God’s word clearly is a vital building block of church health. It is through preaching of the word that we hear of God’s goodness, his faithfulness, his plan for the world, and the hope that we have in Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s word shakes us from the slumber of apathetic living. The preached Word soothes our aching souls battered by the realities of life. God’s wisdom lovingly points us down the path of flourishing when we turn wayward. Preaching is a vital part of any church, and preaching across cultures is more important than ever.
Our God is not a God bound to one continent or culture, so why would we be content with monocultural preaching? Any leader or teacher passionate about the intercultural church longs for the sermon to point every nation and tribe to the only one deemed worthy in Revelation 5:9-10:
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
As delightfully vital as preaching is… I face a challenge preaching well interculturally: Myself.
I know that I am biased, and even blind to some of my biases. I know I view exegesis, theology, relevance, application, communication, sermon structure, and even critique from a certain point of view. I’m not ashamed of the way God has wired me and grown me, but I know I would benefit from others’ perspectives. (If you are interested in joining our next intercultural ministry cohort, email jacquie@micn.org and we will give you all the details you need to know)
There are four considerations to keep in mind when preaching interculturally, followed by three questions to ask yourself:
- Collaborative Preparation
- Holistic Explanation
- Robust Application
- Humble Evaluation
(Even the fact that I numbered these and they all end in “tion” is cultural, again no apologies but at least there is awareness!)
Collaborative Preparation
When we prepare sermons, we never do so alone. We consult the Holy Spirit, commentaries, friends, YouTube…. Even artificial intelligence! We should also consult other members of the body of Christ in our sermon collaboration. The IC is packed full of perspectives from all over the globe… why would we squander that holy resource? When we preach in the IC we need to listen to God through His word and listen to our people before we stand up to speak. Here are some helpful questions to ask others as you collaboratively prepare your next message:
- What academic resources outside of my home culture have I consulted?
- How is my cultural bias impacting my interpretation of this passage? What depth of God’s truth could I be blind to?
- (After sharing the outline or big idea of the sermon with someone) How would this be said back in your home country?
Yes, I know it is more work to ask others. It’s worth it! Also, for many cultures giving feedback to a spiritual leader or even being asked a question by a leader can be challenging. Encourage members of your church to help the formation of the message and adapt this as appropriate to your setting.
Holistic Explanation:
We need all faces of the IC to reveal to us God’s precious gem of his global family. When we only explain God’s truth through one lens, we miss out on the full beauty of God’s work. When we explain fundamental truths like the gospel, we would serve our people well to think through the 3 colors of worldview:
Innocence/Guilt Power/Fear Honor/Shame
Many good books exist explaining the above lenses which are beyond the scope of this article. Any IC leader would do well to be very family with the robust perspectives in Scripture around the 3 colors of worldview. As the preacher explains the text, 3 powerful questions to ask about the hearers are:
- Do they hear a righteous message?
- Do they hear an empowering message?
- Do they hear an honoring message?
Our aim is an answer of “Yes!” to all three!
Robust Application
Beloved mentor of mine, Howard Hendricks, would often say, regarding understanding God’s word “Knowing and not doing is not knowing at all!” The same is true in our preaching. As we seek to explain God’s word, we also want to encourage our people to apply God’s word, that we would be not merely hears of the word, but also doers.
As we preach to an intercultural audience, we would be woefully ignorant to only apply God’s word monoculturally. I’m thankful that we have the Holy Spirit that will take God’s word, and apply it into the lives of our listeners, but that does not absolve us from the duty of carefully thinking through how a various passage might apply to various world wanderers and global nomads.
Understanding various cultural dimensions is crucial at this point, so the preacher can apply the text, not just to their own lives, and people like them, but to a broad range of nationalities. Here are just 3 of many more good questions to ask:
- How does this biblical idea apply to individuals and groups?
- What does living this out look like in formal and informal contexts?
- Does this application honor tradition as well as celebrate innovation?
Humble Evaluation
I saved the tricky one for last! Feedback in an intercultural setting can be so complicated! Some cultures crave direct feedback, some gently offer indirect feedback, and yet others seem to barely give any feedback at all. In order for us to grow as communicators, we must develop a culturally appropriate and goldy system of reflection.
For some of us this looks like a formal process of seeking after feedback. Develop feedback teams from all around the world to answer a few simple questions to help the preacher grow as a communicator. This can feel painful (especially with super direct feedback), but with the right people on your feedback team you’ll be able to thrive as a communicator!
For others in the IC movement, we serve in cultures where feedback needs to be listened FOR instead of sought AFTER. Sometimes feedback comes in the form of a listener with bright eyes. Other times a story of church member provides indirect feedback that may be missed without intentional intercultural listening. Feedback may be in the form of second or third-hand news from others.
3 helpful questions to seek after or listen for are:
- What is the best motivation of the person giving feedback and what nugget of truth can I learn from?
- What was helpful in the sermon? (positive)
- What would have been helpful in the message? (negative)
That may seem like a lot of questions, but it’s just the beginning of a journey to faithfully communicate God’s word to God’s people. Sometimes preaching in the IC can seem complicated. There are moments preaching feels like a delight. And yes, there are times when the “Sunday’s coming” vibe is daunting and scary. No matter what, remember that God is with you and will speak through you. Delivering God’s word in a church packed with Revelation 5 potential is a joy, so go embrace it! And remember, if you are interested in joining our next intercultural ministry cohort, email jacquie@micn.org and we will give you all the details you need to know.
May God use every nation, tribe, and tongue to point many others back home to Him.
Bill Koogler
Church Strengthening Coordinator
