Some Reasons Why We Do Not Preach and Teach the Things We Should

It is so easy to fail in our mission to pass vital messages from one generation to the next. I often find myself falling into this trap. It is not just about the importance of biblical fundamentalism, it is about important doctrines and life lessons of all kinds. These are the battles that I face in my own mind. Maybe you face them too.

Saying it over and over again.

Ministry demands repetitive messages. As I plan messages or sermon subjects, I find myself saying “I just preached on that not long ago.” Then I look through my notes and it has been 10 years. That seems like a short period of time to a preacher wanting to cover a lot of biblical material. But for the young people in my church, it means that I missed an entire generation. For our own children growing up in our ministries, we have a six-year window (or so) to make our case for our faith. If we don’t do it repeatedly, young people will grow right up and out of our ministries without ever knowing why we do what we do. For students in colleges and seminaries, the window is even less.

Sounding anachronistic.

“Why do you keep talking about that old stuff?” When we talk about the fundamentalist/modernist debate, or the dangers of ecumenical evangelism, younger generations tend to roll their eyes. But many young people roll their eyes when we talk about history of any kind. The principles are timeless, and the circumstances will rise again. Lessons were learned by previous generations at great cost. We are fools if we do not learn from their stories. Of course, we will sound absolutely anachronistic if our case for the present is simply the stories of the past. Our present decisions must be made upon clear biblical principles—the stories of the past just illustrate how those principles were applied in a specific period in time.

Fear of offending pastors, church members, and students.

I hate to admit this, but I face this. I do not enjoy making people angry (some of you do enjoy it!). Certain subjects are uncomfortable–preaching on certain types of sin, principles regarding personal lifestyle, entertainment, worship and music, biblical separation and more. I have to remember that if I fear one group—and change my message—I fail in my biblical obligations to the whole.

Focusing on other weaknesses exclusively.

As a seminary student and young pastor, I focused a lot on seeking to correct what I thought were the errors of the previous generation. And there were areas that needed shoring up. As I have grown older in ministry, my perspective has changed.  I have also come to deeply appreciate their strengths.

I believe that one of the weaknesses in my corner of Baptist fundamentalism over the last three decades has been true evangelism and discipleship. In trying to shore up one weakness, it is easy to become weak in another. If I think certain biblical principles (like separation) have been overemphasized or misapplied, my temptation is to neglect the subject altogether. That is more dangerous. It is so hard to maintain balance in our practice and message. The only way to maintain balance is to constantly evaluate and correct ourselves. We need to carry on the Great Commission AND continue to be faithful to the biblical principles of fundamentalism. If we do not do that, our Great Commission efforts will be damaged.

Wanting people “outside” to like me more, or at least to not mock me as much.

R.C. Sproul Jr in an article entitled “Our Fundamentalist Betters” criticized the spirit of his own evangelicalism. He said this.

We evangelicals are the ones who cut this deal with the modernists. “We will call you brother if you will call us scholar.” Please don’t misunderstand. The point isn’t that the right way to believe in the fundamentals is to be stupid. Instead, the point is that the right way to believe in the fundamentals is with a holy indifference to what others think about us. (Table Talk, March 2006)

I did not quote him to criticize evangelicals, but rather to be reminded that the fear of man and the desire to be liked can drive my own temptation to compromise. I have to do, believe, and teach what is right no matter how much I might be mocked or ridiculed—especially when that mocking and ridicule comes from unbelievers. I must desire God to like what I am doing above anyone else in this world.

Fear of failure.

Not one of us wants to fail. We do not want to be the pastor that dissolves the church or the institutional leader that oversees decline. The tendency is to go into survival mode, where the goal switches to survival and away from the historic purposes of the organization. I have to remind myself that when I do that, I have already failed. Survival is not, and can never be the purpose. Our purpose is greater than ourselves. With the FBFI, the purpose is to communicate faithful biblical fundamentalism from one generation to the next and the need is as great today as it was when the first faithful group met 99 years ago. As we remain faithful to Him, we are confident in His faithfulness to us.