I want to offer a word of caution to my fellow pastors about seeking popularity.

As I confessed to my congregation in my sermon last Sunday, I have sought attention and popularity for much of my life. I lie to myself, thinking that if I were more popular, I could have a better impact on the world for Christ.

If I'm honest, though, that is a false virtue I try to wrap around my self-centered quest for personal glory.

Before most of my sermons I pray, "May Christ increase, so I may decrease." I must pray this. It is not a reality of my heart, it is a plea for God to change my heart.

God says: I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another (Isaiah 42:8a HCSB).

A few months ago, I read Michael York's odd, yet satisfying memoir of filming the movie Megiddo: The Omega Code 2. In it, he recounted a quote from John Updike: Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face.

I intended to post John Updike’s quote for a few weeks, and then I came to Luke 11:42-12:3 in my sermon series through the Gospel of Luke. In his famous woes, Jesus condemns the Pharisees' obsession with popularity and attention: Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces (Luke 11:43).

I used Updike’s quote here.

So this post is a caution, but mostly for me: Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face.

I have been slowly working my way through Preaching in Hitler's Shadow: Sermons of Resistance in the Third Reich edited by Dean G. Stroud.

Until this book, I had never heard of Pastor Julius Von Jan. He is not a major figurehead in the resistance against the Nazis. But his voice mattered.

When the Nazis began to their attack against Jews in November 1938, Von Jan spoke out against the Nazis. I have included below, some quotations from his sermon, O Land, Land, Land: Hear the Word of the Lord! Shortly after this sermon was delivered, he was dragged from his home by approximately 500 Nazis, beaten publicly by the Nazi mob, and imprisoned.

He survived the war. He is not household name. As far as I know, the only available English translation of his sermon must be purchased. And yet, his voice mattered. His courage mattered. And I think he still speaks to us today.

Review: Sensitive Preaching to the Sexually Hurting

Summary: Sensitive Preaching to the Sexually Hurting walks preachers through a variety of topics related to human sexuality. Dr. Sam Serio offers practical suggestions and language to use while discussing these sensitive topics.

Review: For six years, I served in a sexual abstinence program through my local pregnancy support center in upstate New York. In retrospect, we should have been named a sexual design program. So, I was very interested to read this book with my background biblical sexuality and my current role as a pastor.

Serio explores sexual topics with an openness that’s needed in the Christian church. He covers the topics of Casual Sex, Abortion, Sexual Assault, Childhood Abuse, Same-Sex Attraction, and Sexless Marriage. His categories are helpful, and he highlights some topics that had not occurred to me.

At the end of each topic, Serio gives text suggestions to talk about these individual topics. I did not find these terribly helpful. However, the main sections of the chapters are very helpful. He offers terms, phrases, and great insight on how to present these sexual issues to congregations in a gentle but biblically truthful way.

My one major criticism with the book is the chapter on Same-Sex Attraction and Homosexuality. While I appreciate Serio’s balanced and loving concern for individuals, he puts too much emphasis on the parents as a root of same-sex attraction. He highlights four types of fractured parental relationships that lead to this type of attraction but fails to address what happens when none of these fractured relationships is present and a person still experiences same-sex attraction.

Ultimately, I was surprised with how helpful I found this book. There are areas I disagree with his approach, but Serio offers pastors an image of gracious, biblical conversations from the pulpit.

Find it on Amazon here.
Find it on Kregel here.

Rating: 4/5 Stars (I really liked it)

I have been preaching without notes for almost seven years now. I thought I was being innovative! But Stoddard advocated for preaching without notes nearly three hundred years ago.

His argument is incredible. The pastor isn't arguing that preaching without notes merely gives the speaker better stage presence. Instead, he is arguing it gives the preacher greater authority as he is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

From firsthand experience I have seen this in my own personal ministry. When my sermons are rooted deeply in Scripture and study, something happens when I stand before the congregation with only a Bible in hand.

This is why we will be discussing how to preach without notes as one of our topics during the upcoming One Day Preaching Seminar at The Orchard Church and in partnership with North West Baptist Association.

(Hint: Preaching without notes has very little to do with memorization.)

Click on the picture below and register for this free seminar!

I will be hosting a one day preaching seminar. It is open to anyone interested.
Check it out:

Summary: Randal E. Pelton presents a concise textbook for "Big Idea" preaching, which focuses on connecting the big idea to Christ-Centered sermons.

Review: In general, I agree with Pelton's preaching philosophy. I am a "Big Idea" preacher from the school of Haddon Robinson. Much of Pelton's book interacts with Robinson's philosophy of preaching, and like minded persons. He uses slightly different terminology, but at its core (or big idea) it flows from that same school of thought.

For this reason alone, I must commend it as a solid work on homiletics.

The book itself, however, is conflicted with what it wants to accomplish. On the one hand, it wants to present itself as an introductory, one-stop shop, for preaching sermons from the text. But on the other, it is trying to make an argument for bringing Christ into every sermon and how to do that. The book is fairly short, but in comparison to the other sections the chapter on "Canonical Big Ideas" is rather long. But it is too short to make a winsome argument, or equip the homiletician with the various options of Christ-centered preaching that Pelton offers.

The book is built off of the "Big Idea" preaching philosophy, and adds onto it this Christ-focused concept of a "Canonical Big Idea." There is simply not enough time spent on this concept, though. In this extended chapter Pelton juggles the tasks of arguing the need for this step, while simultaneously trying to teach how to do this. He doesn't quite succeed in either.

I would like to see his thoughts on this "Canonical Big Idea" presented in a longer work on its own. There just didn't seem to be the space to present what needed to be presented.

Finally, Preaching with Accuracy felt much more abstract than a book like this should feel. There certainly needs to be a philosophy presented, but the suggested big ideas, and sermon help never felt concrete. I looked at the suggested big ideas and without thinking began working on them to simplify their wording. To move them to a more concrete place.

So, while I agree with Pelton's preaching philosophy overall, I feel this book had dual foci which shifted the attention away from the concept of "Canonical Big Ideas" Pelton wanted to present.

Rating: 3/5 (I Liked It)

Find it at Kregel here.
Find it at Amazon here.

3LC Publishing featured me in an interview for their "In God's Image" series.

Over the course of the interview I talked about my writings, the Untold Podcast, and preaching with a creative flare. Head over here to check it out: http://www.3lcpublishing.com/2015/06/in-gods-image-author-podcaster-nathan-james-norman/