The Other Side of the Boat – Part 2
January 30, 2005
Dear Friends:
A few weeks ago we started a series on preaching called the Right Side of the Boat (taken from John 21). The intention was to share new and effective ideas on the topic of preaching. We have a couple of things we would like to share with you.
A proven, highly-effective preaching program is to start a Bible study at work. Believe it or not, even in these politically-correct days, a lunchtime Bible study can still be held without causing the “sensitivity police” to come running. In fact, our highly-sensitive culture could make it easier because no one will want to offend you in telling you to stop. A few tips to consider in so doing.
1) Make the topic a Bible book (i.e. Genesis, Matthew, etc.) rather first-principles. This way your focus is on the Bible itself rather than proselytizing. In most professional environments, being religious is OK, but turning the office into your personal pulpit is not.
2) Encourage open discussion. Don’t feel like you need to combat everything you disagree with. If everyone can openly share their opinions without fear of reproach, you should be afforded the same courtesy. If people feel like they are being preached to, talked down to or are not allowed to voice their own opinions, you will probably find your class attendees will dwindle quickly. On the other hand, if you stick closely to the Bible letting the text speak for itself and have a warm, friendly environment, it is likely that more people will want to come.
A sister in Christ worked for the Fairfax County government offices in northern Virginia and many years ago, started a lunchtime Bible class. Roughly a dozen baptisms have resulted from that class. Similarly, a brother in Christ here in Richmond started a Bible class at his office in the last year. He reserved a conference room in the building and invited people to “brown bag” during their lunch hour. He has consistently had at least 10 people and as many as 22 in the class. It is interesting to note that he is not even an employee of the business. He works as an independent consultant on a long-term project. Finally, another sister in Christ here in Richmond started a multi-office lunchtime Bible study. She garnered a free conference room (which many office parks have) and just started inviting people who worked in the area. If everyone bought lunch, you could probably find a restaurant that would give you a private room once a week for your class.
We will endeavor to bring you more stories and ideas like these via the Thought for the Week. However, we would also encourage you to participate in a more interactive environment. If you would like to participate in a new, interactive preaching discussion group, go to the Christadelphian Preaching Resource Center web site. There is a wealth of material on the site, but the one area that I would particularly like to focus on is a preaching forum to exchange ideas. It is found at http://www.cprc.info/phpBB2/. The hope is that we can get enough committed people on the site to share good ideas. “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Prov. 15:22)
Lord willing, through the effective efforts of people all over the world, we can bring to light the glorious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Have a great week!
