"Heart" and "Annointed" Preaching

Many, many church members who have attended First Baptist Church for an extended time, who have sat under the preaching of the Lindsays, Vines, and now Brunson - they know that there is an "emptiness" in Mac's preaching. There is something VASTLY different in his sermons as compared to Vines and Lindsay. I wish to share my thoughts here on what this difference is.

For many, its hard to pinpoint the emptiness, or to even express what it is. What is it about his preaching that leaves one with the feeling that you perhaps have heard a good "speech", but not a heart-stirring, convicting, loving, encouraging yet challenging, sermon from a Bible preacher? You get in the car, and its hard to even discuss what his point of the sermon was. The kids didn't quite get it, and perhaps the wife was lost in the history and emotionalism and theatrics as well. Those who sat under Vines and the Lindsays KNOW what I'm talking about. The sermons emanating from the pulpit of FBC Jacksonville were clear, simple yet profound, basic for the young yet deep for the mature - and they were life changing. Little theatrics, there was no introduction video, much smaller imag screens, no moving from the top platform to the bottom, no open weeping. But they for sure were life changing messages - and the accumulation of these messages in the hearts of people built one of the greatest churches in our land.

After watching the theatrics of Mac Sunday night, weeping, crying, then yelling and then crying again...with very few visible tears (watch the video - look for the tears), I am going to try to explain it. Maybe my explanation will resonate with some of you.

Let me try to explain it by defining "heart" and "annointed" preaching.

Jerry Vines wrote two books on preaching, "A Guide to Effective Sermon Delivery" and "A Guide to Effective Sermon Preparation". I understand these are textbooks used in many seminaries.

In the book on sermon delivery, Vines explains all the mechanics of how to effectively deliver a sermon; the mechanical, mental, and rhetorical methods. A very technical explanation. Like Jerry Vines - it is a book that is very detailed and technical, but easily understandable! I can see how this is a book read by many preachers preparing for the ministry.

But his last two chapters in this book he discusses two aspects of sermon delivery: "heart preaching" and "annointed preaching".

Vines' points out that a preacher can have all the other aspects of sermon delivery mastered in his book, but if you are not a "heart" preacher (sincere, concerned, loving) or if you are not an "annointed" preacher (the Holy Spirit working through your sermon), its all in vain. Its empty preaching.

In my opinion, and I know my opponents here will disagree, Mac is not an annointed preacher. This to me has been very apparent for some time. Why do I say he is not an annointed preacher? I guess I'll explain it in my own layman's terms like this: Mac is less interested in the Holy Spirit bringing conviction to his listeners, than he is in FORCIBLY getting his listeners to agree with HIM...he FORCIBLY, sometimes angrily, will try to get people to see their shortcomings. He believes himself to be loving. But he speaks with heavy condescension to his listeners. Nowhere in scripture do I ever see Jesus condescendingly, angrily, preaching to people (except for the Pharisees, the arrogant religious leaders of his day - but never to the sheep). Mac preaches from a mountain down to the plebe. His over-use of history is very selfish as he expects his listeners to share his own love for history else they will be lost or confused as many don't uderstand the historical contexts. In short, he doesn't seem to trust the Holy Spirit to take his words and fit them to each of the listeners' hearts, to bring convinction to the lost to be saved, or to convict the saved to repentence and service.

The preaching of the great preachers of the past (Vines mentions Criswell and Truett and R.G. Lee) like Vines (still preaching!), Lindsay, and Rogers...these men would preach and all ages and all conditions of men would be touched by the Holy Spirit in one single sermon - and it wasn't even intention in most cases! The people of FBC Jax and BBC and FBC Dallas know what I'm talking about. Children could learn and understand their sermons. The lost man was convicted of his need to be saved. The backslidden Christian would be compelled to return to Christ. The lazy church member who wasn't serving as he should was moved to serve - and all this in one single sermon heard by thousands of listeners. For Mac, many of the children get nothing as they are lost in his history and scared by his anger...the lost man and visitors are put off by his arrogance and unloving attitude towards those he SHOULD love (his church members)...and the Christians aren't touched perhaps as they should be because of his unloving complaining and harping and condescension. I believe the whole package of his delivery, his attitude, his "aire", his condescension; it all serves to squelch the Holy Spirit's ability to do what He wants to do.

Mac and Smyrl place great emphasis on formal seminary training for even lay people - but the truth is a man may have a doctorate from a seminary, but the Holy Spirit can much more use a non-seminary, uneducated layman to deliver God's word than an un-annointed preacher with a list of degrees after his name- and those at FBC Jax that have been touched by the sweet bible teachers at our church in Sunday School know what I mean! This is another reason, by the way, perhaps that Mac is meeting great resistance to his scheme of forcing us into small groups. We are not being fed by his sermons and now of all things he is wanting us to huddle in small groups to discuss some predetermined questions - when what we want in the Sunday School hour is an annointed, heart, loving, bible teacher to teach a lesson - and they do NOT need to be taught "Old Testament 101" by Jim Smyrl or Rush Whitt to be qualified to deliver such a bible lesson. Am I getting through here?

But not only is Mac not "annointed", he also is not a "heart" preacher. He doesn't show any love toward his people in his preaching. If he really does love his congregation it NEVER comes out in his preaching. It doesn't even come out in his announcements when he does them. He may be a great guy in his office or after the service or at the restaurant, but 90% of his listeners will never have the opportunity to know him and share an evening or meal with him. What we know about Mac, the REAL Mac must come forth from his preaching. And the Mac that comes forth is angry, unloving, boastful, arrogant. And this is totally separate from the fact that he has been preaching a legalistic form of Christianity (service and tithing out of DUTY not love). I'm not even talking about that, but just his lack of genuine heart-felt love for his people. Now, if he is not angry, unloving, boastful and arrogant in real life, one on one...then he really needs to bring his preaching in line with the real Mac. Otherwise its just a show - he's a performer. People that knew Vines and Lindsay knew that what they were in the pulpit was what they were in real life. They weren't showmen.

I'll leave you with this: for Vines to point out that "heart" and "annointed" preaching are the ultimate requisites for effective preaching, is to also say, sadly, there are preachers lacking in those. And we have one that I believe is lacking in both.

Here is an excerpt from Vines' book, from the chapter on "heart" preaching:

"Perhaps the reason there has been a recoil against heart preaching is the extreme to whch some preachers have gone. There is an insincerity that is obnoxious in the pulpit, if not embarrassing. The preacher who sheds crocodile tears and who purposely works up his congregation to accomplish his own ends is not actually a heart preacher. Such preaching is basically insincerity covered with a pretense of emotion."

That is where WE are at. And its so painfully obvious, I don't know why men who should be Mac's mentors like Vines and Hunt, won't read Mac the riot act and help him to change his ways - that is if it is possible at all. If Vines is sitting idly by, and criticizing anonymous bloggers while he is letting Mac behave as he is, he shares in the guilt of the destruction of our church.