Preaching and Preachers

Preaching and PreachersThis question needs to be examined carefully because there aremany sides to it. My rooted objection to this modern method is verylargely that the service is so controlled. In the nature of things it hasto be. The broadcasting people have to draw up their programmes,and they are only given a certain amount of time, and that very little.From their standpoint this is quite all right, but, I argue that from thestandpoint of preaching it is all wrong, because it militates against thefreedom of the Spirit. IfI have warned against the danger of allowingthe congregation to dictate in this respect, how much more do weneed to warn against allowingradio and television authorities to do thesame thing? That they have to do so because of the exigencies ofarranging programmes is irrelevant from our standpoint. Surely it iswrong at any time or in any circumstances to start in fetters and to bechained by any kind of time-limit.I remember years ago having a discussion on this whole questionwith the then Religious Director of the British Broadcasting Corporationwho had been good enough to invite me to preach on more thanone occasion. The simple way in which I put my case to him was this.I said, 'What would happen to your programmes if the Holy Spiritsuddenly descended upon the preacher and possessed him; whatwould happen to your programmes?' He could not answer me. Theanswer would be, of course, that the preacher would be turned off.But what a terrible thing to do. When preaching we are not to be incharge to that extent, and therefore it is wrong, it seems to me, to behemmed in like this by these considerations of time and other proprieties.In addition, the Religious Director emphasised that theyalways had to have their eye partly on people who are in hospitals andinstitutions and in their homes, and that you have to have a certainnumber of hymns and prayers in the given time for their sakes. Theresult is, however, that the preaching is crowded out. They do notwant too much preaching and, in any case, they would be disturbedif you should preach on certain aspects of the Truth, such as thequestion of death and judgment and so on.Now from the standpoint of the authorities one can wellunderstand248