Forest vs. Trees 3.23.2023

    The first known use of any form of the phrase “can’t see the forest for the trees” appeared in the 1546 collection of proverbs by John Heywood. The form, following British English usage, substitutes the word “wood” as the collective noun for "forest". The meaning is the same. A person whose vision is impaired in this way is so fixated on individual details that he fails to grasp the whole of which the details are constituent parts. If you regularly follow me, you might accuse me of having such affliction considering the amount of time I spend discussing individual details of preparing to preach. I assure you that my explorations of the minutia are always undergirded by a right appreciation for the broader context in which they are pursued. 

    What we must understand is that the details are important. Without the small steps taken individually in the course of our work, there is no journey. Without sharpening and preparing our tools we lack the means to accomplish that work. No amount of energy is sufficient to overcome the handicaps we impose on ourselves by short-sighted neglect of the details. To only work with the big picture is just as limiting. It takes both mastering the details and fitting them into the big picture that makes for solid, Biblical preaching. And we must master not only the details nor only the big picture, preaching requires us to understand the relationship between the two. Most importantly, preaching is blessed in having the most ironclad and inflexible of deadlines. You’re preaching Sunday. Both your micro and macro work must be done, as well as possible knowing that there are limits on how much time each of us has at our disposal to invest in preparing to preach. 

    Even still there are circumstances and topics which require more detailed and technical examination. So, what kinds of details require extra examination? The question really is “what details, for how long, and to what purpose.” This is hardly scientific, and I would not promise that I have followed this advice for every sermon series over more than forty years of preaching but here are some basic rules of thumb for when we need to fasten our thinking caps for more detailed studies.

Potential Controversies

    There are times when people will get mad at what you say. There are times that it will be your fault (guilty) because of insufficient or misdirected research. Sometimes it will be your fault because you have framed the material in such a way as to pick a fight. (Yeah, I’ve done that too.) And some people come to Church in an oppositional mood; looking to carp, criticize, and complain. Whatever you say they will take the other side. If a topic can potentially be at the root of controversy you need to understand it better than anyone else in the room. 

    And then present the truth with love and compassion. We often talk about people being offended by what the Bible says, and while that will sometimes be the case our job is to make the truth as palatable as possible, particularly when people won’t like it.  The best way to prepare for a message that might be controversial is to study diligently and then present the fruit of your study with love, humility, and compassion. If people are offended by what scripture says we must be absolutely certain that it is scripture and not us that foments controversy.

Exegetical Conundrums

    Don’t pretend like the Bible is always only easy to understand. It isn’t. There are complications, puzzles, and brain teasers which take work to unravel. The contemporary rush to simplify the scriptures into easily applied practical bits of advice can be a hindrance to understanding what the Bible really says. 

    This is less a matter of expertise or intelligence than it is a matter of old-fashioned hard work. Most of the so-called “contradictions” in scripture are hermeneutic or linguistic conundrums that take work to understand. It is comparatively easy to find ready-made answers that don’t require you to do the work. Refine your skills. Practice. Get better. Purchase and learn to use the kinds of tools that require you to do the thinking. Pull the loose strings on those frustrating exegetical knots and you will find that your preaching is not only richer but your presentation more comfortable because you have done the work for yourself. 

Misunderstood Commonplaces

    Anytime someone tells you that “everyone knows x”, you are going to need to do a deep dive on “x”. Often these common understandings are only partly accurate or derived from a non-contextual or even translation-driven understanding of texts of Scripture. Sometimes these commonplaces are nothing more than antiquated bits of tribal knowledge which have been repeated so often for so long that no one ever questions them anymore. They can be colorful, memorable, often repeated, and wrong. Or at best, misunderstood. Do your homework. Dive as deep as you need to and then resurface with the information you need to responsibly teach accurately what the text says rather than the tribal history of interpretation often treasured by those who prefer not to do the work.  

Cultural Shibboleths 

    Particularly in our polarized cultural environment, there are a lot of unbiblical teachings that have been passed off as mainstream “evangelical” theological conclusions. If you don’t reexamine such cultural-conditioned topics you may find that you are culturally acceptable, at the expense of being Biblically accurate. 

    I remember S. Edward Tesh at Lincoln Christian Seminary reminding us that our job is not to be conservative, or liberal. Our job is to be Biblical. There are times when being Biblical requires that both the culturally conservative and the culturally liberal be offended by the truth. 

    These shibboleths are treasured and repeated, not because they adequately reflect the intent of scripture but because they function as a password for the “in” group. Often, they are maintained by quoting a revered preacher or teacher from the past whose aura of respectability makes questioning their authority seem sacrilegious. Our job is not to buttress the claims of a supposed “Christian culture.” Our job is to articulate the actual claims of Christ through the responsible study and preaching of Scripture. Our job is to seek the lost and feed the sheep and it is irresponsible to avoid calling simplistic “password” Christianity to account. 

Intertextual Conversations

    It is worthwhile to consider how an NT author or speaker uses OT material. There are even times when an OT story revisits prior material (Jephthah’s review of episodes from the wilderness journey and conquest of Canaan in Judges 11). Last week I preached from Mark 12.1-12, a passage of scripture framed around two OT passages. It would have been irresponsible and pretentious to pretend like this was not the case.

    When a passage is clearly in conversation with other Scripture that relationship needs to be explored in detail. This exploration needs to be more than just ransacking the cross-references which are provided in most translations. Often those cross-references consider similarity in words, thoughts, or ideas but not the intertextual relationship which may or may not exist. It is our job to examine that conversation and to make judgments about how a later author or speaker interacts with previous scripture. Cross-references are another tool in the toolbox. God called you to wield the tools. 

Long-held personal Convictions

    I have held certain theological positions, based derived from exegetical conclusions for more than 50 years. That’s half a century. I have changed in that time and all the disciplines germane to Biblical preaching have changed as well. It is nothing but pure hubris for me to think “I was right 32 years ago when I studied this subject, I’m still right and I don’t need to revisit or recalibrate.”  This kind of intellectual laziness and pride may save a little time, but it won't make me a better preacher. It is precisely when standing on the most secure ground that I think it necessary to reexamine the literature, reevaluate the exegesis, and reconsider my presuppositions. If I was right the last time I preached from a passage, good. If I need to recalibrate, fine. Until you and I look at our past work with a critical eye we won't be able to determine whether we are becoming more capable workmen. 

Wrapping up

     It has taken me longer this week to write this blog because, practicing what I'm preaching, I’ve been doing a deep dive into a particularly thorny textual issue in the Gospel of Mark. The advice presented here has been guiding me for the last two weeks. I know I have about 5 hours left to give to this subject and then I will need to be done. When the truth is important and the investigation intriguing it can be difficult to give up the chase. I began this particular “deep dive” about three weeks ago. My sermon series from Mark will end on Easter Sunday. 

    In this kind of work basic tools like a calendar, to-do list, and clock are important. Just because you need to spend time looking at trees in detail, so that you might have a more adequate grasp of the forest does not mean that you get to put in a requisition for more time. The week is passing. Sunday is coming. Starting early and working hard helps but there comes a time when you whisper a prayer under your breath, ascend the sacred desk, and depend upon God’s Holy Spirit as you preach as well as you can, that which you have examined to the best of your ability.