Dr. John E. Johnson

Dr. John E. Johnson
Blog

STARTING…AND ENDING WITH WHY

Tonight, I decided to clean off my desk at seminary. Like my desk at church, it has lost a fair amount of dignity due to the mess of endless piles, sticky marks from drinks, and the occasional untidiness of homeless pens and paperclips. I left it impressively clean when I took a brief leave, but after a few weeks back, it is once again embarrassingly disheveled.

One of the benefits of clearing things off is finding hidden treasures like missing keys,unfinished food, or unread books. I discovered Sinek’s book, Start with Why, buried under one stack. I have this bad habit of treating books like some people treat online datingmoving from one opportunity to another without appreciating the whole of the story. So I decided to reconnect with this book, and I discovered that the message, though basic, is really very important.

Sinek wants to know why some people are more influential than others. Why are some organizations more innovative than nearby competitors? Most of us want to see some success in our lives. We hope to make some impact; we want our ministries make a difference in culture. The point of the book is that you have to ask the right question. Too often, we start with the wrong questions—like what, or how, or when, or where. What is our strategy? Where are we going?

Some years ago, I was up near Mt. Hood. We were meeting as leaders to strategize and plan for the future, and as the time drew to a close, I chose to remain behind. I had a sermon to preach the following morning, so I seized some precious moments away from the hurry and noise of life down below. After going over some of my exegetical work and rethinking my homiletic outline, I was feeling pretty gooduntil the Spirit showed up.

This wasn’t Pentecost replayed, but it was one of those moments when you realize God has you in His sights. Though there was no audible voice, there was a profound sense God was speaking in my inner spirit, asking one question—“Why are you doing this?” It has been a question that has stayed with me ever since. There is hardly a week God does not sneak up and ask me—just before I prepare and just before I preach–Why are you preaching this sermon?”

In the Mt Hood moment, suddenly realized I was far from finishedHere’s what I typically ask on a given week

-WHAT am I going to preach?  (Often this has been settled when a series is settled in my mind)

-WHAT does this text seem to be saying on the surface? What is going on here?

-WHO wrote this and who is being addressed?

-WHAT is the context, the history, the setting, the culture, the language being used?

-WHAT kind of literature am I dealing with?

-WHAT theological truths need to be explored?

-WHAT is this saying about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

-WHAT is this saying about us?

-WHERE is this going? Is there a sequence? What is the plot?

-WHERE is the conflict, the tension, the mystery that need be discovered and eventually resolved? (“something has to turn sideways or the sermon doesn’t commence”, Lowry)

-WHAT are other scholars saying? (though if I go here too quickly I might lose the insights that come out of my own exegesis; the sermon might turn into a running commentary or mere lessons of explanation)

-WHERE do things shift in the sermon? Where is the “aha” moment, where things move from itch to scratch?

-WHAT is the main idea?

-HOW does this relate to the people I am preaching to? What “congregational exegesis” is required?

-WHAT is God saying to me? (if I am not profoundly moved, how can expect anyone to be? If it is not clear to me, it will be confusion to others—a mist in the pulpit leads to fog in the pews)

-HOW should I introduce and conclude? (if I can’t give a reason for people to listen within the first  minute, I have probably lost them—if I don’t know how the sermon lands, it usually crashes)

-HOW do I want to send people out (I don’t want to merely discuss God’s power—I want people to go out with victory in their possession)

-WILL people leave saying that was a nice sermon? (which drives me crazy) Will they leave knowing they heard a word from God evoking a needed and necessary response?

As important as these questions are, they still miss the essential question. To underscore Sinek’s point, I must first start with why.  Why am I preaching this sermon? Until I can answer this, none of the other questions matter. Sermons defined by “what” just give a lot of information; defined by “how”, they tend to devolve into principles for living.

Yesterday, preaching out of I Samuel 24, I gave some necessary principles to sound decision making. But it’s when I move to the why, that this whole homiletical endeavor matters.  Why has God given this text to His church in order to hear the gospel and advance God’s kingdom? Why does it matter in this moment to these people? Why am I doing this?

2 Comments
  • Candace Lazzaro
    6:22 AM, 18 March 2014

    I love the "whys" of God. I love that you question and wonder. I’m reading through the Bible this year — well actually I’m going so slow it’s going to take me a couple years to get through it. A friend asked me where I was in the Bible. My answer "Leviticus." Her response "Oh, the most boring book of the Bible." Well, yes and no. Yes because it’s about the law and that is boring. But no, because it causes me to ask "Why." Why is mold and the way you cut your hair so important to God? Why does He repeat himself over and over on some subjects? Why does He go into such detail? Why are some laws even included? WHY is this book even in the Bible? Actually, I’m enjoying Leviticus just for the details alone (every last boring one!) but even more so for the Whys. Because the whys are what brings me closer to God. He doesn’t always reveal a straight answer to me and sometimes it’s years later that I wake up and think "Oh, that’s what He’s been trying to tell me." I know that there are some whys that will never be known this side of Heaven / maybe even in Heaven. Sogood for you for asking your Whys. They are important to your sermons and to your congregation even if we can’t response with anything more creative then "Nice sermon, Pastor.".

  • charlie estanol
    4:45 PM, 19 April 2014

    John, your post brought back memoirs when I lost my dad several years ago. Thanks for sharing. Charlie Estanol

Leave a Reply