I believe that Alister Begg was speaking to a group of preachers. He said something like “The ministry of the pulpit is not a ministry of innovation, but a ministry of reminder.” I don’t have quotation marks around it in my notes so I don’t know if it is word for word accurate, but you get the idea.
The point is that a preacher or teacher is not to be cute but to share truth. Too often in the search for communication the speaker will get really bizarre. He will do silly things or tell stupid jokes. In time the desire to entertain or get approval can overcome the call to truth.
It strikes me that one of the temptations of blogging is to try to make ourselves so innovative as to be obnoxious and lose any purpose. True, we need to find innovative ways to share. We need to be creative and thoughtful, but we need to avoid just being silly to attract attention.
A good reminder for me, I hope it is for you.
homo unius libri
I've seen some forms of the behavior you mention. Sometimes (rarely), it can have a positive outcome, more often, it comes across as just plain stupid.
ReplyDeleteI have never gone back and re-read what I wrote a year ago. That might be a good discipline because it would give a better perspective.
DeleteWhen I have time...
Grace and peace.