Irreverence in Preaching (Part 1)

Mark Twain said, "Irreverence is the champion of liberty and its only sure defense.”

Authentic Spiritual formation through preaching to postmoderns will necessarily involve irreverence towards anything that is merely modern or institutional. In practice, this may shock some who confuse merely institutional or modern things with sacred things. Mark Twain also apparently said, “Sacred cows make the best hamburger.” In rejecting the religions of modernism, postmoderns may seem irreligious. This is certainly how Jesus was viewed as he challenged what he called “the traditions of men” (Mark 7:8 NIV), which were the “sacred cows” of his day.

With the death of European Christendom, and as the age of modernism disappears, preaching can no longer assume a common belief in or language of “the traditions of men.” When John McLeod Campbell preached his excellent sermon, “What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?” he could say, “...if the end of our being be to know and enjoy God...” rightly assuming that his audience had a familiarity with the “Westminster Catechism.” This cannot be assumed today. People must be made familiar with the wonderful theology of the Westminster Catechism, but it cannot be assumed that they have even ever heard of it, let alone that they are familiar with its excellent contents. This generation is more familiar with “The Simpsons,” “Survivor,” “Charlie’s Angels,” and the content of a Beatles’ song.