Dr. James Merritt is a dear friend and personal mentor to me. He is the Sr. Pastor of Cross Pointe Church of Atlanta and the former President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Recently, he wrote an article on preaching to the Post-Christian culture we find ourselves in today. The following quote from this distinguished pastor and leader articulates why I often infuse my sermons with personal stories:
"Having said all of that, my greatest fear is that we hear the term "post-Christian" and we get the shakes. We think 'Dear God, I'm not capable of reaching the post-Christian culture.' I hardly even understand what post-Christian culture is. How am I supposed to reach a post-Christian culture?
I have learned both by experience and by study of the Scripture that human beings tend to complicate the simple. When I read about Jesus I find that He came to simplify the complicated. There is a reason why, for example, Jesus spent the vast majority of his ministry telling stories. Almost two thirds of the gospel of Luke is a story—just one parable, one story, after another. If Jesus gave a seminar on preaching, I'm convinced one of the things He would tell us is 'Paint word pictures. Tell stories. Say truth in such a way that common, ordinary people, even little children, can understand it and get a handle on it.'"
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