What are the differences between preaching and proclaiming? This session is an opportunity to explore these ideas biblically and practically, encouraging each other to develop and sharpen verbalisation skills – whether for interpersonal conversation or preaching – in complete submission to the Holy Spirit’s power.
Session in a sentence
The task of the evangelist is to verbalise the gospel as revealed through God’s Holy Word by the power of the Spirit.
Session background
According to tradition, St Francis of Assisi once said:
‘Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words.’
This is a popular quotation for illustrating the importance of living a life marked by the gospel. But there are two problems with it. Firstly, there’s no real evidence that St Francis said it at all – at least he never wrote it down. Secondly, and more importantly, it simply doesn’t hold up as a statement. While it’s right that our lives should demonstrate the good news about God’s kingdom in the same way as our words, preaching the gospel is by very definition a word-based process. The sentence could be reframed more helpfully as:
‘Preach the gospel at all times, and, because it is necessary, use words.’
The words ‘preach’ and ‘proclaim’ have everything to do with words – they are verbal declarations. You may live a perfect ‘gospel’ life, but if you never articulate the hope you have in Jesus then how will the world know the reason for your life being lived as it is?
‘To remain silent and let others interpret our actions is wrong; God himself did not do this. The pivotal points of God’s redemptive action in history are accompanied with verbal revelation.’
WILL METZGER
Preaching was crucial to the spread of the gospel as recorded in the New Testament (Acts 2:14), yet there are some today who believe that preaching is old-fashioned and no longer the best way to communicate the gospel to the world. We surely want to be creative in our preaching and engaging in our communication (perhaps exploring other avenues of communication, such as film-making, or songwriting), but the Bible compels evangelists to hold onto preaching that helps listeners to both understand the message and have an opportunity to respond to an invitation to Christ’s lordship as a central element of the task of sharing the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:21; 2 Timothy 4:1–2; Mark 1:17; Luke 9:23).
Not all believers are called to be preaching evangelists. For most believers, evangelism and personal witness will look like interpersonal conversations, and this will be the primary way in which the gospel is verbalised or ‘proclaimed’ to others.
Either way, we must always remember that as essential as words are to evangelism, they alone will not do. Words spoken from an unsubmitted life will ring hollow and hypocritical, and words separate from the power of God’s Spirit will lack the power of God to bring salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16).
With this in mind, evangelism should involve three things:
Proclamation: Through which we explain who Jesus is.
Demonstration: Through which we live out who Jesus is.
Invitation: Through which we offer the opportunity to trust in who Jesus is.
Session guide
Catch up (20–30 mins)
Take time to catch up with one another, sharing stories, encouragements, feedback on opportunities and anything else that would encourage the group. Ask one or two volunteers to share their gospel presentation (Session Three – Application) and offer feedback. Don’t forget to be positive!
Prayer
Commit the time to the Lord and pray over any situations, positive or challenging, highlighted in the catch up time.
Teaching (20–30 mins)
Work through the following teaching material in your own way, either by reading it word for word, or by reworking it into your own presentation.
‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”’
ROMANS 10:9, 13–15
There’s a lot of talk about proclamation in the Bible: there are at least 33 different Greek words that we usually translate as ‘preaching’ or ‘proclaiming’. In this passage from Romans, we find Paul using the word ‘preach’ in reference to sharing the good news. For Paul, preaching is vitally important, and he tells Timothy to keep preaching a priority in his ministry (2 Timothy 4:1–2). We see on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) an example of how God chooses to use preaching to bring people to faith in him – thousands were saved not merely by encountering supernatural signs and wonders (tongues of fire, speaking in other languages), but through hearing Peter’s Spirit-filled proclamation.
The Greek word from which we get ‘evangelism’ essentially means to proclaim the good news – an inherently verbal activity. But preaching can be perceived as a little old-fashioned in today’s culture, with a preference for ‘friendship’ or ‘personal’ evangelism methods where relationship-based conversation is the focus.
Some throw out the need for a verbal dynamic almost entirely and prefer to witness in actions only, with missional activity based around social action projects as the method through which God’s love is revealed. And yet, as Paul asks in Romans, if believers never offer any explanation for the source of our loving action into the world, or of the hope that we have, how will anyone ever come to know the truth about Jesus and willingly trust him as Lord?
Discuss: If we know that proclamation is important to the task of being an evangelist, how do we ensure that the message of the gospel is communicated clearly enough for listeners to understand it and have an opportunity to meaningfully respond to what they have heard? What part does preaching play?
The best practice for our evangelism is not to be found in an ‘either/or’ from the options above, but in recognising the value of a diverse approach that reflects our own diversity. Using our words is essential though.
Whether we’re engaging in public communication (like preaching) or personal communication (like conversation) there are always ways we can develop the clarity of our message. Knowing our audience and their context is important as it helps us to think carefully about any illustrations or connection points that may help them engage with and understand what we share. For example, if we’re preaching the gospel to a group of teenagers, we may use different words and cultural connection points than when having a one-to-one conversation with a pensioner. The message of the gospel itself doesn’t change, but the way we articulate it, the illustrations we use, and the cultural references we employ can be tailored for the people in front of us. In short, what we preach does not change, but how we preach does. This is why preparing ourselves to share the gospel is an important part of our Christian walk. If we only rely on the same old gospel talk every time we get up to preach we are likely to become stale and lazy preachers. If we always rely on the same method of gospel explanation, we are unlikely to engage different kinds of people in conversations that help them discover Jesus. First and foremost, we should approach our preparation prayerfully, asking God to speak through us by his Spirit and give us the words to say. We should also be prepared to communicate the gospel in different ways that attempt to take into consideration the people we might come into contact with.
Discuss: Look at the following characteristics for verbalising the gospel and think of how you might apply them to your own evangelistic opportunities. How might this preparation be a worshipful act?
We should proclaim:
- Clearly: Clarity is the ultimate aim of good communication. To explain clearly, we should have a good understanding of the gospel itself, knowing it deeply enough that we can present it accurately with simplicity.
- Spiritually: For dead hearts to by revived by the message of the gospel the Spirit of God must be at work – so our preaching must be in submission to the Spirit’s power for the task.
- Lovingly: We are not winning people to our own ideas and wisdom, but to the singular reality of Jesus Christ. We should preach with humility, giving respect to the one we share about (God), and with compassion for those we share with (his children).
- Boldly: Humility doesn’t negate boldness as we offer the truth of the gospel. We can speak with conviction and confidence in the truth of our message whilst still being kind, gentle and humble.
- Uniquely: Christ is to be presented as unique before all others, and remain the central focus of our gospel conversations.
- Personally: We can demonstrate the truth of the gospel by sharing about its impact in our own lives, building bridges to the listener and their circumstances.
Whether we are speaking in a conversation or preaching from a platform, we should bear each of these points in mind. However, one characteristic that is unique to a conversational opportunity is listening. We should always be ready to listen well to those we speak with. Don’t simply wait for your turn to speak, ask good questions in response to what you hear, be inquisitive not dismissive, and don’t feel like you need to offer answers to every question you are asked or refute every point you disagree with. Conversations are journeys, and often unfamiliar ones. As with most unfamiliar journeys, we need a map to help us find our way. Really listening to your conversation partner will provide that map and in time the destination may become clearer for those you speak with (See the sessions on Personal Evangelism and Listening Evangelism in Year Three for more on this).
As helpful as these characteristics may be for our proclamation, it is important to remember that no amount of skillful articulation will actually bring someone into the kingdom of God, only God himself can do that. Our communication must make space for the Holy Spirit to move in power. In the last session, we looked at Paul’s commitment to know and preach the Jesus story in 1 Corinthians 2. In the very next verses, Paul goes on to share his commitment to proclaiming the Jesus story in the power of the Spirit so that new faith might rest on God rather than human reason:
‘My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.’
1 CORINTHIANS 2:4–5
We long to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23) and our evangelism should be no different. We declare his truth in the power of the Spirit as worshippers giving testimony to the one we worship so that others may come to worship him.
Discussion (15 mins)
- How well equipped do you feel to ‘proclaim’ (be it conversationally, from a platform or otherwise) the gospel to those around you?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses in communication?
- What role does listening play in your communication?
“Evangelism is not an event, but a process of sharing our lives and the truth of Jesus with people in a way that invites them to explore and experience His love.”
TIM KELLER
Questions for preachers to consider:
- How do you prepare for a gospel presentation compared to a gospel conversation? Do you approach the content differently?
- Do you find proclaiming from a platform or personally easier? If one over another, why do you think this is?
Application (5 mins)
Find a suitable YouTube clip of a gospel talk that you could critique, both in terms of style and content. Ask the group to watch the clip between sessions, make notes, and be ready to discuss next time, perhaps using the six tips from this session as a framework for evaluating some of the strengths and/or weaknesses of the gospel presentation.
Prayer
Pray together for the Spirit of God to work through your humble offering of communication. Give thanks that God has chosen to make you a mouthpiece for his message and ask him to help you to live the gospel authentically so that the words from your mouths are not detached from the state of your hearts. Pray for those who will hear the message – that God would prepare their hearts and move them to a place of revelation from which they can choose to trust in him.
Accountability (15 mins)
In pairs, spend some time discussing your own attitude to communication in evangelism. Have you neglected good preparation for public or personal evangelistic opportunities? Have you avoided verbalising the gospel in favour of an action-only approach? Be honest with each other about where you might need to reset a little in the area of verbalising the good news and prayerfully commit to this before the Lord.
Complete accountability forms, share in pairs or smaller groups and pray for one another.
