Volume 19, Number 3.
Matt Ewart seeks to tackle one of the biggest cultural problems we face as preachers: the declining rate of biblical literacy. How do we approach this issue in the proper way? Using four myths and three tips, Pastor Ewart offers his advice.
Preaching to the Biblically Ignorant without Seeming Biblically Arrogant
For many generations, preachers could assume a decent amount of biblical understanding from their hearers. Pastors could mention a name like Abraham or Zacchaeus without having to explain who they were or what they did. People generally knew their Bibles better than some do today.
A change was first apparent in confirmation classes. Year after year, a growing percentage of kids did not know anything about Abraham, Moses, Daniel, or Paul. They had no concept of Old Testament and New Testament. Trying to find Exodus was a chore. Initially we blamed poor parenting as the culprit. Then we discovered it was not just a handful of isolated incidents . . . .