The Side Door Strategy: Preaching in the Age of Authenticity
Why the front door to the modern mind is bolted, and how the "Flashpoint Method" can help you find a way in.
In an earlier post about the legacy of preaching, I discussed the amazing legacy of preachers who have gone before us and the ashes of the old world that we stand in today.
In the old world, people entered through the front door. They accepted propositional truth and welcomed someone who could articulate it well.
Those days are gone. No one answers the front door anymore. We are all skeptical of whatever you might be selling.
Now we welcome guests to the side door. The side door is the messy entrance. It’s the place where the dust and muddy boots pile up. It’s far less tidy and presentable, but it’s the door we all use for trusted friends.
Our side door is the pain in our lives. It’s the fear, doubt, and hidden anxieties that we keep hidden and tucked away.
When we stand in the pulpit, we can acknowledge these realities.
You lie beside your spouse and scroll reels because you are afraid to be vulnerable.
You have a panic attack in the grocery store because you’re far too busy and distracted by a million things to plan dinner, but you feel the overwhelming pressure to perform and measure up. But you keep failing to do enough to make yourself feel like you are good enough.
You have everything the world has told you you should attain in this life, yet sometimes you lie awake at 3 AM wondering why you still feel empty.
These common pain points are the struggle of Taylor’s age of authenticity. Most of us feel things like this, and a million variations on the same theme.
To preach the gospel in the ruins of the old world, we need to name these pain points, these fears, and these deeper questions, because they begin to make the glass bubble of our buffered selves shake and tremble.
And then we ask something like, “Let’s see what this passage might have to say about that?”
You see, in the Christ-centered preaching model, first, we named the pain (the FCF), then we named the truth of the bible, and we proved it. In this model, we name the pain and then interrogate the passage to see what it says about that pain of living in this world.
This is the place where you get to do your exegetical work. Explain and illustrate those concepts, just like Chappell taught.
And this section of the sermon leads you to a tension.
Imagine a rope, or better yet, maybe a rubber band. One end is the tension and agony that you named. You anchor that truth in the reality of living and hurting in this life. Then we show the beauty of the text, the glory of Christ, and the hope that is in the passage. Through the first two parts of the sermon, you are pulling that tight.
Then you want to have a statement that I call “the Flashpoint.”
This is similar to Chappell’s “propositional truth.” You might say something like,
“Your fear of being vulnerable is a fear of not being loved, but because of the love of Christ, you are safe.”
“If Christ is really your savior, you can stop trying to prove your own worth.”
“Your meaning was never meant to come from ‘owning,’ but from ‘belonging.’
This statement can act as a punchline. It’s when the tension is at its highest, and the truth is like a snap. It’s a moment of altered awareness.
After this, you can ask a question like, if this is actually the answer, then what should we do?
And then you bring home what we traditionally call the application. You let them know that this is the way to live into their new life in Christ. This has the added benefit of not letting the listener sit still in what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” If they want to experience the benefits of grace, there are certain things that they need to do. Or they could just sit still and continue to feel the dread, anxiety, and ennui of their own private, buffered life.
This is a way to deliver a sermon by entering through the side door, rather than the front. Since the front door is closed and bolted in the age of authenticity.
If you would like to know more about how to develop a sermon using this method, I would love to connect and help. Let me offer you a few options.
The Flashpont Fieldguide PDF - This is an extended PDF with sermon samples and a full development plan for using this method
The Flashpoint Method Full Course - This is an online 6-session course with sermon samples, video lessons, and optional (of course) homework to help you learn this method. The first session is completely free; you have nothing to lose.
Connect with me - If you are a preacher trying to improve your skills in the pulpit, I would love to talk with you. Feel free to reach out to me, and let’s connect and help you reach the people in your church!