A recent theological consultation organised by the Evangelical Gnadau Association in Germany raised a key question for theological lecturer nowadays, “How should the Gospel message be presented today so that it reaches both hearts and minds?”

Nowadays, “cultural Christians” has taken up a large part of those who identify themselves with the title “Christians”, according to Hanne Stinson, director of the British Humanist Association. For this group of congregations, even though they are called “Christians”, their lives and spirituality are not consistent to the title. They may seldom go to church and study the bible. Some try to explain that what is being preached in the church is not practical in everyday life.

Theological lecturer and director of the Foundation “Marburg Media”, Juergen Mette reflected, “the trouble with bad preachers is that they are too far removed from everyday life. Pastors should stay in touch with their flock and not isolate themselves in their studies.” He suggested that a good preacher should visit members of his congregation in order to solve this problem.

While sermons were notorious for being boring, provocative sermons are highly recommended by Mette, in his belief that there is no contradiction between Biblical and entertaining sermons. Most of the other lecturers also agreed with his viewpoint that sermons should also bridge the gap to everyday life provided the Biblical content of a sermon comes as the first priority.

70 preachers and lecturers took part in this theological consultation in Marburg on June 4-5. The organiser, Evangelical Gnadau Association is the biggest Protestant lay movement in Germany with a total number of 300,000 members.