Expositional or topical preaching?

I find I resonate with the mission statement of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, “we are becoming a worshipful community of missional theologians.” While our church will not likely have a vision statement like that, I hope ours will not be in disagreement. In this post, I’d like to focus on the “theologian” portion. Pastor Dan Kimball of VFC explains that their use of the word does not mean everyone should be like an academic theologian, but simply a person who is well versed in the study of the nature of God and inquires into religious questions.

While our church works towards developing an all-encompassing vision, we have already identified a set of goals to work toward. One of the major goals is to develop a strategic program for personal growth and maturity that includes a foundation of biblical knowledge and the essentials of our faith. This curriculum, of course, is simply a means to an end. The desired effect is for the members of the church community to learn and respond to the whole counsel of God as contained in the Bible. In other words, to be theologians in the sense described above.

Now, what is the most effective way to accomplish that through preaching—through topical or expository sermons? You might be inclined to say either, since there are good examples of growing churches using each method. However, I think each method addresses different needs and produces different results.

I think topical sermons tend to be remedial in nature. That is, the pastor sees a need to teach on a particular issue in order to bring about right thinking in the members. More than that, topical sermons advertise well and make it easy for members to invite seekers to come hear a common life-issue discussed.

While topical sermons are remedial, I think expository sermons are preventative, equipping the members to think and act biblically and so accomplish the work Christ has called His church to do. Ray Stedman, an expositional preacher who was important in the formation of my faith, believed that poor topical preaching leads to widespread biblical illiteracy. In “The Primacy of Preaching” he wrote:

Many persons in the average congregation do not know the meaning of terms like justification by faith, or sanctification, or the kingdom of God, or the new covenant, or the walk in the Spirit, the flesh, or even faith, love, and peace! Worse yet, because they don’t know the biblical meaning of “flesh”, for instance, they do not know how to recognize it in themselves, and the flesh therefore rages in unrestrained destructiveness throughout their thinking and living. Because they know nothing of the nature of the new covenant, they live continually in the legal bondages of the old. Because they do not understand the wisdom of God, they succumb constantly to the pompous pretensions of the wisdom of the world. Because they do not know how to use the shield of faith, they are besieged daily by the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Nevertheless, an examination of Stedman’s sermon library shows he found the need to occasionally teach topically (and remedially, as he does in Tell It To The Church, a message on church discipline). But, mostly his sermon series are organized by books of the Bible. The expositional teaching model is, I think, the most effective method of imparting to church members a foundation of biblical knowledge and the essentials of the Christian faith.