This morning it’s a phrase in the opening verses of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that has me thinking. A thought about draining something of it’s power . . . . . . a warning about inadvertently establishing a false foundation . . . a concept that should give pause to those who “pursue excellence” in the proclamation of the gospel. Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t leverage the tools at hand in order to engage our world with the gospel . . . I’m not advocating a half-hearted approach to presenting the good news . . . but, I’m wondering if we shouldn’t have the same care and concern that Paul had when it came to the possibility of draining the gospel of its power.

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.   (1Corinthians 1:17 ESV)

In our techno-enabled, multi-media culture there are a lot of tools available to the church with which to share “the old, old story”. In my teens Sunday School class, I use PowerPoint, YouTube, and “downloadable resources” in order to try and engage the kids in the Scriptures. While I seek to let the Scriptures “speak for themselves”, I do bring along a few “helps” to assist in the process. I’m not unique. While he doesn’t use PowerPoint, we have a pastor who spends hours in prep every week in order to preach the Word with clarity and conviction. Our fellowship also leverages any number of DVD series for Sunday School and mid-week studies. And in order to connect people with message and with each other, we’ve put in place a certain amount of infrastructure to encourage active participation in a small group. As I think about it we supplement the preaching with a lot of stuff.

But at the end of the day, what’s going to last is not how smooth my PowerPoint flowed . . . not how clever I was with my YouTube illustrations. It’s not going to rely on the budget we have for “teaching aids” or the amount we spend on importing well known speakers via the “flat screen.” It’s not even the hours put in by the preacher to make sure he presents with precision and clarity. What will last is that which is born of . . . and infused with . . . the power of the cross of Christ.

I need to be careful that, in my pursuit of making it “engaging”, that the “eloquence” of my presentation doesn’t, in fact, drain the cross of its power. That the presentation isn’t, in fact, making void the proclamation.

Again, I’m not advocating in the least the elimination of tools and techniques which assist in teaching and preaching. What I am being reminded of though, is that I need to be careful that “the meal” doesn’t get overshadowed by the side-dishes and garnishes. That the multi-media doesn’t get in the way of the message. That in trying to be relevant and interesting, I’m not drawing people to a presentation style rather than leading them to a Person.

While leveraging all the aids and tools at my disposal, may I not lose sight of the real power . . .

The gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). The cross is the only “teaching aid” that produces lasting results . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory.