More on Monty

The following are responses to some questions posed to Monty in relation to God’s Word,
his preaching and views of the worship service.
1. Tell me about your relationship with God’s written word.

My conviction is that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of
God. I believe with all my being that Hebrews 4:12 is true and preach from this
conviction as well. “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints
and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews
4:12, NAS). Believing the Word to be “living and active” gives me a holy confidence
to preach the Bible with authority. That discipleship group back in college helped
develop my love for the Word. I would definitely say this is my number one passion in
ministry.

2. Describe your teaching preparation process.

o Prayer – Begin by praying for insight and direction.

o Scripture – Search the Scriptures and allow the Lord to show me what He wants to
say through me.
o Congregation – Evaluate the congregation’s need according to 1 Thessalonians
3:10, as Paul said, to “complete what is lacking in your faith.” As a shepherd
responsible for the spiritual health of the flock, the preacher must determine what
the flock needs. “What is lacking in their faith” which needs to be addressed.
o Series development – 1 Thessalonians 3:10 also comes into play when developing
a series. What does the body need at this point in time? And what spiritual menu
does the body need over the next year?
o Legal pad – This is a personal brainstorming exercise. I can fit up a legal pad
jotting down things that comes to mind: ideas for illustrations, ways to explain a
verse, key words, reminders for later research, passion phrases, creative
elements, ideas for worship, books to look up, Internet research, etc.
o Research – Search resources, commentaries of course, but also current books
and articles on the topic. Do a Libronix software search. Study language, history,
comparative Bible translations. Brainstorm all creative avenues to find illustrations
that will shed light on the topic. Create Powerpoint and other creative elements.
o Titles – Create titles that work for me, using titles as key phrases that will be
repeated throughout the message.
o Structure – After a good effort at brainstorming and research, then I develop a
structure for the message. This is important for three reasons: (1) it must fit the
structure of the text, (2) it must fit the structure of my argument, and (3) it must fit
the structure of my heart, in how you plan to deliver it.
o Thesis – Determine the main thing and write a thesis statement. Be able to
communicate the main idea of the text/message with one passionate and
memorable statement. It usually takes all week for this one statement to
crystallize in my mind.
o Outline – Craft an outline, like three legs of stool to support the main thing.
o Rough draft – Type notes and begin dumping thoughts and phrases into the
computer. Not trying to write too early, just typing thoughts onto the page.
 o The Three Chairs – Make sure the message addresses the non-believer, the new
believer, and the veteran believer.
o Manuscript – (See examples online, “Notes” button beside sermon audio) Why
type a manuscript? I believe going the extra step, or in my mind the essential
step, of writing a manuscript is critical. Here are some reasons. The effort of
writing improves the skill of speaking. Excellence demands this step. Truly
impactful words rarely come spontaneously on the platform, they come through
the hard work of writing and editing and praying. I also believe the manuscript
step is much like the superstar athletes who spend the most time practicing (Tiger
Woods, Vijay Singh, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird). Excellence does not always
come from the most talented person, but it often comes from the most prepared
person.
o Anointing of the Holy Spirit – What is the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the
preacher? The old word was unction. It referred to that indescribable, yet
undeniable, way in which the voice of God came through the voice of the
preacher. Before I go up to preach, I always remember Acts 4:8, which simply
says, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said …”

3. How do you know a healthy church when you see one? What are the leading
indicators in your mind?

Acts 2 is the portrait of a healthy church. It is the model for which every church should
aspire. A healthy church is known by a love for the Word (“they were continually devoting
themselves to the apostles’ teaching”), a love for each other (“to fellowship”), a sense of
community (“to the breaking of bread”), an urgency in prayer (“and prayer”), a passion
for worship (“everyone kept feeling a sense of awe”), the presence and power of God
(“and many wonders and signs were taking place”), again a sense of community (“all
those who had believed were together and had all things in common”), a compassion for
the needy (“they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them
with all, as anyone might have need”), oneness (“with one mind in the temple”), again a
sense of community (“breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals
together with gladness and sincerity of heart”), again a passion for worship (“praising
God”), being socially attractive and respectable (“having favor with all the people”), and
the fruit of evangelism (“and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who
were being saved”).

In a very organic way, the Acts 2 church lived out what we call core values today. In
some form every local church should mimic the core values of the Acts 2 church: the
Word, community, prayer, worship, compassion, evangelism. So, how can you tell if a
church is healthy? Are people hungry for the Word? Are people living in community? Is
prayer a part of their lives? Are people compassionate and willing to sacrifice and give?
Are people sharing their faith and are people coming to Christ? Is the presence and
power of God undeniable in their midst?

4. How would you go about equipping saints of differing maturity levels in the
truths of Scripture (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:9)?

I use the “three chairs” model when developing worship services and messages. We
must keep in the mind the three different people who are always in the audience: the
non-believer who is merely considering the faith, the new believer who is excited but has
very little knowledge or discipleship, and the veteran believer who is probably a leader in
the church. And I do believe all three can be fed in the same service and with the same
message.

5. Do you believe doctrine builds up or divides? Please explain your answer.

Both. Truth is meant to unite. But truth is demanding and controversial and thus always
divides. And I think there are two extremes to which people go with respect to this.
Those who fear theological controversy seek the least common denominator for the
sake of unity. The intention is sincere, but the result is often a diluted theology, a
theology that is much less than the Bible presents. Those who fear theological error
seek precision to such a point that it creates enemies and forces people to choose sides.
Again, the intention for precision is good, but the result is often a divisive, harsh theology
that empty of the love Jesus intended for us to show.

I don’t quote this saying often, but it does apply here. “In essentials, unity; in non-
essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” But quoting this does mean unity is more
important than truth and it does not mean that truth is more important than love. Paul
was right when he called us to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). The Acts 2
again is our model. “And all those who believed were together, and had all things in
common” (Acts 2:44).

6. What is your position on the inerrancy of Scripture?

I believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. And my
conviction for preaching the Bible comes from Hebrews 4:12, which says, “For the word
of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as
the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts
and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, NAS). Believing the Word to be “living and
active” is what gives me a holy confidence to preach the Bible with authority.

Here is my formal statement of faith with respect to SCRIPTURE, THE BIBLE – I believe
that both the Old and New Testaments are God’s Word to man. The Holy Spirit directed
human authors by way of verbal, plenary inspiration thus producing inerrant original
manuscripts. Therefore, the Scripture is infallible in all matters to which it speaks;
whether with respect to history and science or faith and practice. As such, it is
authoritative over man’s life. It must be interpreted literally; taking into account figurative
language and stylistic differences and respecting historical, grammatical, literary, and
cultural aspects. Representative verses: Psalm 119:89, 160, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter
1:20-21, Matthew 5:17-19, John 10:35, Hebrews 4:12.

7. Briefly describe your style of preaching and how you classify it? (I.e.
expositional, topical, etc.)? What factors have influenced your approach to
preaching?

I am committed to expository preaching, which I define as “extracting the original

meaning of the text and articulating it for relevant application.” I believe the Bible is the
Word of God and as Hebrews 4:12 states, “the word of God is living and active and
sharper than any two-edged sword.” So, preaching is like wielding a sword, a two-edged
sword which both comforts and convicts. I believe preaching is a charge from God. As
Paul said to Timothy, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus
… preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). And I believe that preaching must be anointed by
the Holy Spirit. One of my favorite books is E.M. Bounds’ Power Through Prayer. I’ve
read that book every year for the past 30 years and it never fails to inspire me to seek
the Spirit’s anointing. Every time I walk up to preach I recite Acts 4:8 which simply says,
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said ...” I make that my prayer just before I open
my mouth to preach. As Paul preached he too relied on the Holy Spirit. “When I came to
you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you
the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and
my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom
of men, but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

I believe that pastoral preaching is not just about exegesis and information, but rather
about exposition and transformation. The goal of exegesis is right information, the goal
of exposition is spiritual transformation. I do not believe we must take a slavish approach
to exposition that takes 3 years to preach through a book of the Bible. When I plan our
teaching calendar for the year, I include a book study, a couple of topical studies, a
stewardship study, a vision/core values study, and leave room for the Spirit to prompt
other series within the year. And when I say topical, I mean “topical exposition,” where
there is an anchor text to which I can say, “Turn in your Bibles to …”

People in both churches I have served have described my preaching with words like
"clear," "understandable," and "real," because I make the Bible relevant to their lives. I
keep using the phrase "pastoring through preaching" to best describe my passion for
preaching. I believe, and people have affirmed this, the greatest impact of my preaching
is that I give people a truth from the Word that applies directly to what they're going
through that week. To paraphrase Eric Liddel, "When I preach, I feel His pleasure."
Teaching the Word is the calling and passion of my life. Seeing people experience
lifechange through preaching the Word is my greatest joy.

Having led our teaching team at FBC, I compiled these Teaching Standards for our
team:

• CONTENT – Is it expositional?
o Anchored in the biblical text?
o Expounds rather than imposes?
o Dependent on Hebrews 4:12?

• SPIRIT – Is it transcendent?
o Respectful as the mouthpiece of God?
o Have sufficiently prayed over this message?
o Seeking the undeniable anointing of the Spirit? (Acts 4:8)

• PREACHER – Is it authentic?
o Displays my spiritual life as genuine and real?
o Speaking from my heart and from my personal journey?
o Sharing a word from God?

• PEOPLE – Is it relevant?
 o Comforting? Convicting? Challenging? Compassionate?
o Speaks to “3 chairs” of people represented?
o Is there clear, next step, application?

• STYLE – Is it compelling?
o Passionate? Urgent?
o Style fits my personality and maturity?
o Style fits the audience?

• STRATEGY – Is it strategic?
o Is it visionary and strategic to the direction of the church?
o Does it drive core values?
o Will it generate momentum within the church body?

• QUALITY – Is it excellent?
o Am I fully prepared? Have I cut corners?
o Quality of this message is God-honoring?
o Is the message integrated with the entire worship service?

I also believe in creativity in preaching. While renovating our auditorium during a series
on evangelism, I gave everyone a Sharpie and told them to write the names of their non-
Christian friends on the bare concrete floor. It was not an idea original to me, but there
were thousands of names on the floor. And we prayed for those names. Everyone
remembers that Sunday, often talks about the people for whom they are praying, and
introduces me to someone who has accepted Christ.

In a message on prayer, I asked people to jot down their most urgent prayer requests on
an index card and promised to personally pray for each card. I thought I'd get about 40
cards. I was shocked when 1,600 prayer cards were taken up. As I promised, I prayed
over every card. It took me two weeks, but I did it. I then gave some statistics of
categories to the church body, and the categories helped us determine where people
were hurting and how to suggest small group topics and sermon series. That was a
ministry highlight for me.

I've also written several dramas. One of a little girl playing with her doll behind a sofa, as
her parents argued about divorce, to set up a message on marriage.

The Kingdom Assignment, again not original to me, made a huge impact in our church.
One Sunday, we gave out $30,000 in envelopes. Each person received an envelope with
cash ($5, $10, $20, $50) and was instructed to use the money to advance God's
Kingdom. People had total freedom to use the money any way the Lord led them. The
creativity of ideas was inspiring. We quadrupled that money in ministry impact. We were
interviewed by CNN and a local Atlanta talk show. We also posted all the stories on our
website. People started to see that their money was actually "His money." It was one of
the most creative things we've done with respect to stewardship.

I also believe we need to be careful with creativity. By that, I don't ever want people to
walk away remembering the creative element and forget the message; like a commercial
that's so flashy no one remembers what was being advertised. I have also used movie
clips, Sermonspice clips, interviews, video stories, etc.