‘설교란 무엇인가’라는 생각을 하게 만드는 요즈음입니다. 한국 나이 다섯 살 때부터 어머니가 예배당에 발걸음을 옮기면서 신앙의 영역으로 나도 모르게 들어선 셈입니다. 초등학교에 입학해서 저학년일 때 학급에서 종교조사를 한다고고 “예수 믿는 사람 손들어 보라”고 했을 때 잠깐의 망설임이 있긴 했지만 “누구든지 나와 내 말을 부끄러워하면 인자도 자기와 아버지와 거룩한 천사들의 영광으로 올 때에 그 사람을 부끄러워하리라”(눅 9:26)는 말씀에 근거해서 손을 들었습니다. 아마 70명은 족히 되는 학급에서 한 두 명이 손을 들었을 터이지만 또래들과 동화되고자 욕구가 강한 그 나이에, 나름 말씀에 근거한 신앙의 결단이었다고 지금도 생각합니다.
1967년 고려신학교 대학부에 입학해서 75년 8년 만에 졸업을 하고 합천 청덕, 광주 은광, 서울 서문교회에서 전도사, 강도사, 부목사가 되어서 섬기다가 78년에 남아공 ‘기독교고등교육을 위한’ 포체프스트룸대학교에서 석사과정에는 교의학, 박사과정에는 봉사신학의 한 분야인 설교학을 전공했습니다. 그 후 ‘로이드존스의 설교의 원리와 방법’을 연구해서 신학박사학위를 받아 1986년에 귀국했습니다. 그리고 그 해말에 서울 상도동에서 두레교회를 개척하고 곧 이어서 정릉에 탄포리교회를 분립 개척했습니다. 약 10년 가까운 서울 생활을 접고 1995년 말에 울산교회의 청빙을 받아서 2019년 말에 은퇴를 하기까지 24년을 섬겼습니다. 한 때는 교단 학원 운영에 관선이사를 오게했다는 죄목으로 총회출입금지를 당하기도 하고, 뒤에는 2011년 9월 제 61회 총회장으로 섬겼습니다.
그 때부터 ‘교회의 거룩성 회복과 한국교회의 개혁’을 위한 열망이 있었지만 요즘처럼 간절해 지는 때는 일찌기 없었습니다. 거룩성이 훼파되는 물고를 트는 일이 강단에서부터 노골적으로 이루어지고 있기 때문입니다. 누구나 다 알다시피 설교는 하나님의 말씀을 전하는 일입니다. 하나님의 말씀을 전하려면 그 원천과 기준은 성경에 있어야 합니다. 그래서 종교개혁자들은 “오직 성경으로(Sola Scripura)”를 외쳤고 “성경 전부를(Tota Scripura)” 가르쳐야 한다고 주장했던 것입니다. 총회장을 하면서 우리 교단은 그 원칙을 더 이상 지키지 않는다는 사실을 확인했습니다. 직무 때문에 전국을 다니며 설교를 맡는 일이 많았지만 설교의 길이는 10분 내외로 제한하려 들면서도, 별 영양가도 없는 축사에 긴줄을 세우는 것을 보면서 말씀 선포가 교회를 세우고 교회를 새롭게 한다는 믿음이 사라진 것을 보았습니다.
지금의 사태는 하나도 뜻밖의 일이 아닙니다. 이미 “오직 성경으로(Sola Scripura)”, “성경 전부를(Tota Scripura)” 가르치는 기준은 사라진 지 오래였기 때문입니다. 그럼 ‘나는 말씀을 제대로 선포하는 목사인가’ ‘우리 교회는 말씀이 제대로 선포되는 교회인가’ 하는 질문을 던져야 할 때입니다. 말씀을 맡은 자라면 자신이 어떻게 설교를 준비하는지 살펴보면 강단에서 하나님의 말씀이 선포되는지 아닌지를 알 수가 있습니다. 무엇을 다음 주일에 전할 것인지를 이미 마음에 정하고 성경을 뒤적이다 보면 본문은 더 이상 기준이 되지 못합니다. 다만 본문은 자기 주장을 뒷받침하는 성경구절일 뿐입니다. 그보다는 차라리 많은 청교도 전통의 목사들이 선호했던 대로 책을 정하고 차례대로 본문을 연구하고 선포하는 것이 안전합니다. 물론 영성이 탁월하고 독서의 양이 엄청난 스펄전인 경우에는 예외입니다. 책상 앞에 앉아있는 시간이 확보되지 않으면 강대상에서 본문과 상관없이 자기가 하고 싶은 소리를 한다는 것은 자연스러운 귀결입니다. 설교는 하늘의 음성을 이 땅에 전달하는 통로가 되어야 합니다.
These days, I find myself continually pondering the question: 'What is preaching?' Ever since I was five years old in Korean reckoning, when my mother first stepped into the sanctuary, I was quietly led into the realm of faith without even realizing it. During my early elementary school years, when the teacher conducted a religious census in the classroom and asked, "Raise your hand if you believe in Jesus," I hesitated for a brief moment. Yet, anchored by the verse, "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26), I raised my hand. Out of a class of well over 70 children, perhaps only one or two hands went up. Even now, looking back, I believe that at such an age—when the longing to fit in with peers is so overwhelming—raising my hand was a genuine, personal decision of faith grounded in the Word.
In 1967, I entered the collegiate department of Korea Theological Seminary, graduating eight years later in 1975. I served as an evangelist, licensed preacher, and assistant pastor at Cheongdeok Church in Hapcheon, Eungwang Church in Gwangju, and Seomoon Church in Seoul. In 1978, I went to South Africa, where I studied Dogmatics for my master's degree and Homiletics—a branch of Diaconiology (Practical Theology)—for my doctoral studies at Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education. Researching 'Martyn Lloyd-Jones's Principles and Methods of Preaching,' I earned my Doctor of Theology degree and returned to Korea in 1986. At the end of that year, I planted Doorae Church in Sangdo-dong, Seoul, and soon after planted Tanpori Church in Jeongneung as an offshoot. Concluding nearly a decade of ministry in Seoul, I accepted a call from Ulsan Church in late 1995, serving faithfully for 24 years until my retirement at the end of 2019. At one point, I was even barred from attending the General Assembly on charges related to the appointment of government-appointed directors to the denomination’s educational foundation; yet later, in September 2011, I had the privilege of serving as Moderator of the 61st General Assembly.
Ever since those years, a deep longing for 'the restoration of the church's holiness and the reformation of the Korean church' has burned within me, but never has it felt as urgent as it does today. The floodgates compromising that holiness are now being opened openly and directly from the pulpit itself. As everyone knows, preaching is the proclamation of God's Word. To truly proclaim God's Word, the sole source and standard must be Scripture. That is why the Reformers cried out Sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone") and insisted on teaching Tota Scriptura ("all of Scripture"). Serving as Moderator of the General Assembly, I witnessed firsthand that our denomination was no longer upholding that foundational principle. Because of my office, I traveled across the nation to preach at numerous occasions; yet while sermons were strictly capped at around ten minutes, long lines of speakers were permitted to deliver vacuous congratulatory addresses. In that very reality, I saw that faith in the proclamation of the Word as the power that builds and renews the church had vanished.
The current crisis should come as no surprise. The standards of Sola Scriptura and Tota Scriptura have long since slipped away. Now is the time for every minister to ask: "Am I truly a pastor who faithfully proclaims the Word?" and "Is our church a place where the Word is faithfully proclaimed?" A servant entrusted with the Word can discern whether God's Word is truly being preached from the pulpit simply by examining how they prepare their sermons. If one decides in advance what they want to say on Sunday and then scours the Bible for passages to fit, the text ceases to be the standard; it becomes nothing more than a proof text to validate personal opinions. Rather than falling into that trap, it is far safer to follow the well-trodden Puritan tradition: selecting a book of the Bible, studying it sequentially, and preaching passage by passage. Charles Spurgeon, endowed with extraordinary spirituality and vast erudition, was perhaps an exception. But if a preacher fails to secure disciplined hours at the study desk, the inevitable outcome is taking the pulpit to voice personal opinions detached from the text. Preaching must always remain a pure conduit conveying the voice of heaven to this earth.
Deesdae dink ek al hoe meer na oor die vraag: 'Wat is prediking?' Vandat ek vyf jaar oud was volgens Koreaanse berekening, toe my ma vir die eerste keer haar voete in die kerkgebou gesit het, is ek ongemerk in die wêreld van geloof ingelei. Toe ek in die laerskool was en die onderwyser 'n godsdienstelling in die klas gedoen het deur te vra: "Steek jou hand op as jy in Jesus glo," was daar 'n oomblik van huiwering. Tog het ek my hand opgesteek, vasgeanker aan die vers: "Want elkeen wat hom vir My en my woorde skaam, vir hom sal die Seun van die mens Hom skaam wanneer Hy kom in sy heerlikheid en dié van die Vader en van die heilige engele" (Luk. 9:26). In 'n klas van maklik 70 kinders het miskien net een of twee hande opgegaan. As ek nou terugkyk, glo ek steeds dat dit op daardie ouderdom—wanneer die drang om by maats in te pas so sterk is—'n egte geloofsbesluit was, gegrond op die Woord.
In 1967 het ek ingeskryf by die universiteitsafdeling van die Korea Teologiese Kweekskool en agt jaar later, in 1975, gegradueer. Ek het as evangelis, proponent en hulppredikant gedien in die Cheongdeok-gemeente in Hapcheon, Eungwang-gemeente in Gwangju en Seomoon-gemeente in Seoel. In 1978 is ek na Suid-Afrika, waar ek aan die Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike Hoër Onderwys Dogmatiek vir my meestersgraad en Homiletiek—'n rigting binne die Diakoniologie (Praktiese Teologie)—vir my doktorsgraad bestudeer het. Nadat ek navorsing gedoen het oor 'Martyn Lloyd-Jones se beginsels en metodes van prediking,' het ek my doktorsgraad in Teologie behaal en in 1986 na Korea teruggekeer. Aan die einde van daardie jaar het ek die Doorae-gemeente in Sangdo-dong, Seoel, geplant en kort daarna die Tanpori-gemeente in Jeongneung afgestig. Na byna tien jaar se bediening in Seoel het ek aan die einde van 1995 'n beroep na Ulsan Gemeente aanvaar, waar ek 24 jaar lank gedien het tot met my emeritaat aan die einde van 2019. Op 'n stadium is my toegang tot die Algemene Sinode selfs verbied op aanklagte rondom die aanstelling van regeringsaangestelde trustees by die denominasie se opvoedkundige instelling; tog het ek later, in September 2011, die voorreg gehad om as Moderator van die 61ste Algemene Sinode te dien.
Van daardie jare af het daar 'n diepe verlange in my gebrand na 'die herstel van die kerk se heiligheid en die hervorming van die Koreaanse kerk,' maar nog nooit was dit so dringend soos vandag nie. Die sluise waardeur die heiligheid afgebreek word, word tans openlik vanaf die kansel self oopgetrek. Soos elkeen weet, is prediking die verkondiging van die Woord van God. As 'n mens God se Woord wil verkondig, moet die bron en die maatstaf in die Skrif alleen lê. Daarom het die Hervormers uitgeroep: Sola Scriptura ("die Skrif alleen") en aangedring op Tota Scriptura ("die hele Skrif"). As Moderator van die Sinode het ek eerstehands gesien dat ons kerkverband nie meer daardie beginsel handhaaf nie. Uit hoofde van my amp het ek die hele land deurreis om te preek; tog is die preke streng tot sowat tien minute beperk, terwyl 'n lang ry sprekers toegelaat is om inhoudlose gelukwensings toe te waai. Daarin het ek gesien dat die geloof dat die verkondiging van die Woord die kerk bou en vernuwe, verlore gegaan het.
Die huidige toedrag van sake is hoegenaamd geen verrassing nie. Die beginsels van Sola Scriptura en Tota Scriptura het immers lankal reeds verdwyn. Daarom is dit nou die tyd om te vra: "Is ek 'n predikant wat die Woord suiwer verkondig?" en "Is ons gemeente 'n plek waar die Woord reg verkondig word?" 'n Bedienaar aan wie die Woord toevertrou is, kan maklik agterkom of God se Woord werklik vanaf die kansel verkondig word deur bloot te kyk na hoe die preek voorberei word. As 'n mens vooraf in jou hart besluit wat jy volgende Sondag wil sê en dan eers deur die Bybel blaai, is die teks nie meer die maatstaf nie; dit word bloot 'n bewysteks om eie stellings te regverdig. Dit is baie veiliger om die Puriteinse tradisie te volg: kies 'n Bybelboek, bestudeer dit ordelik vers vir vers en verkondig die teks soos dit daar staan. Charles Spurgeon, met sy buitengewone geestelike diepgang en reuse beleesenheid, was dalk 'n uitsondering. Maar as 'n leraar nie genoeg tyd agter die studeertafel deurbring nie, is die onvermydelike gevolg dat hy op die kansel staan en praat wat hy self wil, heeltemal los van die teks. Prediking moet altyd 'n suiwere kanaal wees waardeur die hemelse stem na hierdie aarde toe vloei.