From My Perspective - - -

From:  The Message
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
    Philippians 4:8-9

In his comments to the 1,000 plus attendees of the 31st General Assembly meeting of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Stated Clerk Jeffrey Jeremiah said: “I believe our Lord is saying to us today, I see your orthodoxy. It is essential and I commend you for it. I see your orthopraxy as well. Now, show me your orthopathos."

Basically, what is Jeffrey Jeremiah saying and meaning? The words used have specific meaning: (1) Orthodoxy pertains to what one believes! (2) Orthopraxy pertains to what one does or practices! But - what is (3) Orthopathos? The closest one can come to a sense of what it means is that it pertains to what one feels, namely, a feeling of sympathy and/or compassion (about what he has heard and how he feels about those with whom he is associated).

In actuality, it is an old pedagogical formulation for the one teaching to keep in mind that the bottom line and focus is what one wants those whom he has taught to (1) know, (2) think, (3) do in terms of what they have heard. Teaching, if it is viable and valuable, should produce both understanding and action. The instruction is not to the end that the listener will possess more knowledge and warehouse it, but that he will glean from it what his response and application must be as a result of that instruction.

This is also a suitable and useful formulation for those who are called to "preach/teach the word" – namely - action is the expected response and result of preaching! What does one want his congregants or students to (1) Know, (2) Think, (3) Do. Regrettably, there is too much "talking" in the pulpit and from the lectern rather than "teaching"! The result is that no one - including the preacher/teacher - has any notion regarding what one is to Know, Think or Do.

In this regard, The Message Paraphrase has an excellent rendering of I Corinthians 2:1-5, “You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did - Jesus crucified. I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate - I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it - and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.”

In all of ones communication, one should strive to keep it simple, basic, clear and understandable. Otherwise, one will emulate the noisy gong and clanging cymbal spoken of in I Corinthians 13:1.How do others respond to your communications? Are they impressed with your intellectual skills and abilities, or with the fact that you have spent time in the study and preparation of God’s Word – and – you have spoken it in such a manner that even the youngest and/or most simple can understand and benefit from it? Consider these things with me!