Definitions of Arrogance

“We see the same thing in the conflict between biblical and modern theories of preaching. The biblical preacher is a herald, a steward. He has been entrusted to declare something that would have been true if he had never been born. He is to preach it with a strong view of his own ultimate irrelevance. He is to get into the pulpit and say, ‘Thus says the Lord . . . .” And to the modern world, this is insufferable arrogance. In stark contrast with this, a modern pretty boy preacher — excuse me, a pretty boy communicator — gets up front and can talk about himself the entire time he is there. He is open, transparent, honest, and emotionally approachable. He is humble, or so it is thought. The evidence? He is humble because he talked about himself a lot. And the other one, the insufferable one, he must think he has a personal pipeline to God. He must thing God wrote a book or something . . . wait” (A Serrated Edge, p. 23).