Is Preaching Still Viable? Part 1
Sometimes, I hear people question the need for the viability of preaching in the times in which we live. "My preacher is so boring," she said. "Doesn't my preacher know how to conclude a message? The sermon goes too long. There were places where he could have ended the message." The congregation was finished at 18 minutes, but our minister kept preaching and finally ended with something that sounded like, "That's all, folks". I've been a preacher and a professor of homiletics for most of my life. I'm retired, which may make me irrelevant to anybody under 40. There's nothing like an old preacher telling a new generation that has grown up in a different world, "This is the way you should preach." But I'm still preaching, and until my spouse, who's been my most consistent listener over the years, tells me that I keep telling the same stories and she really wants me to sit with her in the pew, I'll continue to preach.
The question is, "Is preaching still viable?" This should be a concern both for the one who speaks as well as the people who have to listen to our sermons, so in a two-part blog, I want to suggest some things that I really believe can strengthen our proclamation.
I first heard this idea applied to the preaching event by Fred Craddock. Not only does the point of the sermon need to be clear, but also it needs to focus on matters that are significant. We preach in a cultural context filled with anxiety, fear, doubt and despair. Can the preacher emerge from her prayerful encounter with the biblical text and speak words that comfort? Can the preacher emerge from his study to call hearers to engage in redemptive encounters with the issues that are hurting too many people in our society? Can proclamation help the congregation to shape a cohesive vision that assists the church to know its identity so that bickering about doing what is important can be put into the frame that helps us to have a clearer picture of the church's mission?
Is this easy? No! Is it imperative? Yes! Otherwise, as the philosopher Franz Kafka said, "We jump on the horse and ride off in all directions at the same time." This is no time for the church not to have a clear vision of what God is calling us to be and to do. This is no time for those of us who preach to speak words that don't call all of us to the transformation of ourselves and the transformation of a world in crisis.
Each of us has been created differently and has been shaped in various ways. All of us have learned from gifted preachers. But God has called each of us with our differences to "give voice" to matters of infinite importance. I don't mean, "Well, I am who I am, and therefore, I won't change." In my first full-time church, my brother and his family came to visit. After the service, I asked him if he had any suggestions about my sermon. "You sounded 'sing-songy' as if you had memorized the sermon and were delivering it in chunks."
Bob was an attorney. What does a lawyer know about preaching? Besides, all of the lawyers in the New Testament gave Jesus a hard time. But my brother was exactly right. I couldn't write a manuscript and then memorize it.
Over the years, I have developed different approaches to the preparation of a sermon. What I have moved toward are phrases that capture the movement both of the text and of the message. This way of preaching is not for everybody, but it's a way that I've found to be comfortable for me. That's the most important factor in the preparation of a sermon. Some of the areas that I've seen most in my teaching that all of us can improve on and still maintain integrity: the pace of the sermon - - not too fast and not too slow; feeling the texture of the words that we read in Scripture and that we use in the sermon; the use of pauses; realize that Jesus didn't shout all of his sermons and neither did he speak so softly that people were elbowing their friends saying, "What was that after 'Blessed'?" Being authentic also means that we preach parts of Scripture that we may not have already appropriated for ourselves. A degree from the best seminary doesn't give us all the answers. A couple listening to us has just buried their daughter. Try asking them "Why," and you as the preacher don't really know. "It's God's will." If a child's dying is God's will, I don't want that God.
Thomas Long, in his excellent book, The Witness of Preaching, calls ministers to have a focus in their sermons. Focus or point - - it's the same thing. In one clear sentence what is the main thing that we want our sermons to say? If the preacher doesn't know, the sermon will be like wandering through the woods trying to find a trail and a destination.
To preach in a "focused" way means that we need to know the biblical text well ahead of the time we preach, through such guides as the revised lectionary, the narrative lectionary, or our own plan for preaching. Begin early in the week reading the text a number of times. Do our commentary work, take notes, do something else and let the thoughts that you've had bounce around in your mind. Then decide, "What is the one thing I really want the listeners to hear?" Our temptation is to say everything, but people have trouble hearing "a sermon that rambles and tries to include God and every related subject."
Whether you use a manuscript, notes, or take nothing to the pulpit, remember eye contact is important. We want to know the sermon not just between our ears, but we want to embody the message in ourselves. Don't assume a stereotypical preacher's voice. Remember, it's "God" not "gawd". Find some humor in the biblical text or in the experiences of your own life but never force humor dragging and screaming into the sermon. Avoid silly stories that have nothing to do with the text or with the message. Relax as much as possible so that you can avoid nervous movements and sentences that slip out of the corners of our mouths because we're really not sure that they are that important. You may be a "cool person" but don't say, "This is a cool text where Jesus was a great dude or a cool guy". Some things are too sacred to be reduced to our colloquial language. Also, it's important not to refer to the congregation as "you guys". Probably that would only be appropriate if you were talking to an all male group, particularly a younger group of boys or men. But don't say "this is a cool text where Jesus was a great dude or a cool guy" and reduce it to colloquial language.
We share the Word and... then we leave the rest to God.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly,
Pray daily,
And then... leave the rest to God.
The question is, "Is preaching still viable?" This should be a concern both for the one who speaks as well as the people who have to listen to our sermons, so in a two-part blog, I want to suggest some things that I really believe can strengthen our proclamation.
- BE AWARE OF GOD'S PRESENCE BOTH AS WE PREPARE AND AS WE PROCLAIM.
That sounds obvious and, maybe, too simplistic. Don't all ministers stay in touch with God? Maybe all of you who are reading this do, but there have been times in my life when I've felt the whole weight of ministry and preaching. Preaching, pastoral care, administration plus the presence of at least a few people in every church who are not amazed by our greatness, will wear you and me down. It's a must - strength beyond ourselves.
- SIGNIFICANCE
I first heard this idea applied to the preaching event by Fred Craddock. Not only does the point of the sermon need to be clear, but also it needs to focus on matters that are significant. We preach in a cultural context filled with anxiety, fear, doubt and despair. Can the preacher emerge from her prayerful encounter with the biblical text and speak words that comfort? Can the preacher emerge from his study to call hearers to engage in redemptive encounters with the issues that are hurting too many people in our society? Can proclamation help the congregation to shape a cohesive vision that assists the church to know its identity so that bickering about doing what is important can be put into the frame that helps us to have a clearer picture of the church's mission?
Is this easy? No! Is it imperative? Yes! Otherwise, as the philosopher Franz Kafka said, "We jump on the horse and ride off in all directions at the same time." This is no time for the church not to have a clear vision of what God is calling us to be and to do. This is no time for those of us who preach to speak words that don't call all of us to the transformation of ourselves and the transformation of a world in crisis.
- BE AUTHENTIC.
Each of us has been created differently and has been shaped in various ways. All of us have learned from gifted preachers. But God has called each of us with our differences to "give voice" to matters of infinite importance. I don't mean, "Well, I am who I am, and therefore, I won't change." In my first full-time church, my brother and his family came to visit. After the service, I asked him if he had any suggestions about my sermon. "You sounded 'sing-songy' as if you had memorized the sermon and were delivering it in chunks."
Bob was an attorney. What does a lawyer know about preaching? Besides, all of the lawyers in the New Testament gave Jesus a hard time. But my brother was exactly right. I couldn't write a manuscript and then memorize it.
Over the years, I have developed different approaches to the preparation of a sermon. What I have moved toward are phrases that capture the movement both of the text and of the message. This way of preaching is not for everybody, but it's a way that I've found to be comfortable for me. That's the most important factor in the preparation of a sermon. Some of the areas that I've seen most in my teaching that all of us can improve on and still maintain integrity: the pace of the sermon - - not too fast and not too slow; feeling the texture of the words that we read in Scripture and that we use in the sermon; the use of pauses; realize that Jesus didn't shout all of his sermons and neither did he speak so softly that people were elbowing their friends saying, "What was that after 'Blessed'?" Being authentic also means that we preach parts of Scripture that we may not have already appropriated for ourselves. A degree from the best seminary doesn't give us all the answers. A couple listening to us has just buried their daughter. Try asking them "Why," and you as the preacher don't really know. "It's God's will." If a child's dying is God's will, I don't want that God.
- HAVE A CLEAR POINT IN OUR SERMONS.
Thomas Long, in his excellent book, The Witness of Preaching, calls ministers to have a focus in their sermons. Focus or point - - it's the same thing. In one clear sentence what is the main thing that we want our sermons to say? If the preacher doesn't know, the sermon will be like wandering through the woods trying to find a trail and a destination.
To preach in a "focused" way means that we need to know the biblical text well ahead of the time we preach, through such guides as the revised lectionary, the narrative lectionary, or our own plan for preaching. Begin early in the week reading the text a number of times. Do our commentary work, take notes, do something else and let the thoughts that you've had bounce around in your mind. Then decide, "What is the one thing I really want the listeners to hear?" Our temptation is to say everything, but people have trouble hearing "a sermon that rambles and tries to include God and every related subject."
- CONNECT WITH THE HEARERS
Whether you use a manuscript, notes, or take nothing to the pulpit, remember eye contact is important. We want to know the sermon not just between our ears, but we want to embody the message in ourselves. Don't assume a stereotypical preacher's voice. Remember, it's "God" not "gawd". Find some humor in the biblical text or in the experiences of your own life but never force humor dragging and screaming into the sermon. Avoid silly stories that have nothing to do with the text or with the message. Relax as much as possible so that you can avoid nervous movements and sentences that slip out of the corners of our mouths because we're really not sure that they are that important. You may be a "cool person" but don't say, "This is a cool text where Jesus was a great dude or a cool guy". Some things are too sacred to be reduced to our colloquial language. Also, it's important not to refer to the congregation as "you guys". Probably that would only be appropriate if you were talking to an all male group, particularly a younger group of boys or men. But don't say "this is a cool text where Jesus was a great dude or a cool guy" and reduce it to colloquial language.
We share the Word and... then we leave the rest to God.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly,
Pray daily,
And then... leave the rest to God.
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