Is Preaching Still Viable - Part 2
Preaching is a unique combination of art and science. As an artist, the preacher seeks to be creative. However, creativity doesn't mean preaching in such a novel way that people listening can't recognize the words and stories that are embedded in their memories. In the name of novelty, I heard about a minister who preached the Christmas story from the perspective of the donkey on which Mary road to Bethlehem. This was a talking donkey who kept asking Mary how she was doing. It was creative. Nobody had thought about a talking donkey, and there's good reason why nobody had ever thought about it.
Obviously, some of our listeners may know little or nothing about the Bible. The task of the preacher is to proclaim a sermon that is vivid and alive and contains some of the biblical text. Why not assume that the Bible can be interesting to people even without a talking donkey?
Preaching is also a science. I don't mean that we take our words into the laboratory, but there are certain common denominators such as clarity, and a style of presentation that doesn't draw attention to itself. When we read the biblical text to the congregation, that is a promissory act. As a preacher, we stand with the ancient words and with people in 2019. "How do we connect them?" is the challenge. Don't read the text and then leave the text dangling by itself without any connection to the message. Don't look at the congregation and forget that we have a shared story. We laugh; we cry; we are calm; and we are anxious. We do some things right, and we all do some things wrong.
First, have some. In our study, we want to read about different things from different writers. Use a variety of illustrations. Don't talk about things that just interest you. As a professor, I've had some male students for whom the major metaphors of life were golf and football. I'm sorry to break it to you and me. Some people couldn't care less about the Masters Tournament or the Super Bowl.
Don't use long quotations. Find the heart of what you want to say and avoid extraneous material. Briefly identify your sources. All of us who went to seminary know who Rudolf Bultmann is. But you're not preaching to a class filled with seminarians. If I use a brief quotation from one of my favorite writers, I need to identify them briefly. Not everybody is reading Father Richard Rohr or Anne Lamott.
Space illustrations throughout the sermon. Don't pile them up at the conclusion of the message. We don't have to begin a sermon with, "A funny thing happened to me on the way to church today." Nobody laughs, and we're on an island. End the sermon with something that connects to the purpose of the message. What is it you want your sermon to do to the listeners? Often, this is a good place for a story, words of a song, or something that is evocative. "I think; therefore, I am." What about, "I feel; therefore, I am." Don't end the sermon with a lengthy prayer that recaps what you've already said.
A long time ago in a distant classroom, one of the students began, "The pericope for my sermon is...." "Pericope" is another word for a text from the Bible. I'm glad this student knew the word. It will help him pass the test. I sat in the back of the room where I had my yellow legal pad. I wrote "pericope". Next to it, "Never again." I'm not against good language and an expansive vocabulary, but if you finish a sermon, and a woman says to her friend, "Our pastor is brilliant, but I don't understand much of what she says." That's not a compliment. Use language that people understand, monosyllabic words, verbs, especially active verbs. Utilize imagination that guides us in reading a biblical text so that we don't just report on it, we get inside the text so that people understand that we didn't just read it, the text read us.
Populate the sermon with faces. Don't talk about sadness as a concept. Do you remember the husband who told you that his wife had dementia? Do you recall the soldier who had three tours of duty and who said, "One day I sat at the kitchen table with a loaded gun and wondered am I a burden to myself and everyone else." That's excruciating sadness and you didn't have to say the word. You can paint a picture that communicates more than any words can say.
Pastoral preaching intends to bring comfort to people. Prophetic preaching seeks to challenge the listeners. I realize that this is too narrow a definition and needs to be expanded. A prophetic sermon, for example, can be a great part of the healing of people. Think of the folks who feel marginalized, unloved, rejected, and shunned even by the church that supposedly preaches the gospel of unconditional love. Speaking prophetically; speaking to the systems and situations that don't reflect the love of Christ not only challenges the church but also provides hope to those who need to hear the good news of Grace.
However, let's assume that pastoral preaching is designed to comfort and prophetic preaching seeks to challenge. Let's also assume that preachers need to do both in the various sermons that they preach. For much of my ministry, I have gravitated to pastoral preaching. Most pastors, including myself, have not had the training to be the church's personal therapist. What I have found was that in preaching, I could try to bring care, empathy, and the sense that I was a fellow pilgrim in our common journey. Corporate worship is the place where the minister meets the largest segment of parishioners. Is our preacher competent, caring, and compassionate? These are the questions people have as they listen to our words as well as the music beneath our words.
Pastoral preaching is better received by most congregations. To tackle the tough issues means that we will meet resistance and even hostility. Yet, Jesus was both a prophet and a priest in his teaching and preaching. There are issues that we can't avoid if we are going to be true to the breadth of the biblical proclamation. After I preach, I like to go to the back door to meet people. I really like it when people say nice things to me. But the issues are too critical for most people to leave our sanctuaries and only say, "That was a very nice sermon. Your words made me feel good." I didn't say it, but a part of me wishes that I'd responded, "Will the words make you not only feel better but also do better?" We preach 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.
Obviously, some of our listeners may know little or nothing about the Bible. The task of the preacher is to proclaim a sermon that is vivid and alive and contains some of the biblical text. Why not assume that the Bible can be interesting to people even without a talking donkey?
Preaching is also a science. I don't mean that we take our words into the laboratory, but there are certain common denominators such as clarity, and a style of presentation that doesn't draw attention to itself. When we read the biblical text to the congregation, that is a promissory act. As a preacher, we stand with the ancient words and with people in 2019. "How do we connect them?" is the challenge. Don't read the text and then leave the text dangling by itself without any connection to the message. Don't look at the congregation and forget that we have a shared story. We laugh; we cry; we are calm; and we are anxious. We do some things right, and we all do some things wrong.
- ILLUSTRATIONS
First, have some. In our study, we want to read about different things from different writers. Use a variety of illustrations. Don't talk about things that just interest you. As a professor, I've had some male students for whom the major metaphors of life were golf and football. I'm sorry to break it to you and me. Some people couldn't care less about the Masters Tournament or the Super Bowl.
Don't use long quotations. Find the heart of what you want to say and avoid extraneous material. Briefly identify your sources. All of us who went to seminary know who Rudolf Bultmann is. But you're not preaching to a class filled with seminarians. If I use a brief quotation from one of my favorite writers, I need to identify them briefly. Not everybody is reading Father Richard Rohr or Anne Lamott.
Space illustrations throughout the sermon. Don't pile them up at the conclusion of the message. We don't have to begin a sermon with, "A funny thing happened to me on the way to church today." Nobody laughs, and we're on an island. End the sermon with something that connects to the purpose of the message. What is it you want your sermon to do to the listeners? Often, this is a good place for a story, words of a song, or something that is evocative. "I think; therefore, I am." What about, "I feel; therefore, I am." Don't end the sermon with a lengthy prayer that recaps what you've already said.
- LANGUAGE
A long time ago in a distant classroom, one of the students began, "The pericope for my sermon is...." "Pericope" is another word for a text from the Bible. I'm glad this student knew the word. It will help him pass the test. I sat in the back of the room where I had my yellow legal pad. I wrote "pericope". Next to it, "Never again." I'm not against good language and an expansive vocabulary, but if you finish a sermon, and a woman says to her friend, "Our pastor is brilliant, but I don't understand much of what she says." That's not a compliment. Use language that people understand, monosyllabic words, verbs, especially active verbs. Utilize imagination that guides us in reading a biblical text so that we don't just report on it, we get inside the text so that people understand that we didn't just read it, the text read us.
Populate the sermon with faces. Don't talk about sadness as a concept. Do you remember the husband who told you that his wife had dementia? Do you recall the soldier who had three tours of duty and who said, "One day I sat at the kitchen table with a loaded gun and wondered am I a burden to myself and everyone else." That's excruciating sadness and you didn't have to say the word. You can paint a picture that communicates more than any words can say.
- PASTOR AND PROPHET
Pastoral preaching intends to bring comfort to people. Prophetic preaching seeks to challenge the listeners. I realize that this is too narrow a definition and needs to be expanded. A prophetic sermon, for example, can be a great part of the healing of people. Think of the folks who feel marginalized, unloved, rejected, and shunned even by the church that supposedly preaches the gospel of unconditional love. Speaking prophetically; speaking to the systems and situations that don't reflect the love of Christ not only challenges the church but also provides hope to those who need to hear the good news of Grace.
However, let's assume that pastoral preaching is designed to comfort and prophetic preaching seeks to challenge. Let's also assume that preachers need to do both in the various sermons that they preach. For much of my ministry, I have gravitated to pastoral preaching. Most pastors, including myself, have not had the training to be the church's personal therapist. What I have found was that in preaching, I could try to bring care, empathy, and the sense that I was a fellow pilgrim in our common journey. Corporate worship is the place where the minister meets the largest segment of parishioners. Is our preacher competent, caring, and compassionate? These are the questions people have as they listen to our words as well as the music beneath our words.
Pastoral preaching is better received by most congregations. To tackle the tough issues means that we will meet resistance and even hostility. Yet, Jesus was both a prophet and a priest in his teaching and preaching. There are issues that we can't avoid if we are going to be true to the breadth of the biblical proclamation. After I preach, I like to go to the back door to meet people. I really like it when people say nice things to me. But the issues are too critical for most people to leave our sanctuaries and only say, "That was a very nice sermon. Your words made me feel good." I didn't say it, but a part of me wishes that I'd responded, "Will the words make you not only feel better but also do better?" We preach 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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