The eCrozier

Some reflections on preaching

Will Willimon, Methodist Bishop in Alabama and former Dean of Duke Chapel, use to refer to preaching as that time when the preacher speaks and his/her words then “go running naked down the aisle of the Church.” I think what Willimon meant was that once the words have left the preacher’s mouth, she/he can no longer be responsible for how those words are received and appropriated. A preacher could speak on grace and someone at the door after the liturgy would still say: “that was a very good sermon on realized eschatology.” That is what the listener heard. Such a disconnect is what every preacher experiences. It is one of the true givens of preaching in our parishes.

That, however, does not relieve us from the responsibility and task of careful sermon preparation and then doing our utmost to preach the Good News of God in Christ each Sunday. We should expect that of ourselves and one another. And, according to an article in The Times of London (www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6993099.ece), it seems that the people in the pews expect it, too. Now I realize the context in the UK is different from our context here in Georgia, but the UK is even more secularized than our culture. And yet, 96% of churchgoers in the UK told researchers that they “look forward” to the sermon and 60% of them say “it gave them a sense of God’s love.”

Even in the digital age we still need those who practice the ancient art of standing up in a room of people and speaking to those people’s hearts and minds about God’s love in Christ. Such an art is quite simple, but it is never simplistic. If it is going to have any force, it must come from the heart of the preacher. Yet, if it is going to have any lasting impact, it cannot be only heart.

You and I have the privilege on a regular basis to have people’s ears. They are listening to what we have to say about God. The want to know that “there is a Balm in Gilead to make the sin-sick whole.” Let’s preach that with boldness and care.

+Scott