What is Preaching?
I want to ask you a question. It might sound like a slightly odd question, but it’s nevertheless genuine. So here it is: “What is preaching?”
The reason it might sound odd is that, well, I teaching preaching, and you’d think I’d know what it is I’m teaching. But in recent years I’ve been wondering if all that I was taught is still adequate. Not that I think it was wrong, per se, but rather if previous models of preaching continue to work well not just for folks who are used to that kind of preaching, but to their children and grandchild (and the friends of their children and grandchildren) who have grown up in a different kind of world in terms of how we receive and share information.
Think for a moment of how much more “active” we are in terms of information. It used to be that we were primarily recipients – we’d read a book or the newspaper, watch the evening news, pick up a magazine or whatever. Now, however, we browse multiple pages on the internet, leaving our comments as we go. Or we check our Facebook page or Twitter account, updating our status and in this way producing and sharing our information as much as receiving it.
The kind of “one-way” transfer of information that dominated the world for generations is passing. Take even something as “traditional” as a presidential debate: in 2012 there was a constant Twitter feed below the actual debate giving us the opinions, impressions, and reactions of others while watching the candidates speak. And the next day the news was likely to be as much about those reactions (think “binders full of women”) as it was the actual “content.”
But while so much of the rest of our lives – work, home, politics, recreation – has adapted to this communication revolution, preaching is relatively unchanged.
All of which brings me back to my question: what is preaching today? Or, maybe better, what does preaching need to be today to engage folks who are far more comfortable in this more participatory kind of communication environment?
By asking the question, I’m not presuming today’s preaching isn’t adequate. I’m genuinely wondering. Maybe it does work…for some. And maybe if we did it better it could work for more. Or maybe if we tinkered around or experimented, we might find other ways that speak to even more people.
All of which brings me full circle to ask you what you think preaching is, what it needs to be, and maybe even what you most appreciate in a sermon. Thanks for taking time to ponder the question and offer your opinions and insights in the comments. I’m eager to learn from you…and to share what I learn with my students.
I observed a powerful preacher asking questions and getting group responses in a Lutheran parish in Northern Tanzania. Once the message had been shared, the congregation was queried to insure understanding. And they spoke in unison. They had been listening carefully. Our attention span is different. We have grown to expect some interaction with the words we receive. I try to offer those opportunities through predictable responses at times, individual replies at others. The congregation where I serve is growing more comfortable with interaction. Some do not like it at all. I pray that I will be out of the way so that the Spirit can do God’s work using what I bring.
I’m a 37yr old preacher in the ELCIC (Canada) and have wanted to apply all sorts of innovative ways to get at the heart of the Gospel.
But there is a resistance I always face. Some are angry that they are asked to talk to the people around them, some politely sit in silence and don’t participate, some really get into it but are frustrated when they find no one else is…
So… I’m resigned to keeping Sunday as normal as I can (with the use of projector images to support what I say) and focus the creative energies to special events or ‘other than Sunday morning worship’ times.
I too am still looking for better ways to engage and do my best to be a preacher (sometimes with just my words)
I think i can tell you what preaching is NOT more than I can speak to what preaching is!
Preaching that hinges on pseudo-email spirituality and drags on forever and NEVER Connects to ANY of the readings for the weekend in my opinion is both lousy and lazy preaching!
Good preaching is sharing insights from your life experience or the communities experience and how it is relevant to the message of the weekend readings. Its challenging, yet engaging.
Because I’m female and Catholic, my “preaching” is reduced to a 3-minute reflection in the context of a small group that is gathered for Communion once a week. I ALWAYS try to relate the readings to the audiences lives. I only have to relate my thoughts to the lives of 5-people that have at least 30yrs on me, I try to make it as relevant as possible.
I might also suggest checking out the book The Preaching Life by Barbra Brown Taylor. She’s got some great insights.
Good Luck!
My first thought is how much good might result if people would sit still and listen more often! I’m often not convinced that “active” listening is an improvement! What can be too often lost is the time for reflection, to absorb the information and process it internally before generating an external response; it is a difference in thought process, when your brain is preparing to respond, than when simply listening.
In my “good old days,” both church and classrooms were quite traditional so, yes, that is my bias. Although I’m not that old, I am not of this younger generation; sometimes I feel sorry for this generation, who has less preparation for learning patience and many other lessons gained from a less “active” position.
Oooh, David & Sean, I love a good, engaging, and thought provoking sermon. I like discussing a good sermon. But nobody likes being put on the spot.
David, I have seen you make the “stop and share” moment work well in workshops, and once as a guest preacher you had us read and discuss a particular bible passage (I think it was the story of the woman at the well — and your point was that anyone can “do theology”). You then followed up the conversations with a broader sharing and reflection. I think it worked and was memorable because you were willing to yield the floor to the wisdom of the room and used what we had discussed to inform your conclusion.
But most often, these mid-sermon sharing moments bring a good and engaging sermon to a crashing halt. As it is typically executed, we are asked to share some personal information or insight with the person next to us. But the format is not conducive to a meaningful exchange because each person is expected to share something in a very short amount of time. The resulting exchanges are awkward and often disingenuous, even among friends.
A well thought out and executed rhetorical question or two could become a springboard for conversations over coffee or at brunch after the service. Forums such as this one could engage those who listen to sermons online. A social media team could be tweeting, posting and blogging while your sermon live streams to the nursery or church library or fellowship hall where people who would rather talk during your sermon are hanging out anyhow.
But for those of us in the pews on a Sunday morning, once the sermon rolls around, you have our undivided attention, we are ready to listen. Make it worth our while.
I am, by no means, a young person…I am in my 60th decade, but I find conventional “church” services to be quite boring and routine, for the most part. We always do the same things….there’s a regular hugging and greeting session before our minister gets started…quite forced and awkward. Singing “Pass Your Love Around” while joining hands at the end. Sigh. I long for something different and have for my entire life.
I like discussion. I like to hear the viewpoints of more people than just the minister. I would like to be given the opportunity to give feedback. None of this happens on Sundays at our church.
I have pretty much limited my interaction at our church to our bible study group, which DOES offer the opportunity to share insights with others and hear different viewpoints and to deeply contemplate the scriptures. It is relaxed and fun. We often eat a snack while reading and discussing the passages. Everyone participates….it is FUN and INTERACTIVE and nourishes my spirit more than a YEAR’s worth of Sunday sermons!!
Julie,
I am a preacher. As I read your comments, I feel sad that you find church services both boring and routine. But, I also feel convicted by your comments. My most immediate thought is this: how many people listening to my sermons feel the same way but are not willing to say so. This is not the first time I have asked such a question of myself. Therefore, I appreciate your candor.
My struggle as a preacher is two-fold. I desire to be innovative in delivering the word. Therefore, I use a variety of methods to get my point across. However, I must also be respectful to those familiar with the time honored pulpit preaching. There is a lot to be said for traditional preaching. I may share your comments with a few of my study groups in the coming weeks as a means of soliciting feedback. Your thoughts are certainly provoking and warrant further consideration.
Thank you,
Dear Bruce,
It was very nice of you to respond to my comments. Perhaps I don’t really know anything at all, but I do know how I feel. One time a minister told me that church services were not so much for us, the people, but to honor God. Therefore, I suppose he meant if I wasn’t getting anything out of the service, it didn’t matter.
Maybe I’m just a wild child who doesn’t know how to honor God. I think, though, that people long to have their hearts knit together with God and with each other. Sunday services do little to advance that knitting together thing. One is, after all, sitting in a pew staring at the back of someone’s head.
I am a rebellious sort and determined to have what I want, and I’ve found what I want in our bible study class. I can both speak and listen. I have come to know the other people in the class quite intimately. I want this. I want intimacy with God and my fellow creatures. I am determined to pursue it with my whole heart.
Thanks for writing.
I heard an idea about alternative worship, from a Cafe’ church in Sydney, Australia. While gathered together people texted questions, the minister read them out without saying who sent them, then he tried to answer them and/or opened them up for discussion.Perhaps he started with a theme or thread of an idea on a topic, I can’t recall. Anyway,I rather liked that idea, at least to try sometimes, perhaps in informal settings, good for visitors too. Don’t you ever want to ask a question or plumb the depths of some concept, but it isn’t usually possible in church?
As a former teacher, now preacher, I think that variety in preaching is important. We all learn in different styles so while for one person a “traditional” sermon works, for another discussion helps and for another visual or hands on activities help to hear and learn the Word. The congregation that I serve has gotten used to this variety over the past 13 years (I’ve wondered if at the heart of preaching is “trust”- that the relationship between preacher and congregation needs to have the trust that where the preacher goes with the sermon will always be “safe” even if its not always a style that’s comfortable. That’s not to say that the Word can’t be challenging.) My frustration is more in the areas of social media, needing help from others to make that technology happen and ideas of how to use it with the sermon. Any ideas?
Preaching, to me, is translating the Gospel from static words on a piece of paper into the living Word of God. To be certain there are many methodologies that can accomplish this…a riveting sermon being one of them. However, as a parishoner, I find we are far too eager to hand the act of translation off to the professionals in the pulpit. By doing so we cede an integral part of our faith off to a select few and truncate the power of the Gospel in the process. By expressing our faith verbally (song or speech) or in written form (sermon notes or journals) we actively participate in the priesthood of all believers. The Holy Spirit pours out of our heart and mind an out of our mouth or onto the paper. God’s translation, Jesus, sets the example which we are to follow. We cannot keep the joy we have in Jesus to ourselves. Instead are sent into the world as He was sent to us (see John 20:21).
Stating one’s faith aloud is intimidating to be sure. It involves admitting we do not know everything and as such the safer route is to be an inanimate receiver of information sent from the pulpit to the pews. The irony though is that even a seemingly “weak” statement of faith is the fruit of the Spirit and is used by the Holy Spirit to motivate and support our maturing faith as well as the faith of others. What better place to practice than inside the walls of the church with a supportive group of fellow disciples!
I commend pastors who try to translate the Gospel via different mediums and understand the hesitancy to do so based on tradition. But tradition is not what we worship nor is our religion (as cool as being Lutheran is). Instead we worship Christ with a faith given as a gift through the grace of the Holy Spirit. The only proper response to such an awesome gift is to shout with joy and gladness.
I pray we are all emboldened by the the Spirit to translate the Gospel into action!
I don’t think this just applies to preaching. Where in the typical, mainline protestant worship do people have the chance to interject their own thoughts, concerns, prayers or questions except for a few, very short periods of (often awkward) silence? I think that is why so many people comment that they enjoy the passing of the peace. How can we make all of worship more participatory?
In our small, rural parish in the interior of BC, we have changed the name to”Reflection” and our experience of receiving the interpretation of The Word from whoever is leading the service, has changed. The service may be led by our Ministry Developer (an ordained priest with a different role than priest-in-charge), a Lay Minister of Word and Sacrament or our Bishop. In each case, after we hear The Word of God, there is a time for response from the congregation. And some Sundays discussion can be quite animated. Over the past few years, however, I would say we, the people, have become more engaged and alive in our faith journeys. There is room for questions, comments and challenges to what was spoken. It can be nerve-wracking for the person delivering the Reflection and it is a growth experience for all involved and those willing to be challenged and stretched by God and God’s words for us.
As a resource to this conversation, I would offer “The Art of Curating Worship” by Mark Pierson. He offers many innovative ideas regarding worship in general, but also alternative possibilities for the “sermon time.” I found that many of his examples are overboard and could not possibly be adapted by most congregations every weekend, but there are certainly nuggets for consideration that address David’s reflection question about worship/preaching in a digital world.
What is preaching? LOL. It would be easier to ask, “what is the ultimate meaning of life?” Having been preaching for nearly 30 years now I would say, for me anyways, preaching is not so much what “I” have to say (or how I say it or present it) but more of what “we,” as a human family, have to share in our journeys together, not only on a Sunday morning, but week to week and year to year. For me, preaching is an ongoing conversation with and for one another about what it means to be human, to have “faith,” to be alive in this mysterious and challenging space we share and live in. I don’t think there is any one right way to answer this question. However, I am convinced preaching needs to be thought provoking, open to change and deliberation, grounded in the reality of our relationship with one another and the world in which we live with all the joys and sufferings involved. As a preacher, I try not to pretend I have all the answers (or even one!). I try to (I hope in all humility) to engage our community in the the teachings and life of Jesus for our day and age. I think the question behind “what is preaching” is the ultimate questions for the Christendom in the 21st century: is Jesus relevant in the modern era and, if so, why and how???