As someone who has
preached for over 44 years, and one who has taught preaching along with writing
numerous articles and blogs on the topic of preaching, you may think that I am tough
on preachers and a harsh critic of their sermons. Actually, I am not. I approach the sermon in an expectant
manner.
First,
I am eager to hear God’s word expounded.
I can and often have already read the scriptures for the day. I want and look forward to the preacher’s
expansion of the text(s).
Second,
I want to be open to what God has to say to me through the sermon and the “me”
can also mean “us” as a member of a congregation.
Third,
I hope to learn something.
Fourth,
I want to hear the good news proclaimed.
Here are the 6 things that I listen for in a
sermon. I don’t expect every sermon to
have all of these, but I listen for them and I think others may be also.
First, I listen for an invitation into the preaching
event
I want the preacher to engage me in some way. Often a simple question can do this, for
example, “What could Jesus have meant when he asked people to come and follow
him?” The invitation can also come as a
narrative or story at the beginning that sets the tone and theme of the sermon.
For example, “The other day while in
Walmart, I watched a mother stand completely helpless at the temper tantrum of
her toddler. I’ve been there.” I even
find a vivid retelling of a parable or teaching a great introduction. After all, Jesus’ sermons and teachings were
often great stories.
There are some things I don’t find helpful. I don’t find an explanation of why “these
three scriptures” were chosen for today remotely interesting. I don’t find a humorous story or illustration
useful if it doesn’t introduce and serve the sermon. I don’t find complicated explanations about
complex passages and what words really mean in Greek very engaging. In short, I listen to hear why this sermon is
important.
Second, I listen to whether the preacher has done his
or her homework
Here
I have a bias. I notice that a lot of
Episcopal clergy are topical preachers.
By this I mean they find a topic or issue or subject in a text and
proceed to preach on the topic and not what the text means, or why it is there,
or why it is being read.
For
example, when Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” it may raise an interesting
topic about the metaphor bread and what bread represents and can mean, but I
want to know why he said it, or at least why John said he said it, and not
about the art of bread making or the preachers attempt at baking break and what
the preacher learned from it. I want to
know that the preacher has engaged the passage and its meaning. This comes from
prayerful and scholarly engagement with the Scriptures.
Third, I listen for the big story
Christianity
is about life and death. It is about the
big questions and issues that make living, loving, and even pain and suffering
meaningful, so preach on this. I don’t
really care about the arcane of faith such as the colors of the Church Year or
the trivia of the bible. I listen hungry
for meaning. Just as our culture often overloads us with mounds of data, some
preachers seem more interested in the data of scripture or theology instead of
its meaning.
Fourth, I listen for to the content AND the delivery
A
sermon is oral communication and as such it has two important dynamics that of content
and delivery. Episcopal clergy are
fairly smart people, but we are also at times boring. When I do teach preaching and evaluate
sermons, I use these two scales. First
is content. Does the preacher have something to say? Second, I ask has the preacher said it
effectively? Can the preacher
communicate beyond mere words? Effective
delivery helps people listen. Many of
us have become so predictable in our form of preaching, what Fred Craddock
called “Explain, Explore, Apply,” that we lull our congregations into passivity
by our predictability. Rhetoric is not a bad word, and learning to
communicate effectively with its different rules and forms is a blessing to our
listeners.
Fifth, I want to leave knowing what the preacher intended to say
This
is what Craddock called the sermonic
sentence. This is a one sentence or one
phrase summary of the sermon that preachers should use to organize their
thoughts. This sentence may or may not
actually be used in the sermon, but after hearing a sermon, we listeners should
be able to say in one sentence the point of what we heard. Of course, we all know of moments when God
has spoken to us directly in a sermon beyond what the preacher intended, but
poorly formed and badly organized sermons should not be justified by such
anecdotal moments.
Lastly, I want to hear good news!
I
want to be encouraged, helped, and even inspired in my life in Christ. I hear enough from our culture about sin,
death, shame, suffering, humiliation, the vain pursuit of material things, and
the evils of our world and of our own lives.
I want to hear what God in Christ has set right! I want to leave believing my life matters and
that faith enables me to face the world with courage and hope.
I
know we are unloving. I know we are
polluting the earth. I know black lives
matter. I know there is injustice in our world at every turn. I know we are
indifferent to important causes and issues.
I know the world and our culture and lives are going to hell in a hand
basket. But I also know Christ and for Christians
“to live is Christ and to die is gain” as Paul said. Preaching is at the heart proclamation not
condemnation. Does good preaching
sometimes convict us? Of course it does,
but even then it leads us to forgiveness, amendment, and a new life. And when hurting, depressed, wounded, discouraged
and weak, I want to know “there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul.”
I listen for the good news that always brings with it hope.
Hey fellow preachers, let’s make 2017 a
year in which we improve the quality of our preaching!
