In Praise of Preaching
In the 2000 years of church history, the statement I am about to make is remarkably benign. Precious few have challenged it or thought to believe otherwise. However, in recent years, much in the life of the church has changed. In large part, I am supportive of many of these changes. I love entrepreneurial, creative approaches to ministry. I am not a chronological snob, wistful to return to some fairy-tale golden age of ecclesiology. And yet … because of the changes that have taken place in the church, what I am about to say sounds decisively old fashioned.
I still believe in preaching.
Many of my friends – good, dear friends that I love deeply – have moved toward an approach to Christian faith that has been called post-congregational. In myriad ways, this is a healthy movement, as many are rediscovering a distinctively non-corporate approach to being a faith community. Church is not buildings. Church is not programs. Church is not contained by what happens on Sunday mornings. Church is people, following Jesus on a journey of learning to love God and others.
And yet … the rediscovery of a non-corporate, non-political ecclesiology does not negate the value of congregational life. Though it can be fraught with dangers, there remain important, generative, healthy things that happen in the lives of people who hang together as a congregation. There can be tremendous benefit to the act of gathering, gathering for prayer, singing, conversation, and yes, even preaching.
In some orbits of Christianity, the sermon has fallen out of favor. It has been seen as a tool of oppression, keeping the spiritual privileged in power. It has been used to prop-up patriarchy and sexism. It has been used to quell dissent and inflict spiritual abuse. It has been used to amplify the voices of a few while silencing the voices of many others. This is undeniable.
And yet (I’m beginning to repeat that phrase) … the sermon remains a powerful redemptive and restorative tool when used with wisdom and grace. More than just teaching, as if churches are modeled after university lecture halls, the sermon can do much to sustain a community of faith.
The sermon preserves the institutional memory of our narrative history. The sermon is a time of story-telling when we rehearse the narratives that shape how we exist in the world. In fact, my official title at Vintage Fellowship is “Narrator,” because it is my primary role as a pastor within the community to tell our story which is ultimately God’s story.
The sermon also promotes what Eugene Peterson has called “a long obedience in the same direction.” I once had a conversation with someone who was moving in a post-congregational direction. One of her critiques of preaching was that it doesn’t make any difference. “No one is changing,” she complained, “We’re all just sitting there week after week, listening to you talk.” Her criticisms were deeply rooted in a number of real issues that needed to be addressed (in her own heart and in the life of her church), but nonetheless, I think her basic presupposition was faulty. Certainly, if she were to merely look at people on a week to week basis, she might think that the sermon was making no difference.
But over the long haul, the sermon was shaping the way people thought, believed, felt, and lived. There is an old education adage, that much of what we learn is caught not taught. Over a long period of time, when people expose themselves to and interact with the story of the gospel presented in sermons, they begin to catch it. Patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to spiritual growth.
I know that there are pastors who use preaching for their own self-aggrandizement. I know that for some it is the opportunity to display their cleverness and get the ego-stroking feedback of listeners. I know that during many sermons much more is made of the pastor than of Jesus.
And yet … when crafted with wisdom and creativity, when delivered with grace and compassion, when careful to invite conversation rather than stifle it, when faithful to the redemptive story of the gospel told in the Scriptures, then the sermon has a chance of being what the church has always hoped it would be – a transformative moment for the community of faith.
Some of you will say that I am demonstrating contemporary irrelevance for writing in praise of preaching. And I will say, “And yet …”
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