Inspiration for daily life
A preacher asks: What do you want from a sermon? By David Lose
L
et me begin with a confession: for the better part of the last five years I’ve been losing confidence in preaching. To be clear, this isn’t a commentary on
the preaching I’ve been hearing, as I’ve been quite fortu- nate to worship in several congregations with engaging preachers. Rather, I’ve lost confidence in preaching in general, my own included. Why? First, as I
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look around at the culture, the form and shape of our preaching seems increasingly out of touch. In a culture that is increasingly participatory, our preaching is still pri- marily a monologue.
… helping us see God.
In a culture passionate about discovering meaning and craſting identity, our preach- ing too oſten draws conclusions for our hearers rather than inviting them into the questions themselves.
Second, as I look around our congregations, I see
people largely disconnected from the preaching. Tey appreciate a touching story, perhaps, but rarely draw from the sermon something they will continue to think about during the rest of the week. For this reason, I’ve been
asking people what they want from a sermon. I want to share the convergence and diver- gence of opinions I’ve heard. Overall, the thing I’ve heard
most frequently from folks is their desire to be able to follow the sermon and apply it to their daily lives. While the first half of that hope is essentially rhetorical—that the sermon is
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… helps them think more deeply and faithfully about
their 21st-century challenges, questions and struggles.
well organized and clear—the second deals more with the orientation or thrust of the sermon.
Looking for meaning In a poll I conducted as part of a Lilly Endowment- funded research project on congregational vibrancy, the No. 1 thing people want is for the sermon to help them understand how the biblical passage informs their daily lives. So while background on the biblical texts may be
helpful to understand a passage, for most hearers the sermon comes alive when that 2,000-year-old story helps them think more deeply and faithfully about their 21st-century challenges, questions and struggles. Two other points of convergence are worth noting.
First, people want to hear the gospel of God’s love for them and the world. Tey want to be reminded of God’s grace and forgiveness in order to face the opportunities and struggles ahead. Second, most hearers also want to be challenged—to
think differently, yes, but to live differently as well. Tey want increasingly to be given help framing the ques- tions they have and to be given tools to answer those questions rather than having answers provided. Tey want, in short, to be participants in connecting faith and life rather than being just spectators.
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