Why Preaching Must Be Jesus-Centered If attention is love and if preaching is the stewardship of attention, then the crucial question becomes: To whom are we directing that love? Too oſten, people give their attention to the preacher—and the


preacher unknowingly keeps it. Te work of preaching is not to attract attention, but to redirect it. A preacher is a window, not a wall. You preach so that people


see through you, not to you, which means that the only safe place for all of this attention—all of this love—is Jesus Himself. Jesus-centered preaching is not sentimental or simplistic. It is


not lazily tacked on to the end of the sermon like a pious bow. It is the conviction that Jesus is the revelation of God, the hope of the world, the healer of the human condition, and the center of the gospel.


The preacher does not shout at the people. The preacher loves them enough to tell them the truth— not because they are wrong, but because Jesus is better.


A congregation will never be healthier than the Jesus they


are shown. Tey will never grow beyond the Christ they are given, and they will never love more deeply than the Christ they encounter week aſter week. Te task of the preacher, then, is simple: Take all of the


attention and all of the love that the congregation has entrusted to you, and hand it directly to Jesus. Tis is how the dial moves.


The Slow Work of the Spirit We oſten imagine preaching as communication, information, explanation, or application. But better preaching is none of these things. Better preaching is formation. It forms: • a way of reading Scripture • a way of seeing God • a way of seeing people • a way of seeing oneself • a way of loving the world • a way of imagining the kingdom • a way of participating in God’s mission


24 AD VENTIS T T OD A Y


Preaching is the weekly act of discipling the collective heart of


the church. Te way we preach shapes the way our people treat the marginalized, respond to suffering, handle conflict, view the “other,” read the news, define holiness, imagine justice, and understand faithfulness. Over time—through hundreds of hours of attention—the


preacher forms a way of being Christian in the world. Te question then becomes: What kind of Christian does my preaching produce? Does it produce: • fearful Christians? • angry Christians? • proud Christians? • rule-obsessed Christians? • passive Christians? • grace-filled Christians? • curious Christians? • courageous Christians? • compassionate Christians? • Christ-shaped Christians? • Christians who have a sense of urgency about fulfilling the


Missio Dei, or the mission of God? Te preacher must be honest: We always produce something.


And what we produce incarnates. Have you ever wondered why social media is such a


cesspool—and why Christians are oſten eager to become the first to engage? What are we preaching into them? What is incarnating through them? Te question is whether we do it intentionally or accidentally.


Better Preaching Listens Before It Speaks If preaching is the stewardship of attention, then the preacher must be a master of paying attention. Before you ask your congregation for their attention, you must first give them yours. Before you preach to the people, you must listen to the people. You cannot move the dial of a people you do not know. You cannot transform a community you do not attend to. You cannot pastor a congregation you do not love. Better preaching listens to their stories, their grief, their


hopes, their unanswered questions, their unspoken wounds, their cultural context, their generational shiſts, and to the Spirit’s whisper in their midst. Ten, you preach not at them but with them. Not as a lecturer


but as a companion. Dialogical, not monological. You are responding to their needs, their questions, their hopes and fears. You are not running over them as if you were a Zamboni at a hockey game. It is a dance that requires more than one partner.


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