Preach It!
I love this story. There was a pastor who never prepared his sermons in advance. His name was Ralph. Every Sunday morning he’d sit on the platform while the church was singing the hymns, desperately praying, “Lord, give me your message, Lord give me your message.” One Sunday, while desperately praying for God’s message, he heard the Lord speaking to him. The Lord said, “Ralph, here’s my message. You’re lazy! Preaching is hard work.” That simple story leads us to our scripture lesson.
We find ourselves in the thirteenth chapter of Acts, verses thirteen through fifteen. Paul and Barnabas are on their first missionary journey. According to the text, they are on the island of Cyprus. Their method was simple. They entered a community, located the synagogue, and told the people about Jesus. In many cases the people were open to their message.
According to the text, Barnabas and Paul were in Pisidian Antioch. That community was a trade hub for a large Jewish population. The synagogue was easy to locate. The order of worship must have been familiar to them. They heard the appropriate pieces of scripture, the Law, and the Prophets. What came next was of no surprise to them. Visiting rabbis were always asked to speak. The synagogue rulers were more than inviting. Verse 15 says, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement, please speak.” I read that verse one time and got it. They were not just asked to speak and tell them about life in Jerusalem. The rulers didn’t want to hear about their adventures. The rulers didn’t want to hear the latest news. They were asked to do much more. They were asked to preach, because the rulers wanted to know if God had a word for them. They did not have a clue how their theology was about to change. Standing in a room filled with strange faces, Paul didn’t just talk, he preached about God’s plan of salvation for the world. In other words, he told them about Jesus. Preaching is God’s chosen method to save the world. That is why preaching is so important. For this reason, I have spent my life trying to become a better preacher.
It must have been Easter morning 1984. I was a first-year seminary student at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. I was also the youth director at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Frankfort. It was about Ash Wednesday when the pastor of the church asked me if I would like to preach at the Easter sunrise service. His question filled my heart with fear. I had never preached before, and I didn’t know where to begin. I hadn’t taken a single preaching class and didn’t feel comfortable enough with him to ask for help. I can remember sitting in the seminary library with an open Bible and a blank piece of paper trying to prepare. When Easter morning came, my primary text was John 20:24-31, the story of doubting Thomas. My handwritten manuscript was filled with abstract thoughts, which I delivered poorly. The only thing I felt when it was over was relief. My sincere effort was not good enough. The next day someone called the church to complain about my message. They said, I ruined their Easter morning. It was at that moment I learned I had nowhere to go but up. I had much to learn about preaching. I have learned something about preaching at every church I have served.
When I transferred to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky in 1985, I became a student pastor at the Pleasant Grove Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) near Danville. That congregation changed my life. They understood their calling was to train and encourage students. For the next three years I stood in front of them and did my best. At first it was a little rough, then I began to settle. It was there I found my identity as a preacher. To be honest, my sermons sounded a great deal like my classroom notes, with a story or two. It was an emotional day when I announced I was leaving. I was near the end of my formal education and wanted to return home. When I packed my boxes, I didn’t have a single sermon manuscript. I did most of my preaching from an index card. Looking back, I am sure I was horrible, but I, at that time, thought I was quite good. I gained confidence in that church.
My first United Methodist appointment in the East Ohio Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church was the Morristown Charge in the old St. Clairsville District. That charge consisted of three churches. There was Morristown, Lloydsville and Bannock. I lived in Lloydsville and could drive the circuit in twelve miles. My District Superintendent was a man by the name of Abraham Brandyberry. He too had a past with Asbury Theological Seminary. He told me something I have never forgotten. He said, “Russ, if you want to be a great preacher, then you have to preach!” That appointment gave me the opportunity to preach three times every week. I learned listening is a big part of preaching. Each week the three congregations responded differently to the same message.
When Kathryn and I were married, I was appointed to the Waltz United Methodist Church near Medina, Ohio. I stayed a single year, but I learned a great deal about preaching from that congregation. They were a former Evangelical United Brethren congregation, who valued preaching and expected a 45-minute sermon. It was there I began to work on my sermons and developed my thoughts. It was not enough to be a storyteller.
When we moved to Garfield Heights, I was appointed to the Hathaway United Methodist Church. That church was known for one thing, their horrible music program. The choir was filled with wonderful people, including the choir director. She had held that position for years because she was the matriarch of the choir. There was only one problem, she was a terrible choir director. Generally, everyone looked forward to the summer months because the choir was gone. For the first time I felt the pressure to deliver a quality sermon. I felt like I had to bail out the service! It was there I learned the importance of quality preaching.
My last United Methodist appointment was the Western Reserve United Methodist Church in Canfield. Like every other congregation in the mainline protestant tradition, they wanted to rebuild their aging congregation. Quality preaching was vital if we were going to succeed. That church evolved through the years. Each step challenged my organization skills. It was there I started developing sermons series. I laid those sermons out months in advance. It was there I first experienced contemporary worship. I enjoyed using power point slides and movie clips. It was there I learned there must be a balance in preaching between the divine truth and entertainment. The days of the talking head behind the pulpit were over. I worked hard on those sermons and the church responded. I have learned something about preaching in every church I have served. The truth is I am still learning.
Through the years, I have learned every sermon must have four vital characteristics. Kevin DeYoung (born 1977) of the University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan put them in print. If you do not find them in every sermon, then you, as the preacher, have failed.
- Veracity – Every sermon is about God. Preaching is not just an opportunity to express your opinions. People want to hear what God has to say to them, not human opinion.
- Clarity – Every sermon must be understandable. Clarity doesn’t mean the congregation must remember your three points, but they should know what the text is about and what you were trying to say.
- Authority – Every sermon must be delivered with certainty. No preacher is infallible. Our authority comes from God, Himself. It is God who makes claims on people’s lives, declares the truth with boldness and takes courageous stands where others fear.
- Authenticity – Every sermon must connect with the congregation. Your personality must come through, and at the same time, your concern for the congregation must come through. It is impossible to preach someone else’s sermon. The preacher must make their sermon their own.
The point of this blog is to promote the value of preaching. If you are a preacher, then work on your sermons. It is my experience that good preaching takes hard work and time. I used to write “Saturday Night Specials,” but no more. If you take your time, it is amazing what God will reveal to you in a variety of ways. God will reward you for your efforts. If you are a member of the laity, then pray for your preacher and be encouraging. Preaching is hard work.
Years ago, on the editorial page of the British Weekly, this provocative letter was published:
It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I
might be more profitable spent on something else.
That letter triggered a great debate that went on for weeks. It ended with this letter:
I have been married for 30 years. During that time, I have eaten 32,850 meals–mostly my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet . . . I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.
That leads me to some interesting questions. How many sermons have you heard in your life? How many sermons do you remember? Do you think that God made a mistake calling preachers to change the world? God does not make mistakes. The founder of the great Methodist movement John Wesley (1703-1791) once said, “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, I care not if they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.”
Russ Adams 