Quality Preachers Don't Preach Because They Enjoy It

I am not an award winning preacher, but I am married to one (Find Estee's name on page 99 of this report). I don't teach preaching (although I have recently been riding the coattails of Estee to help work with a college on his preaching). I have never been asked to lead a session on how to preach, however I have pulled preachers together a few times in a event I co-created called "SermonCraft".

View fullsize

Rev. Charles McClure and Rev. Thomas Q. Robbins. McClure has something to say about the nature of the Church and Robbins has something to say about Evangelism. These are two quality preachers.

Like others, I listen to a number of preachers in my denomination's conference from Rev. Phillip Rhodes at FUMC Hurst to Rev. Katie Meek at FUMC Round Rock to preachers outside my denomination such as Pastor Rob Carmack at Collective Church and the great work of Shane Hipps. I have even tried to highlight other preachers on this very blog through the "Preacher of the Month" posts. 

Recently I was asked by a Sunday school group, "How do you come up with sermons?" It was a fun time talking about sermon crafting and I am thankful for the opportunity. In deeper reflection on the art of preaching, there is at least one Truth that has come to the surface about the quality preachers that I hear:

Quality preachers don't preach because they enjoy it. If you encounter someone who feels called to the ministry because they really like to preach, feel free to share this bit of advice - quality preachers don't go into preaching because they like it but because they have something to say. 

That is not to say that preachers cannot enjoy saying something in front of a congregation, but it is to say that saying something is not the same as having something to say. The best preachers have something to say. 

Reciting Creeds: Act of Humility and Justice

Creeds are interesting in that they serve several functions in the Christian tradition. For many they are seen as a litmus test for who is Christian and who is not. I would submit that this is a misuse of the creeds of our tradition and to distill their role as just a test we all sign off on cheapens the richness of the creeds. 

So what else are creeds? 

I would submit that reciting the creed in corporate worship is more an act of humility and justice rather than a way to decide who is in and who is out. The creeds stated in worship, for the most part, are older than the people speaking them today. And this highlights why recited creeds are an act of humility and justice. Because these words are not "our" words means that we must stop talking and speak the words of others. When we speak these words we are humbled with the reality that others might have something to teach us. 

Even more than that, when we give voice to the voiceless we participate in a act of justice. While the creeds are often written by those in power in their time, those people are no longer in power. Said another way, when we give voice to the powerless we recall all those who are powerless and voiceless. 

So when you say a creed, perhaps you do not believe all (or any) of the lines, that is okay. Say them anyway. Say them as a practice of humility and as an act of justice. Then go out into the world and continue works of humility so that justice may be made real for all. 

And perhaps, that is the greater goal of our creeds.

My echo is much better than yours

Not long ago my family went to a place where you could yell and hear the echos very well. It was a beautiful  place and it was also a place where I saw in my children something that exposed a dark side of myself. The love of my own voice. As we stood there taking turns yelling into the canyon, it did not take long until my kids were each yelling over one another in order to hear their echo. They each wanted the other one to shut up so that they could hear only their voice. A fight broke out and I am sure that everyone around that canyon heard the echos of two children yelling at each other while two parents were yelling at them to be quite. We are the best parents. 

A. W. Tozer said, "The world is waiting to hear an authentic voice, a voice from God—not an echo of what others are doing and saying, but an authentic voice."  I want to believe this is true,  however when I sit in contemplation and prayer I come to doubt that we desire for an authentic voice. In fact, the more I listen to the world around me and even my inner prayer life, it is more and more evident that I seek out the echo more than the authentic voice. 

And like my children at the canyon, I tend to find greater satisfaction with the sounds that are echos of my own thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Not only that, but I also tend to think that others will find the sound of my voice much better than they will find the sound of their voice. I tend to come back to the sources that I have already agreed with than to seek out a voice that is different and (dare I say it) may be closer to the desire of God? 

This is where I find politics interesting. Specifically when we say that we want a politician that represents us and our voice. We want echos in the chamber not authentic voices. When we say that a candidate "gets us" or "says what no one else will say" we may affirming an echo of ourselves.

And so, if we wonder why there is anxiety and fear in the political process it is not because of the candidates. More often than not, they echo back the voice of their base. We desire the sound of our own voice coming to us at different pitches and volumes, but in the end it is still our voice.

This is where I believe, the Church is helpful. The Church can be a place where we listen for the voice of Christ. Can we stop yelling long enough to let our own echo fade so we may hear the voice of Christ?