Hello, ducklings,
I just got a gander (see what I did there? Ducklings? Gander? I think I’ve exhausted my fowl jokes for the day) at this fascinating article about the obsolescence of preaching that says what lots of us have been talking about for years but puts some stats behind it.
I was going to post the article on my PeaceBang blog, which is geared for lay readership but I thought I’d bring it here for a clergy discussion first. How do you feel about this? I personally love preaching with all my heart and soul and consider preparing a sermon to be my chief spiritual discipline in ministry (in that it keeps me on a steady, committed schedule of prayer, study, reflection and ‘sending forth’ in the form of written word and Sunday’s delivery) but if God isn’t committed to sermons, I don’t want to worship an irrelevant idol. I frame the issue this way in memory of the time I heard Bishop William Willimon speak at the Festival of Homiletics some years ago in Nashville. He was talking about the painful work of closing many of the Methodist churches in his conference and he said, “God is not invested in real estate.” His words were prescient, as it was only four or five years later that seemingly everyone in religious life started talking about the problem of defining “church” in terms of brick-and-mortar buildings. My own denomination just started an initiative around congregations beyond buildings.
So what about preaching beyond sermons? I think of the great American Unitarian William Ellery Channing’s quote, “May your life preach more loudly than your lips.” And I think, “Yes, but let’s get real, Willie: giving good sermon is still at the top of the list for what congregations are looking for in a minister!”
I am totally invested in good preaching. I can’t believe how little of it is out there, and I try to listen to sermons and attend church in a wide variety of settings. I am not at all ready to give up on this ancient art form, which I equate more with weaving, musical composition, storytelling and dance than I do with the Greek tradition of rhetoric and oration. If I had to invest my life savings to promote the relevance of preaching, I would very likely do so. I think preaching matters.
But I am also aware that the human brain has changed and that attention spans are much shorter than they were in the past. This is not my favorite evolutionary development and one that I try to counter in my own brain by doing as much “long listening” and “long reading” as I do to sound bites and short posts. I do not want to lose my own ability to concentrate to a prepared speech or sermon, but I do expect it to be well-written and delivered, lively, relevant, inspiring and theologically grounded. I do not want a lecture or book review. I do not want a series of quotes strung together. I expect the speaker’s life and encounters with humanity and creation to shine through the message. And yes, I may Tweet or check my Facebook status or read an e-mail while I listen. I may take notes. I may take a photograph and post it on Instagram (shout out to the Rev. Laura Everett, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Council of Churches who did the very same while hearing me preach at King’s Chapel last year, and I treasure the photo). My modern brain is attuned to multi-tasking but that doesn’t mean I neither seek out nor respect a good sermon.
I believe we can be missional and disipleship-centered AND preach good and meaningful sermons. However, I am aware of the growing tension and divide between the sermon-centric church-goer and the missional church-goer. The former (in my tradition, and perhaps yours), seeks a good intellectual and spiritual take-away. The latter seeks an inspirational message and wants to be sent away — out into the world to live their faith. To my mind, a good minister provides all of these things, although –realistically — probably not in every sermon and not on every Sunday.
My own preaching has changed from more research and brainy to more story-based and connectional. Having noticed this trend, I am hoping to convene a college of preachers to study our homiletic style, to spend time in prayer about it, to hear and offer feedback on each other’s sermons and to set ourselves some goals and commitments. Our congregations here in New England tend to be quite traditional and most of us serve communities that place a high value on good preaching. It is for us to navigate the current moment well, and to bring this cherished art form into the contemporary era wisely and effectively.
Thank you, God, for preaching. It has changed my life deeply in both the hearing and receiving of it and the preparing and delivering of it. Week in and week out, I have known the Holy Spirit just as intimately through preparing the sermon as in any other moment of pastoral ministry.
In my element the way a duck in a pond is in hers.
Interesting and provokative. As a seminary professor I am definitely moving away from lectures as normative to lectures being one of the tools I use as appropriate. Not giving up on them but reducing and combining them. And yes, flipping the classroom to do more corporate interactive stuff together and letting them watch lectures at home alone or in groups. My favorite sermon model is blended: At my minyan (Dorshei Derekh, Philly) the Torah-teacher opens with a prepared presentation followed by community discussion.
I remember a sermon John Morgan preached in Toronto more than 40 years ago – sometimes I think I actually saw the Mexican revolutionary Zapata on his white horse – that’s how vivid the sermon was –
I understand what you are saying about changing times – I wonder how “I have a dream” would be received now?
Sometimes I think we’ve worshipped sermons to the exclusion of liturgy but then I go to a church with great liturgy and an arid homily. I want it all. And I so appreciate it when one of your colleagues does do it all – liturgy and sermon.
Nellie, I want it all too. And all done with excellence. My sermons are shorter than they used to be, around 10 minutes, and I usually pick just one of the texts to focus on. And, dear PB, I am reading everything you are posting–I’ve just been lazy.
I guess I think preaching needs to change or die. And the problem is, I don’t see people willing to change. “That’s how we’ve always done it” is not the sole property of the people in the pews, of course.
As a clergy person without a church, I am appalled by the terrible preaching I hear. Honestly, I’m not sure why most church members put up with it. But to tell you the truth, I don’t think I hear much preaching. I hear a lot of essay reading, but not a lot of preaching. My contention (now that you bring this up) is that very few people have learned how “public speaking” is different from “saying things out loud in front of an audience.” Not. The. Same. And because there are so few models for public speaking, there’s very little of that skill being transmitted. Which just hastens the decline.
So there’s my two cents, for what it’s worth.
As a lay person, I’m definitely someone who appreciates a good sermon, as I appreciate all aspects of a worship service conducted with care and attention. I’m not sure the attention span is that much different, since, after all, most of those in the pews sit through TV shows, classes or meetings that are far longer than the average sermon. I do think bad or mediocre preaching, with no attention paid to how it might be enhanced with visual media, or being accepting of ways that people might be engaged in the sermon from their seats (by taking notes, or tweeting something about it) could be a problem.
But, really, I think a bigger problem might be that we expect too much out of that hour or so on Sunday morning. I’ve seen many, many clergy and many, many churches spend so much time on the mechanics of their worship service that there was no time to love the people or build the community. If you love the people, you will earn the right to speak into their lives, and they are much more likely to listen to even your worst sermons. If you don’t love them, even your most inspired preaching will sound pretty empty.
I am a lay person, seminary graduate, and great admirer of sermons. A question I never had answered at seminary is — how do ministers learn to write really good sermons — delivery, content, stories and personal revelations, pacing, the whole bit. It is an art and a science. I am a big admirer of the well-crafted sermon.
My church is big (for our faith) with two excellent ministers who alternate sermonating. For the most part, the sermons are provocative, moving, and challenging calls to action (an important part of my tradition). Not every sermon is a 10, but we are blessed with many 8s and 9s. I can only remember one clunker. Two benchmarks that I have for a good sermon: I reach for my Order of Service to make a note and/or I tear up.
Not clergy, just a follower who wants to know more about your beautiful turquoise ring in your beautiful beaming spiritfilled photo! [Thanks, dearie! That’s a turquoise set in sterling silver from Mexico. Thank you for noticing! – PB]
Love from Atlanta
People enjoy the spoken word and narrative done well. The Moth Radio Hour comes to mind, and This American Life and others. I’m a newby preacher and in my church the sermon is not the focus of the liturgy, but since I’ll soon be a minister of word and sacrament, I’m doing what I can to tackle the word part. I’ve been focusing on the Gospel reading for the Sunday. What I have found helpful, and people seem to appreciate, is to dig into the narrative and make it lively. E.g., Is there a certain irony in the parable of the barren fig tree? Yeah, because figs are about the easiest tree to grow–the 1st century audience knew that. What were the women who came to the tomb on the first Easter expecting to find? a stiff and bloodied corpse. Were they afraid of being caught? Probably they were sick with fear. Were they scared out of their minds? Yes indeed. Those are all emotions that people experience and I think if you can stir up those feelings with good story telling and expression, you can take the congregation with you on the journey of discovery to how they can live into the Scripture. And keep it to 12 minutes.
I am a mostly base hit preacher. I move the game forward, but will not hit it out of the ballpark more than a few times in my life. My experience in 20 years of preaching is Mary’s above. The people who are touched by my wider ministry are receptive and go home with a Word. In my tradition the sermon is not stand-alone effective, but personal.
That said, I am currently reading Why Johnny Can’t Preach and am always interested improving.
We were having the same discussion on the Outlook’s page: https://www.facebook.com/presbyterian.outlook/posts/357836114318506
The consensus seems to be that that the word “obsolete” is a bit too strong (sensational, even). But, that the boring sermon is definitely on the outs.