The Problem of Preaching
// December 31st, 2008 // Commentary
In my communities, I tend to be the guy who “doesn’t like preaching.”
However, my problem isn’t with preaching at all, it’s only that churches often recognize preaching to the detriment of other spiritual gifts. Assuming that preaching is the best way to share things week-in and week-out is a mistake (pedagogically and theologically). (It’s similar to my problem with relegating worship to only music.) It’s one of many ways to proclaim the Word. As such, it’s as problematic to never have preaching as it is to always have preaching.
The issue is that in many churches today we have legitimate avenues for bringing the Word (most notably preaching and musical worship) and illegitimate ones. Though we may use a medium poorly, there are NO inappropriate mediums for bringing the Word. We can bring the Word of God when we preach, when we care for the least of these, when we are alone praying, when we impart joy to others. We can proclaim the Word through fine art and music, through caring for our neighbors, through loving our enemies, through blogging, and through living the eucharist. The Word can appear in our discussions, in our cooking, and especially in our silence. We need space for all mediums.
If your gift is preaching, preach. If your gift is painting, paint. If your gift is cooking, cook. To bring the Word in greater fullness, we need everyones’ gifts.
10 Responses to “The Problem of Preaching”
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Preach it, brother!
(Had to be said.)
Yes, and you know a lot of people don’t learn best by being lectured. I’m that kind. I occasionally get an insight during a sermon, but most often it’s something peripheral or even in opposition to what’s being preached. I most often learn the most when in discussions with people. And I don’t think I’m alone.
It seems Biblical preaching’s purpose was was more for those who did not believe, and I think even that may have been a lot more relational that what we do – a lot more dialog-driven.
Look at Jesus – people would ask him questions while he was preaching and he would answer. Or sometimes people would offer their own commentary and Jesus would comment back. Or he’d ask them a question, and they would answer. How often does that happen in our “Sunday morning” services unless it’s a modern house church? And even in some house churches there tends to be an unspoken taboo on dialogue during preaching. Sadly many leaders are threatened by questions, or see them as challenges to their “authority”. In many services, if someone were to raise their hand and ask a question, the speaker might answer, but if it happened too much they would very soon be saying something to quiet everyone up. It might be subtle, or it might be overt, but it would be there.
Hey, that would be a fun, trouble-making sociological experiment! Get a band of radicals together and go around to churches and ask questions or make comments during the sermons (they’d have to be genuine questions, not just to be provocative). It would be interesting to see which responded positively and which negatively.
Good stuff, Maggie! And re: your rude, subversive experiment – oooh, so tempting.
The church I’m a part of could probably use some more actual preaching. We use that format almost never (maybe a handful of times in the last two years!) and we have at least one truly gifted preacher. And to have a sermon without congregational give-and-take tends to make us as uncomfortable as your question-asking experiment would make the average church. (But actually, we feel free to shout out questions or comments – or heckling – if our “preacher” – whoever that may be – pauses for breath anyway….)
Hmm. New Year’s resolution for Common Table: *more* preaching?
One more thought. Looking at Jesus’ example: He did that and he really WAS light-years more spiritual and brilliant than any of us. Maybe we should have EVEN more dialogue with one another, and really listen to each other, and learn from each other. Often the style of preaching sets one person up as the expert above everyone else. Jesus really WAS the expert and yet he let people ask him questions and even argue with his reasoning and win (take the example of the foreign woman who argued that “even dogs get the crumbs”).
Just a few thoughts.
Several thoughts on Maggie’s comments:
1. Jesus IS light-years more spiritual and brilliant because He IS God.
2. Jesus IS the expert because … He IS God.
3. The passage in Matthew 15:21-28 about the dogs …
“21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
I don’t believe that Jesus let her win. How can you win an arguement with or out-reason God? Jesus knew her reasoning and faith before she even spoke. I believe He wanted the disciples and others to hear the discussion to have her as an example of faith among Gentiles, setting the stage for their later ministry.
Mike, I completely agree with your point, and I don’t think the point I was making contradicts it. She didn’t outwit God, and I believe Jesus was testing her as well as the hearts of his own disciples. But to outward appearance, he let her win the argument. My point was that Jesus acted in a humble way toward her as she pressed her point. He did this without caring if to outward appearance he “won the debate” or not. He was God, and yet humbled himself in this way. How much more should we who are not god humble ourselves and listen to others as we interact with them.
Matt,
I couldn’t agree more!
Mike,
Jacob wrestled with God and won (Gen 32 towards the end)… so I guess technically, it is somewhat Biblical to defeat God at something, perhaps even an argument? I’m sure the contest was rigged though
.
God’s Glory,
Lew
Matt’s right – Sermons have a legitimate place in worship and in proclaiming the word. So I have to say, I am APPALLED at Maggie’s suggestion. Maybe it wasn’t meant seriously, but I can’t read the tone, only the text…
When I am listening to a sermon, I am actively processing what I hear. Basically, there is a dailog in my head as I interact with the points made and examples given. I recognize that this doesn’t work for everyone, which is why you are not compelled by law or by spirit to attend a traditional service and listen to the sermon. But it works well for me, and is a powerful spiritual food. Participating in a spiritual dialog with more than about 3 people is much more difficult for me (and I’ve tried), which is why I am not compelled to attend a non-traditional service.
My point is, I don’t try to take away your spiritual food. But you seem to think you have the right to take away mine. There’s more going on in a sermon than just a talking head that you can disrupt at will
[...] so in my last post I talked about the problem with preaching being that it often elevates the gifts of one over the [...]
Several thoughts on Maggie’s comments:
1. Jesus IS light-years more spiritual and brilliant because He IS God.
2. Jesus IS the expert because … He IS God.
3. The passage in Matthew 15:21-28 about the dogs …
“21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
I don’t believe that Jesus let her win. How can you win an arguement with or out-reason God? Jesus knew her reasoning and faith before she even spoke. I believe He wanted the disciples and others to hear the discussion to have her as an example of faith among Gentiles, setting the stage for their later ministry.