March 31, 2009 — 4:04 PM
An audience of one
This past Sunday I had the pleasure of preaching to and with the mbcc community. And as I reflected on the experience afterward I realized something that really isn't very novel or surprising but that made me stop and go "Hmmm!" anyway.
This sermon, and I would argue that all of my sermons, is really written to an audience of one: me. I'm glad to share them with other folks - in the room or over the web - but I realized that all of the points that I have made in my sermons are points that I am trying in some way to convince myself of. I need my sermons as much or more than anyone who happens to hear them or read them.
I guess that only stands to reason since I am the one reading the passages and I am the one picking out phrases or concepts that strike me in them. Since this is the case, then it seems obvious that I am the one for whom the sermon being written has the most to say.
I don't think that is the norm by any means. I know plenty of preachers who in their sermon preparations seek a word that they think their congregation needs to hear. That type of preaching is often labeled "prophetic" and I have never felt that my preaching falls into that category. Most of my sermons are of the type that explore a word or a phrase that made me pause while I was reading. And, therefore, they explore topics of interest to me.
Does this seem overly narcissistic? Or is it rather being authentic (the huge buzzword of the day)? I don't know. But I do know that I will be sitting with my most recent sermon for a while trying to really live in to the ideas that I expressed there.
Read it for yourself here.
1 Comments | post a comment
At 1:11 PM on May 28, 2009, KeHoeff wrote:
hey this is a very interesting article!