Since I am no longer preaching every week I have been afforded a rare opportunity for a pastor: I can visit churches to hear the sermons of other preachers. All personal vanity aside, I have not liked what I have heard.
Mostly, I’ve been bored by the preaching that surrounds my home as my wife and I have tried scores of churches. Now I grant you, part of that boredom stems from my holding two graduate degrees in theology making my standards impossibly high. Added to that is seminary’s methodology for training preachers tends to inculcate a virulent judgmentalism towards other people’s preaching. All that aside, what has troubled me about the state of preaching these days is the insular world of the preacher and the resulting disconnect between the sermon and the lives of the people.
I have heard too many sermons so textually focused that the sermon has little relevance to the Monday to Saturday lives of the audience. This has made me wonder if pastors are spending too much time in their studies, too much time with other Christians, and too little time out in the world listening to what real life is like for their sheep. I have commenced a standard practice these days of admonishing every pastor/preacher I know to spend more time visiting the workplaces of their people to get a feel for their daily struggle. Then go write sermons that address God’s Word applied to that struggle.
Christians, at least from what I see here in Southern California, feel their workplace and public life has turned increasingly hostile to their faith. The gay marriage debate, the scandals in the Roman Catholic church, the public sins of prominent Christian leaders, the perceived judgmentalism of Christians, and so many more factors have caused the general public to hold Christians in low regard. Preaching needs to address these problems head on. Preachers need to help their people think theologically about it all. What does God’s Word have to say about us as aliens in this world? Where can I find comfort and guidance in the Bible to help me live my faith at work? What missiological strategy do I employ to be Christ’s ambassador in my sphere of influence? Preachers would do well to tackle these topics and help their hearers wrestle with God and his Word like Jacob at the Jabbok.
Preachers in these troubled times can and must do better. I believe that will start when preachers spend more time out with their people, listening carefully to the struggles of their lives and ministries.
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