How am I adapting to the moment? More importantly, how is preaching adapting? It isn’t about time or tech. It’s consistency.
Preaching in 2022 is messy. It was hard enough before the pandemic. Before the racial reckoning. MeToo. The (myth of a) Culture War. We had racism and bigotry and hatred and simplistic views of politics. We had short attention spans and claims of the church’s demise.
So I wanted to share a crazy thought I’m having about preaching in light of all of this. And as I do, I want to clarify a couple of things.
I don’t dig on props. And I’m not going to stand up, say five shocking words and sit down. There is plenty of performance art in the act of preaching as it is. But there is a bigger reason I don’t want to do that stuff.
This is the one overt teaching moment I get. Not just as preacher, but as pastor and rector of this congregation. I get one chance with everybody every week. And I hate to not nail it.
And considering we all have our own ideas about preaching, please take mine with a grain of salt.
Here are a few things I’m thinking about this year.
- I’ve made use of video for over two years now. There’s still plenty of innovation to come.
- Keeping change as the norm. As much as people want to restore what was before, this world is new; we can’t go back. So going back is not the right action. Actually maintaining the change is more responsive to the needs of the moment.
- Repurpose old things. Because our livestream was heavily dependent on me, I started prerecording a video for each Sunday so we could have something there in case the livestream didn’t work. It has gone through a couple variations. Now, I’m making it something new.* (see below)
- Everything is preaching. There are avenues and opportunities everywhere to exercise the preaching muscles. And as we are more digitally connected, our preaching in social media is even more significant. Including to the people we see on Sunday.
- The Sunday Sermon can take many forms all week long. Utilize social media, video, audio, print, snail mail to bring an honest reflection of the gospel.
- People are renegotiating their relationship with church activities. We know this. But are we adjusting our expectations for participation in Bible Studies and other standard get-togethers?
- People do stuff online with other churches. They aren’t cheating on you. They’re making friends they would not have made. And they are saving you time.
An all-week approach to preaching
Since spring of 2020, I have been writing a weekly reflection. It is a short, personal devotion that we mailed to our members without email. I then started posting it on my website so others could use it. Then some colleagues told me they use it for sermon prep.
After a time, I started using that same reflection as the text for my Sunday morning devotional. The one I was using just in case the livestream didn’t work. This saved me writing something else.
Then I read this and realized I needed to incorporate spontaneity somewhere. The devotional video made the most sense.
This created three different reflections each week on the same gospel reading. Which seems excessive. At least when framed that way.
If it is about doing one thing for 8 people and another for 3 people and the other for 70 people, it does seem irrational. The rational response, we might think, would be to preach one thing three times.
What if it isn’t about three sermons at three times, but one sermon told three ways? A common theme, common language. Make it rewarding to the people who do all three. Help them engage the gospel more deeply because they are there for all of it.
What if twenty hours of prep really is the gold standard in 2022? Because we’re engaging with it all week in all of these places and in all of these ways?
Potential
What if we extend the sermon from Sunday and help re-engage one another in a collective process of discernment? What if we make this a group project?
This, of course, can allow for others to join in the preaching. Naming themes and reflection topics in advance, the preacher can recruit assistance from others on social media to develop reflections in images, audio, or video. Post them on TikTok and Instagram. Encourage others to engage with you as you prepare for the “main event”.
A lot of us already do this. But what if we did it more intentionally? And every week?
And what if it isn’t “helping the preacher prepare” but helping the community prepare? Because we all encounter the text together.
The Problem in the Text
This is my thinking behind a new/repurposed preaching time I’m now calling The Problem in the Text. An homage to two of my main preaching influences, Paul Scott Wilson and Russell Rathbun, this is a weekly look at the gospel text in which I share some of what’s in there, the biggest problem it raises, and what grace it offers.
Part vlog, part sermon prep, part preaching to the choir, The Problem in the Text is an opportunity to engage with the gospel ahead of Sunday if you wish. But it can also be used as part of your Sunday experience. Because this is already a part of mine. All week long.
This fits right in with advice I heard a long time ago: the people should get next week’s readings on Sunday so they can prepare to hear the word before they arrive.
What I hope most is that it helps us engage thoughtfully while inspiring a bigger approach to the moment.
The first episode is live! Check it out below! Or visit the channel and subscribe!