The pulpit. Your local church may have one, it may not. Those that preach in your local church may use the pulpit, they may not. Yet, the formal proclamation of the Christian faith, rooted in the Holy Scriptures, is a mainstay of most Christian congregations.
I use the word pulpit to distinguish the kind of preaching that happens during a service from other types of Christian proclamation that may happen outside of worship.
There is a particular power to this kind of formal preaching. A power rooted in the Holy Spirit, the authority of the Scriptures, and the dynamics of a particular community of Christians gathering at a particular time for worship. 🙏
Dr. Thomas Long, long time professor of preaching writes in one of his books,
“God calls the whole church to proclaim the Gospel, and every disciple of Jesus Christ is a part of this calling. The whole church proclaims the gospel, and the preaching of sermons is but one part of this larger ministry.”
The Witness of Preaching
It is important to remember that preaching is one part of the Church’s larger ministry of proclaiming the mystery of God. Still, preaching can inspire, equip, and energize individuals and congregations in the way of Jesus. A way that can transform lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. 💨
Here are four ways to harness the power of the pulpit for consideration by listeners to sermons, preachers, as well as lay and ordained leaders of congregations.
1. Take preaching seriously as an individual
Preaching is important not because of the preacher, but because of you. If you are part of a local congregation preaching is one of the most regular forms of instruction and inspiration you receive in the faith. Are you taking advantage of the sermon? Do you give it serious attention and consideration? Are you reflecting on it later that day or week?
Here are some ways for you as an individual to harness the power of preaching:
Read the Scriptures that will be preached ahead of time. This could be the night before or before the service begins. Strive to pay attention. Ask God to help you stick with the sermon even when the preacher does not hold your attention.
You may discover a truth about the faith, an insight into a Bible passage you would have missed had you not made the effort. Find opportunities to discuss the sermon with others. The discussion could be two sentences on the way to lunch. The discussion could be a lively conversation with your family at home.
⚡ Shocking Suggestion: Talk to the preacher about their sermon. (Wow. I know talking to a preacher. It will be ok. Try it!)
2. Take preaching seriously as a congregation.
As a congregation takes preaching more seriously, preaching will become more helpful to individuals. If the proclamation of the Word of God is important then congregations will organize themselves in ways that highlight the importance of this ministry. Certainly, this is not the only ministry that should be highlighted but it should be one of them.
Here are some ways for your congregation to harness the power of preaching:
Post the assigned texts for a given sermon ahead of time. Point people to a webpage that lists the readings for the coming Sunday. Provide some instruction and discussion about sermons.
People are not always clear about the purpose of sermons or what they should be listening for or doing in response to them. If our congregations do not provide this sort of instruction then we are limiting the power sermons could have in our individual and collective lives.
⚡ Shocking Suggestion: Invite your congregation to respond to a sermon within the service itself. (This can work with smaller churches and larger churches.)
3. Allow your pastor to take preaching seriously
Parish pastors and preachers know they should take preaching seriously. A serious commitment to studying the Scriptures and proclaiming them are explicit in most vows of ordination. No doubt a small number of pastors choose not to take preaching seriously, yet two challenges confront even the most diligent of preachers. The challenges of time and encouragement.
Here are some ways to allow your pastor to harness the power of preaching:
Have an expectation as a congregation for a solid, thoughtful, and faithful pulpit ministry. Then support your pastor in taking significant time each week for prayer, study, and preparation. Give your pastor positive and constructive feedback.
Many preachers become discouraged because they deliver sermons week after week and receive little meaningful feedback. “Good sermon, Father,” is nice but not always meaningful. Also, allow others to preach occasionally so your pastor is not on every week. These breaks will improve their preaching.
⚡ Shocking Suggestion: Have a continuing education fund for sermon workshops, books and resources. (Also, encourage your pastor to use the fund!).
4. Take preaching seriously in candidates for ordination
Not every minister, priest, or pastor is gifted in preaching and teaching. Yet, every minister, priest, or pastor should have proficiency in preaching and teaching.
The knowledge and skills used in sermon preparation and delivery are used by all ministers, even if they are not regulars in the pulpit. A candidate’s potential as a preacher should be explored early in the ordination process.
Here are some ways to harness the power of preaching through ordination:
From the beginning of the process encourage potential ministers to develop their public speaking abilities. More opportunities for ministers in training to receive positive and constructive feedback about their sermons is essential.
Give sufficient time and attention to preaching in the curriculum, whether in an academic institution (e.g. seminary, theological college) or an alternative program (e.g. diocesan school of formation, local pastor program, etc.)
⚡ Shocking Suggestion: Encourage future pastors who are proficient but not gifted in preaching to allow others to regularly preach in their congregations, including developing an in-house preaching team. This will often mean well prepared lay preachers. (In fact, a team approach can benefit any congregation).
The Dominican friar, Humbert of Romans, writing in the 13th century, declared:
The sound of preaching must have as many different tones and variations as singing does.
Treatise on Preaching
May it be so in Jesus Name. May we by faith, with the gift of grace, harness the power of preaching as a symphony of praise to God. Let the Holy Spirit use our preaching as an orchestra of instruction and inspiration for ourselves and our congregations.
May the preaching from our pulpits sound through our lives, in word and deed, far beyond the doors of our churches, “to the ends of the earth.”
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As a licensed lay minister, I have preached occasionally in the different parishes in which I have been a member. Until a few years ago, I always found it a frightening process. Never sure that I had the theology or biblical interpretation clear, preaching was like taking off in a plane without checking to see if there was enough gas to get to the final destination! Finally, I took a course of study through a seminary and graduated with a Lay Diploma in Theological Studies. You would think that this would have helped. But now I know there definitely isn’t enough gas to get where I want to go!
But the good thing was this…all of the other students on the course learned the same thing. Preaching isn’t just about what we know, but it is all wrapped up in the way we live, work and pray. We need to encourage those who are brave enough to get up and speak from the pulpit and not only give them the resources of education; but most importantly, time to reflect on the scripture readings for the week. We need to actively pray for those who are brave enough to speak, that the meditations of their hearts will always be pleasing in the sight of our Lord God, and Redeemer.
Dawn, thank you for your service as a lay minister, including your ministry of preaching. In so many places lay ministers are leading worship and preaching services, sustaining the life of many small congregations. One of the consolations of being a preacher, is that however prepared or educated, there is always more to learn and know, and with a 2000 year old tradition and an infinite mysterious God, we will always fall short in communicating the wonder and depth of the faith. Yet, to fly with your metaphor, it is God who guides the plane, often taking us and our listeners to destinations we never expected.
I want to give a mighty AMEN to, “We need to actively pray for those who are brave enough to speak…” Yes indeed. A powerful way, which you highlighted and I did not, that we can harness the power of preaching is through prayer. Praying that we will listen and hear the message when we are sitting in the pew and praying that God will use us to deliver the message when we are in the pulpit. Another important point you make is that our preaching is tied up with our way of life. To preach the Gospel means we need to, however imperfectly, be striving to live the Gospel, too. Not just at church, but with our families, at our workplaces, and so on. Thanks for your comments!
Having done a dozen or more lay lead services, I can speak from experience about what worked for me and what flopped. The first class I was assigned to I was not aware of what would happen. Ooooooo dry as old sand. Well, I had to rethink stuff. So 1. Yes it is very important to know the material you are teaching or preaching about thoroughly, even asking yourself potential questions that may never be asked. 2. It helps to have been raised by a public speaker and also with an aunt who was a lay preacher and a grandfather who was a Methodist minister. I think I felt I could do this naturally. Well, yes but public speaking classes in high school really did help. Later on in life while working in a pharmacy, they had to tell me not to use my loud teacher projecting voice, they could hear me fine in the building. 3. Find a hook about the material that will capture the congregation or audience or class. Why are they even going to listen? Engage them. 4. Carry it out with enthusiasm and conviction and excitement. That doesn’t have to be loud and raucous. Just like you really mean it. 4.5 I figured out that I could speak at a rate of five minutes per double spaced type written pages. Thus 6 would come out to a good 30 min homily. 5. Give them something worthwhile to take away and perhaps discuss with you or with themselves. 6. Walk the talk. Be inside what you are preaching about and breathe. Complete services can take a lot of energy to put together. I miss doing it. This worked for me and is basic but I continue to teach in retirement. This is simple enough to keep in my head even when I am working on a subject off the cuff.
Ellen, you raise a number of points that are important for all preachers to consider. Thank you. I want to highlight comment #4. “Carry it out with enthusiasm and conviction and excitement. That doesn’t have to be loud and raucous — just like you really mean it.” If the preacher appears not to be particularly interested in the content of their own sermon, then why should the congregation? This doesn’t means, as you say, that you have to be something you aren’t or overly boisterous. None the less, a preacher should be engaged with the Scripture and the message they are preaching. Energy, interest, conviction, and the like are contagious, so are their opposites.
Another of your points I’ll comment is #6, “Walk the talk. Be inside what you are preaching about.” This is perhaps the hardest part of preaching, especially regularly, that your life should, albeit imperfectly and sometimes quite feebly, illustrate the Gospel you are commending to others. Thanks again for your comments and practical suggestions.