This week I began teaching a preaching practicum at a local seminary. As a place to start, my students received and turned in the assignment of a short reflection paper on one of my favorite topics, “What is good preaching?” Since I made them reflect on the topic, it’s only fair that I do the work, too. Here are my reflections.
Good preaching is relevant. This does not mean the same thing as “Good preaching keeps up with the latest trends or what everyone seems to find cool.” Contrary to popular belief, a pastor wearing a remote headset does not automatically make people come to church. By “relevant” I mean: speak to the real lives and genuine concerns of your people. Be a real person. Reference the daily parts of life that have kept them occupied this week. Show them how the text informs their lives. There’s nothing worse than going to church on Sunday morning and leaving convinced that there’s nothing you heard, said or did that impacts life as you know it.
Good preaching is conversational. Preaching is not performance. Perhaps one day I will write and deliver a sermon that people would want to hear over and over again, but until then, I need an approach that works every week. An approach that helps me is when I can remember that good preaching is, at its most influential and meaningful core, conversational. That is, if you are up front preaching a sermon, it better have relevance and meaning, dialogue and interplay with the voices of your people. I don’t often ask people for a verbal response during the sermon (I’m not that brave), but I want them to feel that they are part of a conversation, not just witnesses to a performance. Can your people call or e-mail you after Sunday? Do they ask for or suggest books based on the ideas you present? Do you look out over the congregation and see faces eager to engage? That’s conversational preaching.
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