I Think I Preach Better

I start to preach in a local church again, meaning that I start to think about preaching more often. For the past two years, I had heard many sermons. Many of them were bad; some were good. What is preaching? What difference does it make? I don’t know about others. The ministry of preaching makes a difference in my life. When I hear a bad sermon on Sunday, I get upset after the service. When I hear a good one, I feel excited. I don’t think I expect a perfect sermon from a preacher. As a speaker myself, I understand that it is hard to deliver a message with everything. Everything means solid exegesis, sound theology, and useful applications. Usually, all I expect from a preacher is his careful attention to the text (What did the text mean there and then?) and his awareness of a congregational context (What does the text mean to his people here and now?). I don’t need to be entertained. I don’t need the preacher to make me laugh. I want him/her to preach with conviction, seriousness, and a sense of urgency.

In He is not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World (Chicago: Moody, 2008), R. Albert Mohler, Jr. writes, “As a theologian, the pastor must be known for what he teaches as well as for what he knows, affirms, and believes. The health of the church depends upon pastors who infuse their congregations with deep biblical and theological conviction, and the primary means of this transfer of conviction is the preaching of the Word of God” (p. 111).

I wonder why many churches are unhealthy because most pastors don’t preach with deep biblical and theological conviction. They are afraid of preaching the text directly and boldly. On the surface, many pastors use different means to convey the truth, such as video clips from YouTube or pictures. Underneath the surface, they lose their confidence in the authority of the preached Word. Mohler notes, “The preacher must stand up and speak with confidence, declaring the Word of God to a congregation that is bombarded with hundreds of thousands of words each week, many of them delivered with a sound track or moving images” (p. 17).

After taking a break from ministry for a while, I think I feel more at home in preaching. I think I preach better because I handle myself and the text better. Moreover, I think I understand the world better. Preaching is not just about interpreting the Word, but also the world. The way I understand and experience life under the sun makes my preaching richer. I think I preach better because not only do I grow old in life, but also grow up in life (or in Christ?). I think I preach better because I realize that many bad sermons are being preached every Sunday, and worshipers leave the church with confusion or frustration (They may even blame themselves for gossiping about the preacher). I think I preach better because I need to preach better.