Preaching

I just read a book about preaching. About once a year I like to read something on preaching. This book is entitled The Fully Alive Preacher: Recovering from Homiletical Burnout by Mike Graves. Now, I'm not homiletically burned out. But I thought it sounded interesting.

All preachers go through 'dry periods.' We get tired of doing the same thing over and over. We need a break. Graves writes about how the preacher must keep a balanced approach to life, time, and work. He writes sections on "the Sacrament of Looking" -- "The Sacrament of Walking" -- "The Sacrament of Napping" -- "The Sacrament of Reading" -- "The Sacrament of Friends" -- "The Sacrament of Music" -- "The Sacrament of Movement" -- "The Sacrament of Bread and Wine" -- "The Sacrament of Dessert."

He covers the subjects of how to organize the sermon; whether or not to write a manuscript and whether to use it in the pulpit; preaching without notes; finding stories to use in the sermon; the weekly schedule of sermon preparation; whether or not to use the Lectionary for preaching; how much time to spend in study every week in preparation; etc.

He makes a big point of how Fred Craddock changed the way most American preachers look at sermon organization. The traditional way of shaping a sermon had been deductively. But Craddock turned that upside down and approached the sermon development in an 'inductive' manner. (I've heard and read Craddock, and I have to say he is one of the best preachers I've ever heard.) There has also been a movement in the last few decades regarding 'plotting' sermons; i.e., preaching 'narratively.' A narrative sermon is a sermon that takes you along on a journey. Plot is movement.

Even though I didn't learn anything new in this book, it was good to be reminded of important questions preachers have to think about regarding how to go about preparing and giving sermons. There are different styles of preaching, each of which works in different contexts. The best sermons connect with peoples' real needs, keep the people awake, and serve up some delicious and nourishing spiritual food.

Didn't Jesus say, "Feed my sheep"?