Where the Preacher Stands

Introduction

Preaching may seem to carry outsized weight in worship, but it remains an important part of pastoral ministry. Every area of pastoral ministry has struggles, but the preacher’s deepest existential and theological dilemma is this: preachers can neither declare outright that their proclamation is the Word of God, nor flatly assert that it is not. Perhaps this is part of the preacher’s calling: to embrace that tension and, taking scripture as the text, to wrestle and strain to make the voice of heaven heard by a particular community.

I am skeptical of specific instructions or methodologies for how a sermon ought to be prepared. There is certainly a season for learning and honing the craft, but at some point, preachers need to discover for themselves a way of preparing sermons that fits who they are. Above all, because each preacher stands in a different place, advice about preaching may be perfectly sound and yet not right for every preacher. For this reason, before asking how one should preach, we need first to ask what the language of preaching is and what it ought to be—just as the question “What is preaching?” must come before “How should one preach?” What follows, then, is the shape of preaching I am striving toward.

1. Embrace the World of Scripture.

This week’s sermon text is not simply a passage chosen to support a theme of my own, but a word that leads us into the kingdom of God portrayed by the text itself. This rests on the fundamental confession that scripture is the Word of God recorded in human language. For preaching to embrace the world of scripture, the preacher must read, exegete, interpret, and seek to understand scripture in its words and sentences, verses and chapters. Beyond that understanding, the preacher must also remain before scripture long enough for scripture, in turn, to interpret them. Having encountered the world of scripture in this way, the preacher then seeks to bring that world before the community in vivid language. The role of preaching is to lead the congregation to recognize that beyond the world they inhabit lies the reality of God’s world and to bring them to the point where they hope for that world and turn toward it.

Here, the biblical text must not be a proof text that props up the sermon or a resource that provides answers to personal and social problems. Rather than hastily translating the text into the familiar, common-sense language of our age, we should let the congregation learn and grow fluent in the language of the text itself, so that they may gradually enter into and inhabit its world. In other words, we should not stop at convincing people that the gospel is still useful today. Through the gospel, we should lead them to see themselves, those around them, and the world anew in Jesus Christ. Therefore, before seeking richer rhetoric or more illustrations, the preacher must first labor to enter the text's new and mysterious world.

2. Move Beyond Your Own World.

Like anyone else, preachers have a world of their own, shaped over time—the theological framework learned in seminary, the language of the church used for years, and the habits of thought and expression formed through the routines of pastoral ministry. This world is a valuable resource for preachers, but it also carries risks. Once we grow accustomed to what is familiar, we begin, almost without noticing, to see only what we are used to seeing and say only what we already know. As sermon preparation becomes a weekly routine, our sense of tension before the Word of God begins to fade, and we become less attentive to the world around us. Before long, we may find ourselves, without realizing it, preaching from within the confines of language that feels comfortable to us. In the end, even as we speak the words of scripture, we may find ourselves growing further and further removed from the reality in which the congregation lives.

Of course, the preacher’s first raw material is the preacher. Preparing a sermon is not simply perfecting what one will say; it is also the hand of God at work, shaping the preacher’s life. Even so, the preacher’s experience and language are only a starting point, never the destination. We need to pay careful attention to what people today see, fear, and long for. This is not about tailoring scripture to fit the age; it is about inviting people into the world of scripture. The pulpit is a precious place, but if we are not careful, it can become a hothouse where polished religious language flourishes. Words of spiritual instruction, blessing, hope, and assurance must not be allowed to cover over the harshness of life, the weariness of daily life, and the uncomfortable questions posed by our age. The preacher must understand the questions and wounds people carry as they move through life and lead them into scripture.

3. Let the Gospel Confront the Congregation’s World.

Understand the congregation’s world, but do not stay there. God so loved the world (John 3:16), and yet he also tells us not to love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15). There must be a point in the sermon where the gospel confronts the world outside the church, as well as the values of the world that have taken root within us.

The world outside the church operates within vast structures of belief, culture, and social systems. There, people pursue success, always striving to climb higher. The world passes over the truth that “you are a sinner” and shouts instead, “The answer lies within you.” It tells you to break free from whatever binds you or, conversely, that your life has worth only if you achieve certain things. We cannot simply proclaim, “Jesus died on the cross for our sins,” to those who feel no weight of sin, nor can we convey the wonder of God’s presence and grace to those who know no fear before a holy God. The preacher must therefore stand against the voice of the world, expose the emptiness behind its promises, and proclaim the reality and worth of the kingdom of God.

This confrontation must happen not only outside the church, but within it as well. The church is the body of Jesus Christ, who is its head, yet it is still a community of imperfect people. That imperfection can sometimes lead us to turn even “God” into an idol onto which we project our weaknesses and desires. We see this in traditions that have lost their original meaning, distorted understandings of faith, and church practices that are taken for granted. The preacher must discern these things and lead the congregation toward a more faithful way of believing and living.

4. Keep the Sermon Coherent.

A sermon is not an everyday conversation. One preacher is speaking to many listeners, seeking to communicate the world of scripture within the set time and order of worship. This requires explanation and persuasion. The speaker’s manner matters, but above all, that explanation and persuasion must rest on the coherence of the sermon’s content.

Coherence is not a matter of elaborate logic. It is a matter of checking how one sentence connects to the next, how an earlier explanation prepares the way for what follows, whether the sermon addresses the questions listeners will naturally have, what each illustration is there to explain, and whether each quotation helps reveal the world of the text more clearly. When the sermon flows together in this way, the congregation can follow it, understand the Word, and receive it.

A sermon is not an academic paper, nor can it be judged by the presence or absence of argumentation alone. But if a sermon is truly to be heard by those who have come to hear the Word, the preacher cannot simply scatter beads of thought before them and expect them to string the beads together for themselves. Instead, the preacher needs to show them the beauty of a necklace already carefully strung. It might take the form of a classical narrative arc, a pattern of question and answer, a surprising turn, a logical progression, empathy, or storytelling. What matters is not the particular method, but that the sermon as a whole carries the congregation along in a single current. Coherence is not a technique for making a sermon more logical; it is an act of care that helps the congregation follow the sermon all the way into the world of God.

5. Exalt God.

For God to be revealed and exalted in preaching—this is the most fundamental difference between a lecture and a sermon. Exalting God begins with recognizing who I am and where I stand before God. Only when I see myself for who I truly am is there room for God to be revealed.

After worship, people sometimes come up to me and say, “I was blessed by today’s sermon.” I need to remember that this is not a reflection of my excellence or ability, but of the congregation’s graciousness toward me. Put more bluntly, if the goal of preaching is not emotional impact but transformed lives, such words are likely empty, spoken before any real fruit has appeared. Outside the church, someone as limited as I am, with so little to offer, might be little more than a nag. Whatever authority I have as a spiritual leader rests on the special community called “church,” the set-apart time called “worship,” and the title of “pastor.” In that sense, the first hearer of the sermon must be me. Let us then go forward, hoping that God will work even through someone like me—that the God who has power to “make even the stones cry out” (Luke 19:40) might make the voice of heaven heard even through my ignorance and inadequacy.

Conclusion

I have laid out five points, but I can never say, “I have done all these things perfectly in my own preaching.” That, I think, is the difficulty a preacher must live with, standing before the theological dilemma of preaching I mentioned at the outset. The preacher prepares, hoping that the Holy Spirit will speak to the congregation; the congregation listens, hoping that God will speak to them. May we faithfully bear this precious and weighty labor of standing in the pulpit week after week.

God, help us.

Korean –설교자의자리

Rev. Wonwoo Lee is the pastor of Bloomington Korean United Methodist Church in Indiana.