Do We Deliver or Share Our Sermons?
I’ve noticed in recent years an interesting and subtle change in the way many preachers talk about their sermons. Traditionally, we preachers would talk about “delivering a sermon,” which led in turn to a whole area of focus for preachers on “sermon delivery.” More recently, I hear preachers talking about “sharing” their sermons or, just as frequently and another recent change, sharing their “messages.”
I think there are several possible reasons for this shift. One may be the cultural influence of evangelical and emergent preachers where “message” has often been preferred to “sermon” from the desire to find language that made sense of what the preacher was doing for those unfamiliar with church participation (and perhaps to distinguish what these preachers were doing from the “boring old sermon” that folks outside church assume sermons are).
But I think another influence is that more and more preachers are recognizing the deeply relational element of preaching. Part of what preachers bring to their sermons, in other words, is themselves, and most of us recognize that our messages are taken more seriously when they seem genuine; when we, in other words, share ourselves in addition to our message.
For the most part, I have no strong opinion on all of this and am comfortable with either term. I think the traditional sense of “delivery” allows us to talk about a whole dimension of preaching that often doesn’t get enough attention in preaching classes or, for that matter, from preachers as they prepare their sermons.
At the same time, however, I also think we want to share, rather than merely drop off or deliver, our messages to our people. The gospel is highly relational, after all, not merely presenting more information but rather inviting a relationship with the living God that is mediated in part, and at least in the preaching moment, through the message, voice, and person of the preacher.
Two other advantages of thinking about “sharing” our sermons also occur to me. First, if the sermon is something we share, rather than deliver, might it be easier to encourage others to share their testimony as well? People who may balk about being asked to “deliver the message” might be persuaded to “share their experience” of God in their lives. Perhaps we can cultivate a sense that sharing our experience of God is the responsibility of the whole community even as we reserve space for the catalytic, rather than final, sharing of the preacher during the sermon.
Second, preachers can get very nervous about various elements of sermon delivery – are they making enough eye-contact, do they rely on their manuscripts too much, are they using appropriate hand gestures (or at least avoiding inappropriate ones!), and so on. But might we take some of the pressure off of ourselves by thinking about simply sharing our sermon? And might that emphasis on sharing even help us in sermon preparation, in that in addition to involving careful exegesis and theological reflection, at the end of the day preaching is intimately related to testimony; that is, telling others about what we have seen and experienced of God’s activity in our lives and the world.
We preachers – all Christians, really, but on Sunday during the sermon we preachers in particular – have something to tell those gathered about the good news of God’s great love for us and all the world. And that, indeed, seems like something worth sharing.
I’ve noticed a shift from calling them “sermons” to “teaching.” Part of me likes this, but that’s a personal thing as I love teaching. I’ve noticed the prime place people are learning is in the “sermon”. I was always taught sermons are proclamation, not teaching, but proclamation without understanding may get lost. i.e. Philip had to walk through the scriptures for the Ethiopian eunuch. I appreciate learning as I grow in proclamation. On the other hand, as the “licensed professional” when it comes to teaching, I am using a resource (4 hot years of good ole fashin’ education) not every one has access to, which sometimes distances a person’s feeling they can do the same, thus diminishing your “share their experience” of God in their lives” piece. So perhaps the teaching just upholds the clergy professionalism in such a way that is not always helpful. Anyhoo, just a thought. Keep on keeping on.
It’s my job to prepare and proclaim.
God will deliver the message that needs sharing.
Will Willimon has described Sundays when he thought his sermon failed miserably, but congregants were moved marvelously.