postmodern preaching

The postmodern era rejects the idea of authority. For us to preach with authority, it is not by being an authority ourselves. It is by trusting in the authority of God to speak through the scriptures. We believe that scriptures are a means of grace whereby we can encounter the living God.

In the modern era, many preachers were enamored with their own reasoning ability. Many sermons, especially in mainline churches, only briefly touched on the scripture de jour. In the postmodern era, this will not be tolerated. Postmodern people want the real thing, not some preacher's essay on life. They crave to encounter the living God through the scriptures.

This suggests that the best of postmodern preaching will be expository in nature. Expository preaching explains the scripture and builds from there. The particular form of the sermon does not matter —logical presentation, story, drama or role playing. The important thing is that we allow the listener to be involved in the world of the text before we draw out the implications.

Quite a quote! And I agree. My preaching is expository. Since becoming a pastor a little over two years ago I have been following the lectionary choosing one passage to preach. It has been a good way to get use to the relentless cycle of preaching every Sunday. Know that my text is chosen each week simplifies the process for me.

Then I study the text and seek to allow the text to speak and form my subject for the message. I want my hearers to enter into the text, interact with it, and leave transformed. I don't want to just give them a bunch of information or knowledge. I want the preaching experience to be transformational!

That's why I spend a lot of time coming up with my introductions. I feel that I have to connect what the Bible says to their everyday life in some way. They have to be hooked in order to want to expend the mental energy to stay with me for the next 25 minutes or so.

Some call this felt needs preaching. But the Bible must meet us at our point of need and it is the task of the preacher to show how that intersection happens, where that intersection is. I want to explain the biblical text and point us to how it intersects with our lives!

Again, this is partly why I love the messy Scriptures series. Where does our everyday lives intersect with the story of the patriarches? Does it intersect with the story of the patriarches? How is this passage useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness? That is the exchange that I am seeking in preaching.