Fresh Focus 9.14.2023

     Regardless of how well we know a particular book or section of Scripture, we should always be looking to learn something new—not for the sake of novelty but for the sake of keeping our preaching fresh. This is critical for longevity in the pulpit. Any Bible College graduate should be able not only to preach and teach but also to continue learning. We live in an age with an abundance of ways, both digital and analog to help us sharpen our tools, expand our skills, and continue growing throughout a long lifetime of preaching. 

    Each of us who is gifted and equipped for the ministry of the Word must prioritize the process of continuing education. There are several ways that we can accomplish this task. One way that we can continue to grow is to acquire additional formal education when we determine it is necessary. Additionally, we can continue a vigorous lifelong habit of adding new materials to our library. Today I want to consider one of the most cost-effective ways possible to keep our preaching fresh. Let’s think through the process of taking a fresh focus on our own previous work on familiar texts.  

Background

    I frequently beat the drum of background studies. Understanding the history, geography, setting, and critical questions surrounding a text helps to frame how we preach it. Today I’d like to address a distinct set of background issues. Let’s describe them as personal biographical considerations. 

    I have mentioned this before, but it merits repeating. A preacher needs to be aware of his or her own background regarding a text. Only rarely do we approach a text with no prior personal engagement. Whether through devotional reading or past preaching we approach a text with a history. This history, in particular, our own past preaching impacts how we approach the text this time around. 

    I am constantly struck by how my exegesis of a text remains consistent through different sermon series. I just completed my sermon for 17 September. In browsing my past sermons on the text, I found that, despite fresh exegesis, my approach was mostly the same—even though my current theme and even the outline of the text is different. 

    This background is a good check on our processes. For example, if the exegesis itself was vastly different I would want to consider the factors that engendered that change. Did I change my mind? Did my current preaching theme create a different set of expectations? When I last preached this text was I enthralled by a specific commentator or procedure that yielded different results? 

    The text says what it says and though our application may change, the primary thrust of the text should, all things being equal, be reflected in our work. 

    This work, like editing our own work, can be painstaking and even tiresome. Yet to forgo it omits a significant background issue—the growth and development of the exegete—the one thing entirely within our control. 

    The call to preach is a call to be a constant gardener. Our field is hermeneutics. The crop is well-constructed sermons. When we use our previous work as a part of our background study it gives us one more resource to aid in the process of serving God’s people with a fresh, challenging crop harvest every week. 

Similar not Same

    Within the bounds of sound hermeneutical principles, there is room for novelty in preaching. Creativity is not found within the exegetical process itself but in the framing, writing, and editing of the sermon. Within the boundaries set by the text, we can create messages that are similar in reflecting the inspired message of the text, but which are not the same. This requires long-term, reflective engagement with our own past work. 

    Regardless of our experience, we all find ourselves returning to familiar tropes, structures, and even vocabulary. In short, we are susceptible to getting into a rut. The key to similarity of approach, without falling into stale, repetitive, and conventional preaching is found in good habits.  Broad reading across different disciplines. Careful weekly editing to eliminate tired phrasing, “purple” prose, and bad formal habits. Constant attention to writing for listeners rather than readers. These habits won’t prevent the normal gravitational pull of personality, nor will they guarantee that you won’t occasionally slip into your conventional patterns. These habits do help keep the preacher focused on this sermon, this week, without the additional baggage of past preaching. 

    One of the arguments (not that I agree) for using old sermons in new contexts is that it is not a wise use of time to always write a fresh sermon when you have preached a passage in the past. Some think it a waste to do over what was done well the first time. This ignores two of the most important factors in preaching, the preacher, and the congregation. Thirteen years have passed since I last worked through Philippians. My life has changed. I am preaching to different people. The expectations for a Biblical message have not changed but all the external factors have changed. Ignoring that denigrates our ongoing growth and maturity as a student of scripture. 

    If you measure your new sermons against the old, you will find that they still reflect you and your personality as an exegete of scripture. Unless you have radically changed your approach to scripture, they will be genetically related. Yet your new messages will reflect your current spiritual arc.

Nuanced Language

When I look at my old messages, I find the following:

• My language has changed.

• By design, I have become a better editor. 

• The physical presentation of my preaching document(s) is easier to follow.

• I have favorite phrases and habitual ways of speaking.

• I am getting better at the art of omission.

    What I am discovering is that I am doing a better job of congregational analysis. I am writing for these people in a fashion that will allow the auditor to focus better on the content of the message. Though the hearer may not be able to make the connection I am doing a better job of being direct and nuanced at the same time. I am trying to engage the hearer, to carry on an internal dialogue, and to be responsive during the preaching event.

    This requires more work on the writing side. There was a time when I was satisfied with clear exegesis of the text. Now I try and focus as much on a clear explanation of that exegesis. This is a hermeneutical imperative. When the preacher is not clear, that is on her or him. If we lack clarity, it is often because we have left a gap between what the text says and how we will publicly declare that message. Some Biblical content is difficult to understand. Our task is to use the language of the sermon to clarify what is difficult, make concrete what is abstract (as much as it is possible), and provide pegs of application upon which the congregation can hang their understanding of the text.

    There was a time in the not-so-distant past when we could rely on everyone present to share a basic understanding of Biblical language, imagery, and essential background truths. Those days are past, only making the job more difficult. Evaluating our own growth as a writer/speaker of English helps us to make connections and compensate for the lack of a shared Biblical vocabulary. 

One Job

    A preacher must be obsessed with preaching. It is our life’s work. It is a craft. It is laborious. It requires a mix of tools and approaches which is rare in most life endeavors. It can be done well, and it can be done poorly. Often the difference is the care and focus of the preacher. 

    We live in an era in which the Church is dominated by a program and music-driven approach to everything from growth to discipleship. Preachers who are focused on communicating the Word in a theologically and historically informed fashion will give leadership that is a timeless testament to the ongoing work of God in Christ Jesus.