Utility, Practice, Presence 7.17.2025

    Because Sunday is never more than 6 days away the preacher must be ever mindful of when work on a sermon ends and piddling begins. You might wonder what the difference is. And you might be curious about why someone like me, who sees to prattle on endlessly about preparation and preaching, would make such a distinction. “Isn’t all you think about nothing more than piddling around with your preparation, writing, and preaching process?” No, I don’t think so. Allow me to explain. 

    The reason I spend so much time thinking and writing about these important topics is because I’m not certain that they get enough attention in the Post-Modern Church. Many of the things that are written, far too much of the advice is in and of itself piddling and fiddling around the edges.  It doesn’t help the preacher to consider the text, to mine the theological and spiritual resources to be discovered, nor to communicate those truths with greater clarity. Too much of this incessant, piddling clatter is all about utility. And when utility is the solitary goal, you eventually stop looking at what is essential and Biblical, cutting out the very heart of preaching. 

    The constant examination of the Biblical text for things that are immediately applicable practically guarantees that there are parts of the Bible that will be ignored. Because there are central truths of scripture which are designed to mold us spiritually or to form our character. These texts teach a process of becoming--not a program for doing. Much of Scripture, particularly in the New Testament is written to fashion each of us into a person who does not need to be told what to do. We are expected through practice to increase the utility of Scripture in our own lives. Preaching that does for the congregation that which they should be done individually and in concert with others is an active disincentive to being formed into the image of Christ. 

    A utilitarian view of scripture—reducing it to the lowest common denominator of practicality is to impose on scripture the limitation of what Neil Postman called Technopoly. At that point the Bible is nothing but a tool. When molded by a Technopolitan view of Scripture several things happen. First, a tool-based view of scripture is reductionistic. The Bible is certainly not reductionistic. Scripture is multi-textured and addresses multiple facets of the human person simultaneously. To put it bluntly it cannot be pigeonholed. Additionally, we find that we are not only molded by our tools—but more importantly we are molded by our conception of what those tools are and what they do. What does not express immediate utility or becomes inconvenient is easily discarded as either too complex or non-functional. Finally, the conception of the Bible as tool allows us (Preacher, teacher, congregation) to discard those bits that are not easily translatable to contemporary cultural standards. What is claimed to be greater clarity is generally nothing more than “Dumbing down.” 

    The internal, spiritual, mental, ethical, and existential conflicts recorded in Scripture are not there just so that we can avoid them. They are in Scripture so that we have guidance—both by example and instruction, of what we should do when we encounter them. 

    So yes, when we read the story of David in 2 Samuel 11 & 12 and the record of his repentance in Psalm 51, we are encouraged not to sin as he did, but we are also given advice, counsel, and example of how one repents. And how to deal lovingly and firmly with those who are repenting. Reflecting upon this interaction of narrative, story, and verse in this extended episode is in itself a valuable exercise in hermeneutics. Yes, David repented. But a baby died, and all hell broke loose in his kingdom. Far too many preachers will preach the parts that are easy and simply ignore the conflict, debris, and despair. David is not a great example for an age that longs for easy, painless repentance. A longing which from a Biblical standpoint is illusionary. 

    Our reading of scripture, our preparation to preach, and the sermons themselves can never be an exercise in mere utility. There is a better way that goes beyond piddling around with easy explained truth-bits that are easy to preach and easy to hear. 

Rather than utility our goal should be practice. And while jokes are often made about doctors or lawyers that “practice” rather than work, those professional examples are valid. By practice we mean a routine and regular approach that adds deeper insight and more effective execution. Not perfection. Doctors, lawyers, and yes, even preachers always have more to learn. Practice is the right conception for us because on our final day working on our final sermon, we will still have imperfect knowledge and limited understanding. 

This model also works for the individual disciple. Every day we act to become more like Jesus. We do not achieve perfection, but we keep on walking. We keep on listening. We keep on serving. We may switch the cross from one shoulder to the other, but called to carry it, we continue. The day we die we will know Jesus better, the Scripture more intimately, and love the Church more dearly—but never perfectly. 

    The goal is not what we do with Scripture but what it does to us. The utilitarian, technopolitan view of Scripture which discards the difficult, and waters down the wearying, robs us of the very presence of the Christ, who was named Emmanuel and promised to never leave or forsake us—even when the way is difficult and wearying and His words may seem ambiguous. 

The call of discipleship is a call to walk constantly with Jesus and to grow more completely into His image. In hearing His voice in Scripture there are some things we will hear that seem counterintuitive… “But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” (Matthew 5:39 ESV)” they sound counterintuitive because they are! The Kingdom follows different standards than those of the Empires of this age and the cultures that define us. 

“Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:43-45 ESV)

 If all you are ever looking for is something to please the congregation or that reduces the message of Christ to a few convenient bullet points you will at first be confused and then a little disappointed. Remember this, when Jesus was asked “who is my neighbor?” His response was not a soundbite or three easily digested points—He told a story. 

    Learning to focus on deepening Spiritual practices and accepting the complicated presence of Christ as it is expressed in full variety of scripture makes for heathy preaching and healthy Churches, but it is not easy, and it can be a little messy—let me rephrase—really messy. Not because yours or my view of scripture is not high enough but because the reality of Scripture is more complex that the “Three points and a poem” approach allows for. 

    Your preaching must be more than timely advice, lifehacking, or helpfully therapeutic. The fact is that the Biblical story of God’s pursuit of humanity (a pursuit, I might add that takes place while we are in full flight from Him) is far more complex that we sometimes allow. There are times when the questions peculate to the surface (Why did Jesus choose Judas?) Rather than scrabbling about looking to rephrase the question or piddling about on another simplistic sermon diagnosing a problem your church doesn’t have so you can offer a solution that won’t help—why not simply preach the rich, wild, untamed diversity of the Word. You may not be able to offer 3 or 4 performative acts that make people feel better. And that’s fine. Perhaps the text for this Sunday will focus more on what God does? Or maybe rather than encouraging an action or deed it will describe a state of our heart, a condition of our morality, or a principle to embrace. Those lessons are not wasted. Sometimes they are the point.