Horsing Around Essay for 8.20.2026

     Preaching connects people with God through the clear, accurate teaching of Scripture. While all preaching should be accurate and strive for clarity, the connecting part is where we often run aground. 

    There are a couple of reasons. First, some preachers sacrifice clarity for connection. They are all about the congregations preconceived notions of spirituality, culturally derived identity markers, or psychologically satisfying distractions. We’re not talking about that sort of preaching. It is so anchored in the audience and its perceived needs that it is virtually impossible for it to be Biblically clear and accurate. There are many things in Scripture that are opaque and many things in Scripture that challenge our self-understanding. This sort of preaching may grow churches, but it doesn’t result in maturing disciples. 

    A second issue is preaching that never thinks about the congregation at all.  It is so accurate that clarity becomes difficult if not impossible. It fails to translate the realities of the ancient text into manageable categories of the contemporary world. 

    Neither of these scenarios produces connection which often results in a Shakespearian tragedy or a Kafkaesque comedy. Some church “leaders” even wonder if the time for preaching is past. The problem is that the thing they question isn’t really preaching. It leaves out the purpose of the endeavor in the first place; connection. 

    Our question then, is how do we bridge this gap? How do we make a connection with our listeners when they have both eyes on phone, tablet, or computer? How do we get a hearing amid the cacophony of contemporary society? The quick answer? You’re going to have to get better. The long answer? I’m glad you asked.

    Let’s consider the question before us using the metaphor of horses. I like horses. I watch a lot of horse racing. There is nothing more beautiful than the moment when a Thoroughbred racehorse begins to reach forward, pins its ears, and extend its neck to attain full speed. That is but one kind (we’re not focused on breeds) of horse. And when it comes to preaching, it is the first of several poor models. Consider the following “stable” if you will. Some of these horses should be permanently put out to pasture if we wish to truly improve our preaching. 

Racehorses

    There are some preachers who see the study as a racecourse. They enter the starting stalls (perpetually worried about more important things in their ministry, as if ministry had more important tasks than preaching) chomping at the bit to work as fast as they possibly can to complete the course. They want to get that sermon done ASAP.  In this case, finishing should not mean fast, it should mean best possible. 

    Racehorse preachers write sermons so fast that they have no time for editing, redrafting, reframing, rethinking, or reconsidering anything. Racehorse preachers perpetually preach first drafts and work from a vocabulary limited by their haste. 

    It takes time to connect with culture. It takes time to understand what is going on in the world. It takes careful observation to grasp the real problems amid the articulated complaints of the modern world. It can’t be done quickly. Every sermon is different but each one draws upon our entire life’s experience to frame it and tint it with color. Racehorse preaching is so intent on finishing that the jockey (I apologize for mixing the metaphor) flails away frantically when, as they say, the horse has come off the bit. 

    We need to retire the Racehorse. We don’t finish our sermon first among our tasks of the week because it is of least (or secondary) importance but because it is the most important task of the week and deserves our best energy. We need stamina to make many passes through the text cutting, trimming, adding, editing, and refining the message so that the message given to us by God’s Holy Spirit reflects the tale told in the text impacting the story in the pew. 

High Horses

    Too many preachers have a list of materials they won’t read, places they won’t go, movies they won’t see, or restaurants where they won’t eat. Generally, this self-selected intellectual ghetto is the result of the next kind of horse—the High Horse. And as you might guess my advice is simple. Dismount. If possible, take it out back and forever release it into the wild. If absolutely necessary, put it down. The preacher who begins his work by declaiming all the things she won’t do, places he won’t, go books he won’t read, or music she won’t listen to--needs to take a good, hard look at a little thing called…the Gospels.

    Read everything. Even what makes you uncomfortable. Listen to a wide variety of music. When you hear a song that strikes you as odd or even culturally significant listen to it intently, google the artist, find out where they are coming from. Go into interesting, unique stores and boutiques that cater to tastes different than yours. Cinema, streaming platforms, social media, comedians, are other cultural bell-weathers. If you don’t know where the culture is, what the pressure points are, what specific issues are becoming sinfully debilitating how will you address the culture and say what it needs to hear?

Generally High Horses are either excuses or disguises. 

Hobby Horses

    The next threat is the Hobby Horse. These are the topics, themes, tropes, or concepts that we use so frequently that we beat them—even after the horse is dead. Hobby Horses are often stabled alongside racehorses and high horses. Hobby horses distract us from exegetical and hermeneutical heavy lifting and astute cultural observation. 

    There are many important truths in Scripture. People need to know them all, but some need to be better known than others. A couple of years ago I preached a book sermon from the Song of Solomon. I announced to the congregation that I’d not likely ever preach from that book again. Yes, it’s Scripture, but there are more essential truths to be covered in my limited remaining time.  Choose wisely where you will focus. Make sure that your life’s work is not a mere list of Hobby Horses that you can’t get off your mind. 

    The best antidote to saddling up Hobby Horses is to preach exegetical, expository preaching. If you want to take a more topical approach to your broader calendar, fine just make sure you are always operating “text-egetically” explaining and applying the clear meaning of scripture. Most Hobby Horse preaching begins with the congregation and what it “might need.” When you begin with the text it will determine the emphasis. 

Plow Horses

    What we really need is plow horses. They are not as sleek as racehorses, require more depth than high horses, have greater impact than hobby horses. Plow horses work. Plow horses are harnessed up to get the job done. They may move slowly but they are efficient and effective. 

    Generally, plow horses, after a few years know the job so well that they don’t need lots of direction. They saddle themselves up (It’s a metaphor for crying out loud!) and get to work. They recognize that some fields require different levels of work than others. They are not offended or frightened by diverse kinds of work because they know that is simply how the world is. Plow horses bend the neck, waste little energy, and get the job did. 

    What the Church needs right now are plow horses. Racehorses, High Horses, and Hobby Horses are all varieties of prima donnas. They are more focused on self than service. They have many definitions of failure and are risk averse. Plow horses have no pride. They just work. 

    The scenario I am sketching here is not only a full-time job—it’s your life. Preachers are always grazing for material. We are always looking for solid, contemporary, culturally relevant connections. That means we need our ears and eyes to be attuned to the culture.

Thoughts 8.13.2026

     I mentioned last week that when I need refreshed that thinking and reading help me to get my edge back. Five novels in the last 4 days. Check! Now, about the thinking. Stuff happens. I had hoped to spend some sequestered time in the easy chair in my study. Alas, there were places to go and people to see. Where and when does one find time to let the mind wander? How does one find the opportunity to ease the mental tension. Briefly, a couple of suggestions.

    First, you can think when you are driving. I had to make a trip to the city (Evansville) last Monday. I worked through some preaching and pastoral issues that needed thought through. The only caveat is that one should not take notes when one is driving. I was able to mentally review some of the highlights that would be written up in my board report and even to “game plan” some approaching sermon/writing issues. 

Second, I did some personal reviewing. I’ve spoken and written about this periodically, but I did a deeper, more specific dive this week. The longer you preach and teach the more of your own material you squirrel away. I know that I will be writing a funeral sermon over the next couple of days—and I’m not interested in repeating entire sermons. I am, however, culling my previous sermons for turns of phrase, expressions, sequence of words that can be used in other contexts. In some contexts, this would be called “boilerplate” text. I’d like to think it is a bit more than that. What I am trying to assemble is well-written prose that can be re-purposed. If I was looking at the work of others, I would be clipping usable quotations that could be used and cited. The only difference is that it is my own work that I’m considering. Here is an example from a previous funeral message that will be suitable in many other contexts. 

“The Goal: 

       Guide you with Scripture,

            Focus on Christ, 

                  Give you hope,

                       Provide perspective,

                           Remind you of the Promise

                                   of Eternal life.”

    That’s exactly how it looks on the page. It is a transitional section; I’m simply stating to the congregation what my purpose is in preaching this (funeral) sermon at this moment. An additional goal is to ensure that I don’t promise too much. I’m there to use scripture to talk about the hope we have in Jesus. That’s the focus of a funeral message. 

    I know that there are many other well written phrases in the thousands of pages I have written. It is a more direct and practical sort of thinking than I had originally intended but it is different in focus than weekly work. The fact is that we have to relax as best we can. Sleep in a little, find a satisfactory diversion, get a good night’s sleep and continue with the mission.

Refreshment 8.6.2026

    Last week was busy with camp and other pastoral and professional issues, so it is good to be back to a more normal routine. Mrs. Beckman and I are pretty much homebodies. For me that means coming down from the Parsonage on the Hill to spend time in my study which is my home away from home. The times and places flow according to my normal routines, but the work is not coming quite as easily this week. 

    As you might guess there was a lot of catching up to do. And I still seem to be having some difficulty   fighting off long-term fatigue. While I may not be flailing per se, I’m also taking a bit longer to get my “chores” done. I don’t like to get off schedule, but I am getting a bit bogged down this week by issues which should not be so tiresome. Some of you might think “It’s because you’re getting old!” Which may be true. A part of it also comes down to a no time for the kind of work I find refreshing.

    Refreshing work consists of things that you not only enjoy but that you also find invigorating They get the blood flowing. They get you engaged. They connect different parts of your brain and help to create intellectual and spiritual alignment.  

     With your permission of course, let me share a couple of things with you that I find refreshing during times like these. To help recalibrate the gray matter for the more important work. 

 Read

    How helpful can it be, how relaxing and refreshing to read—when your job revolves around reading and writing? Very helpful indeed if you find something different to absorb your attention for a brief time. I have collected a nice little stash of novels to read which I expect to help restore my edge. 

    Novels? Why? How? To what end? Yes. Because they combine entertainment and engagement. To what end? Getting the ol’ motor running. I’ve still got work percolating along, but when the mental engine backfires it is time to provide different fuel. 

    I am pretty promiscuous when it comes to reading. I like history, biography, novels, historical fiction. This is not a good time to be too picky—though I do have a particular author and focus for the rest of the summer. Most of this material will yield no notes—no pithy quotations, no memorable anecdotes. Reading is better than most movies and it keeps the blood flowing in the brain. I also like cinema. However, when you’re tired movies can provide too great an opportunity to simply fall asleep. 

Think

    “Don’t you think when you study? When you prepare? As you preach?” Yes. Yes. And Yes. Not all thinking is created equal. When fatigued you need to relax the intellectual muscles without relying on the sugary sweets of TV and social media. Mrs. Beckman and I do have certain shows we like to watch, and I like entertaining movies, but sometimes you just need to think. Maybe doodle a little, nothing too complicated. Maybe a brief, squiggly outline something simple while using your brain to do the thing it was created for—thinking. 

    As ministers we are generally either dipping the bucket into the well or filling the well. We pour things in; we draw things out. In, out. In, out. Every week. The study provides material for our life’s work. The sermon or lesson the is the weekly embodiment of that work. We have both input and output. What about the process that moves us from the study to the pulpit? It’s not automatic. It should be thoughtful, intentional, directed, and purposeful. Yet much of the time we are so deadline driven that we have no time for the creative intellectual play that is essential for continued growth. Don’t get me wrong. We need to be ready for Sunday’s sermon or Thursday’s article. However, at some point the well we have filled to overflowing will begin to get cloudy and stagnant because we are filling and drawing but never stirring. Thinking is stirring the water’s so that they don’t grow murky or cloudy. 

And with that…I’m off to clear the water with a novel. Cheers.